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SERMON:
John 19:17-18 (NKJV)
17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in
Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with
Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.
▬
If we were able to transport people
from the ancient world to our sanctuary this evening, they would be surprised
by how much the world has changed. Lights without fire. Heat without thinking
about it. People wearing such fine clothing . And yet, I think what would
really catch their eye, and puzzle their minds, would be the decorations which
adorn this place of worship.
Front and center their eyes would
meet a symbol which would puzzle them at least, if not fill them with horror. “What
have these people of the future gathered here to worship?” they would wonder. “Death?
Is this a cult centered around torture and pain?”
They would wonder this, of course,
because central to our sanctuary is the cross. Though we have grown to take the
cross for granted, it really is astounding that such a grizzly device has
become a commonplace decoration in churches and homes the world over.
To the ancients the cross was not so
much a symbol, as it was a tool of unthinkable torture.
▬
Crucifixion was a method of execution
thought up by the Phoenicians. It was later adopted by the Romans, and further
developed. The idea was to wring out as much suffering as possible from the
crucified before he finally died. Crucifixion was meant to crush the spirit, as well as the
body.
While there were many different ways
of crucifying a person, tonight we’ll focus on how the Romans did it.
▬
First the condemned criminal had to
carry the cross to the place of execution. It’s likely that the vertical beam
was already waiting for the condemned, firmly planted in the ground. But still,
to carry the large beam which would support the arms was exhausting work.
When the party had arrived at the
place of execution, the criminal’s arms would be stretched out across that
horizontal beam which he had carried. Then a rather large steel spike would be
driven through each outstretched hand.
Next the team of executioners would
raise the horizontal beam up onto the vertical one, with the criminal dangling
below it, and secure the two together. And, voila! A charming cross was
crafted.
Then a little ledge would be
attached to the cross, allowing the dangling criminal a perch on which to rest
his feet. But this perch had a definite slope downward making it frustrating to
stand on. To help the criminal, the executioners would take a couple more large
nails, or sometimes just one larger shank of metal, and pound that through the
feet. Then the feet wouldn’t slip anymore.
▬
Now, holding your arms up
horizontally for more than a few minutes is quite excruciating. Just try it
sometime. Try to hold them out straight for say, ten minutes. I’m guessing you
won’t make it. Now imagine trying to hold up the weight of your body from those
burning arms.
The feet of the crucified could lend
some help, pushing up from below. And so a seesaw motion was effected. Hold
with the arms for a time, then with the legs to give the arms some rest. Then
back to the arms to give the legs some respite.
But with each movement those pesky
iron nails would send shoots of electric agony through the body.
Some reports say that a human being dangling
freely from the arms like this would cause a crushing of the lungs, suffocating
the crucified if they didn’t push up with the legs. But a more recent study, in
which a man voluntarily suspended himself from the arms, reveals that breathing
is indeed possible without support from the legs—it’s just extremely painful.
▬
Crucifixion was also designed to humiliate
the condemned. On the way to the place of execution, the criminal’s crime was
paraded for all to see.
Once on the cross, he hung not high,
like some artists depict, but more likely just a few feet off the ground. This
was oh, so tantalizing. Solid earth, and rest, such a short a distance away.
With a close view of anything that
went on below, the criminal could see the Roman soldiers dividing up his
remaining possessions. This was one final reminder that condemnation had been
proclaimed. That there would be no stay of execution. The world was already
treating the crucified as a dead man.
▬
So that the crucifixion would be a
useful tool to educate the living, the place of execution was often near a well
traveled road. That way the living could see what happens to those who choose a
life of crime. But with all those who passed by, none would—or could—do
anything to help. There were, after all, four trained soldiers assigned to each
cross to guard the condemned and “protect” him from any who might try to interfere.
Anyone who wished to offer a few
last words of hatred or insult toward the condemned, were free to do so. And
the crucified, if they could muster the strength and focus, could spit or curse
down on those below. But, it wouldn’t do much good. And their curses would ring
hollow as their suffering continued.
Eventually the condemned would die.
And their corpse would be unceremoniously de-crossed, and deposited in a common
grave with others who had met the same fate.
▬
Can you see why the cross, placed so
centrally in our sanctuary, would make an ancient traveler uneasy?
If the ancients were to see the
cross as a symbol, to them it would be a symbol of suffering, humiliation, and
death.
▬
But Jesus changed all that.
Many were crucified before Jesus,
two were crucified with him, and many were crucified after him. When Jerusalem
fell in 90 AD, during the last siege, history tells us that hundreds of crosses
rose daily until it seemed like there wouldn’t be enough room for them, or
enough wood.
But none of THOSE who were crucified
changed the nature of the cross. For them it was just the old cross in action,
bringing suffering, humiliation, and death.
No doubt many of those crucified
throughout the ages were guilty. Perhaps deserving of even such a horrible
death. Perhaps there were some who were not guilty at all, but only caught up
in events that were no fault of their own. And maybe, just maybe, some of the
crucified died for others, giving themselves up so someone else might escape.
And yet, none of these changed what
the cross meant to the ancient world: Crime and punishment. Suffering and
death. Grim justice served.
But like I said, Jesus changed all
that.
“17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18
where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and
Jesus in the center” (John
19:17-18 NKJV).
▬
In the hands of the almighty God,
the cross became more than a tool of torture and execution. In the hands of the
almighty God, the cross became an altar of divine sacrifice.
Jesus wasn’t just an innocent man,
he was THE innocent man. The only man in history who had no crimes to pay for,
no sins to regret.
Jesus wasn’t just a person giving
himself up so that someone else might escape. As the eternal Son of God made
human, his sacrifice was valuable enough to pay the ransom price for the entire
sinful human race.
Jesus wasn’t just one more person
caught under the crushing iron foot of the Roman empire. Remember the mob which
came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? When Jesus told them that he
was the one they were looking for, the whole crowd had fallen to the ground (John 18:6).
Jesus’ path to the cross was
different than all those who went before, and all those who went after. The
sinless Son of God CHOSE to go to the cross in order to suffer in the place of all
sinners, you and me included.
▬
And more than suffering the pain of
crucifixion, on that cross Jesus suffered hell in the truest sense of the word.
While hanging from those nails, Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus felt the horror of being separated
from his heavenly Father, completely. He suffered hell, because hell was the
full punishment due for our sins. And that was what he had come to pay.
This is why any Hollywood depiction
of the crucifixion will never be adequate. For how could you capture hell in a
mere screenplay? How could you make your audience FEEL what Jesus felt in the
darkness that Friday afternoon?
And this is where the cross
underwent the most astounding transformation. The old cross was a mode of
execution meant to bring suffering, humiliation, and death—to one man. But in
the hands of God, the cross became a tool of salvation. A tool through which
Christ Jesus earned joy, redemption, and eternal life, for ALL sinners, not
just for one person. FOR ALL.
▬
By simple faith in Christ, our sins
are erased. By faith, all that Christ suffered on the cross is pasted onto our
record, covering over every sin we’ve ever committed.
In the book of Romans, Paul
writes…
“3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into
death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4 ESV)
In Colossians, Paul writes…
“12 having been buried with him in baptism… you were also
raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him
from the dead. 13 And
you, who were dead in your trespasses… God made alive together with him, having
forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by
canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This
he set aside, nailing it to the cross”
(Colossians 2:12-14 ESV).
Through faith, which Baptism creates
or seals, sinners are united to Christ! And united to him in such a way that
all that is his, is credited to us.
This is why we make the sign of THE
CROSS on the children and adults that we baptize! This is why we make the sign
of THE CROSS when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper! This is why we hang
decorative CROSSES in our homes, and why we put them on chains so that they
hang close to our hearts!
The cross is no longer a symbol of
death and suffering. Jesus has made it a symbol of grace!
In the Bible, the term “grace” simply
means “undeserved love.” On the cross, the Son of God took what we
deserved—condemnation and hell. And he gave us what we didn’t
deserve—forgiveness and heaven.
What a gift! What an exchange.
▬
Perhaps we take the cross for
granted. After all, we see it on TV, in tattoos, on shirts, on signs, all over
the place. It hangs in our homes, in our cars, on our necklaces.
In the ancient world it was a tool
of suffering and death. To many today it is just another design or decoration.
But to us, to us let the cross ever retain the NEW meaning God has given it
through his Son. Let the cross be to us, a symbol which reminds us—I’ve been
set free. Released. Forgiven. Raised to life. And all this through Christ Jesus
my Savior. Let the cross be to us, a symbol of God’s saving grace.
Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your hearts, and your minds, in Christ Jesus.
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