“A Perfectly Designed Cross”
Text: Genesis 3:1-7 & John 19:16b-24
4-7-23
In the name of Him who died that we may live, dear friends in Christ. When Jesus was a little boy, we can be fairly certain that He worked in the carpenter’s shop alongside Joseph, His foster-father. What do you suppose they made there? What kind of furniture or items did they craft with their tools? No one can say for sure. However, I can confidently tell you that they were never asked to build a cross for someone’s crucifixion. That was considered a disgraceful form of death to the Jews and they would have nothing to do with it. No, it was the Romans who designed that horrible instrument of torturous death. Because of what it was used for, there was no effort wasted on smoothing out the wood and polishing it up to create a thing of beauty. On the contrary, it was intentionally crafted to be an ugly piece of crude workmanship. Who cares what it looks like as long as it gets the nasty job done.
There are lots of ironies in the Bible and this is one of them. As we’ll sing in just a few minutes, that old rugged cross that Jesus was crucified on was created to be an emblem of suffering and shame. It was created to bring about death. And here’s the first irony. When Jesus was nailed to it, the exact opposite happened. Oh, yes, it caused Him to suffer a shameful death. But through those pieces of wood, Christ our Savior took away our suffering and death which our shameful sins deserved. He paid the penalty for all our disobedience and rebellion against God. And by His innocent death on that tree, He destroyed death for us.
I’m sure that when the Romans designed that cross, they had nothing else in mind besides creating a tool for causing a slow, painful death. But here’s another irony for you to ponder. Christ was nailed to that tree with His arms stretched out horizontally. That is very symbolic of how Jesus opens His arms to all the world, inviting everyone to come and believe in Him for salvation. That cross also had the vertical beam that the horizontal piece was attached to. This was the function of that piece of wood. But that vertical beam reminds us of how the death of Jesus was the bridge between us and God. We were separated from Him by our sins but Christ, our Savior, has reconciled us to our heavenly Father. Is it any wonder, then, that we adorn our churches with crosses of various shapes and sizes?
As we ponder that “old, rugged cross” and what happened there, may it point us to the Lord Jesus. There, on that piece of wood designed for destruction, He saved us. May our hearts forever be filled with thanks and praise for His sacrificial death which brings us eternal life. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!