The dark symbol of Christianity

When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Luke 23:33

Nothing symbolizes Christianity as does the cross. When the cross is removed from the faith, there is nothing that deals with the fundamental issue of sin and its consequences. How radical it is that the equivalent of a guillotine, a gallows or a sword should be so important to the Christian faith.

Just what is the cross about and how did it become so important in the story of redemption? The Romans crucified Jesus Christ at the instigation of the Jewish leaders, yet the Romans didn’t invent crucifixion. The earliest historical record of crucifixion reveals that the Assyrians, noted for their cruelty, started the hideous practice in the seventh century BC.

Following the Assyrians, the Persians king Darius I crucified 3,000 political opponents in Babylon in the year 519 BC. The Greeks then overthrew Persia and adopted the same method of execution.

By the end of the first century BC the Romans had adopted curcifixion as the official punishment for non-Romans. The Romans knew that public exeuctions made a powerful visual statement against lawlessness.

Archaeology and history tell us the victim was either impaled or nailed to a pole in the ground, or tied to a cross-piece that was raised to an appropriate height. Other archaeological finds tell that nails or spikes were driven through the wrists and the feet of the victim.

Jesus suffered an excruciating death on the cross so that you might find lief everlasting. He invites you to enter the fellowship of His suffering. There you will find His comfort, peace, and the resurrection power that lies beyond the cross.