The Crucified King
“The cross is the most iconic image of Christianity. We have crosses on our churches, crosses as decorations on our walls, and crosses as jewelry around our necks. How can the object of execution and the means of the most brutal death known to mankind become a symbol of victory and worship? There is only one thing that could transform the image of the cross – it was
the king who hung on it.” – Tony Walliser
Read John 19:1-30
The Crucified King
Have you ever gone into a jewelry store to buy something for your wife or girlfriend
and asked to see a necklace with a miniature electric chair hanging from it? Of
course not. How about a charm bracelet featuring a hangman’s noose? No way,
right? Then why do many people proudly wear cross necklaces and bracelets, tee
shirts with images of the cross, or even use crosses as wall decorations in
their homes?
More than 2,000 years ago someone had the brilliant idea to invent crucifixion, perhaps
the most heinous, excruciating form of death ever conceived. In Jesus Christ’s
day, seeing crosses on which criminals were executed wasn’t unusual. Not only
was it painful beyond description, but it also was humiliating and disgusting.
People probably viewed many of the people crucified as deserving of that fate, but
Jesus wasn’t. Even Pontius Pilate, the one who had to authorize Jesus’s
crucifixion, stated, “I find no basis for a charge against Him” (John 18:38).
But the Lord’s death was foreordained, not because He had ever done anything
wrong – which He hadn’t – but because there was no other way to make
once-for-all atonement for the countless sins of mankind.
Long before false charges were made against Jesus to justify His crucifixion, He
understood that shedding of His own blood was ultimately the reason He came to
earth in human form. Just hours before a mock trial on false charges, being cruelly
scourged and mocked, and then crucified, Jesus had shared the Passover meal
with His disciples. He told them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
The Israelites understood this from the Torah – what we now recognize as part of
the Old Testament. As God told Moses, “For the life of the flesh is in the
blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the
altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus
17:11).
By willingly dying for us on the cross, He transformed it – the instrument of the
most diabolical form of execution – into God’s glorious mechanism for
forgiveness, freedom from sin and guilt, and the promise of eternal life.
An electric chair, a noose, and a syringe for transporting lethal poison will
always signify death. But through the sacrificial, atoning death of Jesus on
the cross, it now serves as a symbol of hope, standing for God’s incredible
love, grace and mercy.
Some Christian denominations continue to display the crucifix, which bears the image
of Jesus on the cross. But for most congregations, including ours, the cross is
shown as empty because we know Christ is no longer on the cross. And the tomb
in which His body was laid is empty. As the angel told the women who had gone
to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body, “He is not here; He has risen, just as He
said…” (Matthew 28:6).
I love the words of 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where,
O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the
law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
So, we commemorate Good Friday – knowing it’s good only because that was when Jesus
died in our place and paid the price we could not pay. And we celebrate Easter,
remembering the day He rose from the dead. Because of what took place on those
days nearly 2,000 years ago we can – and should – rejoice. Glory! Hallelujah!