The Three Crosses of Calvary

As the plans for Friday's crucifixion were being laid, the Roman soldiers could not have imagined the significance of the three crosses that would stand on Golgotha, the 'Place of a Skull'. To them it was just another day and another crucifixion. Many will have the same thoughts regarding the events of the next few days. What is the foundation of their faith for some is nothing more than another holiday for others.

However, those three crosses signify the entire gamut of choices for every person who walks the face of planet Earth. The middle cross was the cross of redemption. On it was Jesus dying like sinners, dying among sinners and dying for sinners. That cross manifested God's love, fulfilled God's law and secured God's liberty for man. To one side of Christ's cross was the cross of reception. From it comes the "brief biography of a blessed man." That morning the thief who was hung there was lost and condemned. By midday he was experiencing the grace of God and by midnight he was in glory with his Savior. On the other side of Christ's cross was the cross of rejection bearing a calloused, sin-hardened heart. He was just as near Christ and heard the same message but rejected both. He was unholy, unfit and unclean. While Christ can save in spite of these, the man was also unwilling and about that Christ can do nothing.

Today all people face the same three crosses. Many see Christ as the ethical man, the social man, the teacher, or the example. Many do not regard him at all. All of these have aligned themselves with the cross of rejection. Some see Christ as the substitutional sacrifice that He is. He was on that cross paying for our sin. These choose to humbly call for God's grace and like the repentant thief on the cross will join their Savior in glory. If Christ were being crucified today which on which side would you stand?