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Where God-questions are put to the test This month’s question… Of all the symbols they could use, why do Christians choose a cross? It’s true, symbols are powerful communicators. Companies spend vast sums creating an icon that conveys the essence of who they are. For McDonald’s it’s the golden arches. For Nike it’s the tick. While for Apple it’s the, errr… apple. So what is it about a cross that makes it so central to everything the followers of Jesus believe and stand for? The answer is simply that the death of Jesus – a criminal’s execution – is central to grasping what he was about. And central to all that those who now follow him believe. You can see this from the way the four biographers of Jesus take a quarter of all they wrote to cover the final week of his life, during which time he was arrested, tried, condemned, and executed. And that’s because of the overwhelming significance of the reason Jesus died. Of course, there is no shortage of opinions as to how his death came about. You may have heard some of them. Including ideas that Jesus just got caught up in events and it all got out of control. And if that’s the case it can hardly have been a significant death. But read the accounts of it all – the gospels – and you see Jesus knew his death was coming and even what form it would take. He had a very clear understanding about what was on the horizon for him and also why it would happen In fact, Jesus was clear enough to be able to tell his close followers that the authorities were going to kill him. Even telling them how he would die by saying, “When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself.” More than that, Jesus clearly spoke about his death having a specific intention behind it. He told his followers, “The reason I came to Earth is so I can give my life as a ransom for many people.” In other words, there was a way in which his life would pay the price for the freedom of others. Put simply, the death of Jesus was to pay a debt we could not pay. Our own self-centeredness and rebellion towards God has kidnapped us at gunpoint and left the ransom note: “If you want to be rescued, give me more money than you can ever get your hands on-that is, if you want your life back!” And it was the death of Jesus that paid that price. Think of it this way: The younger of two brothers ran with a street gang. One night, during a knife fight he killed a man. So he ran home to exchange bloodstained clothes for clean ones and fled back into the night. His older brother, with whom he lived, came home to discover the garments on the floor and police sirens wailing. By the time the police arrived he was wearing the discarded bloody apparel as though it were his own. And went on to take the blame even though he was innocent. That is a helpful picture of why Jesus chose to die on the cross for us. So no wonder it is a symbol so close to the hearts of all who now follow him. |
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