Who is Jesus? · Teleios
Step 10 of 11
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What does the cross mean for believers?
14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Read the verses around it (John 3:14-16)
14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
8And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Read the verses around it (Numbers 21:5-9)
5And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
14But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Read the verses around it (Galatians 6:14-15)
14But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 15For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Our explanation
Jesus compared his death to an event in the wilderness: "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish." Moses had set a bronze serpent "upon a pole," and whoever looked at it lived.
The Greek word translated "cross" is stauros (see the word card), which means a stake or upright pole. The Bible does not describe its exact shape.
What matters is not the object but what happened on it. Paul wrote: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
Our understanding: a crucifix or the sign of the cross has no power in itself. The power of the cross is God's work in Jesus' death, which we share by faith and baptism. Many people value the cross as a reminder; we invite you to look past the symbol to what Paul gloried in.
Word cardσταυρόςstauros
The Greek word translated "cross." Its basic meaning is an upright stake or pole. The Romans executed people on stakes and crosses of different shapes; the Gospels do not describe the exact shape used for Jesus. In Paul's letters "the cross" stands for Jesus' death and what it achieved: "the preaching of the cross... unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).
John 19:17 · Galatians 6:14 · 1 Corinthians 1:18
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