E08 1945 © Project Winsome International, 1999

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Jn.19:14-19

The cross of Christ is the central point in history. The three great focal points in time are the creation, the crucifixion and the coming again of our Redeemer. The central one of these, the crucifixion, forms the darkest blot upon the pages of human history. For the cross of Christ is not only the culmination of the revelation of the love of God for man, it is also the culmination of the revelation of the hatred of man for God.

We speak so lightly of the cross today and have become so accustomed to hearing about it, we fail sometimes to recognize the reality of it. Often we actually lose sight of its real meaning.

The cross is not only central in human history, but it is also central in divine history. The heart of Christianity is the Bible. The heart of the Bible is the cross of Christ. And, at the heart of the cross of Christ you have the very heart of God himself. Yes, not only is the cross central in human history, it is also central in God's great plan for the redemption of mankind. As someone has said, "The cross stands between two eternities and it alone explains them both. The cross stands between heaven and hell, and it alone explains them both. The cross stands between heaven and earth, and it alone explains them both. The cross stands between the Old and the New Testament, and it alone explains them both. The cross stands between the incarnation and the resurrection of Jesus, and it alone explains them both. The cross stands between the glory which Christ had from the beginning, and the glory to which he returned, and it alone explains them both. The cross stands between sin, sorrow, and death and salvation, joy and life, and it alone explains them all."

There is no continent, no climate, no country where the cross of Christ has not been raised up before the dying eyes of judgment-bound men and women. In a thousand and more languages its message has been translated and preached. People of every color, condition and circumstance have heard and heeded it to find peace in their souls, and a satisfying sense of security that banishes the fear of life, of death and the grave.

The cross of Christ has changed the course of history. It has swayed and colored the thinking of men. It has emancipated women and ennobled children. It has snapped the shackles of sin which ensnared the souls of men, and has saved them from the bondage of sorrow and shame which has held them in their sway. And, in the wake of this glorious Gospel of the cross of Christ has come joy and peace, happiness and hope, love and light, glory and grace, beauty and blessedness, liberty and everlasting life. Oh,

"In the cross of Christ I glory

Towering o'er the wrecks of time.

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime."

IN THE LIFE OF THE SAVIOR

First of all, the sign of the cross in the life of our savior meant Sacrifice.

Sacrificing his home in glory.

The cross meant the forsaking of fellowship with the hosts of angels. The turning away from life in the heavenlies with all of the glory which that entailed. The sacrificing of peace and plenty. The forsaking of his heavenly throne, his kingly crown and his royal robe.

We know so little of what heaven holds, but of this one thing we can be sure, it is far beyond our wildest dreams! The streets of gold, the jasper walls, the gates of pearl, the eternal mansions are but the beginning of its glory. Christ left all of these, and vast multitudes of wonders more glorious than all of the adjectives and superlatives in the combined vocabularies of the world can describe, he left them all for the dismal darkness, doom and distress of the cross. Yes, Christ sacrificed his home in glory. But, more than that, the sign of the cross in the life of the Savior meant --

Sacrificing the love and fellowship of his father.

As Christ was dying on the cross there came over the earth a mysterious darkness and a hushed awe. The sun's light failed. It seemed for a time as if the world had been left to drift like a ship at sea without a rudder. The very light of heaven was mantled into jet midnight at noonday. And, out of the pall of dismal darkness which enveloped the earth, there came a wild and melancholy cry. A cry of agony wrung from a breaking heart, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Here truly is the heartcry of the centuries. Here we see the intensity of the suffering and the greatness of the sacrifice Jesus made upon the cross. In his lifetime he was forsaken by men. Many followers who would have made him king, melted away. Jesus was left at last with a handful of people who eventually forsake him and fled.

The members of his own household turned away from him, as did his fellow citizens of Nazareth. At last, even his disciples forsook him, and one of them betrayed him. But before, when despised and rejected of men, he had always had God, his Father, to turn to. But now this last resource was gone. Even God had forsaken him.

For as Christ hung upon the cross, the sin of the world was heaped upon him. Reaching out its deadly ghoulish hand, sin touched that innocent soul. And, in the horror of that hour when Christ was tasting of death for every man and Divine Justice was being satisfied, God was forced to turn his back upon his own Son.

Oh, the anguish of bitter loneliness Jesus experienced there on the cross. That moment separation from God when his Father's favor was eclipsed, was harder to bear than all the pain and hatred inflicted by people. Indeed, the sign of the cross in the life of the Savior meant sacrifice. Then, too, it meant --

Suffering.

In this modern age there are many who would minimize this phase of the cross. But they forget that with "his stripes (alone) we are healed." The cross was the one payment of our debt God would accept. It was the sacrifice upon which our eternal life depended. If Jesus had not gone to the cross and sacrificed in our stead, the just for the unjust, there would not be a spark of hope for any of us. There would still remain a mighty gulf between us and God which no one could ever cross.

Sometimes people forget that Christ's sufferings were endured voluntarily. He was under no compulsion. By choice he went to the cross to finish the work he had come to do. He could easily have summoned ten thousand angels with a single word, and scattered Herod and Pilate and their puny armies like chaff before the wind. But no! Jesus was a willing sufferer. His heart was set on the salvation of sinners. He was resolved to open a fountain of cleansing from all sin by the shedding of his own precious blood.

When I think of all this, I see nothing repulsive or disagreeable in the suffering of Christ on the cross. Instead, I see in it wisdom and power, peace and hope, joy and gladness, comfort and consolation.

"When I surveyed the wondrous cross

On which the prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss

And pour contempt on all my pride.

See from his head, his hands, his feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down.

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine

That were a present far too small.

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all."

This leads us to our second point. The sign of the cross

IN THE LIFE OF THE SAINT.

"Must Jesus bear the cross alone

And all the world go free?

No! There's a cross for everyone,

And there's a cross for me."

The sign of the cross in the life of the saint means much the same as it did in the life of the Savior, and first of all, that means --

Sacrifice.

A young girl who was profoundly impressed by an older woman whose face literally glowed with the radiance of her Christian testimony said, "I'd give the world for you Christian experience."

"That's exactly what it cost me," answered the woman. "I gave the world for it."

It's one thing to believe in a crucified Christ, it's another thing altogether to live the crucified life. As Christians, we are told to reckon ourselves dead to sin but alive to God, and then to walk in newness of life. Saint Paul wrote, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not as I, but Christ living in me."

As Christians we are to be so identified with Christ in his death and resurrection we can sing on our homeward journey,

"Dying with Jesus, by death reckoned mine

Living with Jesus, a new life divine.

Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine

Moment by moment, O Lord, I am thine."

Are you dead to sin? Are you dead to self? Are you dead to the world? Is the world dead to you? As a Christian, do you see yourself nailed with Jesus to the cross in sacrifice? Then, too, the sign of the cross in the life of the saint means --

Suffering.

It was not to the first disciples alone that Jesus said, "In this world you shall have tribulation."

Nor was it only to the early believers that Paul wrote, "We must, through tribulation ,enter into the kingdom of God."

Suffering is the badge of sonship. It is a symbol of our kinship with Christ for, "We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together."

The words spoken by our Lord when he was upon earth should not be forgotten- "The son of man must suffer many things, be rejected of elders and chief priests and scribes and be slain and be raised again the third day." And he said to them all, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me."

With his example and warning before us, we should not be surprised at the presence of suffering in our lives. Nor should we even desire to be free from it while here on earth. As born-again children of God we are to be so thoroughly identified with him that what he is, we are. And what he has, we have.

He represented us on the cross. It is only fitting that we should represent him on earth. If that means drinking from his cup and tasting the bitterness of his anguish, so be it. All the waves and the billows of God's hatred of sin broke over his head. We should not complain if some of the spray falls upon our feet! Rather, we should rejoice in the fact that we are partakers of Christ's suffering.

There is another part of this suffering which we must not dismiss too lightly. It is the suffering we are sometimes forced to endure because of our own mistakes and misjudgments. Often, as we hurriedly go our own way, we forget about God. We begin associating with the godless gang and the Christless click, and God has to put out his hand and say, "Better watch out child of mine, that's thin ice you're skating on!"

Sometimes he wants to teach us a lesson now, which will save us some heartaches and heartbreaks later on. Sometimes he gives us a call to greater service and we say, "No!" So God, lets us go our own way until we hit bottom and are ready to do his will. I don't believe God enjoys watching us get ourselves into trouble, but I do believe that, with divine wisdom, he knows best. And by allowing his children to be disciplined, he is able to warn them of hidden pitfalls and draw them closer to himself. Yes, the sign of the cross in the life of the saint means suffering. Most important of all, it means --

Service.

It's here that the sacrifice and suffering in the life of the saints are most clearly seen. For while it is a service of love and liberty, at times it also is a service of reproach and shame and tribulation. It is then that we must take up our cross and, in so doing, put on the badge of true discipleship. The cost in terms of sacrifice and suffering may be great. But take courage and say with Paul,

"I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me."

Perhaps, when you heard God's call to service, you cried out as I did at one point in my life:

"Oh God, is there no other way

Except through sorrow, pain and loss.

To stamp Christ's likeness on my soul,

No other way except the cross?

And then a voice stilled all my soul,

As stilled the waves on Galilee.

Canst thou not bear the furnace heat

If 'mid the flames I walk with thee?

I bore the cross, I know its weight.

I drank the cup I hold for thee.

Cans't thou not follow where I lead?

I'll give thee strength, here, lean thou on me."

Oh beloved, if God is calling you into service for him, weigh carefully the cost. But, as you do, remember there is One who has gone before you. One who has borne far greater sacrifice and suffering than you or I will ever bear. And, out of the turmoil of your soul, he will bring you perfect peace as you hear him say,

"Fear thou not, for I'll be with thee

I will still thy pilot light be.

Never mind the tossing billows,

Take my hand, and trust in me."

Then, finally, the sign of the cross

IN THE LIFE OF THE SINNER.

What message does the cross bring to the unbeliever? In the first place, it emphasizes --

The Certainty of His Sin.

The cross shows sin was no mere trifle God could overlook. That the curse was no mere threat God could ignore when it suited him. That the standard of sin was no sliding scale which God could raise or lower as he saw fit. Rather, the cross proved sin to be a fixed and certain thing God condemns in all of its foulness and infamy. The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death," and "the soul that sinneth, it shall die."

The cross is, as it were, a searchlight in the hands of the Holy Spirit to probe deep into our souls. To expose the innermost recesses of our being. To uncover the hidden corners of our lives. Too often we engage in the foolish practice of comparing ourselves to others, and figure we're safe because we are not so bad as other folks we know.

But hear me tonight, the cross is the measuring rod! The cross is the balancing scale. The cross is the yardstick. The cross is the mirror of God. And in it, all of our heinous sin is clearly seen. The cross is the witness we must face and answer in the judgment. But, thank God, it doesn't stop there. The sign of the cross in the life of the sinner also means --

Salvation.

Out of the bleakness of Calvary came the sunlight of salvation. Out of the worlds darkest midnight came the world's brightest hope. It seems to me that, in the cross, God Almighty leans down from his heaven and stretching out his everlasting arms to encircle this disobedient, dissipated, distressed, disheartened, discouraged, diseased and degraded world, he presses it to his breast he cries out, "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you! I've given you my Son, my only begotten Son, to bear your sins in his body on the tree. I've plumbed the depth of my possessions and powers to provide a way of escape for you. Will you take it? Will you be washed in the crimson tide which flows from Calvary? Will you accept my son as your Savior? Will you come to him, and through him to me, tonight? Will you love him? Will you serve him? He has so sacrificially loved and served you. Will you confess him as your personal Savior now -- right now -- and be saved from sin, ransomed from ruin and delivered from death?"

Oh, sinner, hear me tonight! The way of the cross leads home. It has always led home. It will always lead home. There's no other way. God's one and only offer of salvation is written across the expanse of the heavens in Christ's heartache and heartbreak, in Christ's sorrow and shame.

Tonight the Holy Spirit is pressing your heart, your mind and your soul with this offer of salvation. Will you claim it? Will you accept it? Will you step out upon it? If you do, God has promised a sufficiency of joy and peace and plenty and blessedness and comfort and consolation and life beyond compare. God will not break his promise. God cannot break his promise. For it is sealed in the blood of his only begotten Son.

Receive this salvation through the cross of Christ and join with the saints of eternity in singing,

"My sin, oh the bliss of that glorious thought,

my sin, not in part, but the whole,

is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul."

By the love of God, by the plea of the Holy Spirit, by the sight of heaven and by the depth of hell, I beseech you. Come. Come to the cross. Come to the Christ. Come to the blood. Come to this great salvation and claim it for your own -- right now!

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