The Weight Of The Cross

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

“And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha.”

Isaiah 53:6; John 19:17

When I think on our Lord’s suffering, one of the things that speaks somberly to my heart is the indescribable suffering of having to bear that cross from Pilate’s Judgment Hall out of the city and up Calvary’s hill. He has already been beaten mercilessly by the hand of the soldiers. He has been whipped scores of times with the cat-of-nine-tails. He is wearing a “crown” made of razor-sharp thorns that has pierced deeply into His head. And then a great wooden cross is thrown at His feet, and He is to carry it. Imagine having to carry the instrument of one’s own death to the execution area. He who carries it up that hill does not come down alive. Of all the challenging steps Jesus has taken in His earthly life, these last are indeed the hardest. And to walk these steps under that tremendous weight. Oh, the agony as He lifts it up, places it upon His back, then tries to walk with it. So heavy was that old cross that day.

Though there have been countless estimates through the ages, there is no way the actual weight of that cross can be known. We all have to agree, it must have been very, very heavy. It had to be able to support both the weight of the condemned and also his thrashings in the slow dying. To have to carry it that distance would have been a feat for a strong, well person, much less someone who had just undergone torture almost to the death.

So heavy was His cross, not only because of the weight of the wood, but also another weight of something else. This weight made the heaviness of the wood pale in comparison.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way..” Like our father Adam, we all have sinned and sinned and sinned. Instead of facing our sins, or acknowledging them, we choose instead to run. To run from those sins right into further sin. To run from God and attempt to hide, to cover ourselves with whatever fig leaves we can find. We pick and choose the way we want to go, and each choice takes us farther from God. Our sin transgresses the law of God’s righteousness. We have a criminal record, and with each sin that record grows. All these various sins stir together into an awful concoction of iniquity: rotten, deadly, revolting. It is we who deserve the cross, for it would be just punishment for our iniquity. But, even if you or I bore this cross, it would only kill the body, and end this life of sinning. Our sins commited in this life would follow, yea chase us into a dark and fiery eternity. This is why He was there at the Judgment Hall. Because we were not where we were supposed to be, He had to be where He didn’t have to be.

“…and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” You see, that extra weight bearing down upon Him was our iniquity. Tell me, just how much does just one of your sins weigh? Truth is, it weighs far more than we can ever imagine. Then add to it the weight of all the sins of your life, along with all the sins of every one of Adam’s race. God have mercy! It was our iniquity that ground into His back, that mashed Him to His knees. And He had to drag this awful laden burden all the way up that steep hill only to be nailed tightly to it. The very weight of all this drove the cross deeper into Calvary’s ground. It would wound Him, bruise Him, rip Him, hold Him, until His final breath. He had the power to refuse, to walk away, to throw it upon us. Instead, He held onto it. He took its wounding. He bore its bruising. He would not let it go. All because He knew that if He did, this cross of iniquity would hold us. And there would be no escape.

So He, out of incredible love, carried our weight to His death. Sinner, run no longer. Christian, consider your Lord and how you are living your life. Please. Every sin committed now just adds to the weight of a cross borne for you 2000 years ago. “and with His stripes, we are healed.” There is no use for both us and Him to bear it. He already has.  With His bearing, it bought for you your freedom and salvation from your sins. It is the utmost foolishness to ignore Him and run on in your sins.

He has the wounds to prove it all. Take a look. Believe on Him right now. Come to Him and call upon Him.

And finally be released… and healed.