The cross as an offence, by Deacon Wole Bodunde

The Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was done on the Cross; and since then, the Cross has become an affront. “He was despised and rejected of men; He became a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and mankind hid their faces from Him; He was despised, and was esteemed not. He was wounded for our transgression and bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed” – Isaiah 53:3-5.  Yet, He was mocked – “And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let Him save Himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him, and offering him vinegar” – Luke 23:35-36.

The offence of the cross sounds so strange to some believers today like the Jews and Greeks – “But we preached Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness”- 1 Cor. 1:23.

The cross has been demystified on every Church building today, on our Bibles we have the inscription, even on the ornaments we wear on our necks it has become a symbol. Some Christian denominations use the sign to represent prayer to Trinity i.e. God the Father, God Son and God the Holy Spirit. But then, little do many know what it stands for.

The cross stands for an offence. It is a stumbling block. It has been called the scandal to mankind. Isaiah wrote “…there is no beauty that we should desire Him” – Isaiah 53:2. Jesus Christ was not desirable when He was hanged on the cross, bleeding and dying.  The cross provoked scorn and aroused antagonism of people. Luke 23:35-38. It is not always attractive to the human heart and many people would be upset and turned away in disdain and wrath.

The ultimate goal of every believer is to get to heaven; and the battle to get there is a serious one because the Cross has set the standard. The Cross directs that our flesh must be crucified as Christ was crucified. The Cross has come down through centuries, passing its unfailing judgment upon the vanities, the prides of life, hates, the greed and self indulgent pleasures and lusts. It condemn all and says “.. they which do all such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” – Galatians 5:17-21.

It is the Cross that says to the world “you are a sinner” – Romans 3:23; and it is not palatable to the world. John 3:19 says “.. men loved darkness rather than light ..”. The Cross is an offence because blood was shed there and the book of Hebrews says “without the shedding of the blood there is no remission or forgiveness of sin”.

To the foolish, the cross is an offence but to the wise, it is wisdom to righteousness.

Remain blessed.  Maranatha.

Deacon Wole Bodunde