Recently in reading my Oswald Chambers daily devotional, I was struck by Chambers' statement that most of us tend to focus primarily on the effects of Christ's death on the cross instead of the event itself. It struck me as odd at first because I thought that the effects of the cross, i.e. salvation, mercy, grace, forgiveness, was the main point that we were to be preaching to others. This is the Good News after all, is it not?
But then I considered the fact that, while many of us were horrified the first time we heard the details of Jesus' death on the cross or saw re-enactments like the movie "The Passion of the Christ", after awhile we get used to it, are kind of numbed to it, and don't really think much anymore about the horror and agony of it. The beating with clubs and fists that broke bones, the whipping with the cat-o-nine-tails that ripped flesh, the spitting in His face, the taunting, the crown of thorns digging deep into His head, the mocking, the agonizing trip up the hill carrying a heavy, rough, wooden, splintered cross on His ripped open flesh, the humiliation of being stripped bare in front of his mother, friends and everyone, the huge spikes being hammered through each of His hands and each of His feet one at a time in slow succession, the cross being raised with his body nailed to it, thumping into the hole, jarring His body and causing Him to hardly be able to breathe, the jeers, the hoots and hollers and self-satisfied smirks..... this is only a fraction of the agony He endured on the Cross. And yet, we condense all of this to "Christ died on the cross for our sins".
I agree with Chambers that the Cross is everything. While we are all happy about the rewards of the cross to us, the Cross itself and the tribulation that Jesus endured on that cross to gain us those rewards is the MOST important thing and ought to be where we place our primary emphasis. For me, this does several things. First of all, it continually reminds me of the terrible sacrifice that was made for me and for the whole world. A sacrifice that was made for a world of egotistic, unloving, ungrateful, and evil-minded people. A seemingly insane sacrifice except that it reveals the unbelievable passion that Jesus has for all of His children and His determination to do whatever it takes to save them. Remembering the horror and agony of that sacrifice makes the reward of salvation so much sweeter and so much more appreciated.
Focusing on the Cross of Christ also keeps the focus off of me. Let's face it, by focusing on the effects and rewards of the cross, it's almost like saying "What's in it for me?" It's all about "what can Jesus do for me?" instead of "what can I do for Jesus?". It helps to reverse my natural selfish mindset and engenders a spirit of gratitude and humility in me. These are the kinds of traits we want people far from God to see in us. We want them to see how grateful and humbled we are by Jesus selfless sacrifice for us, and not just gleeful that we get to go to heaven. Sometimes I think we just get too caught up in telling people "Dude! This is the deal of a lifetime! This Jesus dude already paid for everybody's ticket to heaven and all you have to do is believe! It's so easy!" We forget how much was paid and in what manner for that ticket.
So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:17 "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power". Think about the times you have tried to bring the message of Christ to unbelievers. Did you focus on the rewards of being a Christian or did you focus on the event of Christ on the cross? I think we're afraid to go to the cross in our ministry because we think it will turn people off. In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul goes on to say "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." And in 1 Corinthians 1:22-25, "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."
I believe Chambers has it right when he says, "The proclaiming of Jesus will do its own work. ".....and even if your listeners seem to pay it no attention, they will never be the same again. We have to focus on the great point of spiritual power - the Cross. If we stay in contact with that center of power, its energy is released in our lives." "If we get away from dwelling on the tragedy of God on the cross in our preaching, our preaching produces nothing. It will not transmit the energy of God to man; it may be interesting, but it will have no power."
You may say, "But I am not a preacher, what does this have to do with me!" If you are a Christ follower, then you are a preacher, or should be, to everyone in your sphere of influence and contact. So don't forget the power of preaching the tragedy and agony of the Cross that Christ endured out of His passionate love for us to bring us eternal life with Him.
