I fear that the cross does not have the same impact on us in 2021 as it did those Christians in the first century. I suppose the idea of the cross seems more appealing to us because it’s no longer used to execute people, and we’ve dressed it up. We are used to seeing the cross as an ornament, decoration or a piece of jewelry. If a first century Jew came in our church building as saw an illuminated cross hanging from our walls or a cross on a chain around our neck–they would be appalled. 
No, I am not saying that the wearing a cross as a piece of jewelry or having it displayed on church walls is wrong. We celebrate the cross of Christ because of our victory over sin and death through the cross. However, let us not forget that the cross in the first century was a cruel instrument of death–the torture, the humiliation, the shame.
The Hebrew writer said of Jesus that he “…endured the cross, scorning its shame…” (Hebrews 12:2). The shame of the cross is what Jesus despised most. He was rejected as the Son of God and died as a criminal. The sinless died as a sinner. And Jesus knew while hanging on that cross bearing the sins of the entire world, His Father could have no fellowship with Him. Today when a criminal on death roll is executed, all precautions are taken to make that ordeal as painless as possible, but not for Jesus. Roman soldiers knew how to inflict maximum pain on those executed by their hands. And Jesus was no exception.
Why preach on the cruelty of the cross? It’s only when we fully understand what Jesus endured for us that we can really come to love the cross and celebrate in the victory that is ours through the cross of Jesus Christ.
