APP: Crosses have been making a fashion statement for quite some time. Even celebs wear them on necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Some people wear shirts adorned with crosses or choose to have a cross tattooed somewhere on their bodies. It all seems kind of strange when you consider how crosses have been used throughout human history—and still are in some parts of the world.
In Jesus’ time, crosses were a form of execution used by the Romans—much like lethal injection or the electric chair are used today. Historians say crucifixion was one of the most painful ways ever devised for a person to die. Crucifixion was the way Jesus died. But His death was not ordinary; neither did He do anything to deserve a criminal’s death. The cross expresses the depth of our sin, but it also shows us the unconditional love of God. It is the only way to receive forgiveness for our sins and experience eternal life.
What’s your attitude toward the cross? Maybe you don’t care all that much about what Jesus did for you when He was crucified. Some people are skeptical about the whole thing. Others believe and are forever changed.
Carrying his own cross, Jesus went out to a place called The Place of the Skull, which in the Jewish language is called Golgotha.
JOHN 19:17 NCV
“You and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands in your presence with a healthy body because of the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You crucified Jesus Christ, but God has brought him back to life.”
ACTS 4:10 GWT
“They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive.”
MATTHEW 20:19 MSG
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.”
JOHN 11:25 WEB
It was also Christ’s purpose to end the hatred between the two groups, to make them into one body, and to bring them back to God. Christ did all this with his death on the cross.
EPHESIANS 2:16 NCV
With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.
ACTS 4:33 NIV