THE UNTHINKABLE CROSS

THE UNTHINKABLE CROSS

“The stumbling-block of the Cross….”

Gal. 5:11

It was something so utterly and absolutely unheard of that religion should be centered on a Cross; and whether to the Jew, the Roman, or the Greek, the Cross was a stumbling-block, a scandal, an offense, something utterly and absolutely objectionable. To the Jew the Cross meant disgrace, for it had been associated with the breaking of law, and its penalty: "He that hangs is accursed of God." (Deut. 21:23) To a Roman mind the Cross was an indication of defeat, and there was no crime in a Roman mind equal to the crime of defeat. To win was everything. To lose was disgrace, and the proud upper-class Roman mind, looking upon Jesus crucified, held Him in highest contempt because He was beaten. And to the Greek the Cross was the highest degradation. To the Greek who stood for the perfecting of individualism, for the ideal man, in form and feature and fashion—for every man aimed at perfection—for a man to be nailed to a Cross, and to be mauled in his death, was disgusting. To preach the Cross to the Jew was to preach the instrument with which the lawbreaker was punished. To preach the Cross to the Roman was to preach to a victorious people the instrument of defeat. To preach the Cross to the Greek was to preach to people who were seeking for perfect individual culture, the most disagreeable and disgusting method of death and failure. A stigma was attached to the religion of Jesus because at its very heart and center stood this Cross.

Let us consider the question of human government, how many of us believe in God because of human government? There is not a government in the world at this hour that believes in God absolutely and utterly. There is not a government in the world at this hour that will not weaken in loyalty to righteousness at some point of policy. Our government has no attraction to truth and morality is far from its borders. Lawlessness prevails at this point. There are court appointed investigations arising at every corner. Where is the government that believes in God first and last? Do not let us waste time in discussing governments. How about ourselves? How far do we believe in God? How many business enterprises do we enter upon, purely upon the basis of profit and loss? Lust and desire is at the very heart of American commercialism. My brethren, vested interests are still enthroned, and we will have it so. Men are still enslaved; waste and want abound on every hand. I need not stay with its description. What I want to say is this, that everything that Jesus stood for, and everything that the Cross really means as to deep underlying principle, is as unpopular today as when Jesus was crucified. The age is not Christianized. Thank God, there are Christian people in the age, and, thank God, their influence has forced men to certain Christly acts in the age. But the thinking of the age, the planning of the age, the policy of the age are not Christian, and the scandal of the Cross has not ceased. This living Christ of God, dying on the Cross, is as much crucified in our midst today as He was of old. But the working out of a principle into human observation upon the green hill far away did not exhaust the principle, and the principle obtains at this moment.

He told us to pick up our Cross and how many are willing to consider what He meant by stating that need? (Matt. 16:24) “…take up his cross, and follow Me.”