Subject: Justice, Peace and Overcoming Violence

Topic: The Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the Hope of all the Crucified
People of all the World

Introduction
The story of Jesus being crucified, or nailed to a cross, is a big deal for many people around
the world. It's about how he suffered and died a painful death, but also how he came back to
life. This paper looks at why this story is so important and how it gives hope to people who
have suffered a lot.

1. Understanding Crucifixion
The act of putting to death by - nailing or binding the victim to a Cross or, sometimes, to a
tree. The noun ―crucifixion‖ does not occur in the NT, but the corresponding verb, ―to
crucify‖ (σταυρόω), appears frequently.

1.1. Crucifixion in general

The cruelty of this form of capital punishment lay in the public shame that was involved and
in its slow physical torture.

a. The public shame: Partly as a warning to other potential offenders, the condemned man
was made to carry his cross, or the transverse part, along the public roads and to the
execution ground, which itself was nearly always in a public place. There he was stripped of
all his clothing. Affixed to the cross, he could not care for his bodily needs, and was the
object of taunts and indignities from passers-by.

b. The torture: Crucifixion damaged no vital part of the body. The victim, set astride a peg
in the upright beam, was fastened to the cross by nails through the hands or wrists, and
through the feet or above the heels. Ropes bound the shoulders or torso to the wooden frame.
He was thus held immobile, unable to cope with heat or cold or insects. Death came slowly
—often after many days—as the result of fatigue, cramped muscles, hunger, and thirst.
Sometimes the victim was offered a drug to deaden the pain (Matt. 27:34; Mark 15:23).

Crucifixion had been practiced by the Phoenicians and Persians, and from them was taken
over by Rome.1 Rome reserved the punishment for slaves and foreigners. Hence Jesus could
be crucified, whereas Paul, who had Roman citizenship, would not have been. (When on rare
occasions citizens were crucified as by Verres in Sicily and by Galla in Spain-great
indignation was felt among the Roman people.) In Palestine, crucifixion was used to punish
robbery, tumult, and sedition. In the latter cases especially, it served as a public reminder of
the Jews‘ servitude to the foreign power. Crosses were a familiar sight in Galilee and hence
provided a poignant metaphor for Christian discipleship (Matt. 16:24; Mark 10:21; Luke
9:23).
1
James Luther Mays and Society of Biblical Literature, eds., The HarperCollins Bible Commentary,
Rev. ed (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2000), 983.

1
1.2. Jesus’ crucifixion.2 All four gospels record that Jesus foretold his own death, but only
Matthew says that he knew it would be by crucifixion (Matt. 20:19; 26:2), and that he
foresaw the same fate for some of his followers (Matt. 23:34).

Jesus‘ crucifixion is recounted in Matt. 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19, and is many times
referred to elsewhere in the NT (e.g., Acts 2:36; 4:10; I Cor. 2:8; II Cor. 13:4; Gal. 3:1; Rev.
11:8). None of these dwells, however, on the physical details that interest a modern. Even the
statements that Jesus died on a tree (Acts 5:30; 10:39) should probably be taken figuratively,
a tree being roughly suggested by the cross‘s shape. The exact spot of the execution is not
known (see GOLGOTHA), though it was evidently beside one of the main roads leading into
Jerusalem. Jesus refused the drink offered to deaden his pain. Two other men were put to
death at the same time. These, or at least one of them, joined in the derision heaped on Jesus
(Matt. 27:44; Mark 15:32; Luke 23:39)—perhaps in the forlorn hope of gaining some favor
by siding at last with the rulers. A sign, indicating the crime for which he was condemned,
was placed on Jesus‘ cross (see INSCRIPTION ON THE Cross), but nothing is said of
similar signs on the other two.

The Synoptics say that at Jesus‘ death there was a supernatural darkness, and that the temple
veil was rent in two. Matthew adds an earthquake and bursting rocks, and corpses walking
about Jerusalem. John says nothing of any of this.

1.3. The Crucifixion as a symbol.3 Death by crucifixion brought Jesus into public disrepute.
It placed him under an ancient curse, ―for it is written, ‗Cursed be everyone who hangs on a
tree‘‖‘ (Gal. 3:13; cf. Deut. 21:23). This provided the greatest obstacle in the subsequent
effort to convert Jews to the new faith. Nothing in the OT or in Jewish lore had prepared them
for the thought that the Messiah should be thus handled. To many Jews, the Christian claim
was a shocking blasphemy.

To Christians, however, the Crucifixion was the most intense demonstration of Christ‘s love
and power, and the symbol of the Christian‘s own union with his Lord. To become his
follower meant to crucify one‘s old and sinful self (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; 5:24). Or, with a
changed figure, ungodliness itself had been put to death by the Crucifixion (Gal. 6:14), so
that the Christian was now free to live in Christ alone.

2. The Cross: Symbol of Suffering and Redemption

The journey to the cross was a one-way trip; you didn‘t come back from the cross alive.
Crucifixion was, in obvious ways, a death sentence. It was a method of execution that was
designed to prolong suffering for days at a time but which would, ultimately, always end in

2
Mays and Society of Biblical Literature, 898.
3
George Arthur Buttrick et al., eds., The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: An Illustr.
Encyclopedia: Identifying and Explaining All Proper Names and Significant Terms and Subjects in the Holy
Scriptures, Including the Apocrypha: With Attention to Archaeological Discoveries and Researches into the Life
and Faith of Ancient Times. 1: A-D / George Arthur Buttrick; Kepler, Thomas Samuel u.a. [Hrsg.], 14. print
(Nashville: Abingdon Pr, 1984), 746–47.

2
death. For this reason, the cross became known in the ancient world for being a symbol of
death.4

For every person crucified, the cross had the final say. And even for Jesus, the cross brought
with it the sting of death. As we read in Philippians 2:8: ―And being found in appearance as a
man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross.‖ Yet for
Jesus, death did not have the final say. ―For we know that since Christ was raised from the
dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.‖ (Romans 6:9).5

Sin, suffering, and death are almost as old as the human story. From nearly the beginning of
time, man has stood in need of redemption. The fall of Adam and Eve dealt a grievous blow
to our human nature and wounded it — but didn‘t destroy or completely disfigure it. On
account of this original disobedience, sin and death became a part of our world, and we were
unable to enter heaven. Even though sin and death entered the world through original sin,
God, in His grace and mercy, promised a Redeemer. Ultimately, the beauty of the Christian
story is that Jesus on the cross would fulfill that promise and reconcile man with God.6

Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, man is brought back into friendship with His
Creator and is redeemed. By having a spotless human nature and dying upon the cross, Jesus
took humanity‘s fallen nature and raised it up to something even greater.7

2.1. How do we even understand suffering?

Jesus‘ death on the cross gives meaning to suffering. Jesus helps Christians understand
suffering because He ―did not come to suppress suffering all at once, nor to explain it, nor to
justify it. He came to assume it and to transform it.‖8 We can only understand the meaning of
suffering by recognizing the supreme love of God, who, for us, ―gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.‖ (John 3:16). By Jesus‘ death
upon the cross, He transformed suffering from something previously associated with evil into
the means for man‘s salvation.
The cross also is significant and integral to the Christian life because as Christians we are
called to imitate Jesus. Part of that imitation involves sharing in His cross. The suffering of
the cross is the ultimate model for the Christian to imitate to draw closer to God through His
grace because the cross is the prototype of how to love. Jesus suffered and carried His cross

4
The Cross as the Ultimate Symbol of Deconstruction
https://www.premierunbelievable.com/articles/the-cross-as-the-ultimate-symbol-of-
deconstruction/14601.article#:~:text=A%20symbol%20of%20death&text=Crucifixion%20was%2C%20in%20o
bvious%20ways,being%20a%20symbol%20of%20death. (Accessed on 10.2.2024).
5
The Cross as the Ultimate Symbol of Deconstruction…, (Accessed on 10.2.2024).
6
Mary Clare Miller, The Role of the Cross in Christian Suffering https://chnetwork.org/2020/04/07/the-
role-of-the-cross-in-christian-
suffering/#:~:text=The%20suffering%20of%20the%20cross,down%20His%20life%20on%20it. (Accessed on
11.2.2024)
7
Mary Clare Miller, The Role of the Cross in Christian Suffering…, (Accessed on 11.2.2024)
8
Louis Evely. Suffering. Translated by Marie-Claude Thompson (New York: Herder and Herder,
1997), 69.

3
and ultimately laid down His life on it. So when difficulties and trials draw near, we can
respond to them not out of fear but with a certain kind of love since we are being given the
opportunity to imitate our Savior, Jesus.9 St. Peter reminds us that ―because Christ also
suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps‖ (1Peter 2:21).
Jesus commands His followers, ―If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me‖ (Mark 8:34).

In imitating the suffering of the cross, Christians unite themselves with Jesus Christ. Though
it‘s often not easy, and may even require heroic obedience, we should try to accept suffering
out of love for God, following Jesus‘ example shown through the words He said right before
the crucifixion: ―I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I
love the Father‖ (John 14:31). The cross has given us a beautiful reason to embrace suffering
and has made it sacred since ―it confers upon those whom it rends the most intimate
resemblance to the sorrowful Son whose cross saves the world … a tortured heart committed
to the Father is the most living image of the Redeemer.‖10 An authentic Christian thus should
accept suffering with love since it is a beautiful gift from God that allows us to be
transformed into more exact images of the Savior.

By taking to the cross, embracing death and then rising again, Jesus deconstructed death itself
and took away the very essence of death‘s power. He defeated death, declaring that it would
no longer have the final say, re-defining the cross to become the symbol of true and eternal
life. In a divine exchange this symbol which most starkly represented death became a symbol
of hope and eternal life.11

Today, many churches are decorated with the symbol of the empty cross. For the hope of
Christ is a hope which is found in the empty cross: the true and eternal symbol of life in all its
fullness. It is in the empty cross that we are grounded in our hope that, for us too, death will
not have the final say.12

3. Hope for all Crucified People

3.1. The Cross of Christ as the Hope of all the Crucified People
What God did through Christ on the cross is to rescue us, set us free from our sins, to restore
our relationship and disclose him to us.13 The cross of Jesus Christ is the central message to
the Christian faith. The cross reveals to us the character of God: His love for lost sinners and
His perfect justice meet at the cross. The cross is also the place where all the wounds of sin
are healed.

9
Mary Clare Miller, The Role of the Cross in Christian Suffering…, (Accessed on 11.2.2024)
10
Louis Evely. Suffering. Translated by Marie-Claude Thompson…, 71.
11
The Cross as the Ultimate Symbol of Deconstruction…, (Accessed on 10.2.2024)
12
The Cross as the Ultimate Symbol of Deconstruction…, (Accessed on 10.2.2024)

13
John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Illinois: Inter Varsity Press,1986), 167.

4
3.1.1. The Cross Unveils God's Justice
God gives his Justice/righteousness to us through the cross of Jesus as we are unable to bring
justice/righteousness ourselves (Romans 3:23). The cross of Jesus restores our relationship
with God. As a result, God can work his righteousness/justice through us and in us. In a place
where injustices are leading, we can be able to set things right by sacrificing something of
ourselves and imitate Jesus Christ though we do not cause problem.14 We can be the agents of
Jesus' justice to the world by being the voice to the voiceless, hope to the hopeless and
protect the vulnerable from negligence and exploitation.

3.1.2. The Cross of Christ Accomplished Peace with God

Because of our sin humankind by nature are God's enemies. However, through the cross of
Christ we are reconciled with God. And since we have been reconciled and justified by grace
through faith, we have peace with God (Rom 5: l). It is peace with God that brings peace
within. The peace we have with God through Jesus Christ brings peace in us and it is our
responsibility to share the peace of God to the whole universe. 15 The cross brings about peace
to people who are afflicted, torn •apart, traumatized through life situations and brought peace
between different people groups who once lived in hostility.

3.2. Resurrection of Christ as the Hope of all the Crucified People of the World
Jesus' resurrection is not just a reaffirmation of the Jewish hope but this experience of the
risen Jesus shows how God has raised Jesus from the death. It shows Jesus is alive with God
and will be the one to Judge the world.16 Here, the resurrection is a hope giver to all the poor
and oppressed of our world, whose suffering presents Christian faith with an urgent demand
to be rescued from their sufferings.

3.2.1. Resurrection of Christ as a Hope

Jesus's resurrection is the basis of Christian hope. Because Jesus rose from the dead, one has
hope that death will be finally defeated. For those who are defeated by various situations they
will be fully redeemed. They have hope that everything wrong with the world will be made
right.17 The resurrection of Christ is the hope for the all the crucified people; he paid our debt,
but His sacrifice on the cross means nothing if He possesses no power over the grave. Jesus‘
resurrection proved He was able to remove sin and its penalty. There are people who are
battling their life, some faced with violence; some with poverty, oppressions, sickness and so
forth. The resurrection of Christ uplifts these groups of people by giving them hope of a new
tomorrow and a new life without being crucified.

14
―God‘s Justice Through Jesus, The Solution to our False Judgements (Romans 3:21-26).‖
https://www.theologyofwork.org/new-testament/romans-and-work/judgement-justice-and-faith-roman-3/gods-
justice-the-solution-to-our-false-judgements-romans-321-26. (Accessed on Dt. 12/02/24).
15
Marcus Nodder, Why Did Jesus Have to Die? And Other Questions About the Cross of Christ and
it’s Meaning for us Today (Epsom Surrey, England: The Good Book Company, 2014), np.
16
Pheme Perkins, New Testament Introduction (Bangalore: St Pauls, 2010), 125.
17
Mario A. Russo, ―One Reason to Live: One Hope in the Resurrection.‖
https://biologos.org/articles/one-reason-to-live-hope-in-the-resurrection. (Accessed on Dt.12/02/24).

5
3.2.2. Resurrection as Pursuing Victory over our Fears
Looking forward to the prospect of one's death is always unpleasant; it is also true that this
says more about the state of our thinking processes than it does about our actual demise. One
must keep Paul's words, allowing them to clear our vision: "I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us"
(Rom.8:18). This process is based firmly on the truths of Jesus's resurrection and eternal
life.18 Here, the idea of resurrection allows the crucified to take control of their fears and rise
up courageously over it.

3.2.3. Resurrection as the Comforter

Jesus's resurrection appearances were the chief answer for his disciples' grief. When Jesus
spoke to his beleaguered followers after his death, his presence and comforting words
changed their emotional state from doubt and fear to joy (Jn. 20:19-20, 27-29). The emphasis
or his resurrection as the cure for grief, doubt, and fear is clear (Lk. 24:36-46). Just seeing
and hearing their resurrected Lord was enough to calm the disciples' fears, and
comfort their sorrowful hearts.19

Conclusion
To sum up, the story of Jesus on the cross and coming back to life shows that love can beat
hate, life can win over death, and hope can overcome despair. It gives us hope that even when
things seem really bad, there's still a chance for good things to happen. The cross isn't just a
symbol of pain; it's a sign of hope. And Jesus being alive again gives us courage and
comfort, showing that even after the hardest times, there's still reason to believe in better days
ahead.

Bibliography
Buttrick, George Arthur. et al., eds., The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: An Illustr.
Encyclopedia: Identifying and Explaining All Proper Names and Significant Terms
and Subjects in the Holy Scriptures, Including the Apocrypha: With Attention to
Archaeological Discoveries and Researches into the Life and Faith of Ancient Times.
1: A-D / George Arthur Buttrick; Kepler, Thomas Samuel u.a. [Hrsg.], 14. print.
Nashville: Abingdon Pr, 1984.

Evelyn, Louis. Suffering. Translated by Marie-Claude Thompson. New York: Herder and
Herder, 1997.

Habermas, Gary R. The Risen Jesus and Future Hope. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Inc., 2003.

18
Gary R. Habermas, The Risen Jesus and Future Hope (Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers,
Inc., 2003), 175-176.
19
Habermas, The Risen Jesus and Future Hope, 183.

6
Luther, James Mays, and Society of Biblical Literature, eds., The Harper Collins Bible
Commentary, Rev. ed. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2000.
Mays and Society of Biblical Literature.

Perkins, Pheme. New Testament Introduction. Bangalore: St Pauls, 2010.

Stott, John R.W. The Cross of Christ. Illinois: Inter Varsity Press,1986.

Nodder, Marcus. Why Did Jesus Have to Die? And Other Questions About the Cross of
Christ and it’s Meaning for us Today. Epsom Surrey, England: The Good Book Company,
2014.

WEBLIOGRAPHY
―God‘s Justice Through Jesus, The Solution to our False Judgements (Romans 3:21-26).‖
https://www.theologyofwork.org/new-testament/romans-and-work/judgement-justice
and-faith-roman-3/gods-justice-the-solution-to-our-false-judgements-romans-321-26.

Mario A. Russo, ―One Reason to Live: One Hope in the Resurrection.‖

https://biologos.org/articles/one-reason-to-live-hope-in-the-resurrection.

Mary Clare Miller, The Role of the Cross in Christian Suffering

https://chnetwork.org/2020/04/07/the-role-of-the-cross-in-christian
suffering/#:~:text=The%20suffering%20of%20the%20cross,down%20His%20life%2
0on%20it.
The Cross as the Ultimate Symbol of Deconstruction
https://www.premierunbelievable.com/articles/the-cross-as-the-ultimate-symbol-of
deconstruction/14601.article#:~:text=A%20symbol%20of%20death&text=Crucifixi
on%20was%2C%20in%20obvious%20ways,being%20a%20symbol%20of%20death.