The Paradox Of The Cross
Sermon
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It was a few years ago that I spoke of the little cross in my
pocket. Since that Sunday, people not only in this church, but
people all across this state who watch our services on
television, have asked for one of these little crosses to carry
in their pockets or purse. It would be a mistake to think of this
little cross as possessing magical powers, or supposedly bringing
luck like a rabbit's foot or guiding us to say just the right
words at just the right time. There is no magical quality or
guidance in this cross. It is simply a reminder that Jesus Christ
was crucified on a cross.
A woman in Arkansas, Verna Thomas, wrote a little poem
explaining what it means to carry a little cross around in her
pocket. She wrote:
I carry a cross in my pocket,
A simple reminder to me.
Of the fact that I am a Christian
No matter where I may be.
This little cross is not magic,
Nor is it a good luck charm;
It isn't meant to protect me
From any physical harm.
It is not for identification,
For all the world to see ...
It is simply an understanding
Between my Savior and me.
When I put my hand in my pocket
To bring out a coin or a key,
The cross is there to remind me
Of all that he's done for me.
It reminds me, too, to be thankful
For my blessings day by day;
And to strive to serve him better
In all I do or say.
It is also a daily reminder
Of the peace and comfort I share
With all who know my Master,
and give themselves to his care.
So I carry a cross in my pocket
Reminding me, no one but me,
That Jesus Christ is Lord of my life
If only I'll let him be.
Across the years, the symbol of the cross has become a symbol
of our faith. You will find the cross atop the steeples of many
churches. You will find the cross worn as a necklace around the
necks of many people. You will find the cross in every nation and
every race throughout the world as a symbol of the Christian
faith. And this is really a paradox because the cross was once a
symbol of suffering and shame.
You cannot read the scriptures without getting the clear
impression that Jesus knew the possibility of a cross was before
him. The idea of the cross frightened him. The cross was the
cruelest form of a slow agonizing death ever created to kill
another. The cross was intended to humiliate as well as slowly
kill its victim. Jesus knew about the cross and he prayed: "O
God, let this cup pass from me ..."
Jesus knew about the possibility of the cross and on Friday of
his last week, it became a reality. He went through the mockery
of a trial. He listened as the crowd began to chant,
"Crucify, Crucify, Crucify." He endured the savage beating of the
whip with little metal fragments sewed into the tips of the
leather that ripped his back into a bloody pulp. He stumbled
under the heavy weight of the cross as he walked along the Via
Dolorosa toward a skull-shaped hill called Golgotha. He felt the
pain as the rusty nails were driven through his hands and his
feet. There was agony as these nails tore at his shredded flesh
when the cross was lifted up and dropped with a thud into the
hole prepared for it.
This is the paradox of the cross. There is no question that
the cross was an emblem of suffering and shame and humiliation.
According to the Apostle Paul, the cross was a stumbling block to
the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks. But, somewhere along the
way, the cross has become the greatest single symbol which unites
the followers of Jesus Christ.
Today, as we look at the paradox of the cross, there are three
things which I think are important.
I. The Paradox Of The Cross Is That It Was A Crushing
Defeat For Jesus, Yet It Helps To Understand That
Our Sins Do Not Separate Us From God.
On this Good Friday, throughout all of Christendom, we are
remembering one of the most colossal failures in history. Jesus
had failed. Jesus was crucified. Jesus was dead.
And this is the paradox. Nearly 2,000 years later, one of the
most profound things we can say about the cross is that it tells
us there is not anything in this world which can separate you
from God. You may sin and that sin may leave you feeling guilty,
ashamed and cut off from God.
When Adam ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, he
had sinned. The guilt of his sin made him feel like he had fallen
away from God. He was so ashamed of that sin that he went and
hid. When God called out to him and asked why he was hiding, Adam
said, "I was afraid and tried to hide myself."
Sin makes us feel guilty and ashamed. Sometimes, we are so
overwhelmed with a sense of our own guilt that we want to "hide"
ourselves. But, the good news of the gospel is that we do not
have to hide ourselves. Our sins do not cut us off from God. Our
sins do not separate us from God. The cross of Calvary shows us a
God who loves us and forgives us.
There is a story about a teenage boy who walked into a little
cafe one day and sat down. It was a small place and the boy said,
"I'm hungry, but I don't have any money. If you will give me
something to eat, I'll wash dishes or clean your windows."
While the owner was getting a bowl of chili and some crackers,
he asked the boy, "Have you been on your own very long?"
The boy ate his bowl of chili and told his story as he ate. He
told of an argument with his father and how he left home. He had
been on his own now for six months -- six long, tough months.
The owner of the cafe noticed the boy's bowl was empty, so he
dipped him another bowl of chili. Then he said, "Son, your story
is very familiar. My son and I got mad at each other a few months
back. I said a lot of things in anger and he got mad and left.
He's been gone for months and I have no idea where he is. This
little cafe isn't much, but I own it! I would hand over the keys
this very minute to have my son back home."
Then the man looked at the boy and said, "I imagine your
father feels pretty much like I do. He can't take back the things
he said in the past, but he still cares about you. What I'm
trying to say to you is, Why don't you go back home? I'm sure he
loves you enough to try again."
The paradox of the cross is that it seemed like a crushing
defeat, a devastating failure, a colossal triumph of evil over
good that day they crucified Jesus. But, the paradox is that
defeat has been reversed. It is because of the cross that we know
we can go home to God. We may have sinned, but God still loves
us. We may be filled with guilt, but we can be forgiven.
We may be ashamed of our sins, but our sins do not separate us
from God. There is nothing that stands between us and God, except
the cross of Jesus Christ. We can go home again. There is nothing
that stands between us and God, except the cross of Jesus Christ.
We can go home again.
II. The Paradox Of The Cross Is That It Was A Tragic
And Cruel Thing, But The Cross Helps Us See Hope.
Look at the cross in its stark horror. What happened there was
tragic and cruel. It was an act of barbarism which clearly shows
what we are capable of doing to another. Jesus' religious leaders
had rejected him as a traitor. The soldiers had spit on him.
Pilate had washed his hands of him. He was so alone at the cross
of Calvary that he cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me."
And this is the paradox! The cross was a tragic and cruel way
to die, but Jesus could look beyond the cross. Jesus could look
beyond the suffering and pain. Jesus could see hope on the
horizon. And it is this hope of Jesus conquering death which
gives us hope. Because of Jesus Christ, we can see hope beyond
the crosses in our lives.
A few years ago, a man dropped by my office to see me. I did
not know him, although he claimed to be a member of this church.
He was one of those members whose name was on our roll, but was
not active. In fact, as soon as he was seated, he said, "I just
thought I ought to come by and meet the preacher."
I laughed and said, "Well, I'm glad you did. But there must be
something on your mind. What is it?"
He told me that he had been undergoing a series of tests at
the doctor's office and all of the indications were that he had
some malignant tumors and he would be having surgery the next
morning. We talked about his surgery. We talked about the
possibility that the tumors were malignant. We talked about the
fear he was experiencing. But, even more important
we talked about one who could help him look beyond the fears of
the moment and see hope out there on the horizon.
The paradox of the cross is that it was a tragic and cruel way
to die, but because of Jesus Christ, there is hope on the
horizon. The cross of Calvary tells us there is nothing -- not
cancer, not heart problems, not AIDS, not fear, not death, nor
anything in all of creation that can separate us from God's love
in Jesus Christ. We may be hurting. We may be filled with fear.
We may be feeling the breath of death breathing on the back of
our necks. But, there is hope beyond our crosses. Jesus said, "He
that liveth and believeth in me shall never die." This is our
eternal hope!
III. Another Paradox Of The Cross Is That The
Cross Was The Most Terrible Thing That Could Have
Happened To Jesus, Yet It Shows Us What God Is Like.
This is really the crowning paradox of all. The cross was a
denial of God, a blatant, cruel denial of God, and yet it was
supremely the revelation of God. It was God saying, "I am like
Jesus Christ." It was God saying, "I love and care about you."
One of my favorite stories, a story I have told many times,
comes from the old play, Green Pastures. When it played on
Broadway, there was the final scene where God and the angel
Gabriel were in a room in heaven. Gabriel looks out of the window
of heaven and says, "Look, Lord, they're beating him with that
whip! Is the time come for me to blow the horn?"
And God says, "No, Gabriel, not yet!"
Again Gabriel looks out the window of heaven and says, "Lord,
they're making him carry that cross up the hill by himself! Are
you ready for me to blow the horn?"
And God says, "No, Gabriel, not yet!"
"Lord," Gabriel says with excitement in his voice, "they're
nailing him to that cross! Surely you want me to blow the horn
now?"
And God says, "No, Gabriel, not yet!"
Gabriel shakes his head and he says, "Lord, that's a terrible
burden for one man. Why are you letting them do it to him? Why?"
Then, God, who throughout the entire play has had his back to
the audience turns and looks directly at every person in the
audience and says, "'Caus' I loves them, Gabe! 'Caus' I loves
them!"
And this is the paradox of the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus
Christ on the cross of Calvary was the most terrible thing that
could happen to Jesus. And yet, it is through the cross of
Calvary that we come to know what God is like. It is through the
cross of Calvary that God is fully revealed. It is through the
cross of Calvary that we come to know of God's love.
Have you discovered God's love in your life? You can, by
looking at the cross of Calvary!
Prayer: Our gracious heavenly Father, for your love revealed
to us in Jesus Christ, we give thanks. In his sacred name. Amen.
pocket. Since that Sunday, people not only in this church, but
people all across this state who watch our services on
television, have asked for one of these little crosses to carry
in their pockets or purse. It would be a mistake to think of this
little cross as possessing magical powers, or supposedly bringing
luck like a rabbit's foot or guiding us to say just the right
words at just the right time. There is no magical quality or
guidance in this cross. It is simply a reminder that Jesus Christ
was crucified on a cross.
A woman in Arkansas, Verna Thomas, wrote a little poem
explaining what it means to carry a little cross around in her
pocket. She wrote:
I carry a cross in my pocket,
A simple reminder to me.
Of the fact that I am a Christian
No matter where I may be.
This little cross is not magic,
Nor is it a good luck charm;
It isn't meant to protect me
From any physical harm.
It is not for identification,
For all the world to see ...
It is simply an understanding
Between my Savior and me.
When I put my hand in my pocket
To bring out a coin or a key,
The cross is there to remind me
Of all that he's done for me.
It reminds me, too, to be thankful
For my blessings day by day;
And to strive to serve him better
In all I do or say.
It is also a daily reminder
Of the peace and comfort I share
With all who know my Master,
and give themselves to his care.
So I carry a cross in my pocket
Reminding me, no one but me,
That Jesus Christ is Lord of my life
If only I'll let him be.
Across the years, the symbol of the cross has become a symbol
of our faith. You will find the cross atop the steeples of many
churches. You will find the cross worn as a necklace around the
necks of many people. You will find the cross in every nation and
every race throughout the world as a symbol of the Christian
faith. And this is really a paradox because the cross was once a
symbol of suffering and shame.
You cannot read the scriptures without getting the clear
impression that Jesus knew the possibility of a cross was before
him. The idea of the cross frightened him. The cross was the
cruelest form of a slow agonizing death ever created to kill
another. The cross was intended to humiliate as well as slowly
kill its victim. Jesus knew about the cross and he prayed: "O
God, let this cup pass from me ..."
Jesus knew about the possibility of the cross and on Friday of
his last week, it became a reality. He went through the mockery
of a trial. He listened as the crowd began to chant,
"Crucify, Crucify, Crucify." He endured the savage beating of the
whip with little metal fragments sewed into the tips of the
leather that ripped his back into a bloody pulp. He stumbled
under the heavy weight of the cross as he walked along the Via
Dolorosa toward a skull-shaped hill called Golgotha. He felt the
pain as the rusty nails were driven through his hands and his
feet. There was agony as these nails tore at his shredded flesh
when the cross was lifted up and dropped with a thud into the
hole prepared for it.
This is the paradox of the cross. There is no question that
the cross was an emblem of suffering and shame and humiliation.
According to the Apostle Paul, the cross was a stumbling block to
the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks. But, somewhere along the
way, the cross has become the greatest single symbol which unites
the followers of Jesus Christ.
Today, as we look at the paradox of the cross, there are three
things which I think are important.
I. The Paradox Of The Cross Is That It Was A Crushing
Defeat For Jesus, Yet It Helps To Understand That
Our Sins Do Not Separate Us From God.
On this Good Friday, throughout all of Christendom, we are
remembering one of the most colossal failures in history. Jesus
had failed. Jesus was crucified. Jesus was dead.
And this is the paradox. Nearly 2,000 years later, one of the
most profound things we can say about the cross is that it tells
us there is not anything in this world which can separate you
from God. You may sin and that sin may leave you feeling guilty,
ashamed and cut off from God.
When Adam ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, he
had sinned. The guilt of his sin made him feel like he had fallen
away from God. He was so ashamed of that sin that he went and
hid. When God called out to him and asked why he was hiding, Adam
said, "I was afraid and tried to hide myself."
Sin makes us feel guilty and ashamed. Sometimes, we are so
overwhelmed with a sense of our own guilt that we want to "hide"
ourselves. But, the good news of the gospel is that we do not
have to hide ourselves. Our sins do not cut us off from God. Our
sins do not separate us from God. The cross of Calvary shows us a
God who loves us and forgives us.
There is a story about a teenage boy who walked into a little
cafe one day and sat down. It was a small place and the boy said,
"I'm hungry, but I don't have any money. If you will give me
something to eat, I'll wash dishes or clean your windows."
While the owner was getting a bowl of chili and some crackers,
he asked the boy, "Have you been on your own very long?"
The boy ate his bowl of chili and told his story as he ate. He
told of an argument with his father and how he left home. He had
been on his own now for six months -- six long, tough months.
The owner of the cafe noticed the boy's bowl was empty, so he
dipped him another bowl of chili. Then he said, "Son, your story
is very familiar. My son and I got mad at each other a few months
back. I said a lot of things in anger and he got mad and left.
He's been gone for months and I have no idea where he is. This
little cafe isn't much, but I own it! I would hand over the keys
this very minute to have my son back home."
Then the man looked at the boy and said, "I imagine your
father feels pretty much like I do. He can't take back the things
he said in the past, but he still cares about you. What I'm
trying to say to you is, Why don't you go back home? I'm sure he
loves you enough to try again."
The paradox of the cross is that it seemed like a crushing
defeat, a devastating failure, a colossal triumph of evil over
good that day they crucified Jesus. But, the paradox is that
defeat has been reversed. It is because of the cross that we know
we can go home to God. We may have sinned, but God still loves
us. We may be filled with guilt, but we can be forgiven.
We may be ashamed of our sins, but our sins do not separate us
from God. There is nothing that stands between us and God, except
the cross of Jesus Christ. We can go home again. There is nothing
that stands between us and God, except the cross of Jesus Christ.
We can go home again.
II. The Paradox Of The Cross Is That It Was A Tragic
And Cruel Thing, But The Cross Helps Us See Hope.
Look at the cross in its stark horror. What happened there was
tragic and cruel. It was an act of barbarism which clearly shows
what we are capable of doing to another. Jesus' religious leaders
had rejected him as a traitor. The soldiers had spit on him.
Pilate had washed his hands of him. He was so alone at the cross
of Calvary that he cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me."
And this is the paradox! The cross was a tragic and cruel way
to die, but Jesus could look beyond the cross. Jesus could look
beyond the suffering and pain. Jesus could see hope on the
horizon. And it is this hope of Jesus conquering death which
gives us hope. Because of Jesus Christ, we can see hope beyond
the crosses in our lives.
A few years ago, a man dropped by my office to see me. I did
not know him, although he claimed to be a member of this church.
He was one of those members whose name was on our roll, but was
not active. In fact, as soon as he was seated, he said, "I just
thought I ought to come by and meet the preacher."
I laughed and said, "Well, I'm glad you did. But there must be
something on your mind. What is it?"
He told me that he had been undergoing a series of tests at
the doctor's office and all of the indications were that he had
some malignant tumors and he would be having surgery the next
morning. We talked about his surgery. We talked about the
possibility that the tumors were malignant. We talked about the
fear he was experiencing. But, even more important
we talked about one who could help him look beyond the fears of
the moment and see hope out there on the horizon.
The paradox of the cross is that it was a tragic and cruel way
to die, but because of Jesus Christ, there is hope on the
horizon. The cross of Calvary tells us there is nothing -- not
cancer, not heart problems, not AIDS, not fear, not death, nor
anything in all of creation that can separate us from God's love
in Jesus Christ. We may be hurting. We may be filled with fear.
We may be feeling the breath of death breathing on the back of
our necks. But, there is hope beyond our crosses. Jesus said, "He
that liveth and believeth in me shall never die." This is our
eternal hope!
III. Another Paradox Of The Cross Is That The
Cross Was The Most Terrible Thing That Could Have
Happened To Jesus, Yet It Shows Us What God Is Like.
This is really the crowning paradox of all. The cross was a
denial of God, a blatant, cruel denial of God, and yet it was
supremely the revelation of God. It was God saying, "I am like
Jesus Christ." It was God saying, "I love and care about you."
One of my favorite stories, a story I have told many times,
comes from the old play, Green Pastures. When it played on
Broadway, there was the final scene where God and the angel
Gabriel were in a room in heaven. Gabriel looks out of the window
of heaven and says, "Look, Lord, they're beating him with that
whip! Is the time come for me to blow the horn?"
And God says, "No, Gabriel, not yet!"
Again Gabriel looks out the window of heaven and says, "Lord,
they're making him carry that cross up the hill by himself! Are
you ready for me to blow the horn?"
And God says, "No, Gabriel, not yet!"
"Lord," Gabriel says with excitement in his voice, "they're
nailing him to that cross! Surely you want me to blow the horn
now?"
And God says, "No, Gabriel, not yet!"
Gabriel shakes his head and he says, "Lord, that's a terrible
burden for one man. Why are you letting them do it to him? Why?"
Then, God, who throughout the entire play has had his back to
the audience turns and looks directly at every person in the
audience and says, "'Caus' I loves them, Gabe! 'Caus' I loves
them!"
And this is the paradox of the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus
Christ on the cross of Calvary was the most terrible thing that
could happen to Jesus. And yet, it is through the cross of
Calvary that we come to know what God is like. It is through the
cross of Calvary that God is fully revealed. It is through the
cross of Calvary that we come to know of God's love.
Have you discovered God's love in your life? You can, by
looking at the cross of Calvary!
Prayer: Our gracious heavenly Father, for your love revealed
to us in Jesus Christ, we give thanks. In his sacred name. Amen.
