The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross
1 Corinthians 1:18-24; John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35
Great Feast. Holy day of obligation. Traditional day of abstinence from meat and foods that contain meat.
Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-24
Perhaps we have forgotten or even do not know how torturous crucifixion is. I invite the reader to read what crucifixion does to the human body (see https://bit.ly/3iu64Oe). It is not pretty. The Christians in Corinth would all be familiar with crucifixion as practised by the Roman Empire. They easily understood that a crucified man as the Saviour might pose a problem for the Jews (who sought miracles) and the Greeks (who sought their own wisdom). Even today, when we present our Lord Jesus to others as the Saviour, there is a question, “How can that be? He might have been a great moral teacher who taught to love in all circumstances, but he was crucified! He is dead. How can you believe in a Saviour that is crucified?” Yes, He was crucified. But He also rose from the dead!
Have you ever noticed that in our Eastern Christian Church, we rarely mention or sing about the Cross or our Lord’s crucifixion without also mentioning His resurrection from the dead? There is a reason for this. It is so we do not forget that by our Lord’s death and resurrection, He blew the Jews’ expectations of a Saviour out of the water and surpassed the wisdom of this world that the Greeks seek. It is by His death that Death is conquered, defeated, and quashed, and it is by His resurrection that we are given to eternal life.