CHRIST AND THE CROSS

In ancient times, the cross was a stake upon which common criminals were executed. A convicted criminal was usually scourged, stripped naked, nailed to the cross and raised high above the ground so as to experience excruciating pains before his last gasp. Jesus was not the first person to be executed this way, for the ancient Phoenicians and Carthaginians, and much later the Romans, were using this shameful and barbaric method B.C. But why was Christ’s crucifixion so unique to God and humankind? Why did God allow His only begotten Son to undergo this shameful death among common criminals even though He had done no wrong? The answers to these posers are found in the very Word of God, and a few points below will help us to elucidate the Lord’s unquestionable decision in this regard.