Excerpts Taken from the
Lecture Series written for the book “Making Wise Choices” by Debra Lee
The cross is used in fashion
statements and can be drawn as a cool design, sculpted, tattooed, or painted. I
often wonder if people really know what a cross of ancient times was used for.
Do they know the history of the cross and the acts of torture that are
associated with it? Do they know what the cross means to those in the Christian
faith?
Tragically, the history and
meaning of the cross has been lost over the generations, and we have seen it
most recently start to lose its meaning in the Christian Church as well.
Most of us know that when we see
a cross on a building, it usually is a place of worship and a place that
worships the risen savior. We know that it’s a place where we can go for help,
comfort, and healing…a hospital of sorts.
I’ve witnessed over the last twenty-five
to thirty years a trend of removing the cross from sanctuaries, church lawns,
outdoor signage, the sides of church buildings, and have even known some to
remove the word “cross” from the name of their church. Most importantly, there
is a trend where the message of the cross is leaving the pulpit as well.
The reason this is happening, in
most cases, is because the powers that be don’t want to offend first time church
visitors with a religious symbol or a message that is so “in your face”. This
movement, that has been running like yeast through the Church, is called the
“seeker friendly” movement. It will
eventually become the downfall of the Church if it continues in watering down
the gospel.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not down
on churches trying to make the church experience welcoming. I get it, and it is
very important. Attending church can be very, very scary for folks who don’t
know anything about it. Making the unchurched feel welcomed gives folks a
chance to stay past the first two minutes of the experience without running out
of the building and it keeps them from feeling like they don’t’ fit in. It
wards off a bad first impression!
There should be, however, no
apology for the cross. It is the foundation of the Christian faith.
Without it, we might as well be going to a country club on Sundays. The cross
has great meaning for faith believers, and we can’t water down what happened on
it. It was ugly, it was cruel, it was torture, and the almighty Father of
heaven and earth had to look away the day of Jesus’ crucifixion.
The empty cross is a symbol that
Jesus conquered death once and for all and he did it for the world. Though
undeserving, by his wounds we are healed. Jesus was the greatest and final
sacrifice, the sacrificial lamb, who saved us all. And by faith we believe, we
follow, and we worship the Lord of our lives giving thanks, praise, and
remembrance to the living God for what was accomplished that day on the
cross.
As a word of warning, we are not
to worship the symbol of the cross. It is only a symbol to remind us of what
Jesus did for us. It’s a symbol that I personally like looking at when singing
praise songs, or when I’m in prayer. It is simply a reminder, or a prompt, to
be thankful and grateful.
The surprising thing is, the
Christian use of the cross did not begin until the time of Constantine, three
centuries after Christ. Archaeologists have not found any Christian use of the
symbol before that time. According to one writer (W. E. Vine, Expository
Dictionary of New Testament Words, article “Cross”), the cross as a “Christian”
symbol was taken directly from the pagans.
History shows that the cross symbol
was used centuries before Christ. For
example, around the neck of a statue of Assyrian king Samsi-Vul, son of
Shalmaneser is an almost perfect Maltese cross. The ancient Greek goddess Diana
is pictured with a cross over her head. Bacchus, the Greek god of wine, is
often pictured wearing a headdress adorned with crosses. Different types of
crosses were used in Mexico centuries before the Spaniards arrived and the
Egyptians used cross symbols in abundance, as did the Hindus.
The New Testament does not
specifically describe the instrument upon which Christ died, though Acts 5:30,
10:39, and 13:28-29 refer to it as a “tree”. The Greek word xulon,
translated “tree” in these verses, can mean a stick, club, tree, stake, or
other wooden articles.
There is absolutely no
evidence that God’s Church ever used the cross symbol for any purpose.
Nowhere does the Bible command its use, and it surely would if God
expected this of Christians. However, we are to remember the sacrifice and the
resurrection, with self-examination and reflection, in taking of the Lord’s
supper or communion. Christianity is not Christianity without what happened
on the cross.
Crucifixion was a brutal form of
punishment that was common among the Romans. The Romans chose this mode of
capital punishment to put fear in everyone who would stand against Rome and
Roman laws. The Romans would choose a popular place in clear view for this
punishment, lest anyone else violate Roman law.
The most horrific was the fact
that scourging almost always preceded crucifixion. The prisoner would be
scourged to near death using a whip that was designed to remove flesh. Once
scourged the prisoner would be taken naked to his cross beam, which he would
carry publicly to the place of execution. A public crier would announce his
crime as it was written on a tablet, which would then be fixed to the cross.
The prisoner’s bodies would be left to rot for all to see.
According to Roman law a Roman
Citizen could not be crucified. Crucifixion was only for slaves and extreme
criminals, political or religious agitators, pirates, or those who had no civil
rights.
Crucifixion came to an end under
the emperor Constantine in 337 AD who had a supposed vision for the sign of the
cross. He abolished crucifixion throughout the Roman Empire as a means of
punishment.
Even though the cross can
represent many things, around the world it is generally known as the symbol for
the Christian faith. And for Christ followers, this symbol represents the
suffering of the Christ, His passion, and his death. It represents the risen
Christ and our hope, our salvation, and the future home that is promised to us
by our Father in Heaven. It is one of our visuals to help us to
remember.
Debra Lee
Author/Keynote
Speaker/Life Coach/Biz Coach/Blogger
Books: "Making Wise
Choices" & "It Is What It Is"
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