There are many reasons why the cross is offensive. It is the symbol of death. The Romans used the cross very effectively. Anyone who fought against Rome was put to death on the cross. When the Romans captured Spartacus and all the slaves, they crucified all of them. They lined the Appian Way from Rome to the sea with crosses. In Jerusalem, the Romans used a certain hill to crucify people. It was called Golgotha, the place of the skull. In the Jewish writings, it was a curse to hang on a tree or to be crucified on a tree. This is why Jesus hung on the cross. He took the curse for us. So we would be free to come to God. I am going to tell you something I am ashamed of. I stood before that cross and yelled crucify him. I didn’t want to suffer the pain of dying. I would let someone else suffer the death I deserved. What I didn’t know was that Jesus paid the price to redeem me. As ugly and rotten as I was, He did this for me because He loved me. No greater love has anyone than he would lay down his life for another. I scream hatred at Jesus as He loved me. The cross is so powerful that no one can discredit it. No one can take away from it. Jesus not only did this for me, but for all of mankind, past, present or future. When I read about the crucifixion it still bothers me. It has never lost its power. Have you looked at the cross lately? Everyone knows what the cross looks like because everyone has been at that cross screaming crucify him.
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