Sermons from our Favorite Songs: The Old Rugged Cross

The Old Rugged Cross

Let’s take a moment to read through the song first…

Then we’ll read about Barabbas (Mark 15:1-15).

George Bennard wrote the words to this song. He wrote that he was reading, studying and meditating on the cross in the plan of God. As he did so, the Christ of the cross became more than a symbol. “It was like seeing John 3:16 leave the printed page, take form, and act out the meaning of redemption” (as quoted by William Jensen Reynolds in Hymns of our Faith: A Handbook for the Baptist Hymnal, pg 154).

THE EMBLEM OF SUFFERING AND SHAME
An emblem is a “visible symbol of a thing, idea, class of people, etc.; object or representation that stands for or suggests something else.”
If you look at the cross from the human side, you might say that it is the emblem of suffering and shame. Here you have an innocent man suffering for sins he did not commit.
Think about Barabbas – the notorious prisoner, insurrectionist and murderer who was released in place of Jesus. He led insurrections against the Roman Empire. That’s what they wanted. They wanted someone who could lead the Israelite nation back to independence and prominence in the Mediterranean world. The people wanted Barabbas because he met their expectations.
Barabbas was released. He was guilty. What a shame that the people would cry out for someone who killed their enemies and clamored for the death of the One who raised their children from the dead.

But from the divine side, the cross is an emblem of so much more. It is the emblem of God’s love. It is John 3:16 in real life. It is God’s mercy. It is God choosing not to give us what we deserve. It is God’s grace. God did not have to extend salvation to us in the cross. Thus, the cross is also an emblem of the justice of God. Sin had to be punished. The wages of sin is death. We all sin. We deserve – like Barabbas – to die.

“I love that old cross”

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE OLD RUGGED CROSS?
Where the dearest and best was slain for a world of lost sinners.
It has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God left his glory above – to bear His glory to dark Calvary.

Joni Eareckson Tada was a quadriplegic after a diving accident. One day, out of a deep depression, she begged a friend to give her some pills she could take to die. Her friend refused and Joni was filled with rage, bitterness, and emotional pain.
Another friend came to visit her one day and tried to find a way to encourage her. “Joni, Jesus knows how you feel. You’re not the only one who’s been paralyzed. He was paralyzed too.”
“Cindy, what are you talking about?”
“It’s true. It’s true, Joni. Remember, He was nailed to the cross. His back was raw from beatings like your back sometimes gets raw. Oh, He must have longed to move. To change his position, to redistribute His weight somehow, but He couldn’t move. Joni, He knows how you feel.”
Joni realized then just how much God loved her.

That old rugged cross is stained with blood so divine, a wondrous beauty I see
For ‘twas on that old cross that Jesus died to pardon and sanctify me.

What sin have you committed? Have you lost your temper with your husband? Have you looked at pornography? Have you lied to your children? Have you disobeyed your parents? Have you said something hateful about someone else? Have you bragged about your own accomplishments?
Jesus suffered and died to pardon and sanctify you and me. Why do we love that old cross? Because Jesus paid the price for our sins. We were all in the position of Barabbas.
Jesus had the glory of God when He was in heaven – no pain, no death, no tears. He was everything God was and distant from the mess of His human creation. But He brought that glory down to earth and took that glory to the cross – for you and me.

MY RESPONSE TO THE CROSS
I will be true to that old rugged cross.
And will bear gladly its shame and reproach.
Then He’ll call me someday, to my home far away where His glory I’ll share forever.

We’ve talked about the fact that “I love that old cross.”

But verse 4 says, “I’ll be true to that old rugged cross.” To be true means to be faithful, loyal, and constant. Can God depend on you?
Can God depend on you to live the Christian life as faithfully as possible?
Can God depend on you to worship regularly with His children?
Can God depend on you to study His word so you can grow?
Can God depend on you to give liberally and cheerfully?
Can God depend on you to teach His word accurately and patiently to others?

“I will bear gladly its shame and reproach.” It’s not popular all the time to be a Christian. It’s not even popular within ourselves to do the right thing. Will we bear the shame and reproach that comes with the cross of Christ?

In the late 1800s, a young boy in Vienna, Austria stood in St. Stefan’s Cathedral and vowed as an adult he would build a temple to the ancient German gods. Guido von List chose as his symbol, a cross with the pieces broken into right angles. His religion was a secret blood society involving perversion and black magic.
A young man came under the influence of Guido von List and when he developed his own organization, Adolf Hitler chose the broken cross – the Swastika – as his symbol. The world offers us a glossy cross that is broken. You and I have a choice to make – where will our allegiance be?

CONCLUSION
I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
‘Til I lay my trophies down.
I’ll cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it someday for a crown.

The chorus says I’ll “cherish” the old rugged cross until I lay my trophies down.
And then it says I’ll exchange “it” – that is, my cross I bear – some day for a crown.

Dale Evans said, “All of my life, I have been looking for a pot of gold at the foot of a rainbow, and I found it at the foot of the cross.”

What pot of gold are you looking for? To be popular. That’s a temptation even for preachers. To have enough money – not to do anything you want to do, but to do everything you want to do. To be in a position where you can have everything your way. To be the boss of every aspect of your life, to be in total and absolute control?

Will you cherish the cross until you lay down your trophies --? Whatever trophies you’ve received? Whatever trophies you’ve earned?
Will you cling in faithful devotion and total commitment to the cross, so you can one day exchange it for the glory of your own crown?

Can you delay serving yourself for just one short lifetime – serve Christ instead – in order to one day receive something worth far more than anything you could possibly have or achieve in this life?

A boy and his father were traveling along in the car when a bee flew through the window. The boy was highly allergic to bee stings and became very fearful. However, the father was quickly able to grab the bee in his bare hand. “Look, son, his stinger is gone” – the father showed him his hand – he can’t hurt you any longer.” The father took the bee sting himself, so the son would not feel it.
Death lost its sting when it stung Jesus on the cross. That’s why it holds such a beautiful attraction for those who appreciate its power.

Take home message: Bear the shame and reproach of the cross in this life that you might bear its glory in the next.