Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, April 19, 2025
A little over a year ago, a red light at an intersection near where we live caused me to pull to a stop near this truck. Evidently those white wooden constructions are carried to the yards of homes that are for sale, and will be hung with square metal or plastic signs bearing the house agent’s name and contact information.
But at first glance, my thought was, These are crosses, and the driver is a cross-bearer!
As you know, the cross is a beloved Christian symbol, and a popular jewelry item as well. Crosses are made in gold, silver, and other metals. They’re sometimes encrusted with diamonds or other gems. They’re worn proudly, on necklaces and lapel pins and even dangling from pierced ears.
And as such, they would have been utterly revolting to Jesus’ disciples and other Christians at that time. Imagine a tiny gold-plated lethal-injection gurney, or a little electric chair made of silver, or a miniature bolt-action firing squad rifle, worn as daily accessories.
To give their most powerful meaning, I believe, today’s adornment crosses should be carved from rough wood or something that resembles it, with authentic-looking bloodstains painted at their three ends.
Here’s what Jesus had to say about cross-bearing:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:24 – 26 NKJV
On an online Bible reference site, I found an explanation of what Jesus’ Matthew 16 comment about cross-bearing means.
“Self-denial was a common enough idea in both Jewish and Greek teaching of the day. Jesus, though, pictured a self-denial that included willing participation in the death of self. In short, nobody who follows Jesus can hold on to even the smallest bit of their own agenda, their own dreams, their own way of living in the world. They must sacrifice every ounce of self if they would choose to walk after Him.”
https://www.bibleref.com/Matthew/16/Matthew-16-24.html