Author: Weylan Deaver

minister: Church of Christ | admin: BiblicalNotes.com | admin: The Scattershot Report | southpaw | tunesmith (ASCAP) | bear hunter | Texan | alumnus: Southwest School of Bible Studies ('88), Freed-Hardeman University (B.A.), Bear Valley Bible Institute (M.B.S.)
Posted in General

Read the Bible in 2015

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

It is the only book God wrote. There is none like it. There is no substitute for what it says. The Bible’s take on every subject it touches is the truth. It will judge us all eventually. That being the case, we ought to be at least as acquainted with Scripture as we are with sports, movies, music, entertainers, hobbies, politics, local news or video games. It is vastly more important than all of those, combined. God’s book should not be a strange, unfamiliar object on the shelf. The New Testament has 260 chapters, and the Old Testament has 929 chapters, for a total of 1,189 chapters. If you begin in January in Genesis and read only four chapters per day, you will finish the entire Bible, with time to spare, before the year is over. Though Bible reading does not necessarily imply faithfulness to God, faithfulness does imply Bible reading. Or, put differently, a Bible reader may not be a dedicated Christian, but the truly dedicated are always Bible readers. It is, at least, a starting place. If you have not read it, you do not realize what you are missing. Regular readers know the Bible is never mastered, no matter how many times they have gone through it. God’s mind is deep, and his written revelation offers insights that are never exhausted. The Bible is given for our learning so that we might obey God. This makes it much more than just a collection of useful information. It is vital, essential, cannot-live-without-it information. We all owe it to God and our eternal well-being to study it diligently. So, determine to read the Bible in the new year. And, please visit us at the church of Christ, where the ancient word of God is always as fresh as this morning’s newspaper.

Posted in General

Long To Look

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

Speaking of Old Testament prophets’ predictions about Jesus Christ’s “sufferings” and “glories,” Peter wrote, “It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look” (1 Peter 1:12, ESV). Amazing, that angels “long to look” into God’s work regarding human salvation. In that verse, “long” is translated from a Greek word (epithumeo) which means to desire passionately. And, “look” is translated from a Greek word (parakupto) which conveys the image of someone stooping down to look at something. Thus, the “good news” of the gospel is so intriguing that angels have a keen desire to stoop down and see what God is doing for you and me as he offers salvation through Jesus’ blood. Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that Jesus did not die to offer salvation to any angels who fell away from God, for “it is not angels that he helps” (Hebrews 2:16). So, even though the gospel is not for their own benefit, angels are interested. In point of fact, the gospel is all about saving men and women. Now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if every man and woman were as interested in the gospel as the angels are? God has done something so grand for humanity that angels take note. How sad, tragic, and without excuse that so many people for whom Jesus gave his life cannot seem to muster interest in the message of salvation. Visit us at the church of Christ, where we still “long to look” into God’s truth.

Posted in Christianity and Culture

Keep Christ Constantly

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

No one knows Jesus was born on December 25. The best that can be said is that December 25 is Christ’s birthday, by tradition, but that is a long way from provable fact. Had God wanted us to know the exact date, he would have told us. That no one knows Jesus’ date of birth is evidence God never intended for it to be religiously observed. The first mention of celebrating Jesus’ birth in the extant historic records does not occur until A.D. 336. Even though December 25 cannot be proven as Jesus’ birthday, some may ask, “Isn’t it still good that so many think about Jesus on that day?” Well, it is certainly good to think about Jesus. The problem is, most do not think about him enough. They do not meditate on his message. They do not let the gospel bring them to obedience. In the end, what good does it do a person to keep Jesus’ birth in his thoughts during a particular season of the year, if he is not going to obey the Lord throughout the year? As Jesus remarked, “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14, ESV). Jesus commanded many things, including repentance (Luke 13:3), baptism (Mark 16:16), and putting God first in everything (Matthew 6:33). Jesus never demanded we celebrate his birthday. To remember his birth while forgetting his commands does no one any lasting good. If one wants to focus thoughts on the Lord’s birth at Christmas, then he ought to follow up by focusing on the Lord, including all his commands, every day. The gospel is not seasonal (2 Timothy 4:2), and Jesus’ words will judge us all one day (John 12:48). Visit us at the church of Christ, where our goal is not to keep Christ in Christmas, but, rather, to keep Christ constantly.

Posted in Christianity and Culture, World Religions

Reflecting on the Koran

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

Recently I set a personal goal of reading the Koran in its entirety. Now a good way into it, I am compiling a list as I go of passages where its conflict with the Bible is glaring. Here are a few impressions so far, and a few quotes (all quotations taken from A. J. Arberry’s translation, The Koran Interpreted). The Koran obviously borrows from and revises biblical events, including the account of Cain and Abel, the incarnation of Christ, and the crucifixion. There would be no Koran had the Bible not been here first to influence Muhammad and provide him with religious people and doctrine to oppose.

Whatever the page, you are never far from a line in the Koran about unbelievers, chastisement, an evil homecoming, or being roasted in the fire. There is an unmistakable fixation on punishment that permeates the Koran. The gospel stresses holiness and the struggle against sin, whereas the Koran hammers on the conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims. Over and over the Koran criticizes Jews and Christians as unfit for friends on earth, and losers in eternity. Take out its constant criticism of non-Muslims, and its unending talk of their chastisement, and what is left? There is no soaring story of redemption, no sacrifice by God on the cross for humanity’s sins, no church where the saved congregate. Read the New Testament and the Koran’s inferiority is painfully evident by any measure of comparison.

But what it lacks in veracity it makes up in violence. The New Testament teaches Christians, “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh” (2 Cor. 10:4) and “our wrestling is not against flesh and blood” (Eph. 6:12), and “love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44). It is a far cry from the Koran’s instruction to slay people. As one of a multitude of examples from the Koran, consider: “This is the recompense of those who fight against God and His Messenger, and hasten about the earth, to do corruption there: they shall be slaughtered, or crucified, or their hands and feet shall alternately be struck off, or they shall be banished from the land. That is a degradation for them in this world; and in the world to come awaits them a mighty chastisement, except for such as repent, before you have power over them. So know you that God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate” (from Sura V, p. 133).

Sura II says, “for whatever verse we abrogate or cast into oblivion, We bring a better or the like of it” (p. 41). Question: If the Koran existed eternally and God wrote it, why would he need to come back and replace any verse with another which set the first verse aside? Yet, while claiming the right to change, the Koran also claims perfect consistency when it says: “What, do they not ponder the Koran? If it had been from other than God surely they would have found in it much inconsistency” (Sura IV, p. 112).

Sura III boldy claims, “The true religion with God is Islam” (p. 75) and “Abraham in truth was not a Jew, neither a Christian; but he was a Muslim” (p. 83).

Sura IV is called “Women,” and has somewhat to say about them. Men may “marry such women as seem good to you, two, three, four” (p. 100). “Men are the managers of the affairs of women…And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them” (p. 105).

The same surah (or, chapter) advises against praying while drunk: “O believers, draw not near to prayer when you are drunken until you know what you are saying” (p. 107). This verse was evidently modified by others with stricter teaching that frowns on alcohol altogether, demonstrating that teaching in the Koran can evolve and is not internally consistent. The same chapter strongly denies that Jesus was crucified (p. 123). Sura V says, “O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends…Whoso of you makes them his friends is one of them” (p. 136).

This is a tiny handful of examples, and much could be said regarding the traits of inspiration in the Bible, and their absence in the Koran. The ethic of Christ and the ethic of Muhammad are light years apart. Remember, the New Testament and church of Christ had been on earth nearly 600 years before the Koran was written. Islam is a late comer on the scene. It offers nothing good except what it borrows from the gospel (which is always better stated in the New Testament), which it mixes, unashamedly, with a host of gospel-denying verses.

Islam’s threat to Christianity comes, not from any theological superiority, but from its oft-exercised powers of intimidation, threat, coercion, and violence. Those who still live in a culture not dominated by Muslim oppression should recognize the threat and refuse to buckle. Silencing ourselves for fear of reprisal means we are already losing to its influence, and being victimized by the very definition of “terrorism.” We, in the church of Christ, choose to plant our flag in the ancient gospel, come what may.

Posted in Doctrine

Blessing Backward

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

King Saul’s was the sad case of a career gone south due to his persistent refusal to obey God. Such colossal failure caused the Lord to tear the kingdom from Saul, giving it to a man more worthy (1 Sam. 13:14). The next king would be David, freshly pulled from the sheep pasture, but transitioning from Saul to his unwelcome successor took a long time, during which Saul did his utmost to track down and annihilate the young shepherd.

Jealousy had surfaced when David was given higher praise than Saul among the women singers (1 Sam. 18:6ff.). Saul feared David’s popularity and tried, surreptitiously, to get him killed by the Philistines (1 Sam. 18:25). That failing, Saul went for the direct approach by hurling his spear, in effort to “pin David to the wall” (1 Sam. 19:10). Then he thought to murder David in his own bed (1 Sam. 19:11ff.). Nothing worked. Perhaps the pinnacle of Saul’s perversity was reached when he executed eighty-five priests at Nob because Ahimelech, a priest there, had given aid to David (1 Sam. 21-22).

If ever a man had things backward, it was Saul. His skewed perspective is displayed when, learning David was in Keilah, Saul says, “God has given him into my hand” (1 Sam. 23:7). Saul seemed to think God was on his side, when reality was quite the opposite.

As the pursuit continued, David went to Ziph, when, of all things, the Ziphites contacted Saul and offered to turn David in to the bloodthirsty king (1 Sam. 23:15ff.). Saul was elated, and said to the Ziphites, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me” (1 Sam. 23:21).

The chase will continue, but let us pull in the reins as we ponder verse 21 — a statement of thick irony from a man of thin conviction. When the Ziphites offered to hand David over, Saul said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me.” Think of it. God had already disowned Saul and told him his reign was over (1 Sam. 15:23, 28). Saul was rebellious, wretched, rejected. David was chosen by God to succeed Saul, and Saul wanted David dead. David was being helped by God, while Saul was multiplying his own mistakes. In spite of it all, Saul still thought he could tell the Ziphites, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me.” In truth, Saul was not enjoying the Lord’s favor, and he really had no right to speak as though he and God were on the same page. His blessing of the Ziphites was as backward as could be.

Which brings us a sober reminder. Not everyone who says “God bless you” is on God’s side. Not all who talk about the Lord in a pleasing way are actually pleasing the Lord. Talk is cheap if your sins are costing your soul. Look at Saul. Look at the oceans of churches out there, teeming with schools of conflicting theology. Denominational differences form a palette of clashing colors to paint a portrait of Christianity scarcely resembling anything in the gospel. Yet, every such church thinks itself on God’s side, thus combining a legacy of rebellion with the language of righteousness. God does not intend that we ask his blessing while avoiding his Book. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).

Posted in Christianity and Culture

Witchcraft and the Bible

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

In Galatians 5 Paul gives a catalog of sins that will keep a person out of heaven. Among them is “sorcery” (v. 20). “Sorcery” is the English translation of the Greek word pharmakia. Though this term has to do with using medicine (our word “pharmacy” is derived from it), in biblical times pharmakia included drugs used in occult rituals and even poisoning. By the time the New Testament was written, pharmakia also included magic and sorcery in general, even to the extent that it is translated in our English Bibles as “sorcery” or “witchcraft.” As used in the Bible, “sorcery” is a broad term that would include hallucinogenic and poisonous drugs—even abortifacients—witchcraft, voodoo, palm reading, tarot cards, Oija boards, astrology, fortune telling, horoscopes, séances, and the like. God has forever frowned on sorcery. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 specifically forbade anyone from practicing divination, telling fortunes, interpreting omens, and from being a sorcerer, charmer, medium, wizard or necromancer. In the New Testament, Ephesus was a city where witchcraft was prominent. When the gospel began to make inroads in people’s hearts, many former witches brought their magic books and burned them in what must have been a huge bonfire (Acts 19:18-19). Getting rid of what God condemned was the natural response of a people newly impressed with gospel truth. Contrary to popular thought, there is no such thing as a good witch (at least, not in the Bible). There is no distinction between magic that is white or black. All sorcery is portrayed as evil. Witchcraft trusts in a power other than God. Since it is opposed to Christianity, its true origin is with Satan (cf. John 8:44). Ultimately, to be involved with sorcery is to shake hands with the devil. According to the Bible, Christians are in a war against “world-rulers of this darkness,” and “the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Some things are not to be toyed with, and witchcraft is surely among them. In fact, in the Bible’s closing verses, as though we needed one last reminder, God said it again—that those who will be left outside of heaven’s gate will include, along with murderers, liars and idol worshipers, the sorcerers (Revelation 22:15).

Posted in Inspiration

The Unity of the Bible

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Roy C. Deaver

The great general area of study called “Christian Apologetics” deals with evidences (or proofs) related to (1) the existence of God, (2) the deity of Jesus Christ, (3) the inspiration of the Bible. With regard to “evidences of inspiration” there are (1) evidences external, and (2) evidences internal. One of the most powerfully convincing internal evidences is the marvelous unity of the Bible.

Unity in Theme and Purpose

The Bible is a wonderful unit in theme and in purpose. By “theme” we mean the Bible’s basic message. By “purpose” we mean the reason for and the consequent blessings of that message.

It has been accurately observed and properly stressed that the “theme” of the Bible is: The coming of Christ. The Old Testament message is: The Christ is coming. The New Testament message is: The Christ has come and will come again. In statement, type, shadow, copy, and figure the Old Testament presents this message. In plain declaration, in anti-type, in substance, in original, and in the real— the New Testament presents this message. All is involved in the Christ— his gospel, his church, his blessings to men.

But, what about the “purpose” of the Bible? (1) The Bible relates to the need for human redemption. The first three chapters of Genesis explain how sin made its entrance into the world. Human beings are born into a world where sin is. (2) Accountable persons, in transgressing God’s law, thereby become sinners. The tragic fact is that all accountable persons do transgress God’s law and do become sinners. Cf. Romans 3:23; I John 1:8. (3) Redemption is in and through Jesus Christ, Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14. (4) As previously indicated, the Old Testament points to Christ. “And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself,” Luke 24:27. The Old Testament Scriptures bore witness of Christ, John 5:39. Paul persuaded “them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning till evening,” Acts 28:23. (5) Human redemption glorifies God. “Sonship” through Christ is “to the praise of the glory of his (God’s) grace,” Ephesians 1:6. “Unto him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations forever and ever, ” Ephesians 3:21. “To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ…be the glory forever,” Romans 16:27.

It is based upon consideration of these five basic facts that we summarize the purpose of the Bible as follows: THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE SALVATION OF MAN, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. This is the purpose line which runs all the way through the Bible— from Genesis 1:l through the last verse of the Revelation. Every word in every verse in every paragraph of every chapter of every book sustains a vital relationship to this purpose line.

Unity in Books

The Bible is one book, but it is made up of many books. It has 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. It is one in theme; it is one in purpose.

Every book of the Bible has a unique message of its own. Every book of the Bible makes a unique contribution to the overall purpose of the Bible. Every book of the Bible does something (with regard to the purpose line) which no other book does. And, it is from this viewpoint that we declare that every book of the Bible is the greatest book of the Bible. Each book does something which no other book does. It is my job as a student to learn the basic message of each book— to learn the unique contribution which each book makes to the overall purpose.

Think of the book of Genesis. An appropriate title would be: The Book of Beginnings. Its purpose is, to set forth the beginning and early development of the scheme of redemption. It divides itself into five natural sections: (1) from the creation to Abraham, (2) the life of Abraham, (3) the life of Isaac, (4) the life of Jacob, and (5) the life of Joseph. But all as involved in the beginning and early development of the scheme of redemption.

Ephesians is: The Church of our Lord— God’s Plan for Man’s Salvation. Chapters one through three deal with the nature of the church; chapters four through six deal with the Christian’s life in that church.

The book of Hebrews is: The Way of Christ— The Better Way. Paul emphasizes: (1) Christians have the better medium, 1:l-4:13; (2) Christians have the better high priest, 4:14-10:18; (3) Christians have the better way, the way of faith, 10:19-13:25.

Whatever the book, it is a marvelous unit, it has a unique message, and it makes a unique contribution to the purpose of the Bible.

Unity in Presentation

If one begins reading in Genesis one and continues through the Bible, he is reading the gradual unfolding of God’s wonderful message of redemption. It is one beautiful connected story. In the Old Testament the story is told consecutively from Genesis through Nehemiah (Esther should be read at the end of Ezra 6). The books of Job through Malachi give additional details that are involved in the connected story. In Old Testament history “God Prepared the Perfect Plan.” In the New Testament history “God Presented this Plan to Man.”

This beautiful, amazing story of redemption is presented in wonderful consistency. There are no contradictions in the sacred message. Men have often referred to apparent contradictions, but thorough investigation never fails to remove the difficulty. “Contradictions” are often imagined where there are none.

From first till last the Bible was written by approximately forty writers, and over a period of sixteen hundred years. It was begun by Moses in the desert of Arabia, and was completed by John on the isle of Patmos. The writers generally were not conscious of the works of others. They were widely separated in geography and in chronology. They were fishermen, farmers, shepherds, soldiers and kings. They wrote in palaces, pastures, prisons and in tents. There were men who were highly educated, and there were men untutored and unlearned (so far as concerned formal education of the day). These were not a literary people. Yet, when these writings are all brought together in one sacred volume, there is perfect unity— there are no contradictions.

Conclusion

If a forty-piece orchestra should suddenly begin to play— in perfect timing, melody, and harmony— it would be evidence of direction by a single mind.

If forty archers, in forty different places, widely separated in time, should shoot their arrows and all hit the same target “dead-center” it would be evidence of (proof of) direction by a single mind.

If forty men— widely separated in geography, with varied backgrounds, and living over a period of sixteen hundred years— should each write down a few lines, and these lines when brought together constituted a beautiful poem, it would be evidence of direction by a single mind.

Because of its marvelous and otherwise inexplicable unity, we believe the Bible came from God— that it is miraculously inspired and is divine authority.

Posted in Instrumental Music, Restoration History, Worship

“Play On, Miss Bertha”

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Roy C. Deaver

[Note: This piece was written by my grandfather, Roy Deaver, many years ago, giving some of the sad history of the school that would in time become Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth–Weylan].

These words are sad words—some of the saddest ever uttered in all Restoration history. The dictionary says that “sad” means “…to be associated with sorrow.” Some words are sad because of their inherent connotations. Some words are sad because of the circumstances out of which they came. Some words are sad because of the consequences which they brought.

On Monday, September 1, 1873, in the pioneer village of Thorp Spring, in Texas, Thorp Spring college came into being. This year—1973—is the centennial year. In celebration, the ex-students of Thorp Spring Christian College held a reunion “on campus” July 21 and 22. At the time, I was in a gospel meeting at nearby Morgan Mill, and was privileged to attend the reunion. Brother Don Morris spoke on Saturday afternoon, and brother Foy E. Wallace, Jr. was the speaker on Saturday night. Because of my own preaching engagement I did not get to hear brother Wallace, but I did get to hear brother Morris. Brother Morris spoke on “Add-Ran and Its Heirs.” His lecture was tremendous. It will become an exceedingly valuable document in Restoration literature.

Brother Morris spoke at length about unscriptural organizations in Texas, and the consequent divisions among brethren. He spoke of the steps which led to the formation of the “Texas Christian Missionary Society” in Austin, Texas, 1886.

Brother Morris then discussed the introduction of mechanical instruments into Christian worship. He mentioned that the instrument was introduced “…first in congregations in Dallas, San Marcos, Waco, and Palestine.” He continued as follows:

“But the place at which the introduction of the organ received most attention was, without doubt, Thorp Spring, in Add-Ran College. The occasion was a gospel meeting in February, 1894. The speaker was B. B. Sanders, and the song director, E. M. Douthitt. These two often worked as a team and were known to use the instrument in worship. Before the meeting began, there was much discussion—on and off the campus of Add-Ran—about whether the organ would be used. As the meeting began, a crisis at Add-Ran was developing. It proved to affect the church throughout the state.

On February 20, 1894, the climax was reached. Before the service began, Joseph Addison Clark—the father and pioneer—and his wife took seats at the front of the auditorium. Their son Addison Clark, the president, arose to begin the service. Joseph Addison Clark arose, walked toward the pulpit, took a paper from his pocket, and presented it to his son. It was a petition. The petition was signed by the elder Clark and more than a hundred others, who asked that the organ not be used, on the ground that it was not authorized in the New Testament. Addison read the petition, conferred briefly with his brother Randolph, and then announced that he had promised the students that the organ could be used in the meeting and that he could not go back on his word. He turned to the organist and said, ‘Play on, Miss Bertha.’”

At this point, brother Don Morris was not able to continue for several moments. He wept audibly, and most of the audience wept with him. Brother Morris continued:

“As the organ and singing started, Joseph Addison arose with his wife and led the opposition out of the auditorium. He was a gray bearded man, seventy-eight years old, with a cane. About 140 people, according to Randolph’s son Joseph Lynn, followed the elderly Clark out of the building. Many in the remaining congregation wept. My father, who was a student that year, was present, and he told me many times about Uncle Joe Clark—how he appealed to the audience not to use the organ and how he led the group out of the auditorium.”

Brother Morris closed his great speech as follows:

“…we of Churches of Christ today are the real heirs of the first years of Add-Ran and of the gospel taught in the first Texas churches. This is true because today we continue in the slogan first used by Texas pioneers and the Campbells before them: ‘We speak where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is silent.’ This principle has been followed by the Thorp Spring Church from the beginning in 1873 until now. And we believe that this is the true pattern for church organization, for purity in worship, and for all things religious. To use this pattern is more important than excelling in numbers or affluence. We look to the New Testament as the guide in restoring the Lord’s church, and we pray that He may bless us as we attempt to follow it.”

And RIGHT NOW, more so than ever before in my lifetime—there are IN THE CHURCH those who are saying: “MISS BERTHA, PLAY ON!” May God help us to have the faith, the conviction, the courage of Joseph Addison Clark.

Posted in Announcements

Lectures of Mac Deaver

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

We’ve just added a new page of previous lectures delivered by Mac Deaver in recent years, including titles such as “Instrumental Music–The Tip of the Iceberg,” “Liberalism Enters the Church: 1970-2006,” “Remembering Roy C. Deaver,” and several others. Simply go to the top menu and click the audio tab, then drop down in the menu to “Mac Deaver Lectures.” Also, we continue to post his weekly sermons on the site, and will be adding additional audio from past debates and sermons. So, please check back often, enter your email address to get automatic notices when new articles are posted, and share links on Facebook and Twitter of articles or pages you find helpful, and tell others about the site. Thanks!

Posted in Church History

A Study of Crucifixion

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

Christians today see the cross as a symbol of salvation by divine grace. So did the earliest Christians two millennia ago. Paul would write, “But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6:14). Crucifixion was anything but rare in the ancient world. After defeating Tyre, Alexander the Great crucified 2,000 along the Mediterranean shore. Alexander Jannaeus, king of Judea about 80 years before Jesus was born, is said to have crucified 800 Pharisees who rebelled against him.

Rome perfected crucifixion to a science, if not an art form. In 71 B.C., along the Appian Way, 6,000 followers of Spartacus were crucified in a victory celebration. When the Roman General Titus laid siege to Jerusalem (about 40 years after Jesus’ death), he was crucifying Jews at the staggering rate of 500 or more per day. Jewish historian Josephus writes, incredibly, that the Romans nailed the Jews on crosses in various positions “by way of jest.” It went on to the point they ran out of space for crosses, and ran out of crosses for new victims.

That Jesus should die by crucifixion was not unique, but the early church’s perspective on crucifixion was absolutely unique. It related, of course, not to just any cross, but to one in particular. The idea that anyone could love or glory in a cross would have been anathema prior to the gospel. Then again, the gospel changed a lot of thinking.

Before Christ, crucifixion had a gruesome history associated with nothing pleasant, much less with forgiveness of sins. It was the summa supplicium (Latin for “supreme penalty”), reserved for the worst offenders. A later Roman jurist, Julius Paulus, writing around the beginning of the third century, indicated there were three supreme penalties: beheading, burning, and crucifixion (the latter being the most terrible of all).

Being nailed to a cross and left to hang until death was such a horrific means of execution that, as a general rule, Roman citizens were exempt from facing it. Such a humiliating and agonizing demise was reserved for those guilty of murder, banditry, treason, desertion, sedition, and the like. According to Cicero, the statesman who died about 40 years before Jesus was born, “Far be the very name of a cross, not only from the body, but even from the thought, the eyes, the ears of Roman citizens.” Thus, a Roman cross, now cherished by millions, was, at one time, not a subject fit for polite Roman conversation.

Josephus, witness to many a crucifixion, called it “the most wretched of deaths.” And Seneca, born about the same time as Jesus, offered this insight: “Is anyone found who, after being fastened to that accursed wood, already weakened, already deformed, swelling with ugly weals on shoulders and chest, with many reasons for dying even before getting to the cross, would wish to prolong a life-breath that is about to experience so many torments?” To top it all, the law of God, given through Moses, itself placed a curse on anyone put to death by hanging on a tree (Deut. 21:22-23).

In a world where life could be cheap and death came in many varieties, why was crucifixion so despised? It robbed whatever dignity one had left, forcing the naked victim to endure pulsing pain in a public venue as an object lesson, often with ridicule and verbal abuse thrown in for good measure. By design, it was a lingering death. Some lived on a cross for days, exposed to humiliation, the elements, insects, and birds before finally expiring. After a brutal beating, Jesus lasted several hours on the cross (cf. Mark 15:25, 44; Luke 23:44-46). “Excruciating” is an English word for intense suffering. It comes from the Latin word excruciates, which literally means “out of the cross.” It was not just any death that Jesus endured, and we should be in awe that “being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8).

The concept of crucifixion was so odious to first-century sensibilities that people refused to believe a Savior could have been subjected to it. “The Old Rugged Cross,” so often preached and sung about, was a huge obstacle in the thinking of many. A victim of crucifixion did not fit the mold of the Messiah most Jews were looking for. And Gentiles of the Roman world found it difficult to embrace as a risen Savior someone who had died so despicably.

Opponents of Christianity even pointed to the cross as evidence Jesus was not divine. Minucius Felix, an early Latin writer, accused Christians of worshiping “a criminal and his cross.” No wonder Paul would state that “we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23-24).

Before there could be Christ’s resurrection, there had to be his crucifixion. We can scarcely imagine the initial misery of the act, and the subsequent difficulty of explanation in convincing the masses of what had just happened, in light of an ingrained prejudice against anything associated with a cross. “For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).

Paul, who had been “baptized into Christ” (Gal. 3:27), so identified with Jesus that he could say “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20). Who but God could turn a hated means of death into a beloved symbol of everlasting life?