What Is The Cross?

-If I asked you to describe the cross to me, you would likely be able to do so fairly easily

-The cross has become so ingrained in our culture

-Everyone knows what it looks like

-Everyone knows what happened there

-Everyone knows it is the centerpiece of Christianity

-Or do they?

-The cross is perhaps the most maligned religious symbol in the world

-It is highly misunderstood or at least ignored

-It is shrugged of by many as a mere fable or exaggeration

-Oswald Chambers - “All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning. “

-So, tonight, I want us to look at what the cross really is

-Luke 23:13-56

I. The Cross Is Historic

A. A known fact

1. Crosses in general

a. Commonality of use

-Used by many nationalities

-Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Greeks and Romans

-Romans used it only for slaves and criminals

-No roman citizen could be crucified

b. Shapes

-Stake, “X”, “+”, “T”, “t”

c. Fashion of crucifixions

-Nailed or tied to the cross

2. Josephus’ writings about Jesus

-Other historians have referred to Him as well

3. Archaeological findings

C. A history changer

1. The calendar was changed

-Even in the “BCE” and “CE” era

2. The tide was turned against satan

-No longer could he run rampant

-His doom was sealed

II. The Cross Is Horrific

A. Betrayal

-Judas was not, as some are now saying, an accomplice in a plot by Jesus

1. He was driven by greed

2. He was driven by false assumptions

-Of who the Messiah would be

B. False accusations

-Jeering

C. Beating / Flogging

-Cat Of Nine Tails

-Across the back

-Extreme pain from the severed muscles

-Blood loss

-Although less severe on the back than in other places

-Fists, rocks, spit, beard yanked, dirt

D. Crown of thorns

E. Nails

F. Difficulty breathing

-Push up with legs to get air

G. Lack of blood flow

-To vital organs

H. Length of time

-Hours, if not days

-Cruel and unusual punishment

I. Spear Piercing

-Note: We wince at this, but He never felt it

-He was already dead by this point

III. The Cross Is Holy

-It is more than a piece of jewelry

-It is more than an architectural highlight

-It is more than just a symbol or decoration

-It is more than just a picture or a painting

-George F. MacLeod - “Jesus was crucified, not in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves.”

A. The holiest person was there

-God incarnate

-100% God while 100% man

-Do not dare depreciate His divinity

-That is what is happening with many of those in more “educated” circles these days

-Do not dare depreciate His humanity either

-It would make the crucifixion much less than what it is

B. The holiest act was done there

-In the midst of the jeering and chaos, the most holy thing was happening

-The payment of the penalty of sin for all mankind

-Your sin and my sin

-Even if you were the only one, He would have still gone to the cross

-It was that important

IV. The Cross Is Powerful

A. To forgive your sins

1. All of them

-None are beyond the reach of God

a. None are too bad

-Save blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

b. None are too many

-70 X 7

2. All the way

-They are not partially forgiven

-They are not merely covered up

-They are forgiven completely

-No longer even showing up on your record

B. To alter your life

1. To give you a new purpose

-To live for God and not for self

2. To give you a new power

C. To change Your destiny

-A future with a great hope

CONCLUSION

-Tonight, we must all realize that we killed Jesus

-You killed Him

-I killed Him

-With each sin you committed, you took your fist and punched Jesus

-With each sin you committed you swung the hammer onto the nails piercing His hands and feet

-With each sin you committed you pushed another thorn deeper into Christ’s brow

-Yet, Christ is more powerful than the cross

-His power flows as His blood from the cross to our lives

-To forgive our sins

-To alter our lives

-To change our destinies

-Has His blood changed you?