The Cross
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April 01, 2018 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13).
Jesus hung on the cross and gave His life for us so as to redeem us from sin. Let's delve into the meanings of the cross.
1. The cross represents "curse".
In the ancient time, crucifixion was a terrible punishment for a criminal who committed an unforgivable crime. But sinless Jesus was crucified. It was to be a curse for us who were sinners and under the curse of the Law. The 'Curse of the Law' here refers to the spiritual law that says, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
All human beings became sinners due to Adam's transgression. If someone tries to free human beings from this curse of the Law, he himself has to pay the price of the curse. For this, God let Jesus hang on a tree which is the symbol of curse (Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Galatians 3:13).
But Jews had only one death penalty—stoning. Thus, God caused Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor to give Jesus the death sentence and let Jesus be put to death by the Roman death penalty, crucifixion. God foreknew all of this and He provided a foreshadowing of this symbol while the Israelites were in wilderness after the Exodus (Numbers 21:4-9).
When the Israelites complained against God and Moses, fiery serpents appeared. Many were bitten by the fiery serpents and they died. When Moses prayed, God told him to 'Make a bronze serpent, and set it on a standard.' And He said, "...everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." A 'serpent' represents the enemy devil and Satan. Concerning this, Jesus said in John 13:14-15, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life."
As the bronze serpent was set on the standard, Jesus took all the burden of sin on Him and hung on the cross. However, since He had no sin at all, Jesus defeated the authority of the enemy devil and Satan and overcame death. Furthermore, since they killed sinless Jesus, they themselves violated spiritual law, and thus Jesus resurrected from death.
Therefore, looking up to Jesus on the Cross by faith means to believe that we overcame Satan's authority over death, and eventually, by that faith, we can gain eternal life. Jesus hung on the wooden cross that is the symbol of the curse, and when we see it by faith we are given eternal life as a gift.
For those of us who believe in the Lord, therefore, the Cross is not the symbol of the 'curse' any longer, but that of 'blessing.'
2. The Cross carries the meaning of "Sacrifice".
Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. So, to redeem us from the sin, Jesus shed His blood and paid the price of sin for us (Hebrews 9:12, 22). The price of His sacrifice was unimaginable.
A whip used in Roman Empire was made of several plaited leather strands with metal balls, sharp bones and steel fragments entwined and stuck out from its surface. Soldiers took the clothes off the criminal, tied his both hands, and struck him on his shoulders, back, hips, legs and hands. They took turns whipping him. Once beaten, along with severe bruises, the flesh was torn and even ripped off. Once the skeletal-muscle is ripped off, the flesh dangles.
Because of excessive bleeding, the blood pressure drops, and the criminal approached a state of hypovolemic shock. Since the body loses too much blood, it required liquid, and thus the criminal felt terrible thirst. In this state, he had to carry the wooden crossbeam to the execution place. A typical cross was 2-meter-long, and it weighed 40 kilograms (about 100 pounds). It was not easy even for a normal man to carry. Jesus carried His Cross to Golgotha covered all over with wounds and half conscious. On the way, it is said that He fell 3 times.
As the criminal arrived at the execution place, he was attached to the cross by being nailed through his hands and feet. The nails were big; they were approximately 13 to 18 centimeters long (7 to 9 inches). If nailed on hands, it was possible that the hand could be torn apart and the criminal could fall from the cross due to his weight. So, he was nailed just above the wrist. This is the body part where central nerves can be found; if nailed on this part, the nerves can be destroyed. It is unimaginably painful. Both feet overlapped each other, and they were nailed through the 2nd and the 3rd bones. The nerves were completely destroyed as well.
Once the criminal was attached, the cross was set up upright. From this moment on, a completely different level of pain began. When hung on the cross with hands and feet nailed, the arms got stretched out, and their bones became separated. Both shoulders became dislocated. Due to the body weight, both arms and shoulders were pulled down, and it became hard to breathe. There would not be enough oxygen. Then, the blood became saturated with carbon dioxide, and the heart pounded irregularly. Modern research said the victims of crucifixion repeated passing out on the cross about 1,000 times. And then the criminal eventually died. We should remember how great Jesus' sacrifice was on the cross and give thanks to Him all the time.
3. The Cross means, "Love".
God already knew how terrible the pain Jesus was to suffer from would be. There was only one reason that He let Jesus hang on the Cross. It is because He loves you and me. It was the only way to save sinners. It was the way the enemy devil and Satan could never think of (1 Corinthians 2:6-8).
With such sacrificial love that transcends Justice, Jesus opened the way of salvation for human beings. Whenever we look at the Cross, we should remember this love. We should remember the fact that God loves us to the point of giving up His only begotten Son Jesus to the Cross (1 John 4:10).
The ones who feel and understand this love with their hearts will live their lives for a different reason. Apostle Paul confessed in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
As you can see, those who understood the love of the Cross lived their lives by faith following the will of the Lord. The disciples of the Lord also preached the gospel without fear of death after they understood His love.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will deeply feel the love of God embedded in the wooden cross and live a life full of hope for New Jerusalem.
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