In contemporary Christianity, the cross is a symbol of the atonement and reminds Christians of God's love in sacrificing His own Son for humanity. It represents Jesus' victory over sin and death since it is believed that through His death and resurrection He conquered death itself.
"Having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:15).
The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Triumph of the Cross under the same name In Exaltatione Sanctae Crucis on September 14th. What is the meaning of the cross?
Simply put, the meaning of the cross is death. The cross was an instrument of execution that resulted in death by the most tortuous and painful of ways. In crucifixion a person was either tied or nailed to a wooden cross and left to hang until dead. Death would be slow and excruciatingly painful; in fact, the word excruciating literally means "out of crucifying." However, because of Christ and His death on the cross, the meaning of the cross today is completely different.
In Christianity, the cross is the intersection of God's love and His justice. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God points back to the instruction of the Jewish Passover in Exodus 12. The Israelites were commanded to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and smear the blood of that lamb on the doorpost of their homes. The blood would be the sign for the Angel of Death to "pass over" that house, leaving those covered by blood in safety. When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John recognized Him and cried, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29), thereby identifying Him and God's plan for Him to be sacrificed for sin.
Genre: RELIGION / Christian Life / GeneralThis is a new book.
When it comes to talking about influence of Christians, the cross is central to who we are and what we are to the world. The cross is the most recognized symbol of Christianity and what happened when Christ died on that cross totally transformed the cross and what it represents.
On the cross, Jesus suffered and on the cross, He died but the cross did not start as a symbol of Christianity. It was an instrument for executing people to death and so what Jesus did on the cross transformed it from what it used to be to what it is now to us. So let us read an account of what happened after Jesus had been sentenced to death in John’s Gospel Chapter 19 verses 17 to 20.
This was after Jesus had been tried and sentenced to death. He was sentenced to die by crucifixion and the Bible says, “And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin.” (John 19:17-20)
Written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin for everybody to note what had happened that day.
If you look at the verse 17, it says that, “… He, bearing His cross …” Jesus carried His cross to the crucifixion. At some point, we know that Simon of Cyrene was made to help Him but He was considered to be carrying His own cross.
The cross was His to carry and that was part of the whole process of crucifixion - that a person who was sentenced to die by crucifixion had to carry the instrument of His death which is the cross to the place where He will be crucified.
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Bianca Oliveira
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Sarah Kathereen Hiebl
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