Radical Life Support

Rick is a non-traditionalist, rock-n-roll, evangelist who likes to stir things up. And Robin is a traditional, choir member, encourager who does not like to rock the boat. They come together to challenge and discuss how to live a radical life for Jesus.

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Radical Life Support

The Cross of Jesus

December 04, 2020 • Rick and Robin Moe • Episode 66

The cross is the principal symbol for the Christian religion. It represents the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, His Passion, and His death. The cross is a sign both of Christ Himself and of the faith of Christians. In New Testament bible times, the cross symbolized a very different thing, a shameful form of execution for criminals. When you place the cross on anything, you are basically stating an identity with Jesus.

Believers of Jesus Christ know the magnitude of what happened on the cross. Jesus didn’t just die on it. The weight of all mankind’s sin was nailed to the cross. Jesus’ blood was shed on the cross. The King of the Jews hung there in agony to save the world, to redeem it, and to bring it near to God. The earth shook and darkness descended on the land. All love and forgiveness emanated from the cross. Sorrow and tears flowed. Burdens of guilt and shame were laid at the foot of the cross. The work Jesus came to earth to do was finished there.

Every single prophecy concerning the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was fulfilled to the minutest detail. For example, He was delivered to Gentiles for judgement, the execution was to be outside of Jerusalem, He would hang on a tree, He would be lifted up from the earth, the Roman soldiers would pierce His hands and feet, they cast lots for his clothing, none of His bones would be broken, and people would hurl insults at Him.

The Old Testament contains over 400 prophecies about the coming Messiah. Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled every one of them. Calculations have been made to figure out what the probability would be of just eight of the prophecies being fulfilled in any one person who had lived up to the present time. The result: 1 in 10 to the 27 power. These odds should turn any reasonably thinking person to believe that Jesus is who He says He is.

The last words spoken by Jesus were on the cross. A person’s final words prior to death generally are taken to have particular significance.

Words of Forgiveness - Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Words of Salvation - Luke 23:43: “Verily, I say unto you today, thou shalt be with Me in paradise.” Words of Relationship - John 19:26-27: “Woman, behold thy son.” And then He said to John “Son, behold thy mother.” Words of Abandonment - Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Words of Distress - John 19:28: “I thirst.” Words of Triumph - John 19:30: “It is finished.” Words of Reunion - Luke 23:46: “Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit.”

I Cor 1:18 says, “For the message of the CROSS is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” So, the cross has power in its message and power in the Savior who died on it.

Matt 10:38 says “Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Cross-bearing is a willingness to suffer and die for the Lord’s sake. How do you feel about that? Would you be willing to lay down all of your self-focus each day at the feet of the cross and make Jesus the sole object of your life and actions. This is a difficult, scary, and radical message and one that has kept many from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.

But here is some encouragement from Heb 12:2-3, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…who for the joy set before Him endured the CROSS, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men.” When we look at the cross, remember all He endured in accomplishing our redemption, our salvation, our freedom, “so that we will not grow weary and lose heart.” Our present suffering for the gospel’s sake is nothing compared to the hope of our future glory with Him in heaven.

Intro to Attribute

In New Testament bible times, the cross symbolized a very different thing, a shameful form of execution for criminals. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians in 300-400BC and developed, during Roman times for nearly 500 years, into a punishment for the most serious of criminals. It was rarely used on Roman citizens, mainly for slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians, and foreigners. The upright wooden cross was the most common technique, and the time victims took to die would depend on how they were crucified.

When you place the cross on anything like on steeples of a church, wearing the cross on a necklace or putting it on stationery, you are basically stating an identity with Jesus. In the early church, people were afraid to display it publicly because they were afraid of being persecuted, mocked or even killed. But after Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in the 4th century, crucifixion was abolished as a punishment, and the cross was promoted as a symbol of the Son of God.

Jesus reveals Himself through the Cross in the Word.

Every single prophecy concerning the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was fulfilled to the minutest detail. For example, He was delivered to Gentiles for judgement, the execution was to be outside of Jerusalem, the Roman soldiers would pierce His hands and feet, they cast lots for his clothing, none of His bones would be broken, and people would hurl insults at Him.

Another prophecy was that He would hang on a tree. Acts 5:30 which says, “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree.” Deut 21:22-23 teaches that those who were hanged on a tree were cursed by God. Paul referred to this law as a foreshadow of Jesus’ death on the cross. In Gal 3:13 he says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” Jesus took the curse on Himself. In an article from R.C. Sproul, The Crucifixion and Old Testament Prophecy (April 2017), he says, “At the moment when Christ took on Himself the sin of the world, His figure on the cross was the most grotesque, most obscene mass of concentrated sin in the history of the world…Christ was exposed to the curse of the wrath of God…Jesus submitted Himself to His Father’s will and endured the curse, that we, His people, might experience the ultimate blessedness.” “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” [I Pet 2:24]

In another aspect, the Mosaic law made it illegal to leave the body hanging on a tree overnight. This law applied to Jesus as well. Jesus’ dead body was removed from the cross on the same day of His death and was buried.

Another foreshadowing of the cross is found in Num 21:9 which says, “so Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.” In John 3:14-15, Jesus applied it to His own act of salvation through being lifted up on the cross, saying, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” And He says in John 12:32-33, “’when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.”

Jesus reveals Himself through the Cross in the World.

Jesus carried His own cross until somewhere along the way Simon of Cyrene carried it. The cross was taken to Golgatha or sometimes called Calvary. Jesus hung on the cross for about six hours. The sparsity of words He spoke suggests that Jesus remained relatively silent for most of the time He hung there. Many were there to observe Him dealing with the excruciating pain. We are told His mother, Mary, and John, His disciple, were present. It is said that most people who died on the cross died from exhaustion or asphyxiation. It is very difficult to breath. So in the silence, people watched Him push up and try to take a breath. So it must have been difficult even to speak. But He knew the words that He spoke would be recorded for all time. They were important and significant.

The last words spoken by Jesus were on the cross. A person’s final words prior to death generally are taken to have particular significance. I believe they show ultimately what was important to Jesus. There are seven words mentioned in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Seven is the number of perfection. But all seven words were not recorded in each. Matt and Mark have one shared word, Luke has three, and John has three others. Here we will list them in the order of tradition.

1. Words of Forgiveness - Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” After all that had been done to Him, He proved His love was unconditional.

2. Words of Salvation - Luke 23:43: “Verily, I say unto you today, thou shalt be with Me in paradise.” Luke’s gospel says Jesus was crucified between two thieves. One supports Jesus’ innocence and asks to be remembered when He comes into His kingdom.

3. Words of Relationship - John 19:26-27: “Woman, behold thy son.” And then He said to John “Son, behold thy mother.” And from that hour, that disciple took her unto his own home. Jesus entrusts Mary into the care of John. He saw her crying there and was concerned for her well-being. It showed His humanity and depth of love He had for both of them.

4. Words of Abandonment - Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Here it says that Jesus cries out with a loud voice on the ninth hour. It is a quote from Ps 22:1 or 42:9. Hab 1:13 says, the Father had to turn away from the Son because the Father is “of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong.” He quoted the prophetic words to show Himself to be the very Being to whom the words refer. It is believed at this point all the sins of the world were placed upon Him. Jesus experiences the abandonment of the soul by God, a deeply excruciating pain that “is the essence of eternal condemnation in Hell.”

5. Words of Distress - John 19:28: “I thirst.” Jesus was then offered a drink of sour wine. John said these words were prophetic from Ps 69:21 and includes the comment ‘to fulfill the scriptures.’ I believe this showed His humanity as well to express a natural bodily need.

6. Words of Triumph - John 19:30: “It is finished.” It is like an announcement of the end of the earthly life of Jesus. It is a cry of victory because Jesus had now completed what He came to do. A plan was fulfilled; a salvation was made possible; a love shown. He had taken our place. He had demonstrated both humanity’s brokenness and God’s love. He had offered Himself fully to God as a sacrifice on behalf of humanity. The noblest person who ever walked the face of the earth, God in the flesh, breathed His last. Some says it can be interpreted as ‘It is consummated’ meaning the debt is paid in full.

7. Words of Reunion - Luke 23:46: “Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit.” In Matt and Mark it says that Jesus cried out in a loud voice and gave up the spirit but they don’t actually quote Jesus here like Luke does. These words come from Ps 31:5. These words show His absolute trust in God. This has been termed a model of prayer for everyone when afraid, sick, or facing one’s own death. Note: if you have ever wondered what happens when a person dies, Jesus’ death here shows us in part. When we die, our spirit leaves our body. Who we really are is not our body but our spirit. Once Jesus’ death was confirmed, it was taken down to be buried.

Jesus’ words on the cross did confirm what was important to Him. Forgiveness, Salvation, Relationship, Love, and accomplishing all the work God gave Him to do.

Jesus reveals Himself through the Cross in our hearts.

Matt 10:38 says “Anyone who does not take up his (own) cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” The cross was an instrument of death and symbolized the necessity and request from Jesus of total commitment—even unto death—on the part of His disciples. Cross-bearing is a willingness to suffer and die for the Lord’s sake. How do you feel about that? Would you be willing to lay down all of your self-focus each day at the feet of the cross and make Jesus the sole object of your life and actions. Could you take a step of faith and follow the footsteps of Jesus in all the small choices of life as well as the big choices? Would you be willing to walk were He walked, go where He asked you to go, be patient not give up under sufferings?

This is a difficult, scary, and radical message and one that has kept many from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.

Living a radical life for Jesus mean believing Jesus died for us on the Cross.