"When they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals - one on His right, the other on His left. Jesus said, 'Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' And they divided up His clothes by casting lots." Luke 23:33. "And sitting down they watched Him there."

Calvary was where Jesus Christ was crucified by a coaliton of church, state and people. There to be seen was the intolerance of the Pharisees; the exclusiveness of Caiaphas and the priests; the imperial might of Rome and the executive power of Pontius Pilate; the disappointment of the people who expected so much from Him and whose feelings for Him were turned to resentment and abuse. These put Christ on the Cross. And there, too, were the disciple who denied knowing Him and the others who had deserted Him, and the false witnesses who had testified against Him.

Everyone had reason for doing as he did and all of them were guilty much or little for His death. And yet they were not the determining factor in His death, for Jesus went to His death by His own choosing when by standing firm for what He believed He accepted His fate. He had foreseen and foretold how His life would end. As we see Christ on the Cross we recall His words, "The Son of Man came to give His life" and "No man takes (my life) from Me, but I lay it down Myself." "The Son of Man must suffer and be slain." It was the "must" not of constraint but of choice.

Crucifixion was regarded as the most horrific method of capital punishment even in a world accustomed to violence and extreme cruelty. It was shameful and degrading of victims, authorities and spectators. Paul quoting Deuteronomy said "Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree." The Jews thought that and the Romans agreed for Cicero said, "Never may it come near to the bodies of Roman citizens, never near their thoughts, or eyes or ears."

So that when the disciples of Jesus preached about the Cross of Christ they met with the opposition of Jew and Gentile. They had to explain what really happened at Calvary and how the sacrifice of Jesus Christ affects everyone, everywhere and forever. It was to bring God and Man together in that relationship desired by God and needed by people.

"We may not know, we can not tell, what pains He had to bear, but we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there."

Why the Cross?

Because by His death on the Cross Jesus affirmed that a power would be released to bring people into a right relationship with God and with one another. In his play "The Trial of Jesus" John Masefield has a scene where the Roman centurion, Longinus, made his report on the crucifixion of Jesus to Pontius Pilate. After the meeting Pilate's wife Procula called him to her room and to her he retold the events of Calvary. When he finished she asked, "Do you think he is dead?" To which he replied, "No, lady, I do not." "Then where is he?" she wondered. Longinus responded, "Let loose in the world, where neither Roman nor Jew can stop his truth."

The people and attitudes which put Christ on the Cross are still around. Evil is constantly at work trying to destroy what is good.

The Cross of Christ reveals the extent of God's love for people. It says that our relationship with God comes from our response to what He has done for us in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.

"Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears for ever flow. All for sin could not atone; Thou must save and Thou alone." The Cross was not an end but a beginning. The curse of Calvary became a blessing and the gloom of Good Friday was followed by the joy of Easter Day

Christians speak of Christ crucified and risen again. The good news of Jesus Christ is of life. Not Christ is dead but Christ is alive.