By

Shelby G. Floyd

“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” by Issac Watts was one of the most beautiful hymns ever written. He is one of the best-known and best loved of the British hymn writers. He wrote about 600 hymns in his lifetime. Charles Wesley, who also wrote many hymns, said that he would gladly have exchanged all of his hymns for that one hymn written by Isaac Watts. Watts hymn is based upon Galatians 6:14 where the apostle Paul said, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

GLORYING IN THE CROSS

The cross of Christ is the center of the gospel story. Wherever the apostles and preachers went in the early days of the church, the central theme of their message was the death of Christ upon the cross of Calvary. For instance, Paul worked with the Corinthians a year and a half. Later he wrote a letter to them and said, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2). This meant that “Christ crucified” was the burden of his message. He did not preach the Grecian philosophy or the Roman wisdom of the poets and philosophers. He said his message was Jesus Christ and him crucified.

In the first chapter of the same letter he said, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect” (1 Corinthians 1:17). He said the cross of Christ was a stumbling block to the Jews, and the Greeks looked upon it as foolishness. He added, “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” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

CHRIST ANTICIPATED HIS DEATH

Jesus Christ anticipated his own death. There have been other men who have anticipated their deaths, but not each detail of how and when they would die. The Lord did. In John 3 Jesus had an interview with Nicodemus. When we talk about this interview, we usually talk about the new birth. Many probably do not realize the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus about the new birth also included the statement, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believe it in him should not periods, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believe it in him should not perish, but have everlasting life: for God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:14-17). This is a part of the interview with Nicodemus.

Moses lifted up a brazen serpent in the wilderness so that all who looked upon it by faith might not die. God had sent poisonous serpents to bite the Israelites because of their murmuring and their sin against Him and against Moses. Those who looked upon that standard were cured from the snake bite! Jesus said that just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so the Son of Man would be lifted up. He was talking about being lifted up on the cross of Calvary. That cross has secured forgiveness for all of us who put our faith in Jesus’s death, his blood, and benefits that come through it. We can be saved from sin, and they were safe from physical death by the lifting up of the serpent on the standard.
In John eight Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall you know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my father has taught me, I speak these things” (John 8:28). What was Jesus talking about? He was talking about being lifted up on the cross, being lifted up from the grave on the third day thereafter, and finally being lifted up to be seated on the right hand of God. He then sent back prominence and power of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. Then they would know he was the divine Son of God.
There is one other place where Jesus used this statement. In John 12:32-33 he said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He would die.” So, it is plain as can be. He was talking about the old rugged cross, the cruel cross of Calvary; or as the apostle Peter and others called it “the tree,” the old, rugged tree.

Jesus was nailed to the cross. Try to visualize Jesus hanging on a cross. He went through mock trials. Both the Hebrew and Roman trials were the biggest injustices ever perpetrated by human beings. They were not fair trials, simply mock trials. They stripped him of his robe—the only thing he had! Jesus said one time, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man does not have even a place to lay his head.” He had a robe and they gambled for it. They planted a crown of thorns on his head. When the people passed by, they wagged their heads, spat upon him, and cursed and ridiculed Him. Before they did that a soldier laid the Lord on the cross beam of the tree, then took a hammer and drove spikes through his hands and feet! Then they put the cross in the ground. Infection soon appeared in the bloodstream causing pain and anguish. Then suffocation probably hastened his death. Added to this was the burden of carrying our sins to the cross!

THE DRAWING POWER OF THE CROSS

Jesus said in the previous passage that he would draw all men unto himself. There is drawing power in the cross of Calvary. What is it about the cross of Christ that draws us to God and to Jesus Christ? Where is the power of the cross of Christ? Following are just a few things that draw us to God and our Lord Jesus Christ!

THE WICKEDNESS OF SIN

The first thing is the wickedness of sin. All of us have engaged in sin and know how bad it can be. When we see people living in sin around us, we know how bad and evil it is, and how much heartache it contributes to our world. The Old Testament tells us about some people who were awful sinners. Old Jezebel was one of the worst women in the history of man. She had Naboth put to death because she wanted to take his vineyard away from him and give it to her weak husband Ahab. He did not have enough backbone to have Naboth killed, so she did it for him. The prophet confronted her saying: “The dogs are going to eat you in the same place where they licked the blood of Naboth.” That actually happened. Also, the dogs licked the blood out of the chariot where Ahab died, in the very same place where Naboth shed his blood. Jezebel was a wicked woman. She was a great sinner.
There was never a man with a blacker heart in all the land that Judas Iscariot. He was a confidant of the Lord. For over three years he was one of his trusted companions. The Lord gave him the same powers, privileges, and the same blessing that he did all the other apostles. Judas had the love of money and made a covenant of death and sold the Lord away. No wonder people today do such things for money. The Bible says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” People will do just about anything because they love money. Judas was no exception!

It is not necessary to study about Jezebel to see how evil sin is. Just study the cross! It was sin that drove the nails in the hands and the feet of our Lord. It was sin that caused Him to be so mistreated and crucified. It was sin that caused people to curse him and spit upon his face and ridiculed him.

THE SINS THAT NAILED CHRIST TO THE CROSS

What are some of the sins that nailed Jesus to the cross? Usually when we talk about Jesus being nailed to the cross, we talk about who nailed Him to the cross. For many years enmity existed between the Gentiles and the Jews. The Roman Gentiles crucified Jesus, and then they said the Jews were the Christ killers. The truth of the matter is that both of them contributed to crucifying Christ, both the Jews and the Gentiles. What was it that cause those people to crucify Jesus? It was sin!

The Sin of Ignorance

Jesus was crucified by the sin of ignorance. In Acts three Peter preached in Solomon’s portico saying that his audience had crucified the Lord of glory. He said they did it in ignorance and that if they had known they would not have crucified him (Acts 3:17). Ignorance is a sin and there is no excuse for it. Many of those people were willingly ignorant of the fact that Jesus was the divine Son of God. They crucified him in ignorance but there was no excuse for it. Willful ignorance is a sin.

The Love of Evil

Another sin the crucified Jesus was people’s love of evil and hate of good. We live in a time when people try to legitimize every type of sin imaginable. Isaiah the fearless prophet stood up and said, “Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20)! Woe to those who hate good and love evil. Calling evil good and good evil does not make it so. In John three Jesus said, “ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:19-21). He said that those who love darkness would not come to the light because they hate the light. Why? Light exposes something for what it is.

When Peter preached to Cornelius and his household, he said that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and that he went about doing good (Acts 10:38). Have you ever read about anything the Lord did that was not good? That was all he did. He went about doing good and he was crucified because, and only because, he stood for what was good and did what was good. In the book of John Jesus said on one occasion, “Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do you stone me” (John 10:31-33)? In other words he was saying, “All I am doing are the good works of my Father.” Now you are ready to stone me. For which of these good works that I have done are you going to stone me?”

There is enmity and alienation between the forces of good and evil. We are in a battle for the minds of men. We are in a great contest between the kingdom of Satan in the kingdom of God’s dear Son. If you stand for what is good, those who hate good and love evil will oppose you. Jesus was crucified because there were people then, as they are today, who hated anything that is good and opposed anyone who stood for what was right.

The Sin of Envy

Jesus was crucified by the sin of envy. Pilate knew that (Matthew 27:18). He examined Jesus two or three times and each time his verdict was, “I find this man innocent. I find he has done nothing worthy of death. Shall I release him unto you?” They cried out, “no! Crucify him, crucify him” (Matthew 27:21-24). The Bible says Pilate knew it was for envy that Christ was brought up before him. The Jews envied Christ. What is envy? Jealousy is the fear that someone will take away something you have. Envy is the desire to have something that someone else has. What did Jesus have that they wanted? Jesus had the approval of his heavenly Father. He was popular with many people because of the good work he had done. He was popular as a teacher of God’s word. They envied his influence, his good works, and his power and prestige he had with the people. Because they wanted what the Lord had, they nailed him to the cross to get rid of him and take what they wanted.

The Sin of Lying

Another sin that crucified the Lord was the sin of lying. When the rulers condemned the Lord to death, they had to do so with false witnesses. They could find none who would agree on any charges to prove that he is worthy of death. The Bible says they found some false witnesses. These men lied under oath, perjuring themselves for the reward given them by those who hated Jesus. Lying is a terrible sin. A person is never more like the devil than when he is lying. Jesus said in John 8:44 concerning some of his critics, “you are of your father the devil.” They said, “we be not born of fornication; we have one father, even God.” He said their father was the devil, “when he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” So the sin of lying crucified the Lord.

The Sin of Loving Money

The love of money crucified Jesus. Judas loved money. He sold the Lord for money. That was a sin and it helped to put Jesus on the cross. “But godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be there with content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lust, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:6-10).

The Sin of Moral Weakness

The sin of moral weakness crucified the Lord. The everyday happenings of life often do not show what a person is made of. This is found out during a crisis when the pressure and heat are on. A person who crawfishes and refuses to stand steadfast and faithful to his principles, absolutely cannot be depended upon. Pilate was such a character. He was in a dilemma. Should he let the Lord go and suffer the wrath of the Jews, or should he crucify the Lord and suffer the wrath of his own guilty conscience. He weighed the alternatives and finally yielded to the wishes of the people rather than to his principles and convictions of right and wrong. He had to live with an action. Sometimes the hardest person to live with is you, especially when you have not lived up to your moral convictions of right and wrong. Pilate violated his moral principles and crucified, or allowed to be crucified, an innocent man. He had the rest of his life to think about that. He will have all the ages of eternity to think about the sin of violating what he knew to be the morally right thing.
All of the sins mentioned crucified the Lord. That is why sin is so bad. When we see Jesus nailed to the cross we realize that sin did that. It should cause us to hate sin. It should cause us to love the Lord more than ever and want to serve Him all the days that we have upon the earth. It draws us closer to Jesus Christ because sin put him on the cross. That is the drawing power of the cross.

THE LOVE OF GOD

The second drawing power of the cross is the love of God. Those who have given up sons and daughters in defense of our country may go to the graveyard where those sons are buried and may shed tears. What is it that draws us to the grave? It is the love we have for our sons and daughters. It is the love their sons and daughters had for them and for the country they were willing to die for.

Love is a powerful emotion. Love can motivate us to act in deeds of worthiness in this life. What caused Jesus to leave heaven with all the privileges of the deity? What caused him to descend to this lowly earth, God’s footstool, and take upon himself our human nature, our flesh and blood? What caused him to endure the grief, the sorrow, the trials and the tribulations and finally the most ignominious death anyone ever died upon the cross? What caused him to do that? It was the love of God that sent Jesus to the cross. Jesus cried out and said, “Oh my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me, But, nevertheless, not as I will but, as You will” (Matthew 26:39, 42). It was the love of Christ that caused him to die on the cross.

Once he said, “I have the power to request ten legions of angels if I want to” (Matthew 26:53). The death of Jesus was vicarious. His death was voluntary. It was not backcourt person or force. He willingly gave himself on the cross because of the great love he had for you and for me. John 3:16 states, “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Brother J. W. McGarvey was one of the greatest preachers of the restoration movement. By the time of the Civil War there was a story told about a woman who had a son who died during that war. She was crying and sorrowing. She came to brother McGarvey and asked, “where was God when my son died?” Brother McGarvey answered her, “I guess he was in the same place he was when his own son died.”

Yes, that is the only time God differed with his son, when his son died upon the cross. Jesus cried out in the anguish of his soul. “If there is any other possible way to save the human race apart from my dying on this cross, Father, let us do it. Nevertheless, whatever is your will that is what I will do?” There was no other way possible. If there had been, God Almighty would not have sacrificed his son. God, in satisfying the just requirements of his government, gave his only begotten son on the cross to die. He did that so we might be justified, and he might be just in justifying sinners.

THE INNOCENCE OF CHRIST

The innocence of Christ is the power of the cross. There is something that draws people to an innocent person who suffers. A suffering person who has done no wrong attracts people who love what is right and good. When we see a sinless person with no guile found in his mouth, hanging on a cross in the anguish of his soul, it should melt our hearts. If this will not melt the hardest and blackest heart and cause it to be brought to the love of God, there is no power on earth that can change it.

These are just a few of the glorying powers of the cross. “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified in me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14). The most wonderful thing about the cross is that through the benefits of the death of Christ, we have the hope of everlasting life and the forgiveness of sins.

THE BENEFITS OF THE CROSS

The soldiers came to Jesus and the two thieves to finish putting them to death. The came to the thieves first and broke their legs because they were not dead. When they came to the Lord, they found he was already dead. In John 19:33 the Bible says, “but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs.” John states, “for these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, not one of his bones shall not be broken” (John 19:36). Instead, a soldier took a spear and thrust it into his side. “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” John 19:34). Jesus shed his blood. When did he shed? Not while he was alive, but when he was dead. He was already dead and so he shed his blood in his death. Jesus himself said in establishing the Lord’s supper, “For this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

Question! How do we appropriate the benefits of the death and blood of Christ? “Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3). We were baptized into his death. Why? “That as Christ was raised up from the dead to the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” It is in baptism that we enter into his death where he shed his blood. That is where we contact the merits and the benefits of the shed blood of Christ. When we come up out of that immersion into Christ death, we are new creatures in Christ Jesus.

Yes, the cross of Christ will draw us if we love God because he first loved us. It will draw us if we are willing to repent of our sins, confess Jesus Christ, and be baptized. In whatever way you are subject to the gospel of Christ, respond because the cross of Christ draws you. And when we glory in the cross, we would sing about it, shout about it, and praise God throughout eternity, because he loved us so much, he sent Jesus to die for us. That is the power of the gospel, the power of the cross.

Copyright © 2024 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

Shelby G. Floyd delivered the sermon July 16, 1978, at the Garfield Heights Church of Christ, 2842 Shelby Street, Indianapolis, Indiana.