The Old Rugged Cross: Defined

Introduction

George Bennard was saved at the age of 22 through the ministry of the Salvation Army in Canton, Iowa. He began his Christian Ministry, in fact, in the ranks of the Salvation Army. Eight years later, he was ordained by the Methodist Episcopal Church. He devoted his ministry as an Evangelist for many years. In 1912, he was heckled incessantly by several youth at a revival meeting in Michigan. Troubled by their disregard for the gospel, Bennard turned to scripture to reflect on the work of Christ on the cross. He studied Philippians 3:10

Philippians 3:10 NIV84

10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

He began to spend long hours in study, prayer, and meditation until one day he said this:

“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 the very heart of the Gospel.” George Bennard

During these days of struggle, he began to write the words of the beloved hymn, The Old Rugged Cross.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suff’ring 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.

Chorus: 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.

This hymn went on to be one of the most widely published songs, either sacred or secular, throughout America.

Over the next few weeks, we will look at this hymn, but more importantly we will look at what scripture says about the cross which this hymn portrays.

We will look first at ways we can define this cross. We can define it partly from the context of this hymn.

Look at the first line again,

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

We are going to look closely at one phrase, “the emblem of suffering and shame.”

The Emblem of Suffering

Have you ever thought much about that “emblem of suffering?” The Old Testament had many laws that God instituted so that mankind would have some kind of order and semblance. When these laws were broken, punishment was given. We see many of these laws listed in the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch.

The Crime

When a capital offense was committed as a crime, the crime required some type of capital punishment.

Deuteronomy 21:22–23 NIV84

22 If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, 23 you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

A capital offense was death by violence. An execution would take place. The significance in this particular punishment is important to our study today.

The Condemnation

The condemnation was death and to be put the body on a tree. The Hebrew word for tree is ets. Interestingly, it does not mean tree as we know it. Rather, it means timber or plank. Many of the laws that were broken included some type of condemnation as punishment. This punishment was most likely being stoned to death.

The Corpse

It was customary in the Semitic societies to hang the corpses of condemned criminals to pole or timber. The Bible has several examples, one of which is found in Joshua 8:29.

Joshua 8:29 NIV84

29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take his body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.

We from this brief look from scripture as well as our Scripture in Deuteronomy 21, the tree or cross became an emblem of suffering. Let me give you a brief look at some historical evidence. Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, writer and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire. He is commonly known as Cicero and was assassinated in 63 BC. Just before he was killed, he condemned crucifixion on the cross. In Latin, he wrote

“crudelissimum taeterrrimumque supplicium”

which means

“a most cruel and disgusting punishment”

Cicero wrote, “To bind a Roman citizen is a crime, to flog him is an abomination, to kill him is almost an act of murder; to crucify him- What? There is no fitting word that can possibly describe so horrible a deed.”

He also wrote, “The word cross should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen, but from his thoughts, his eyes, and his ears. For it is not only the actual occurence of these things, that is the procedures of crucifixion or the endurance of them, but the liability of them, the expectation, indeed the mere mention of them, that is unworthy of a Roman citizen and a free man.”

Biblically, just to reiterate, there was no distinction between in the word tree and cross. It was indeed the emblem of suffering.

The Emblem of Shame

It was also an emblem of shame.

The Execution

The way the executions took place had specific guidelines. The executions were done publically and then the corpses would be put in display.

The Exposure

The exposure would be used to view the criminals who had been punished with death and therefore smitten with by the curse of God. In fact, the dead criminals would be on display publicly for all to view.

The Example

The execution and exposure would become an example used to strike terror upon others so that they might see and fear.

The Emblem of Sovereignty

The emblem of suffering and shame would also be an emblem of sovereignty because it was instituted by the laws of God.

The Demand of God

The demand of God is for us to be holy as He is holy. 1 Peter 1:16

1 Peter 1:16 NIV84

16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

God instituted the Law for all mankind to a holy people. This was initiated in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:15-17

Genesis 2:15–17 NIV84

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

The Discipline of God

Because God is the God of truth, what He says He means. If He gives a command such as we just read, there has to be consequence if that command is broken. Genesis 3:14-15

Genesis 3:14–15 (NIV84)

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all the livestock

and all the wild animals!

You will crawl on your belly

and you will eat dust

all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity

between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers;

he will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.”

By the way, the very first prophecy of Jesus Christ in the Bible is in that last verse. The offspring of the woman is Jesus. Galatians 4:4

Galatians 4:4 NIV84

4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,

The striking of the heel is the crucifixion. The crushing of the serpent’s head is the provisional overcoming of the evil one by the cross. Hebrews 2:14

Hebrews 2:14 NIV84

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—

The Sovereignty of God was already at work even in the creation! God had to follow through with the disobedience and sinfulness of mankind. But as much as He showed His demand and discipline, God still showed mankind through His laws that the dignity of God is that He values life.

The Dignity of God

Even though the capital offense took place and the punishment was death and being hung on a tree, God valued the dignity of life by implementing the Law that the body would not remain hung on the tree. The corpse of the executed had to be buried the same day according to the Law of God. God’s Law would provide dignity for the body of the criminal. Matthew Henry wrote, “Punishing beyond death God reserves for Himself.”

We also see that touching the body was defiling and it would also defile the land.

Numbers 35:33–34 NIV84

33 “ ‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.’ ”

This is an important aspect of the emblem of the cross as it truly signifies the emblem of salvation.

The Emblem of Salvation

Galatians 3:13 NIV84

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

It is not the cross, but what took place while Jesus was on the cross. Christ hanging on the cross was a condemned and executed criminal was publically exhibited as the One who bore the judgement of God.

Unworthy of the Ground

Because of the Law of God previously mentioned, Jesus was unworthy of the ground.

Unworthy of God

At the same time, Jesus was unworthy of God. In that period where Jesus was on that old rugged cross, He was suspended between earth, mankind and His Holy Father. It was at that point, we see the famous cry of Jesus,

Mark 15:34 NIV84

34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The cry was not about a relationship that had been abandoned, but a judicial matter that had been resolved. The bearing of the sin of all time of all the world leading to the complete separation of God, unworthy of Him and of the land.

Unwilling to Give Up

Because Jesus was unwilling to give up, He became the curse but the law prevented the shame from lasting. Jesus ceased to be the curse and the land was purified and mankind restored to a holy relationship with God. Sin came into the world because mankind took the forbidden fruit of the tree. The world was redeemed of sin because of another tree, the old rugged cross. That’s why we can sing,

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.

Are you able to cling to that old rugged cross?