The Shame Of The Cross

Beloved in the Lord, as we begin and continue in the season of Lent, I shared with you already a short writing of the “Offense of the Cross.” When we think of the Christ’s passion, we as Christians witness through the eyes of faith and through the reading of Scripture the shame in which Jesus suffered upon the cross for our sake. I want to share with you again the words of a brother in ministry and author Harold Senkbeil. He writes in regard to the shame of the cross:

Curiosity seekers saw nothing unique at Calvary. For them the cross of Jesus was nothing new. They had seen it all before. There was a sordid routine to every execution under Roman rule: first the stripping, then the flogging, finally the nailing. In the end every crucifixion looked much the same. Jagged, bleeding human flesh was nailed up to die a horrible death. For some victims it meant weeks of agony before they finally died of exposure and suffocation, no longer able to muster enough strength to fill their aching lungs.

Can you imagine this kind of shame? Being stripped of all of your clothing, being flogged, and then finally nailed to the cross. Then, you may endure possible weeks of agony before you gave up you last breath. The reality is, the closest we will ever get to this kind of shame and suffering is on our death beds. For it is near death, that one is stripped to nothing, covered by a gown or some blankets. We might suffer with failing health or terminal illness for weeks or even months before we give up our last breath to death. As a pastor, even though I have seen many parishioners suffer in pain and agony as they neared death, it still didn’t compare to the suffering and shame that our Lord and Savior Jesus endured upon the cross. Even though we may feel as if we’ve been stripped of our clothing, only to be adorned with a gown and maybe some blankets, we still depart this world with some dignity. Unlike Jesus, who was stripped fully of all of His garments, was nailed to the cross of Calvary, and then was spit on, mocked, and had insults hurled at him while onlookers stared at Him like visitors stand and look at animals on display at a zoo. As Senkbeil writes:

On the surface it was the same for Jesus as it had been for all the others. Stripped of His clothing, He was nailed up to die a naked, shameful death, the butt of jokes by a mob of jeering bystanders. The governor’s official indictment hung over HIs head in bitter mockery: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19). Jesus didn’t look like a king. In fact, with that poster overhead, He looked like a pitiful clown. The jeering mob thought they had the last laugh: “He saved others; He cannot save Himself,” they shouted (Matthew 27:42). But Jesus didn’t come to save Himself. He came to save us. This was His determined purpose: to give His life for the life of the world. “For the joy that was set before Him” Paul reminds us, Jesus “endured the cross, despising its shame” (Hebrews 12:2). Gladly Jesus laid down His life. Willingly He bore our sin. Joyfully He embraced our shame. And that is the heart of the matter.

Beloved, this is what is at the heart of this Lententide. It is a reminder to you and me, that Jesus didn’t come to save Himself. He came to save you. He came to save me. He came to save the world. “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). But more than that, we will be reminded once again this Lententide that Jesus willingly bore our sins and laid down His life for us, in order that we would no longer be slaves to sin, death, hell, and the powers of satan. Beloved, it is our sin, the sin of our first parents (Adam and Eve), and the sin of the world that put Jesus on that cross. Sin which produces guilt. Sin which produces the killer…shame. Senkbeil writes:

There is guilt connected with sin; its true. But shame is the real killer. Guilt is abstract, after all. We shrug it off too easily. Just as Adam blamed Eve for his sin, we can pass our guilt to others. But there is no passing off shame. It just lies there, deep inside the human heart, an ugly, festering wound within. There’s a biting pain to shame. It might be remorse for injury we’ve caused others or humiliation because of injuries we’ve received. Humiliation, remorse, disgrace…it’s all the same. It all adds up to one great big ugly painful wound called shame. And it won’t be ignored. Shame can be removed, but it cannot be ignored.

Beloved, the Good News for you today and always is that Jesus did not ignore our shame. Instead, He removed it. He bore our guilt and shame upon His shoulders, He was nailed to the offensive cross of Calvary, and He took our guilt and shame to the grave tomb. Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave tomb, leaving our guilt and shame buried there in that tomb. Though He was God, He made Himself nothing, “taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). Senkbeil continues:

In His naked, shameful death at the cross, the Lord of life embraced not merely sins guilt but its shame as well. He bore the biting pain of our shame in His very body, and “with His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). It was an ugly scene that day at Calvary. But more was there than met the eye. Pilate’s biting parody proclaimed ironic truth. The King of the Jews, he order inscribed above this naked, dying man. And Jesus was in fact a king, though He governed no real estate and commanded no earthly armies. The mysterious Magi first introduced God’s awesome saga, and here was its final chapter. The promised King had come, but His kingdom was not of this world. He, God in human flesh, had come to die. The cosmic King laid down His life for the life of the world. (Senkbeil, pgs. 58-59, Dying to Live).

This is what we will hear once again this Lenten season. When we look to the cross, what do we see? Guilt and shame? Yes! The guilt and shame which Christ bore for you and me.

“Glory be to Jesus, who in bitter pains; Poured for me the life blood, from His sacred veins! Lift we, then, our voices, Swell the mighty flood; Louder still and louder; Praise the precious blood.” (LSB 433, Glory Be to Jesus, vs. 1, 6).

Beloved, when satan works to accuse your conscience with guilt and shame, may you be emboldened to look at the cross of Jesus, and be comforted and reminded that there upon the cross of Calvary, Jesus took your guilt and shame upon His shoulders. Even more so, may you boldy proclaim:

“Satan hear this proclomation: I am baptized into Christ! Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed. Now that to the font I’ve traveled, all your might has come unraveled, And against your tyrrany, God, my Lord, unites with me.” (LSB 594, God’s Own Child I Gladly Say It, v. 3).

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit abide with you today and always. Amen!