Jesus Christ died on a rugged cross for our salvation. We do not worship that cross; we worship Christ, who is alive. Yet among all the emblems of the world, the cross is admired with awe and wonder. The history of the cross goes back long before Christ came. But it was the Romans who used it on a massive scale to execute people.
The victim was fastened to the cross by cords, or his hands were nailed, and he was left to die. Even with the heat of the sun, the pull of the body and the torture the victim had endured before being put on the cross, sometimes it took a week to die on a cross. It was one of the most terrible, painful ways to die.
The victim was fastened to the cross by cords, or his hands were nailed, and he was left to die. Even with the heat of the sun, the pull of the body and the torture the victim had endured before being put on the cross, sometimes it took a week to die on a cross. It was one of the most terrible, painful ways to die.
God loves us all. His love extends ... to the whole world
But Christians started to use the cross as a symbol of Christianity. And every time the Gospel is proclaimed, those who hear the message and receive Christ as Savior come to faith by way of the cross. Four dimensions of the cross come to my mind.
First, I think about the breadth of the cross. The love of Christ is manifested in the cross to everyone. When I study the world population and see how fast it is increasing, I am staggered.
Yet God loves us all. His love extends to Africa, to Asia, to America, to Russia, to China, to the whole world. It includes you, whoever you are, whatever your religion, even if you have no religion. God says from the cross, “I love you.
”Then there is the length of the cross. It has no measure. It extends from eternity to eternity, from everlasting to everlasting. When Noah built the Ark, it was 450 feet long. When Solomon built the Temple, it was 60 cubits long. If you build a shed for garden tools, you can measure the lumber with a tape measure. But how can you measure God’s love for us on the cross?
The Bible says that God’s love surpasses knowledge
The Bible says that God’s love surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:19). There is no way that our finite minds can even begin to understand the love God had for us when He gave His Son on the cross to die for us, because you and I deserve death. We deserve judgment and hell.
Then I think of the height of the cross—it extends to the throne of God. It doesn’t matter how high heaven is. Through the cross, God draws all people to Himself. But you have to make a decision about Jesus Christ.
And I think about the depth of God’s love for us on the cross. You can fall into the pit of sin and degradation. You can live like an animal. You can be a murderer, a rapist. But you can’t get beyond the love of God.
The cross covers to the very gates of hell. How deep is God’s love? The Bible says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33). It can draw every sinner up to the exalted height of heaven. Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). Think of the cross for a moment.
Think of Christ’s suffering for you and for me. It’s said that Jesus endured five kinds of wounds:
Concussion, when they beat Him on the head; laceration, when they bared His back, took long leather whips with steel pellets on the end and beat Him until He was bleeding from head to toe;
penetration, when they crushed that crown of thorns on His brow; perforation, when they drove the nails through His hands and feet; and incision, when they put the spear in His side.
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