In Philippians 2:8 we read “…He (Christ Jesus) humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Then in Galatians 3:13 we read, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” The cross was a symbol of SHAME, HUMILIATION, and DISGRACE. It was reserved only for the criminals, who were guilty of the worst crimes. It was a pagan instrument of torture and execution. The cross itself was a crude, unfinished piece of rough timber, hastily nailed together from almost any branch or piece of wood. Now days, few people really think of the cross as a place of SHAME, HUMILIATION, and DISGRACE; instead, they conceive it to be a beautiful ornament worn as a piece of jewelry about the neck, or as a stick pin, or as something to be worn on the lapel of one’s coat. Jesus told us to “bear the cross,” but foolish man has changed it to “wear the cross.” Just wearing a cross means nothing until we understand the real meaning of the crude, unadorned, unfinished, rugged cross on which Jesus died.

Man has tried to remove the shame and horror of the cross by beautifying it, covering it with gold, plating it with silver, or setting it with precious stones. All these attempts to beautify the cross are totally foreign to Scripture. It was not a gold-plated thing of beauty, but indeed an “old rugged cross.” Even more unscriptural is the crucifix, a cross with a dead Christ upon it. We glory not in the crucifix with a dead Saviour upon it, but in the “empty cross” of the One who is risen again from the tomb.

The author and composer of the beloved hymn “The Old Rugged Cross” was George Bennard. There was a period in his life when he was passing through a particularly trying experience, one that caused him to reflect seriously about the significance of the cross and what the apostle Paul meant in Philippians 3:10 when he spoke of entering into the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. Mr. Bennard spent hours in study, prayer and meditation until one day he could say, “I saw the Christ of the cross as if I were seeing John 3:16 leave the printed page, take form and act out the meaning of redemption. The more I contemplated these truths the more convinced I became that the cross was far more than just a religious symbol but rather the very heart of the gospel.” It was during these days of spiritual struggle, that the theme for “The Old Rugged Cross” began to formulate itself in Bennard’s mind.

Now as you prepare to read the Weekly SERMON why not let the words of the “Old Rugged Cross” again sink into your heart and mind.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, has a wondrous attraction for me;

For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above to bear it to dark Calvary.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true, its shame and reproach gladly bear;

Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away, where His glory forever I’ll share.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.

May your heart this week be enraptured at the cross of Calvary, where our eternal redemption was forever paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ. This week in our Weekly SERMON on the “Seven Words of Christ at Calvary” we will examine the fourth words, the words of ANGUISH, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me” taken from Matthew 27:46. Again I trust over these weeks leading up to the RESURRECTION, you will slow down and ponder our so great salvation, at the cross of Christ.