Who Crucified Jesus?

By Ron Bartanen

 

   I recently read an article which said that anti-Semitism has risen world-wide.  This persecution of Jews is reported to not be solely from Muslims, but from nominal Christians as well.  Some of these go so far as to hatefully chastise them as “Christ-killers.”  Such, of course, are not imitating Christ, who prayed for those involved in His crucifixion, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

   There were, of course, certain Jewish leaders who conspired for His death, and other Jews who agreed to it, but they alone were not responsible. Without Pilate’s and Rome ’s approval, it could not have been done.   On Pentecost Sunday following the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter addressed some of these, declaring, “Him…you have taken (and) by lawless hands have crucified and put to death” (Acts 2:23, NKJ).  Though done in ignorance, they were not guiltless; but theirs was not the only guilt.  It was done through “lawless hands”—through those who were “without law” (1 Cor. 9:21), Gentiles. To be more specific, the deed was done through Roman officials and soldiers.  Should we therefore blame the Romans (Italians)?  It was soldiers from Rome who mocked Jesus, scourged Him, drove the nails into His hands and feet, and completed their task by thrusting a spear into His side to assure His death.

    The fact of the matter is that the responsibility for His death is shared by ALL.  Isaiah had prophesied 700 years before this event, saying, “…the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6b).  The sins of humanity put Jesus on the tree, and that includes my sins and your sins.  We crucified Jesus! To satisfy divine justice, and yet to show grace and mercy to us sinners, the crucifixion was no mere senseless martyrdom, but was accomplished by “the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God…” (Acts 2:23a).

    Those who would seek to put the blame for Jesus death upon the Jews should also recognize that Jesus also was a Jew.  It was He who declared, “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22b).  The apostles were Jews.  The first Christians were Jews.  The New Testament Scriptures were written by converted Jews.  Paul, though he suffered many things at the hands of Jews, still maintained them to be “beloved for the sake of the fathers” (Romans 11:28b)—the “fathers” referring to the covenant God had years before made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

    As we would ponder the death of our Lord and Savior, it must not be that we pass the blame on to others.  We should, instead, say, as did Paul, that He “loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).  We all had our part.  Were it not for our sins, Christ would not have died.

- Ronald Bartanen is a retired minister who for many years served the Lord's church in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. After the passing of his beloved wife, Doris, Ron has relocated from Illinois to Florida where he is near family. He may be contacted at: ron33dor@yahoo.com

Take Up Your Cross

By Joe Chesser       Everyone knew where Jesus was heading when he was being led through the streets of Jerusalem carrying his own cross.  Everyone knew he was heading for Golgotha (the place of the Skull – John 19:17) where criminals were crucified.   Carrying a cross for all to see was a part of the cruelty of a crucifixion. It not only was painfully exhausting, it was also an intentional public humiliation.  People watched and pointed.  People yelled things that were harsh and heartless.  Carrying your cross to your crucifixion was never intended to be something done privately.  It was out in the open for all to see.     Likewise, Christianity was never intended to be something kept secret. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).  To “take up his cross” meant a public execution to those who heard Jesus speak these words.  To be crucified with Christ was not intended to be kept within the safe confines of a church building or a friendly church environment.  No, to take up your cross and follow Jesus means to openly acknowledge Jesus as your savior and as your life.  Jesus also said, “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.   But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8-9).     To acknowledge Jesus before men means much more than our confession of faith before baptism.  It certainly includes that, but to acknowledge Jesus means that our lives are lived openly for the public to see our faith.  It means we are to let our lives be like a light to the world, not hidden under a bowl, but up high for all to see (Matthew 5:14-16).  It doesn’t matter if they point and stare.  It doesn’t matter if they do not understand or agree.  It doesn’t matter if they speak ruthlessly, or even physically persecute us.  It doesn’t matter because we have died to ourselves.  We no longer live.  Christ is now living in us (Galatians 2:20), openly for all to see.  We have taken up our cross and followed Jesus!      When people became Christians in the first century, they didn’t go into hiding; they didn’t retreat into communes or monasteries.  They openly took up their own cross and followed Jesus!  Jack Graham has said, “While salvation is intensely personal, it is never private; it is always public!”  Everyone knew where Jesus was going when he carried his cross.  Do people know where you are going when you take up your cross?

- Joe Chesser preaches for the Fruitland Church of Christ, Fruitland, MO.  He may be contacted at joeandareva@yahoo.com

Don’t Downplay the Cross

By Adam Faughn

 

    When taken seriously, one of Jesus's most demanding commands is found in Luke 9, where He told what it takes to "truly" be a follower of His:

If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23)

Each portion of that command is challenging, but focus for a few moments on the command to "take up cross daily." It can be easy to downplay the depth of that command and how challenging it really is. There are several ways we can do that, and they all come from a failure to truly remember what a cross was used for and how horrific it was.

    At times, we can downplay the command by making the cross commonplace. That is, we just do not see it as anything more than a symbol. Maybe we do this by making it into jewelry or other similar things, which is not necessarily wrong, but the cross can just become a "thing" in our minds if we do not really think about it.

    At other times, we downplay the command by talking about regular issues of life and comparing them to the cross. We might go through a surgery or an illness and speak of it as being our "cross to bear." Again, I am not saying this is sinful in and of itself, but that type of language can cause the cross to be something that is more common. It is something that is painful but normal.

    What we must always keep in the forefront of our minds is that the cross was a method of execution, and it was meant to be torturous. To state the matter bluntly: people died on crosses.

    So, when Jesus said that we must "take up cross," He was stating that we must die! Obviously, the Lord was not saying that we must physically die in order to follow Him (although following Him might lead to death for some people). He was, rather, saying that our former person must be gone, as good as dead. And take note of the fact that Jesus said this was to happen "daily."

    Each day, we must die to selfishness. We must die to sin. We must die to the way of the world. So, the cross takes on a whole new meaning in our life because we see it for what it is, and it is not pretty or easy.

    Paul gives us the mindset we should have about the cross and what it should mean in our daily walk in one of his most well-known passages. Knowing that the cross was a method of execution, He made it clear that this should be what defines us in our Christian life:

 I have been crucified with Christ.

 It is no longer I who live, but

 Christ Who lives in me. And the

 life that I now live in the flesh I

 live by faith in The Son of God,

Who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

    That is what the cross should mean. It is dying daily to ourselves so that Christ can live through us. Let's not downplay the cross; let's make it what it is meant to be: the place where we die to self and exalt Jesus.

"But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14)

- Adam Faughn preaches for the Central Church of Christ in Paducah KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.centralchurchofchrist.org Visit the Faughn Family blog, A Legacy of Faith.

Jesus and Him Crucified (Acts 2)

By Ron Thomas

 

    Those chosen by the Lord were to wait in Jerusalem for the special day the Lord Jesus told them about.

    They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within His own authority. But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:6-8).

    So, they did. The Lord’s chosen (the twelve apostles) gathered together in one place. Suddenly, from heaven the Lord’s gift, His promise mentioned above came to them. These men spoke in languages (called “tongues”) that perplexed all those who were there and heard. They did not know what to think about this, so they falsely accused them of being drunk. When people do not know, it’s not possible for them to understand how to interpret what they see. Just as it was then, so it is the same today. Without evidence, without understanding, they assert they do know what is going on by accusing them of something not true. Peter and the others dismissed this and explained what was going on.

    Making reference to the words of the prophet Joel, Peter said that what was occurring before their eyes was a fulfillment of what Joel said (2:16). Since the people in the crowd had no counter to what Peter said, they listened. Peter continued by preaching that what the people of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas experienced the last 3 years, what they were seeing now was a culmination of the life lived and a resurrected body going to the glories of heaven. With Him now gone, the words of the prophet are fulfilled. Hearing “the words of the prophet are now being fulfilled” would not have escaped their attention. Coupled with what they knew of Jesus in this midst (as He once was), they would have started to put “two and two together”, coming to a reasonable conclusion on the matter.

- Ron Thomas preacher for the Sunrush Church of Christ, Chillicothe, OH. He may be contacted through the congregation's website. www.sunrushchurchofchrist.org

The First Words from the Cross

By Ron Bartanen

 

     The last words spoken by a loved one are probably the words most indelibly impressed in your mind.  There is special significance to words spoken by one who realizes that life is ebbing away.  There is no time for frivolous talk, and words are carefully chosen.  Such also are the words of Jesus, all of which are precious to the believer, but the final words, as uttered upon the cross by the suffering Savior, serve as a unique window to His soul.  They have frequently been referred to as “The Seven Words From Calvary.”  History records that there were thousands of Jews that had been hung upon Roman crosses for villainous deeds, but the words they spoke would not in any way resemble the words that mocking crowd would hear from Jesus’ lips the day He was crucified.  I wish, in these few lines, to think on Jesus’ first utterance: “Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).  What a contrast that must have been to the curses and hate-filled speech customarily heard on similar occasions! In that one sentence we find an invocation, a petition and an argument.

     The invocation: His first utterance upon the cross was not addressed to His tormentors, or to the crowd of curious and taunting bystanders, but was a prayer, and the first word of that prayer was, “Father.”  He spoke neither words of condemnation, nor words entreating mercy to the multitude, but addressed the heavenly Father.  Even the pain and humiliation Jesus suffered that day could not stifle His faith.  If ever there had been an occasion when it would appear God’s hand was no longer in control, it would have been that day as Jesus suffered the most unjust judgment ever meted out.  Because it was the Father’s will, Jesus endured the cross.

     The Petition: He neither cried out for mercy for Himself, nor for judgment against His executioners, but plead, “Forgive them.”  It was the language of grace—unmerited favor toward even the worst of offenders.  Until Christ, the common word was, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,” but Jesus exhibited a worthier spirit of love.  Certainly while He would have had the right as the Supreme Judge to pronounce eternal woe upon all, He instead chose grace and mercy.  Surely, if Jesus had not prayed such a prayer as this, as someone once observed, the earth would have opened and swallowed them all up.  Instead, their lives were spared that forgiveness could be offered to them, as Peter later would plead with them: “Repent and be baptized…in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

     The Argument: “For they know not what they do.”  Peter would later say to many of these, “I know that through ignorance you did it” (Acts 3:17).  Saul of Tarsus, an early persecutor of believers, would later obtain mercy because, as he said, “I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Tim. 1:13).  However, though done in ignorance, justice demanded penalty.  The guilty still needed forgiveness.  However, the hand of judgment was withheld from the Jewish nation for the next 40 years as they had opportunity to repent and accept Christ, until God gave them up to the Roman armies to plunder and destroy.  Surely it is only because of man’s ignorance that His judgment is delayed, for He is “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9b).

- Ronald Bartanen is a retired minister who for many years served the Lord's church in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. He may be contacted at: ron33dor@yahoo.com

That Old Rugged Cross

By Al Behel

 

    “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross.” These words have been sung for over a hundred years in churches around the world. Cities and churches have erected crosses to symbolize the suffering and death of our Savior, and many believers wear cross-shaped jewelry to proclaim faith in the risen Lord.

    That “Old Rugged Cross” is the object of affection for all faithful Christians. The postle Paul expressed his love for the cross by saying, “God forbid

that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). The cross is the center of our faith and the hope of our salvation.

    That cross is “rugged”. It is not polished gold or silver. It is ugly and bloody. It is rough and contemptible. There is nothing beautiful about it’s physical appearance. The cross was a place where criminals died. The One who made Mount Calvary would come down and die there. On a wooden cross made from a tree he had created.

    What does that rugged cross mean to you? Does it make a difference in your daily thoughts and actions? Does it alter your conversations? Does it cause you to look at relationships differently? Do you cling to that old cross? Does it still have a wondrous “attraction” to you?

    I love that old cross, so despised by the world. It tells me that God loves you and me. It tells me that the Lamb of God left the glories of heaven to bear our sins on dark Calvary. That fact alone gives that old rugged cross a wondrous attraction to me, because on that cross Jesus suffered and died to “pardon and sanctify me.”

    That cross tells us how wretched our sin is and how hopelessly lost we are without it. It tells us how a loving God came and died an innocent death on a cross that should have been for us.

    The power of that cross today is in the hearts of believers, not on top of church buildings or mountain sides. It’s beauty transforms us and fills us with awe and gratitude for His infinite love and grace. That “Old Rugged Cross” is still our greatest hope.

- Al Behel preaches for the Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ in Pigeon Forge, TN. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://greatsmokymountainschurchofchrist.com/

“BLACK FRIDAY”

By Bill Brandstatter

    “Black Friday” has come and gone. This is the day after Thanksgiving when retailers lure customers with all kinds of special incentives. People line up at stores early in the morning to get the special “door buster” savings. People will flock to stores and spend large amounts of money just to take part in the euphoria of “Black Friday.”

    A long time ago there was a “Black Friday” that was even more significant. In Mark’s gospel account we read: “Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.” (Mark 15:33) For three hours, the earth was dark. This was a dark day because Jesus was being crucified. We know it was Friday because Mark adds “Now when evening had come because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath...” (15: 42 NKJV) Since the Sabbath fell on Saturday, we know this day was Friday.

    What made this “Black Friday” so special? It was special because of the price that was paid. Jesus paid the price for the sins of all mankind. Peter described it this way: “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Pet. 2:24) There was another special purchase made on this day. Paul told the elders at Ephesus about this purchase. He said, “Shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood...” (Acts 20:28) Our salvation and the church of our Lord are worth more than all of Solomon’s riches.

    It was special because of the people that were there. The crowd of people who wanted Him crucified were there. (Mark 15:13) Simon, the Cyrenian, was there. (Mark 15:21) The soldiers who led Him away to the cross were standing there mocking Him. (Mark 15:16) The chief priests were mocking Him also. (Mark 15:31) The reason Jesus died was for those that were there and for those who were not there. Jesus stated, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34) He was willing to forgive them while they were crucifying Him.

    It was special because of the people who were not there. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19:10) His blood opened the way to heaven for many. (Eph. 1:7; John 6:54) His blood did away with the Old Testament and brought about a new. (Heb. 9:14,15) His blood enabled people of all generations to be saved through the message of the gospel and through access to His blood that was shed on that “Black Friday” a long time ago. (Gal. 3:28; Rom. 1:16).

    Have you participated in the events of the “Black Friday” of Jesus’ life? Are you saved by His blood? (Matt. 26:28; Rev. 1:5) Have you put Him on in baptism and taken part in all that His death purchased? (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27) What did that “Black Friday” mean to you? Would you stand in line to worship and to hear about the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

- Bill Brandstatter preaches for the Marion Church of Christ in Marion, IL. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://marionchurchofchrist.com/

If Not for the Dikes

By David Bragg

    In a 2017 editorial for the Gospel Advocate Gregory Allen Tidwell reflected on a long ago visit to the Netherlands. He wrote, "I was fascinated with the ongoing struggle the Dutch fight with the ocean" (Keeping the Sea at Bay, August 2017, 2). Through a series of dikes north of Amsterdam the people of the Netherlands have reclaimed and developed farmlands that used to be beneath the North Sea. Known as the Zuiderzee, this land had formerly been a shallow bay gradually pushed back by a huge dam constructed in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
    Protected by the sea wall of dikes must be constantly maintained to keep the sea's pounding waves at bay. He concludes: “The view is dramatic. On one side of the walls, the Dutch are going about their industrious lives. On the other side, the surging North Sea pounds and rages.”
    If not for those dikes a sixth of the country would be swallowed up again by the sea.
    If not for the cross, we would be swallowed up by the eternally raging fires of Hell.
    If not for the cross, we would be helpless in the hands of Satan.
    If not for the cross, we would be would have no hope.
    If not for the cross heaven would be an impossible dream.
    If not for the cross, we would be forever lost.

- David Bragg serves as one of the ministers at the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC and is co-editor of BulletinGold. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.nwchurchofchrist.com/ or his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/

The Real Thing

By David Bragg

    Almost 400 years ago much of Europe, Asia and Africa were devastated by the bubonic plague. When the outbreak erupted among the villagers of Oberammergau, Germany, according to tradition, they made a vow that if God spared them from this terrible disease, they would stage a portrayal of the death of Christ on the cross. The plague passed and they kept their vow.
    Starting in 1634 the citizens have staged their Passion Play every ten years. It was delayed in WWI, cancelled in WWII, and rescheduled in 2020, because of COVID-19, until 2022.
    The story is told of an American tourist attending the play. He really wanted his picture made holding the cross used by the actor portraying Jesus. But when he tried to lift the wooden cross to his shoulders the man was surprised at its weight. He asked the actor, “Why is it so heavy?”
    The actor’s reply: “If I did not feel the weight of it I could not play the part” (Don Cox, Jackson, MO Church of Christ).
    When contemplating the cross of Jesus, we need to feel the weight of it. The burden of sin carried on His innocent shoulders. The weight of MY sins that, if just for a moment, separated Him from His Father, our God. That is no superficial love. It is the real thing.

- David Bragg serves as one of the ministers at the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC and is co-editor of BulletinGold. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.nwchurchofchrist.com/ or his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/

Like the Lord, Despise the Shame

By J. Randal Matheny

     Some people have no shame, when they ought to show it. “The righteous person hates anything false, but the wicked person acts in shameful disgrace” Proverbs 13.5. Are there any more wicked than religious figures preaching false doctrines, creating their own kingdoms, living in dissolution, and loving the attention, power, titles and diplomas?
     Then there is that sinner who is so overcome by his shame that he fails to come forward and confess his sin. Instead of drawing closer to God, he allows shame to drive him away from the Lord. Jeremiah has it right on this one: “Let us acknowledge our shame. Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. For we have sinned against the Lord our God …” Jeremiah 3.25.
     Acknowledging the shame and bringing the sin out in the open serve to allow the Lord to offer forgiveness and restoration.
     The Lord Jesus despised or ignored the shame of the cross, Hebrews 12.2, in order to bring us forgiveness. The original verb is quite strong. It is often translated as scorn or disdain when its object is a person. Attached to the cross was public humiliation. It was reserved for slaves and criminals. The crucified person hung naked for hours or days, near busy roads, the passersby throwing insults, merciless soldiers with a distasteful assignment treating him with disdain, ridicule, and hatred.
     But Jesus faced it all, so clear was his objective in his mind. He loved us so much, he was willing to face it.
     So must be our attitude toward the shame of sin. Our reaction to it must be similar to the Lord’s, in order to receive the forgiveness offered us on the cross. We must not let shame overpower us. It must not be allowed to make us cower and hide.
     Ignore the shame! Hate it! Set it aside! Punch through the shame in order to reach out to the Lord!
     Then he will make it go away, together with the guilt of sin.

- J. Randal Matheny edits and writes UPLift, an inspirational ezine. He
may be contacted here: <http://randalmathenycom/>. When reprinting this
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Frozen in Time

By David Bragg

     On December 24, 1929 Charlie brought his entire family to town. Then Charlie, his wife and seven children (ages 17 years to 4 months) purchased new clothes and posed for a family portrait. This involved no small expense for a struggling North Carolina tenant farming family. It is that portrait one historian described as being "frozen in time" (Unmasked History Magazine).
    The next day was Christmas. For some unknown reason Charlie sent his sixteen-year-old son Arthur on an errand. Then one by one he killed his wife and six children. Each was posed with arms crossed and pillows (or rocks for those found outside) under their heads. Then Charlie set off into the woods where he took his own life.
    History is filled with senseless, violent crimes. These struggle with each other to shock and show how deep human depravity can go. But all these pales in significance to that one single crime that is "frozen in time" by the inspired writers of the four Gospels. That moment has since been immortalized in countless songs of praise and devotion. When those Roman soldiers pounded those three nails, impaling Jesus to the cross, the history witnessed the world’s greatest crime. His great suffering brings us a “great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3).

- David Bragg serves as one of the ministers at the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC and is co-editor of BulletinGold. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.nwchurchofchrist.com/ or his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/