The Symbol Of The Cross
Pastor Leslie Chua
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ”
A week ago, we celebrated Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. The focus of the holy week is on the Person of Jesus Christ and the Cross. Rightly so. The Christian faith is most accurately summed up as ‘the faith of Christ crucified.’
I was glad that we sang the hymn, ‘The Old Rugged Cross.’ As in most hymns, the lyrics are meaningful, aptly expressing the significance of the Cross and what it means to faithful followers of Christ.
The hymn describes the cross as ‘the emblem of suffering and shame’ and ‘where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.’
Another stanza proclaims the thoughtful response of Christians in the last two millennia who have counted the cost and followed Christ in steadfast faith.
‘To the old rugged cross I will ever be true
It's shame and reproach gladly bear
Then he'll call me some day to my home far away
Where his glory forever I'll share’
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The Christian faith is most accurately summed up as ‘the faith of Christ crucified.’
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Every religion has its symbol, which serves as a visual representation of its core beliefs and unique history.
The lotus flower is associated with Buddhism. It is a symbol of peace and harmony. The wheel-shaped structure of the lotus flower depicts the Buddhist idea of the cycle of life and death.
Islam uses the crescent moon as its symbol.
While ancient Jews shunned symbols for fear of infringing on the second of the Ten Commandments, modern Judaism uses the Star of David as its emblem. It points to the expectation of the coming of their Messiah, the Son of David, who will rule over Israel and the kingdoms of this world in the future.
Christianity is no different. The cross is the universal symbol of the Christian faith. It points to Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. The centrality of the cross in the four Gospels and New Testament Scriptures is hard to miss.
But it did not start that way. The cross was not the first symbol to be adopted by the early believers for reasons that are obscured to contemporary Christians.
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The cross is the universal symbol of the Christian faith. It points to Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. The centrality of the cross in the four Gospels and New Testament Scriptures is hard to miss.
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The cross was shunned because it was associated with criminals and shame. The Romans punished the worst criminals with crucifixion. Thus, to die from crucifixion was utterly shameful. To the Jews, it was a sign that the person was under God’s curse (Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Galatians 3:13).
At first, various other motifs were used. These motifs were found painted on the ceilings and walls of catacombs where Christians hid and gathered to worship. An example is the peacock, which symbolises immortality. Another commonly-used motif is the dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit until today.
Perhaps the most popular symbol is the drawing of a fish,It consists of two intersecting arcs, the end of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish.
Fish in Koine Greek (common Greek) is ichthys. Ichthys is the acronym for Iēsoûs Khrīstós Theoû Huiós, Sōtḗr, which translates into English as ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.’
Another popular sign is the Chi-Rho cryptogram. It is formed by the intersection of the first two letters of the Greek word, Christos, which means Christ.
While all these symbols conveyed a certain significant aspect of the Christian faith, the early believers wanted something more, which would depict the essence of their faith more comprehensively.
So, from sometime in the second century onward, Christians began to use the cross as a pictorial symbol of their faith. They drew, painted, and engraved the motif of the cross.
They also made the sign of the cross on themselves and others. The idea was to identify and sanctify every act as belonging to Christ. There is nothing superstitious about it as some modern Christians might think.
The adoption of the cross as the symbol of the Christian faith was given further impetus when Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. He was the first Roman emperor to embrace Christianity.
Constantine claimed to see the sign of the cross in the sky on the eve of the Battle of Milvian Bridge. Together with the cross were the words. hoc signo vinces’ (conquer by this sign). Immediately, he adopted the cross as his emblem and emblazoned it on the flags of his army.
That is a bit of history on how the cross came to become the universal symbol of Christianity. Not many Christians know about it, but it is good to know.
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Considering the primary emphases of the New Testament Scriptures, the cross is indisputably the most fitting symbol of Christianity.
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Despite the horrors associated with the cross – brutality, shame, curse, and death - the early Christians finally chose the cross to be their symbol of faith.
I believe that God had a hand in the decision, very much like how the sixty-six books were ultimately chosen as the canon of the Bible. Considering the primary emphases of the New Testament Scriptures, the cross is indisputably the most fitting symbol of Christianity.
I offer two reasons.
The Paradox of the Christian Faith
First, the cross reflects the paradox of the Christian faith.
While death is ugly, God chose it as the means to bring about eternal life. Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).
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The cross reflects the paradox of the Christian faith.
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Then, Jesus continued: “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me” (John 12:25-26).
The principle of dying also applies to us. We must die to self. We must not love ourselves and our lives so much as to pay excessive attention to it at the expense of eternal things. The Christian life must be lived in total surrender to God and sacrificially. Then, we will flourish both here in this world and in the one to come.
The apostle, Paul, discovered the paradoxical truth of living victoriously in the power of Christ. I am referring to the often-quoted passage – “But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong”(2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
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In weakness, we find strength in Christ. That is the paradox of victorious Christian living.
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It is a simple truth, but not easy to grasp and live by it. Often, we quote this verse when we come to the end of ourselves and we have exhausted all our means. We do not know what to do anymore except to put our trust in Jesus. That is when He comes through for us.
In weakness, we find strength in Christ. That is the paradox of victorious Christian living.
Paul also recognized the paradox of the message of the cross – “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Paul is right in that the gospel does not make complete sense. If you take a purely intellectual approach to the message of the cross, you are unlikely to believe in it and put your faith in Jesus. That is why many intelligent people do not believe Jesus. Saving faith is the work of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit convicts and convinces to bring a person into faith.
The Crucified Life
I cited the hymn, ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ earlier. It captures the essence of the cross. It speaks of both the works of Christ on the cross and our appropriate response to it.
We must be ‘true’ to the cross, to what it represents. We must gladly bear its ‘shame and reproach.’ If that is our attitude, we will ‘share’ His ‘glory’ in eternity.
Too often, contemporary Christians focus only on the grace of God and forget Jesus’ message of the cross to His disciples. Consider these familiar but often forgotten words.
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Simply put, there are two prerequisites to following Christ. First, we must deny ourselves. Second, we must take up our cross.
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Matthew 16:24-26 (NIV) - Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Simply put, there are two prerequisites to following Christ. First, we must deny ourselves. Second, we must take up our cross.
Denying ourselves means acknowledging that we do not sit on the throne of our life anymore. Jesus is our Lord, and therefore, we yield complete control of our life to Him. We surrender ourselves totally to His will. He is sovereign over our lives.
Often, we come across the word, servant, in the New Testament Scriptures. Most of the time, it should be translated as slave instead of servant.
As slaves, we have no rights. We are totally submitted to Jesus’ lordship. We do His will and serve at His pleasure.
That is what denying ourselves means.
To take up the cross means to embrace the full meaning of the cross as it applied to Jesus. It means surrender. It means a willingness to die to self. It also means to be willing to suffer with Christ, which is a recurring theme in the New Testament.
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Christians are called to live the crucified life. If we are yoked to Christ, carrying our cross is not an option. The cross is not just a symbol of Christianity. It is the Christian way of life.
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Listen to what Paul said: “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:16-17 NIV).
Read the last sentence again – “if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory”
Christians are called to live the crucified life. if we are yoked to Christ, carrying our cross is not an option. The cross is not just a symbol of Christianity. It is the Christian way of life.