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The cross is a familiar sight to almost everyone, especially Christians. We are reminded by the sight of that cross of the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. However, to many of us, the very thought of that sacrifice is so troubling that we really don’t want to spend much time meditating on that sight.

Why?

Because if we look closely enough at that cross, it isn’t Jesus we see up there, it’s "me".

Each one of us can see ourselves on that cross, bleeding, suffering beyond any known cruelty, dying, without hope, knowing that beyond physical death waits an eternity of even greater torment.

That cross represents to each one of us the unending darkness of what life and eternity would be like without the presence of God.

Jesus was more familiar with that cross than we are. When He looked at that cross, he saw his beloved child there, whipped and beaten by the cruelty of Satan in his life, naked and humiliated by that child’s own willingness to forgo the covering of God’s Love. Jesus saw the blood of each child dripping down that child’s naked body and over the rough wood of that cursed cross, dripping into the dirt of an unforgiving earth, shed for no reason other than that Satan enjoys watching the child bleed.

Jesus saw the thorny crown of pride upon that child’s head, each unyielding thorn producing its own individual pain - unforgiveness, anger, hatred, fornication, murder, greed, selfishness, lying, stealing, destruction, self-will, apathy. The blood from those thorns dripped over the neck, stiffened by unwillingness to hear and obey God. The blood dripped into ears unwilling to hear God’s Word. The blood dripped into eyes blinded to the truth of God.

Jesus saw on the body of His Child the whip marks of Satan, too numerous to count, each mark representing another disease; cancer, AIDS, heart failure, diabetes, nerve diseases, muscle diseases, diseases going as deep as the marks - to the very bone, diseases covering every layer and every cell of that beautiful Child, made in His Own Image.

Somehow, He could see the bruises through the blood and among the marks of the whip - bruises of abuse, loneliness, mental torment, neglect, grief, sorrow, depression, alcoholism, drug abuse.

Jesus saw the nails in the beloved hands and feet of his creation, displaying the body of His child, open to the rocks and arrows thrown by the demonic forces of Satan. The nail in that left hand SHOULD HAVE BEEN the shield of faith. The nail of that right hand SHOULD HAVE BEEN the sword of the spirit. The nails in those feet SHOULD HAVE BEEN the covering of the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Jesus saw His child thirsting for the Living water, the water of the Holy Spirit, pure and cold and sweet and satisfying and never ending. He saw the evil spirits of Satan give that thirsting child the vinegar of lying lips, gossip, complaint, foul language, useless profanity, harmful, bitter, hate-filled words against his brother, words of faithlessness, discontent and cruel indifference.

Jesus saw His child hungry for the Bread of Life and there was nothing but emptiness. Satan gave no substitute for the bread, but hunger, hopelessness, weakness, destitution, defeat.

Then Jesus knew what would happen. His child would die on that cross. The pain of living under Satan’s cruelty would become too much to bear and the physical body would die. Jesus knew that then the spirit of His Child would be lost forever and would then be subjected to eternal torment.

Jesus knew every splinter of that cross, but he loved His Child so much, with so much mercy and grace that He knew and could count every hair on that sinful, wicked Child’s head.

So He came to the manger as His own Child.

Born of Mary - Looking to the Cross.

Raised as a carpenter’s son - Looking to the Cross.

Baptized in the river Jordan - Looking to the Cross.

Annointed by His Father, God, to remove the burdens and destroy the Yokes of Satan - at the cross.

Healed the sick , cast out demons, taught love and forgiveness and rest in the Peace of God -
always Looking to the Cross.

Then He gave Himself to the injustice of Satan’s disciples for our sake - to be bound - instead of His Child, beaten - instead of His Child, whipped - instead of His Child, mocked - instead of His Child.

He gave himself to the unjustness of Satan so His Child could escape the justifiable consequences of his own actions.

Then He took the Cross that he KNEW as well as He knew His own Child - Me - and hated it as much as He LOVED His own Child -ME - and He carried it to the place of death, already bearing on his own body MY crown of thorns, the bruises I should have suffered, the marks of the whip meant for MY Body. He allowed them to put MY nails - each as big as a railroad spike - in His Hands and in His feet. He suffered the shame of MY nakedness because I refused to be covered. He suffered MY torturous thirst and MY unrelenting hunger.

Then He died the death I was supposed to have died and went to Hell in MY place. He would have stayed there if staying there could have done any more to prove how much He loved me - His Child.

He gave His Life for mine or as it is written in the Word of God, He redeemed me from the curse without money, but with His own body. Then He gave me His Victory over death - over Satan - over sin. He replaced my body on the cross with His Body. He replaced my spirit in Hell with His Spirit. He replaced my death in the grave with His death and then He got me out of the grave with His Life.

Jesus saw the Cross and knew what it stood for. Paul wrote in his letter to the Hebrews that Jesus ENDURED that Cross for the JOY it would come to represent to us - and that JOY is this -

Jesus isn’t on the Cross and neither am I.

By the Holy Spirit and to the Glory of God
Merrellee Moore 10/24/96