When you’re driving down the highway, and you see a hearse, you think of death. When you see an ambulance, you think of an accident. When you pass by a hospital, you think of sick people. When you pass by a bank, you think of money. When you pass a school building, you think of education. But, what do you think of when you see a cross? And behind me is a cross. So, for the next few minutes I want to talk to you about what I think about when I see a cross.
First, I think of SIN, for if it had not been for sin, there would have never been a cross. Sin is the worst thing known to man. In Romans 3:23, Paul said, “We have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Any person that does not believe that sin carries with it individual and national calamity is as foolish as the person who could believe that a spider’s web could keep a huge boulder from rolling down a mountain side.
Sin is the most deceptive thing known to man. It promises happiness and gives sorrow. It promises hope and gives despair. It promises sleep and gives a nightmare. Sin is the worst thing known to man. Sin is as deceitful as a left-handed Ehud [see Judged, chapter 3] who would extend his right hand in fellowship and with a light left hand plunge a dagger through our stomach. Sin is as treacherous as Absalom [2 Samuel 13-19], who would do his obeisance and at the same time steal our hearts from God. Sin is as hypocritical as Judas Iscariot, who would betray us to death with a kiss. Sin is a vulture dressed up in the feathers of a peacock. If there had never been sin, there’d be no sickness, no sorrow, no heartaches, no disappointments in life. And so, when I see a cross, I realize what a horrible thing sin is.
Also, when I see a cross, I think of THE LOVE OF GOD. What a tremendous love God must have had for mortal man to send His Son to this earth to die for sinful man. In John 3:16, we’re told that “God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
Have you ever thought about the little word “so”? “God SO loved the world”? In this word, we have an ocean in a dew drop; a hemisphere of light in a solitary luminary. Let their surveyors bring their chains and survey the word “SO” for us. Let the architect draw a picture of the word “SO”. God SO loved man that He gave His Only Begotten Son.
And the apostle Paul said in Galatians 6:14, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” In 1 Corinthians 1, beginning with verse 18 [-21], Paul said, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” And it was the love of God that motivated the apostle Paul to make these statements.
I’ve read many love stories in my life, but I’ve never read anything comparable to the love that God had for sinful man. I read of a story years ago—a flood in the Deep South, where the husband and wife had climbed up into the attic; the water’s getting into the house; the water’s getting higher and higher. Finally, they knocked a hole in the roof and they were on top of the house. And a boat came by rescuing people. And the pilot of the boat said, “We only have room for one of you. We’ll take the wife and come back after the husband.” She took her husband’s hand and said, “I’ll stay with him until you can come back for both of us.” Of course, when the rescuers came back, the husband and wife had been swept into eternity. But I can understand a love like that. She, no doubt, thought about the sacrifices he’d made for his family, the things he’d denied himself that his family might have them. So, I can understand why she wanted to stay with him. That’s a love that I can understand. But the love that God had for man is beyond my comprehension. And so, when I see a cross, I think of that tremendous love that God had for man.
Also, when I see a cross, I think of the WORLD CRUCIFYING THE ONLY INNOCENT PERSON WHO EVER GRACED THIS EARTH, THE ONLY ONE WHO LIVED ABOVE SIN—and yet, the world crucified Him. What a quiet, unobtrusive life was this One they called “the carpenter’s son.” During His life on earth, He fought against sin, and with thrilling eloquence He called upon man to repent. While upon the earth, He endorsed everything that was right, everything that was good, everything that was holy. He condemned everything that was wrong, everything that was sinful, everything that was ugly—the greatest Person the world has ever known. He was so great, and is so great, that He split the centuries from BC to AD, and the heirs of those who condemned Him to die dated their letters, “In the Year of Our Lord.” He was, and is, so great that He revolutionized the whole world in three short years by giving it a new date, a new law and a new religion. He was, and is, so great that He’d revolutionized the whole world in three short years, proving to man, in His death, that there was life beyond the grave—the greatest Person the world has ever known. And they crucified Him. He was the only man who ever lived who could say to people on any occasion, “Which one of you convinces Me of sin?” in John 8, and verse 46. He resisted Satan in the wilderness for forty days. He preached and taught in the temple and in the synagogue. He ministered to the poor. He healed the sick. He cast out evil spirits. He walked on the waters. He raised the dead. He was goodness embodied, virtue exemplified and holiness incarnated. He was a Man without an equal—the highest type of humanity, and the world crucified Him.
He was so great that everything He did, every place He went, became a sacred spot. Even the little country where He lived is referred to, two thousand years since He lived on this earth, as “the Holy Land”—that place where they’ve been fighting for hundreds of years, continue to fight, and no doubt will continue on to fight, and yet that little war-torn country is called “the Holy Land.” Had you ever asked yourself the question, “Why would such a place like that be referred to as “the Holy Land” when they’ve been fighting war after war, hating each other, despising each other, killing each other, and yet, civilized people call it “the Holy Land”? Well, I can assure you one thing. It’s not because of the holy character of the people who live there; it’s not because of the fertility of its soil, or its natural scenery. But, it’s because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Savior of the world, once lived in that little country, and His influence was so great and so powerful that two thousand years later, civilized people still call it “the Holy Land.”
And when you visit that country, the conversation goes about like this as your tour guide is directing you: “It was in this house that He raised the dead. It was in these plains that He healed the lepers. It was at this well that He taught the woman the Truth about worship. It was on this hill where He stood and looked over the city of Jerusalem. It was in this stream that He was baptized. It was out of those heavens the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove.” Why do they talk like that? They’re talking about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Savior of the world, the One Who was crucified that you and I might live. And so, when I see a cross, I think of the world taking the only Perfect Man that ever graced this earth and crucifying Him.
Also, when I see a cross, I think of the SUFFERING OF JESUS CHRIST. In Isaiah, the 53rd chapter, beginning with verse 5 [-6], “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
When we see Jesus Christ in the upper room, it was here that He instituted the Lord’s Supper. He washed His disciples’ feet. He predicted the betrayal by even some of His Own disciples.
He took with Him Peter, James and John and went to the Garden of Gethsemane; and as He entered this garden, He said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” [Matthew 26:37]. Why so sorrowful? Because the aggregated sins of the unnumbered millions of the unborn, of the living and of the dead were piled upon His head and His heart that night. He’s about to suffer unto a justice that had been an insult and outrage [and] would declare that justice was satisfied. He’s about to satisfy the vengeance that had waited four thousand years for its original claim. He was about to go through a test on which the spiritual welfare of the whole world depended. So, it isn’t any wonder He cried and said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death.”
So, He said to Peter, James and John, “You men tarry here while I go yonder and pray.” And He went about a stone’s throw and fell upon His face and prayed, “…Father…let this cup pass…not My Will, but Thine be done.” Then, He prayed the second time—the same prayer, “Father, I pray that this cup may pass; not My Will, but Thine be done.”
Jesus Christ lived in an age when they put people to death by crucifixion. He knew what a horrible, terrible death it was. He had possibly seen people hanging on the cross. He had possibly seen birds pecking the flesh from their bones. It seems that He’s saying, “Father, isn’t there some other way?”
And while the Son of God was praying, the sounds of old Mount Moriah faded away that night among the tombs of the prophets. The moon would look coldly on as it sent forth its beams, and the dew drops wept in His flowing locks. And He prayed the third time, “Father, let this cup pass; not My Will, but Thine be done.”
And then he hears the tramp of marshal feet, and they come to arrest Him as if He were some criminal. They took Him that night and led Him from one mock trial to another. They took Him first to Annas, then to Caiaphas, then to Pilate, then to Herod, and then back to Pilate. In every mock trial, they were ridiculing Him. And even in all the persecution heaped upon Him that night, He never retaliated.
No doubt, some rebel shouted and said, “If He’s a king, we need to reach out our hands to Him.” So, they took their filthy, grimy hands and beat the Son of God in the face that night. Another rebel shouts, “If He’s a king, we need to honor Him with our mouth.” So, they spit their filthy spittle in His face, and He never retaliated. And He could have called ten thousand angels, if He so desired, and killed all those Jews, and there would have been tombstones all over the hills and the valleys of Judea. But then, you and I would have been lost.
Another rebel shouts, “If He’s a king, He needs some kind of an insignia.” So, they tied His hands to a ring suspended to that side of the ceiling, and they beat Him across His back until His shoulder blades looked like white caps in a sea of blood. And He never retaliated.
This was one of the most terrible nights the world has ever known. Many things took place that night. The responsibility fell upon Pilate to make the decision. Pilate had received a note from his wife that he should have nothing to do with that just man. [She had written] “I have suffered many things in a dream because of Him.”
But that had no bearing upon that mob. Another one shouted and said, “He’s a king. He needs some kind of a crown.” So, they plaited a crown of thorns and put that on His tender brow. They even stripped Him of His clothes that night, and they put a mock robe around His body and a mock reed in His hand.
Pilate, I think, wanted to release Him. In fact, I know he did. He said to the audience, “I’ve examined this man. I find no fault in Him.” They shouted back, “Crucify Him.” Pilate had asked, “What evil has He done?” Their reply was, “Crucify Him.” And then, Pilate explained to them, “We have here a known murderer—Barabbas. You want one released to you. We will release Barabbas to you. He’s a murderer. We know he is—possibly admitted that he was.” They shouted back, “Crucify Him. Let His blood be upon us and upon our children. Away with Him.” And all night long they mocked Him.
The next morning they marched Him to Golgotha. As the custom was in that age, He was compelled to carry His Own cross. But He was so physically and emotionally exhausted until He fell under the weight of that cross. Simon of Cyrene was there, and he was compelled to help Him carry His cross.
And they reached Golgotha. And when they did, they nailed His body to the cross, then picked the cross up and dropped it in the hole that had been prepared for it. And when they did that, they picked the whole world up that day and dropped it into the hole. And He was left there to hang and to die.
And that scene was so terrible that at high noon God sent a blanket of darkness over the face of the earth. And in the midst of that darkness, among the things that Christ uttered was, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” It seemed that Jesus was saying, “My last earthly friend has forsaken Me. This I understand. The last angel flew away at the advance of the Roman guard. This I understand. Rome and all hell are against Me. This I understand. But, O My God, My only hope, My only stay, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” But Jesus Christ had taken upon Himself the Word of redemption, and He must satisfy the sword of justice. So, He was left there to hang and to die.
About three hours later, in the middle of the afternoon, the darkness disappeared. And if you’d had the courage to go to the foot of the cross and look up into the face of Jesus, you would have observed that a terrific change had taken place. Now, His eyes are glassy; His lips are parched; His face is livid. And no doubt, you would have just stared until you cried out, “O my Father, my Father, He’s dying. The Price of Peace, the Son of God, the Savior of mankind—He’s dying. The cup of anguish is almost full; it’s filling rapidly. Hear Jerusalem. Hear you tombs. Hear you prophets. Hear you angels, and as you shade the darkness with weeping wings, announce to the world that the Son of God is dying, that the old earth may put on weeds of mourning, and like Rachel of old, go down to the judgment weeping for her children.”
And then, the Son of God took that last stone—that cornerstone hewn out of the diamond rocks of heaven, stained with His Own blood, laid it upon the last and the highest corner and bowed His head and said, “It is finished.” And when He uttered those words, “It is finished,” the old earth quaked, mountains bowed, continents reeled, Mount Hermon shook her frosty top that day, the cedars of Lebanon groaned, the mighty oak trees of Bashan trembled, and the limestone arches in Machpelah’s cave flipped and threatened to crush to finer dust the bones of Abraham because the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Savior of the world had just died.
And those words, “It is finished,” were sung among the trees, sounded in the caves, thundered in the hurricanes, until every foaming surge of the sea was singing, “It is finished. It is finished.” Those words were sung on every slanted hill and every mountain peak in heaven. The angels were singing, “It is finished.” And thank God it was finished there that day, that you and I might render obedience to the Gospel and become children of God. So, when I see a cross, I think how One suffered that I might have my sins remitted.
And then in the conclusion, when I see a cross, I think of the RESURRECTON; for if Jesus Christ had not come forth from that grave, you and I would have been lost forever. And as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If in this life only we have hope, we are of all men most miserable.” And in 1 Corinthians 15:42 [-44], Paul said, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”
And we must realize that in every step along life’s pathway, death is constantly yawning at our heels. But Jesus Christ is our ??? representative. His body was taken down from the cross—a bloody corpse—and carried away to the grave. And on that day, hell shouted for joy; death waved her black banners in triumph; sighs ran along the bones of the patriarchs and a wail of woe was heard in the sepulchers of the dead. And if Jesus Christ had not come forth from the dead, then that grave would retain your body and my body forever and forever. There would be no anticipated tomorrow where the rainbow of hope would burst in upon the grave and wake the eternal slumber of the sleepers.
But this is not a true picture of death. It’s not a true picture, because Jesus Christ met death in death’s own territory. He permitted Himself to be captured that He might lead captivity captive. He went with the keeper [?] of death in the silent darkness of the grave, and while there He broke his crown, took his keys, chained the monster of death to His chariot wheels, rode aloft to heaven and shouted as He went through the air, “I have the keys of death and of the grave in My hands!”
For instance, can you feature an elderly person dying, lifting his cold hand and pointing his chilled finger to the landscape skirting his home and saying, “Farewell. It’s farewell forever”? Or, saying to those who are standing around his bedside, who are fast receding from his presence, “Farewell. It’s farewell forever”? Or to take the hand of this one, who has walked by his side from vigorous youth until both are old and gray, and saying in his last breath, “Farewell. It’s farewell forever”? No. That’s not a true picture of death. The very fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead only proves that you and I will also come forth from the grave.
If there is no resurrection, then Christianity is not adapted to our means. Think, maybe, this very night in Iraq, where some child of Satan has wired himself up with some explosive, killing himself and killing hundreds of innocent people. Feature some young widow, rushing with disheveled tresses among the mutilated dead, looking for her husband. Tell her, “There is no resurrection,” and you’ve saddened her life. Tell the sister who looks in the pale face of her brother, “There is no resurrection,” and you’ve broken her heart. Tell that to the mother who baptized her son with blessings and watched him go up to the bloody front where he died and was buried uncoffined, without a marker over his grave or a vine to grow over his grave or a stone to set at the head of his grave. When you tell the widows, the mothers, the sisters, the parents of the world, “There is no resurrection,” there would be a universal shriek that would rend the air and crack the vault of heaven until the angels would weep and God would hear, because there will be a resurrection of the body from the grave.
Someone may ask, “How can God raise a body that has been dead for years?” Maybe [that person] lost a limb in one country and another limb in another country, and the mighty ocean is rolling in between, and then God raised [that person] from the dead? How can God do that? Philosophers have asked that question for years. Scientists have asked that question. Sometimes, Christians ask that question. But I say to you that God will raise the dead by the same power He used when He created the heavens and the earth in the beginning! God will use that same power He used when He took a handful of dirt and made man. God will use that same power He used when He caused Adam to go into a deep sleep and took from his side a rib and made for him a helpmate. God will use that same power He used when he carpeted heaven’s creation with emeralds, covered it with a beautiful blue, and set millions of gems in the sky. God will use that same power He used when He confounded chaos with order, and laid the foundation of the earth upon nothing—that power of God that can shiver granite, rupture strata, overturn mountains and heave up valleys—that’s the power that’s pledged to raise my body from the grave. And, when I see a cross, I think of that glorious day when my body will come forth from those walls of death.
And on that resurrection day—and it’s coming just as surely as we’re here this night—and on that day, the old sun will drag along the heavens and will refuse to shine; the moon will roll up in the heavens red as blood and hang her crimson face upon the wings of the night; all the stars will hide their face; that mighty angel of God, clothed in a cloud, a rainbow of hope around his shoulders, will cleave the heavens, putting one foot upon the trouble sea, the other upon the quaking earth; he’ll lift that hand toward heaven and swear by the Judge of the quick and the dead that time is no longer. And it’s on that day that the antiquated dead will come from the ashy urns and funeral pyres, and pyramids of granite and vaults of marble will be rent in twain, to let the living come forth. It’s on that resurrection day that mummies will stream from their vaulted chambers. It’s on that day that the wanderer will rise from the winding sheaves of sand and come forth from the face of the burning deserts. And on that resurrection day, no doubt, Indian maidens will leap from our streets, and Indian chiefs will be led forth to justice. And on that resurrection day, Abraham will come forth from the cave of Machpelah; Moses will come forth from the unmarked grave, which is in a valley in the land of Moab; David, the sweet singer of Israel, will come forth; and it’s on that day that you and I will come forth from the grave to stand before God to be judged by the things that are written.
And I ask you this night, are you prepared for that resurrection day? It’s coming. It’s going to be just as real as this service is tonight. You’re going to be there, and the Bible clearly teaches that an accountable being must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it’s impossible to please God.” Luke 3:5 says that one must repent of his sins. Romans 10:9 and 10 says that one must confess his faith in Christ. And in Acts 2:38, it says that one is to be baptized in order to have his sins forgiven. Galatians 3:27 says that one must be baptized into Christ. Romans 6:4 says that one is buried with his Lord in baptism, then lives a faithful, dedicated life. And just as this meeting will be coming to a close in just a few hours, as far as eternity is concerned, our lives will be coming to an end in just a few minutes compared to eternity, or a few seconds.
And I ask you, before we sing the invitation this night, what do you think about when you see a cross? Are you ready for that Judgment Day? Are your books balanced? Are you ready? If you’re subject to the invitation, we invite you to come while together we stand, and while we sing.