The Cross of Christ

 

In his article, Why the Cross Is Essential to Christianity, Dr Philip Ryken (The Gospel Coalition) wrote: "When archaeologists dig through the ruins of antiquity, they have one certain way to identify a place of Christian worship. They look for a cross. When they find it painted on a wall, carved into stone, or even worked into a floor plan, they know they’ve found a church. Since the beginning, Christians have identified themselves with the cross on which Jesus died. And whether it’s carved in wood or etched on our hearts, the cross is the chief symbol and defining reality of the Christian faith." Indeed, the word "cross" appears twenty-eight times in the King James Version of the New Testament!

Paul wrote this in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth: "For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power. The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God." (I Corinthians 1:17-18, NLT) Likewise, to the Christians of Galatia, he wrote: "Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples. As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died." (Galatians 6:12-14, NLT) Finally, he wrote this to the saints at Ephesus: "For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death." (Ephesians 2:14-16, NLT)

Now, unfortunately, there are a few folks who like to point out that the cross existed before it became a Christian symbol. In the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY article, The Cross Is of Pagan Origin, we read: "In its edition of 1908, The Catholic Encyclopedia states in volume 4, page 517: 'The sign of the cross, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles, greatly antedates, in both the East and the West, the introduction of Christianity. It goes back to a very remote period of human civilization.' The book The Ancient Church by clergyman W. D. Killen concurs by saying, on page 316: 'From the most remote antiquity the cross was venerated in Egypt and Syria; it was held in equal honour by the Buddhists of the East; and, what is still more extraordinary, when the Spaniards first visited America, the well-known sign was found among the objects of worship in the idol temples of Anahuac. It is also remarkable that, about the commencement of our era, the pagans were wont to make the sign of a cross upon the forehead in the celebration of some of their sacred mysteries.'" Are the Jehovah's Witnesses right? Is the symbol tainted because of its former associations?

According to the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament), the city of Jerusalem was a pagan city before David conquered it. That didn't stop God from adopting it as the place where his Temple would be built and where his name would rest! Thus, the fact that the symbol of the cross was formerly employed by the Egyptians, Syrians, Buddhists, and Native American temples cannot be said to permanently taint/pollute the symbol. Indeed, before Christ's crucifixion, the Romans regarded the cross as a symbol of punishment and shame. The TRUTH is that Christ transformed the cross when he was crucified on one! Thereafter, the cross was a Christian symbol, and all of its former associations ceased to have any hold or power over it - or the people who used it!

When we (Christians) see the cross, we are drawn to the image of our Savior hanging on it for our sins. We are inexorably drawn to this image: "So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.'" (John 19:16-19, NLT) Christians maintain their faith "by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne." (Hebrews 12:2, NLT) For us, the cross is the symbol of our devotion to our Savior - it reminds us of his greatest act of love for all of us.