Living in the Shadow of the Cross: Have We Made Calvary Obsolete?

By Lynda L. Schultz

Can the Christian community get along without commemorating Good Friday? Has the cross become something we’d rather not mention since it doesn’t make us “feel good,” which our society seems to insist is the endgame of life? Or is the significance of Calvary and the death of Christ a theme that not only deserves, but requires, a central place in both our public and private lives?

This is the heart of Living in the Shadow of the Cross, a series of meditations on the cross. It calls us back to the foundation of our faith as believers in Jesus Christ. It reminds us of what we were, who we are, and where we are headed. Most of all, it draws us back to the One Person, the One Act, that brought us back into the most important relationship any of us will ever experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Word Alive Press
• Release date: Mar 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781486616039

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Schultz

Acknowledgements

Most of those who so faithfully taught me the story of Jesus are now in His presence. But to them, who from my earliest years did not falter in their dedication to telling and retelling the Gospel story, I am eternally grateful.

Introduction

How It All Began

This journey back to the cross began when the leadership of the church I was attending decided to skip Good Friday. What? Seriously? Cut out the one day on the Christian calendar that makes sense of all the others?

No explanation was given. We were simply told to do something good on the day. Nothing wrong with good—hopefully it is something we do every day rather than something we save up for a special occasion.

But a question sprang to mind: why ignore Calvary? Are we so afraid of what a journey to the cross says about us that we look for a way to erase it from our calendars in a vain effort to erase it from our hearts and minds? Or is it simply no longer politically correct to use the s-word—sin—which is the reason there needed to be a sinless sacrifice on that cross in the first place? Or is it the suffering that turns us off? Escaping suffering seems to be the heart cry of the Western world just as much as it is a daily experience for many people in so many places of the world. Or is all this simply a product of our selfie society. I’ve never heard of a church cancelling the celebration of Mothers’ Day or Fathers’ Day. Many congregations have, at the very least, a moment of silence to commemorate those of their number who died in the name of freedom during the world wars. But what about the One who fought and won, for our eternal liberty and at the cost of His own life, the greatest battle of all?

Paul’s prayer was that his only boast be in the cross (Galatians 6:14), even though it was a shameful death reserved for the worst of criminals. Should not we also boast in it, shameful though it is, since our souls depend upon it?

Even the resurrection, glorious as it was, would not have happened without Calvary. His resurrection is proof of His power. The death is proof of His love. Both are essential.

So began the journey, as much my version of a protest as anything else. But as I journeyed, I moved beyond my need to defend the keeping of the day to appreciating more than ever the meaning of the cross.

Like Paul, I can boast in nothing else except Christ, and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2, KJV) because everything, without exception, is mine only because of what He did at Calvary.

The cross upon which Jesus died

Is a shelter in which we can hide;

And its grace so free is sufficient for me,

And deep is its fountain—as wide as the sea.

—Ira Stanphill, There’s Room at the Cross, 1946

Chapter One

And So It Begins

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.

(Genesis 3:15)

I have a set of old rusty keys. I also have some nice shiny ones. They come in handy. And oddly enough, they connect to Calvary.

As far as the historical record is concerned, the story of the cross begins in Genesis with the first couple and the first sin. But God put in place a plan before time was established, before history was first recorded, to deal with what He knew was inevitable. This is suggested in Revelation 13:8 when John refers to the the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

It’s a pity. If there had been no sin, there would have been no need for a Saviour to come and take our punishment upon Himself, no need for a cross upon which He would have to die.

James Kennedy remarks in Cross Purposes: Discovering the Great Love of God for You that we seldom, if ever, hear the word sin used today—not even from some of our pulpits. Many people go so far as to deny that such a thing as sin exists. We have invented more acceptable terms to describe it—and excuse it. Kennedy uses the following example to illustrate sin’s existence:

I remember… saying… I wonder if I may see your keys. Do you have a key ring? The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a key ring. I said to him, If there’s no such thing as sin, sir, tell me, why do you have these? He was speechless. He has keys because he has locks. And why does he have locks? Because he has things locked up. And why does he have things locked up? Because there are people who would steal them if he didn’t. And why would they steal them? Because they’re sinners. That’s why.1

It’s hard to argue with that logic.

Adam and Eve decided to steal God’s glory by competing for His position and doing what He had forbidden them to do. Satan had made this claim: For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5). The first couple fell for the lie. We’ve been falling for the same lie ever since.

Their decision made Calvary necessary. Our decisions, as sinners who have followed the path of our ancient ancestors, have made Calvary necessary. From the beginning of recorded history, God promised the coming of a Saviour (Genesis 3:15). Satan would try to destroy Him, but He who would conqueror death on one glorious resurrection morning would also conqueror Satan and sin on one strangely glorious dark and deadly Friday.

Perhaps our need to reduce the cross in our worship, and in our practice, is related to our desperate need to deny the sin in us that made the cross necessary.

Perhaps our need to