Invariably as we gather on the first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper, our thoughts are taken to the cross, not simply, of course, to the cross itself, but rather to the One who hung upon that central cross at Golgotha.
We frequently speak of “the cross of Calvary”, but this term is not used, as such, in the word of God. However, on one occasion in the New Testament we read of “the cross of Jesus”: “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene” (John 19 verse 25). Four women stood by the cross, a group noticed by the Spirit of God, who had been drawn by affectionate devotion for the One who was hanging on the central cross. They were not looking on from a distance, nor mingling with the crowd in attendance; this was an expression of sympathy. “The cross of Jesus” tells us of the cross historically; it emphasises the reality of the cross, “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull” (John 19 verse 17). But there were those who sat before the cross, “And sitting down they (the soldiers of the governor) watched him there” (Matthew 27 verse 36); this suggests an attitude of apathy or indifference. Thirdly there were those who passed by the cross, “And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads” (Matthew 27 verse 39); they were demonstrating antipathy or active ill-will.
There are three occasions in the New Testament where we read of “the cross of Christ”. Firstly, Paul writes, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (1 Corinthians 1 verse 17). “The cross of Christ” is the cross doctrinally: the historical fact of the cross has been embraced in the message that we preach; it is both authentic and authoritative. Paul goes on say “For the preaching of the cross (the content of the message) is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1 verse 18). Ultimately all must fall into one or other of these categories, saved or lost. He adds “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Corinthians 1 verse 21); the reference is not to the act of preaching, but rather to the foolishness of the thing preached. For what could be more foolish, as far as the world is concerned, than that a man who died upon a cross almost 2000 years ago could be the Saviour of the world.
Secondly, Paul makes mention of those who are “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3 verse 18). They are not enemies of the cross of Jesus, they do not deny that a man called Jesus died upon a cross, but they are opposed to the message that we preach.
In the passage Galatians 6 verses 12-16 we read of those who were trying to ‘put on a good face’; they were making a display of religious zeal in the flesh, in outward things, such as circumcision, “they constrain (compel) you to be circumcised”. These men were not concerned about the welfare of believers or the glory of God, but only about their own reputation and safety. Paul adds, “only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ”. This is the third reference to “the cross of Christ”. Adding something to the cross-work of Christ as a condition of (or as a means to) salvation, for example good works, has proved the most effective way of avoiding the offence of the cross since the days of the early church.
While these men (known as Judaisers) would “glory in your flesh” (verse 13), Paul would glory in “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”: note the full title, expressive of dignity. Here it is the cross morally; when we consider the cross, there are always practical implications for us. In chapter 3 of the Epistle to the Galatians, the cross is viewed as delivering from the law, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3 verse 13). Strictly speaking, the reference is to Jews. In chapter 5, the apostle applies the doctrine of the cross to the flesh and shows that “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5 verse 24).
Thirdly, in chapter 6, he comes to the cross and the world. The world is that sphere of things in which the flesh lives and delights – the world system with all of its allurements, especially, in the context of the Galatian Epistle, the world’s religious systems. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is that which crucifies the Christian to the world, puts him entirely outside it, but also the world is crucified to him; so that there cannot be the least common ground between the Christian and the world.
David E West.