The people stood watching Him, and the leaders of the Church sneered at Him. “He saved others, let Him save Himself if He is the King of the Jews.” (Luke 23) The Roman soldiers came up and mocked Him. They offered Him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”  There was a written notice above His head which read, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who hung on the cross hurled insults at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us.” But the other criminal rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this Man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.”  Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

   The sequence of events that led up to the crucifixion and death of Jesus don’t look like the inauguration of a king: Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus in the Garden with a kiss; trumped up charges in front of the Sanhedrin condemned an innocent Man; Pilate didn’t rule in favor of an innocent Man; Roman soldiers rolled dice for His clothing; and His closest friends deserted Him. In the final sequence of events which ended in Christ’s death on the cross, there’s maybe one thing Pilate got right: “This is the King of the Jews.” Pilate finally stood up for something right... perhaps because he believed it, or perhaps he just wanted to humiliate Jesus and the entire Israelite people.

            But, Jesus isn’t just the King of the Jews. He is our King. He rules in such an understated way, and in such humble existence that we might miss it - like people who couldn’t see past the suffering Servant motif. St Luke’s Gospel says that people stood watching Jesus die. “He saved others. Let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The people didn’t recognize Him for who He was. If He was supposed to be the King who’d lead them from Roman oppression, it surely didn’t look like His bloodied, beaten body that was nailed to a cross. Death by crucifixion was a 100% certainty.

            So they challenged Him to come down off the cross, “... if You are the Christ of God...” Why is the cross a symbol of our Christianity? What would happen if we erected an electric chair, a gas chamber, a hangman’s gallows or a hypodermic syringe in our front yard or hung a image of them on the walls in our homes? It’s the same as a cross - an instrument of execution. Yet, evangelical Protestants argue that an empty cross signifies that Christ’s work is done. They also argue that an image of Christ on the cross is a violation of their second commandment (but is simply God’s elaboration of His First Commandment). But, without Christ on the cross, it’s nothing more than an instrument of death. The image of an empty cross can be confusing because it could be someone else’s cross, or a cross that’s awaiting its next victim.

            Remember how God promised His people that He would send a King to redeem them. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.”’? That bloodied, beat Man, hanging on the cross is the fulfillment of God’s Promise. If there ever was a king the world didn’t recognize, it was Jesus. Tried, convicted and executed like a common criminal. It wasn’t what most people thought of when it came to their king. The very people He came to save sneered Him and make fun of Him. It just doesn’t fit their idea of a King or Messiah. St Mark’s Gospel says the chief priests and scribes ridiculed Jesus, “Let this Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Even the Church leaders wanted to take Jesus down off the cross.

            Suppose Jesus would’ve said, “OK - this is it! I’m coming down to prove to you that I am the Christ.” What would we have left? An empty cross and not the slightest hope of our salvation. The prophet Isaiah explains why Christ on the cross signals the evidence of our Messiah: “He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from who men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

            People wanted a king with a crown on His head. They got One with a crown of thorns. They  wanted a king sitting on a golden throne. They got One who came into His Kingdom on the beams of a bloody cross. They wanted a king who would lead them in battle against all their enemies. They got a King who breathed His last and said, “It is finished!”

            So, the debate over an empty cross versus a crucifix with the corpus of Christ continues. Which should it be? Which one would be a better representation of our salvation for the Christian Church? Have you ever bought a new car, right off the lot, and when all the papers are signed, the salesperson says you can pick up your car in a few hours or the next day?  It’s a bummer!  You bought it and you want it right, then and there. But, I guess that’s our impatience.

            We’re sometimes impatient with God. But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and God’s ways are not our ways. Everything in His salvation plan had to take place by the right thing, the right time, in the right way... not our way. Jesus’s body had to passively be taken to an un-used tomb, borrowed from a rich man in order to fulfill prophecy. His followers scattered, to fulfill prophecy. His body rested in the bowels of the earth for three days, in order to fulfill prophecy. He descended into Hell to declare His victory over sin, death, Satan and Hell; in order to fulfill prophecy. In the mean time, there were 3 empty crosses on Calvary’s hill. What did those three crosses represent?  Death, punishment and gruesome execution.

            But, finally, the real symbol of our Christian hope lies within an empty hole dug out in the side of a rocky hill.  The objective justification of all mankind is the proof that everyone was looking for - a King who is victorious over ALL our enemies. But, how would we adorn the walls of our homes with an empty hole?  What would we wear around our necks to show we’re Christians... a hole? Yet, the empty tomb proved God’s satisfaction that Christ’s sacrifice was finished. His sacrifice was complete and perfect. Our salvation was won by Christ - no one else - on the cross.

            Because He rose victorious over sin, death, the grave and Satan... in His flesh - we are, therefore, assured that our own resurrection on the last day - in the flesh - is guaranteed for everyone who is joined together with God through Jesus Christ.  Without Christ on the cross, it’s nothing more than an instrument of execution.  Without Christ risen in the flesh - victorious over all the enemies of our humanity - the tomb is nothing more than a hole in the ground. But, thanks be to God that in His infinite and divine wisdom, He gave us the perfect Sacrifice for His plan of Salvation. In this blessed Lenten and Easter season, we can rest our hope on His promise that as Christ rose in glory, He will raise us also to live with Christ as our King forever.  See you at the foot of the cross.

                                                                                                            Your servant in Christ +

                                                                                                            Rev Dr Roger Paavola