His Cross, Our Cross

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.” Luke 9:23

Anytime we consider Jesus, in either conversation, prayer, or any other pursuit, invariably the cross can become part of the issue. It is difficult to be involved in any aspect of Christian life without the cross being somewhere in the picture. It is a defining icon of our identification with Christ.

What do you think of when you see a cross? A group of Christians was asked this question recently. Some of their answers are listed below:


• “Holy”
• “Sacrifice“
• “Forgiveness”
• “God’s love”
• “He is not there”

The word for cross in the Greek (Σταυρός stauros stow-ros') refers to an upright stake or post, as an instrument of capital punishment. A. W. Tozer writes the following about the cross:

The cross of Christ is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men.

The cross of the Roman times knew no compromise; it never made concessions. It won all its arguments by killing its opponent and silencing him for good. It spared not Christ, by slew Him the same as the rest. He was alive when they hung Him on that cross and completely dead when they took him down six hours later. That was the cross the first time it appeared in Christian history…

The cross effects its ends by destroying one established pattern, the victim's, and creating another pattern, its own. Thus it always has its way. It wins by defeating its opponent and imposing its will upon him. It always dominates. It never compromises, never dickers nor confers, never surrenders a point for the sake of peace. It cares not for peace; it cares only to end its opposition as fast as possible..

This gives us a significant perspective to the nature and purpose of the cross in our own lives. The cross is the primary instrument we voluntarily place ourselves on so that we die to self and live to Christ – and in so doing, become in practice what God has declared in an instant: a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). It also directs us to die daily (1 Cor. 15:23; Luke 9:23) to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

There are other aspects that should be considered when the cross is mentioned:
1. It is a place of service. Jesus spoke of His service
    a. Matt 20:28 – but to serve, and give His life a ransom for many
    b. Luke 22:27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
    c. John 13:13, 14 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
2. It is a place of suffering.
    a. Heb 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.
    b. Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
    c. Heb 12:1, 2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3. It is a place of substitution (ἱλασμός).
    a. 2 Cor. 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
    b. John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
    c. 1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
4. It is a place of satisfaction.
    a. Phil 2:8, 9 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
    b. 2 Cor. 13:4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

The Welsh revival of 1904 birthed this hymn:

Here is Love

On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And heaven’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.

5. It is a place of solace.
    a. 1 Thess 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
    b. Isa 40:1, 2 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.

Question: What does the cross mean for you?
Answer: Because it is:
• A place of service
• A place of suffering
• A place of substitution
• A place of satisfaction
• A place of solace

It is also a place of hope.

When we come to the cross, God loves us so much that He will treat us without pity because He desires to raise us and bless us without measure – just as He did with His own Son on the cross.

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Rom 8:32

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced: and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. - Zech 12:10

Rom 8:33-39 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (v1) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Closing
• Call for salvation
• Call for repentance
• Call for prayer/re-commitment

Benediction
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. (Num. 6:24-26)

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all. (2 Thess. 3:16)