In Texas last week, an 18 year old man was arrested for wearing a noose in public. As Jewelry.
Seems kind of morbid doesn’t it? A noose is an instrument of an agonizing death. It represents vigilante law, I would never be proud to wear a noose.
What about an electric chair? Did you know you can actually get an electric chair pin to wear on eBay? It comes in either gold or silver.
A symbol of capital punishment…I don’t think I’d wear one, no matter how many people said, “Wow Art, that looks really good on you.”
Even if they said it made me look thin…I wouldn’t wear one.
What about a cross? Oh that’s different? How?
Crucifixion on a cross was a form of capital punishment reserved for only the worst criminals, like our electric chair.
Yet we wear a cross around our necks.
Think about it…the cross was the way Jesus was executed.
If your brother was killed in a drive-by-shooting, you wouldn’t wear a silver assault rifle on a chain around your neck.
If one of your ancestors had been lynched, you wouldn’t wear a golden noose!
Had the early church hired a Madison Avenue marketing group to help them come up with a logo for the Christian faith, I don’t think a cross would have been anywhere on their list.
It was such a revolting, shameful and offensive symbol!
To the Jewish mind, being nailed to a cross was such a shameful way to die that they considered any who were crucified to be cursed in God’s sight.
Ok, so why do Christians wear a cross? What is its meaning? This morning we are going to look at 4 images that will help us understand the place of the cross in the life of the believer.