What comes to mind when you hear the word “breathtaking?” For some it may be a scenic landscape. For others it may be a work of art while for others it may be some other type of experience. Typically, we think of something of great beauty, something that is truly astonishing, something positive. There are other experiences, however, that may be breathtaking but in a negative sense. There may be other things that take our breath, not because of their beauty, but for other reasons.

Imagine being a Jew in Palestine in the first century. Imagine walking along the road that leads to Jerusalem. You and your party are talking, laughing, looking forward to what you will experience once you reach the Holy City. It has been a long journey, but finally you are getting close to the goal. Then you see it. You see them. Even at some distance away you recognize the Roman crosses. They aren’t there just for decoration. From the noises coming from the crowd around them and from the cries of pain emanating from them, you know they are being put to use. You know what you are about to see up close.

Crucifixion was an incredibly ugly thing. The Romans didn’t invent it, but they did perfect (if that’s the appropriate word) it. It was designed to kill a person with the maximum amount of pain and humiliation possible. It was reserved for the worst of the worst – slaves, rebels, etc. It was a method of execution that wasn’t even spoken of in polite society.

In this particular method, the condemned was often, though not always, scourged prior to execution. Then the condemned would be paraded through the street carrying the horizontal part of the cross. They would also have a sign that was hung around their neck or carried by one of the executioners that would identify their crime. Once they arrived at the place of execution, which was on a main road leading into the city, the condemned would then be stripped and attached to the cross with an iron spike through each wrist. Then with the knees slightly flexed the feet would be nailed to the vertical beam. The cross would then be raised into place and the condemned would hang there until they died. Death by crucifixion was death by asphyxiation. With the body in that position, the victim could only breathe by raising himself up by pushing against the nail in the feet. Eventually, the pain and exhaustion would be so great that the condemned would suffocate.

It was an ugly, slow, painful death. It was meant to be as publicly humiliating as possible. It stood as a symbol of what happened to those who dared to pit themselves against the Roman Empire. Everyone knew what it looked like. Everyone feared and recoiled from it. To witness this would take your breath away.

How is it then, that this instrument of death has become such a popular symbol today? Why is it that our church buildings are adorned with this symbol of death. Why do we see this tool of execution made into jewelry or even tattooed on our skin? It is because of the one who was hung there outside the city walls of Jerusalem on this particular Passover week almost 2000 years ago. It is because the one and only Son of God willingly went there so that you and I could be reconciled to God and rescued from sin and death.

As we approach the celebration of the resurrection of Christ this weekend, may we be constantly reminded of the Lamb of God who took away our sins. May we always stand in awe of the cost of our freedom, the love, the grace and the lengths to which God will go to be with us and so that we can be with him.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18-24)