"Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."This morning I was listening to Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin singing "The Wonderful Cross" and I am reminded of the Apostle Paul's words to the believers in the early church in Corinth that he, Paul, resolved to know nothing while he was among them, but Christ and Him crucified. I started to think of the imagery his statement must have brought to mind for these saints who lived only a few decades after our Savior's death on the cross. We live so far removed from that time and place.
You may know that crucifixion was invented by the Greeks and 'perfected' by the Romans. The historian Josephus says that about the time Jesus died, there were over 900 crucifixions in Jerusalem that year alone. That is about three crucifixions each day. Wherever the Roman empire ruled, crucifixions happened.
Crucifixion was such a graphic, visual picture to these people of the most obscene, cruel and horrific execution known to man. It was a symbol of man's utter depravity that he could even conceive of inventing something so utterly crushing to use on his fellow man. And yet this is what our precious Savior chose as His message - The Cross "...foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1Cor.1:18)
Today we cherish the symbol of the cross; we wear it, it adorns our walls, and we treasure it as a symbol of His great love for us. But did you know that until about the 4th century there was no depiction of the Cross in art? It is believed that perhaps the awful image of what crucifixion actually involved was too close a memory for the Church. It was ugly.
Today we celebrate the Cross, as we should. But in celebrating the work Jesus accomplished for us on that Cross, don't miss the awful cost of a love so amazing, so divine. It is said that, in heaven, the only man-made things are scars and nail prints.
Jesus Christ - crucified, died and buried. And risen on the 3rd day. Hallelujah!
