Why a Cross?

“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the Place of the Skull (which is called Golgotha.)” John 19:17

The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus to be put to death for blasphemy and the method of execution for blasphemy was stoning. However, the Jewish leaders did not have the authority to put anyone to death so they had to appeal to the Roman governor. The Romans method of execution was crucifixion. Crucifixion was a cruel and painful method of execution. It usually took hours for the victim to die and during that time he could not even breathe properly.

The Bible had said that anyone who died by crucifixion was cursed. When Moses was leading the Israelites through the wilderness they were punished for their sin by having snakes coming and biting the people. Everyone that was bitten was certain to die. When Moses pleaded with the God for mercy for the people he was told to take a bronze image of the snake and put it on a pole. Everyone that looked at the bronze serpent on the pole would be healed. This was a picture of Jesus on the cross and what we as sinners needed to do to be healed from our sin. All we need to do is to look at the One on the cross and we will be healed from our sins.

However, there was one problem that developed. The people began to worship the serpent on the pole. In order to stop the people from worshipping the bronze serpent Moses had to take it down and destroy it.

Today we have great reverence for the cross because upon the cross of Calvary our Saviour died for our sins. There are people who worship the cross. Instead of being an object of scorn it has become an object of worship. Jesus never intended for us to worship the cross but we are to worship Him. So we wear a cross on chain around our neck or we put a cross on the collar of our clothes. If it is a symbol of our commitment to the Christ of the cross then that is wonderful but if it is just a religious symbol that we may treat as a good luck charm then that is wrong. We are no better than the Israelites worshiping the bronze serpent.

No one would wear a hangman’s noose or a guillotine as an ornament of jewelry on our clothes so why do we wear a cross? We wear a cross because it symbolizes the death of our Lord. The cross that we wear is an empty cross because Jesus is alive today. He may have died upon the cross but the cross was not the end. The cross became the dividing point in history for all man kind. Before the cross we were under the death sentence but our Saviour died on the cross for us and we are set free from the law of sin and death.