The Shame Of The Cross

This week in preparing my Sunday sermon on being ‘unashamed’ of the gospel, I spent some time researching the shame of the cross. Paul’s statement in Romans 1:16 where he says that he’s not ashamed of the gospel is a radical statement. It’s radical because the cross was a symbol of shame and humiliation in the world of the New Testament (NT). When Paul writes, I am not ashamed of the gospel … he’s in effect saying, “I’m not ashamed to look bad, I’m not afraid to look foolish, I’m not afraid to be considered a fool, I’m not afraid to be shamed and humiliated for the gospel”.

Why was the Christian gospel considered both an embarrassment and shameful? In 1 Cor.1:22-23 Paul reminds us that, Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. The gospel was considered a foolish message and a shameful message, because at the heart of the gospel was the symbol of a cross – a message concerning the crucified Christ.

These days – crosses are a common sight aren’t they. In our church we have a cross on the steeple of the church, on the stained glass windows, even on our weekly bulletins. In fact the wearing of a cross is a fashion symbol these days, worn by the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, David Beckam and Liz Hurley. But in the world of the NT, the cross was a shame symbol. Only the scum of society were crucified. Death by crucifixion was reserved only for runaway slaves, criminals and murderers, rebels convicted of treason, and captured enemies of the state. What people fail to understand is that death by crucifixion wasn’t just meant to cause a person great pain. Crucifixion wasn’t just a way to cause someone a slow and painful death (where you eventually suffocated to death, as your organs shut down from lack of oxygen, as your lungs fill with fluid causing you to drown in your own bodily fluids). Crucifying someone was also a way of shaming them, of publicly humiliating them.

The goal of a Roman crucifixion was to not just kill the victim, but to shame them in a public way. You were stripped naked so that your body would be exposed (remember how the guards gambled for Jesus robes and divided it up among themselves in Mark 15 and Matthew 27). You were scourged or flogged with a whip with metal or bone at the tips ripping pieces of flesh from your body. And then 5 to 7 inch nails would be driven into your wrists as you’re tied to a cross. Your legs are then broken. And then you’re left out in the open air in all your nakedness for everyone to see … each hour, each day, as the life drains out of you … as you loose control of your bodily functions … and then left to the vultures to be consumed. In the world of the NT, a crucifixion was a public shaming of the person, leaving them exposed and powerless. It took away their rights, their control, their worth, their dignity … a public statement really to say to everyone around that this is what this person is worth.

The cross was a symbol of shame in the world of the NT. And a gospel whose message is Christ crucified wasn’t just absurd or embarrassing, it was shameful and appalling. What sort of people worship a crucified man? What sort of people speak of a crucified man saving them? They should be ashamed of the cross. Only fools worship a crucified man whom they call God’s King and Savior.

Graffiti has been around a long time. In 1857, archaeologist discovered graffiti scratched into the plaster walls of the barracks of some Roman soldiers built by the Emperor Nero. One of these pieces of graffiti called the Alexamenos Graffito drawn in the first century Jesus reads, ‘Alexamenos worships his god”. And alongside these words is a picture scratched into the wall. The picture shows a small man, Alexamenos, praying with one arm extended toward Jesus suffering on the cross. Jesus appears on a visible cross with arms outstretched, hands nailed. But in this crude picture, scratched on the barracks wall by a pagan soldier, Jesus has the body of a crucified man - but the head of an ass. And beneath this are the words, ‘Alexamenos worships his god’.

That was the common, prevalent attitude of the day to the gospel and those who called themselves Christians. A gospel whose message was Christ crucified was a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greek speaking world. In fact, the word used to describe the early Christians was asinarii, which can be translated to mean "belonging to an ass" or an ‘ass-worshipper’.

In the eyes of most people, not only was this crucified King and Savior an ass, but so were his followers. For what sort of people glory and boast in, proclaim and worship a crucified man? It was both appalling and shameful. How can the cross be good news? What’s so good about the crucifixion of a man on a Roman cross? It’s something you should be ashamed of!!!

The temptation for Paul and certainly for Christians in the NT was to be ashamed of the gospel, to be ashamed of the cross of Jesus. Yet, we read in Rom.1:16, that Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. He is unashamed to be shamed and humiliated for the gospel in his world. He is unashamed to be considered an ass for Jesus! And the reason comes in the second half of v.16. Paul is unashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

It is the ‘dynamite’ explosive power of God to save all who believe! (1 Cor.1:18) Paul is unashamed of the cross because in and through the death of Jesus on the cross God saves! For in this gospel a way to be right with God is revealed, a way to be right with God that is by faith from beginning to end (Rom.1:17). If you go on to read Romans 1:8-32 and Romans 3:9-26 you discover that in the death of Jesus on the cross God is saving us from his wrath and from the consequences of our rebellion (more on this in the weeks to come). You discover how at the cross Jesus pays the penalty for our sin: bearing on himself God’s wrath and dying for our sins. And the way to be right with God comes through faith or trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified in my place as a sacrifice for my sin (Rom.3:22).

For ultimately, the death of Jesus on the cross was not the last word. For the last word at the cross is not death, but resurrection. For the last word at the cross is not shame, but vindication. For the last word at the cross is not humiliation, but exaltation. For the same Jesus who went to the cross, is the same Jesus God has resurrected and lifted up to the highest place to be worshipped, and given the name above every name (Phil.2:6-10). For the same Jesus who went to the cross, is the same Jesus God has declared to be his promised Son, His chosen King and Savior by his powerful resurrection from the dead (Rom.1:1-4).

And because of that, Paul is unashamed of the gospel!

At the cross
God demonstrates His love for us
While we were sinners Jesus came to die
So by His blood we would be justified

So be not ashamed of the cross
It brings salvation to all who believe
God is revealed, Guilt is removed
Forgiveness can now be received

So be not ashamed of the cross
Tell of its power to all who will hear
Great is our joy, Glory is ours
From death we can now be set free

At the cross
God demonstrates that He is just
Unpunished sins could not be overlooked
So Jesus took them on himself

At the cross
God demonstrates His endless grace
He chose to send His precious only Son
To punish Him for sins we’ve done


At The Cross.
Music: Phil Percival. Words: Bryson Smith.
(Consider Christ Album. Available at www.emu.mu)