By Billy Foster
April 17, 2000

"For the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." (I Corinthians 1:18)

The cross is indeed an unappealing picture to our world. Picture Jesus, alone on the cross, mostly naked, his arms outstretched on a crossed wooden beam, two nails placed through each outstretched hand, feet overlapped and one single nail placed through the arches of his feet. Blood trickles down his face from the pointed crown of thorns placed roughly upon his head and spills into the dusty ground below. Blood now flows profusely from the wounds in his beaten back. The apathetic Roman soldiers callously gamble for his garment at the foot of this dying man. His eyes are filled with pain and rejection. Once he stood upon the hillside and taught thousands of followers, now he is alone on the cross, with the exception of a few faithful people, his closest disciple, John the beloved, a few women and his mother. It is no wonder the cross is not a popular topic of discussion among many religions today.

In the March 27, 2000 issue of Newsweek, Kenneth L. Woodward writes in his article The Other Jesus: "Clearly the cross is what separates the Christ of Christianity from every other Jesus. In Judaism, there is no precedent for a Messiah who dies, much less as a criminal as Jesus did. In Islam, the story of Jesus’ death is rejected as an affront to Allah himself. Hindus can accept only a Jesus who passes into peaceful samadhi, a yogi who escapes the degradation of death. The figure of the crucified Christ, says Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh, is a painful image to me. It does not contain joy or peace and this does not do justice to Jesus." Indeed the cross has become a stumbling block to many religions today.

According to the Old Testament, if a man committed a sin worthy of death, under the Mosaic Law, he would be hanged upon a tree. "For he that is hanged is cursed of God." (Deuteronomy 21:23). The great apostle Paul declared, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree." (Galatians 3:13) He emphatically declared that along with sin came a curse, and this curse was death.

When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden and disobeyed God, the curse was twofold; first was that eventually through the process of time Adam would physically die. However, there was also a spiritual death, which accompanied sin. As Ezekiel stated, "the soul that sinneth it shall die." (Ezekiel18:4) There was both a physical death and a spiritual death which resulted from the fall of Adam. The spiritual death was accompanied by great guilt. Adam had been able to walk with God almighty in the cool of the day his entire life, but because of sin, he found himself exiled from God’s perfect paradise and placed into a hostile environment, working from the sweat of his brow and¾ worst of all¾ never being able to walk with God as he once did. That sweet fellowship was lost. This was sin’s worst curse.

For many, this too is their lot. They wander about in their world, often carrying a great load of pain and rejection, never knowing the perfect peace of fellowship with God. The cross of Jesus stands as a beacon in the night saying softly to a confused and lonely world that there is hope. It was upon the cross that God almighty bore the sins of lost humanity and bought back what was lost in the Garden of Eden¾ a right relationship with God. It is through the perfect sacrifice of the body of Jesus on the cross that we can have hope in this world and in the next. For the cross satisfied the judgement of God. The righteousness of God required a punishment for sin, or a repayment. Since we could not redeem ourselves back to our original state of perfection, Jesus had to live a perfect and sinless life and give himself over to the Romans and those who hated him so that he could die.

However, the real power of the cross lies in the resurrection. Thank God he did not stay in the tomb, but on the third day he arose! It is through the resurrection that Jesus conquered death. For by his resurrection, born again Christians no longer have to fear death, for God himself gives the victory over sin, death and hell.

Although the crucifixion of Jesus happened many years ago, its power is still real today. It stands as the only hope in a hopeless world. Despite the perplexity the cross creates in logical minds, it is this illogical act that forces us into faith. For, whether or not historians are willing to admit to it, the life and death of Jesus is still the focal point of history. It is also the reason we are able to believe and be delivered through the power of the cross.

© Billy Foster, 2000

--------

Billy Foster works and ministers in the Kansas City, MO metropolitan area.

contact information:   
Please let us know your opinion by giving feedback on an article or the site.
general information: general@ninetyandnine.com
copyright © 2005 www.ninetyandnine.com