Cross

As the emblem of a slave's death and a murderer's punishment, the cross was naturally looked upon with the profoundest horror. But after the celebrated vision of Constantine, he ordered his friends to make a cross of gold and gems, such as he had seen, and "the towering eagles resigned the flags unto the cross," and "the tree of cursing and shame" "sat upon the sceptres and was engraved and signed on the foreheads of kings." (Jer. Taylor, "Life of Christ," iii., xv. 1.) The new standards were called by the name Labarum, and may be seen on the coins of Constantine the Great and his nearer successors. The Latin cross on which our Lord suffered, was int he form of the letter T, and had an upright above the cross-bar, on which the "title" was placed. There was a projection from the central stem, on which the body of the sufferer rested. This was to prevent the weight of the body from tearing away the hands. Whether there was also a support to the feet (as we see in pictures) is doubtful. An inscription was generally placed above the criminal's head, briefly expressing his guilt, and generally was carried before him. It was covered with white gypsum, and the letter were black.

Cross

A kind of gibbet made of pieces of wood placed transversely, whether crossing at right angles, one at the top of the other, T, or below the top, t, or diagonally, X. Death by the cross was a punishment of the meanest slaves, and was a mark of infamy, De 21:23 Galatians 3:13. This punishment was so common among the Romans, that pains, afflictions, troubles, etc., were called "crosses." Our Savior says that his disciples must take up the cross and follow Him. Though the cross is the sign of ignominy and sufferings, yet it is the badge and glory of the Christian.

The common way of crucifying was by fastening the criminal with nails, one through each hand, and one through both his feet, or through each foot. Sometimes they were bound with cords, which, though it seems gentler, because it occasions less pain, was really more cruel, because the sufferer was hereby made to languish longer. Sometimes they used both nails and cords for fastenings; and when this was the case, there was no difficulty in lifting up the person, together with his cross, he being sufficiently supported by the cords; near the middle of the cross also there was a wooden projection, which partially supported the body of the sufferer. Before they nailed him to the cross, they generally scourged him with whips or leathern thongs, which was thought more severe and more infamous than scourging with cords. Slaves who had been guilty of great crimes were fastened to a gibbet or cross, and were thus led about the city, and beaten. Our Savior was loaded with his cross, and as he sunk under the burden, Simon the Cyrenian was constrained to bear it after him and with him, Mark 15:21.

After the person had been nailed to the cross, a stupefying draught was sometimes administered, in order to render him less sensible to pain, an alleviation which our Savior did not accept, Matthew 27:34 Mark 15:23; though he seems afterwards to have taken a little of the common beverage of the soldiers. Sent by the Father to bear the heavy load of penal suffering for a lost race, he felt that he had no right to the palliatives resorted to in ordinary cases, and perfectly lawful except in his own. "The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it-" John 18:11. He drank it, and to the very dregs. The cross being erected under the burning sun, the wounds made by the scourge and the nails soon occasioned a general fever and an intolerable thirst. The blood, interrupted in its regular flow, accumulated in various parts of the body, and caused painful congestions. Every slight writhing of the sufferer increased his anguish, which found no relief but in final mortification and death. Those who were fastened upon the cross lived in that condition several days, and sometimes a week or more. Hence Pilate was amazed at our Savior's dying so soon, because naturally he must have lived longer, Mark 15:44. The legs of the two thieves were broken, to hasten their death, but their bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath say, De 21:23 Joshua 8:29; but the crucified were usually left hanging, under the eye of guards, till their bodies fell to the ground, or were devoured by birds and beasts of prey.

In the New Testament the instrument of crucifixion, and hence used for the crucifixion of Christ itself (Ephesians 2:16; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:17, 18; Galatians 5:11; 6:12, 14; Philippians 3:18). The word is also used to denote any severe affliction or trial (Matthew 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34; 10:21).

The forms in which the cross is represented are these:

1. The crux simplex (I), a "single piece without transom."

2. The crux decussata (X), or St. Andrew's cross.

3. The crux commissa (T), or St. Anthony's cross.

4. The crux immissa (t), or Latin cross, which was the kind of cross on which our Saviour died. Above our Lord's head, on the projecting beam, was placed the "title." (see CRUCIFIXION.)

After the conversion, so-called, of Constantine the Great (B.C. 313), the cross first came into use as an emblem of Christianity. He pretended at a critical moment that he saw a flaming cross in the heavens bearing the inscription, "In hoc signo vinces", i.e., By this sign thou shalt conquer, and that on the following night Christ himself appeared and ordered him to take for his standard the sign of this cross. In this form a new standard, called the Labarum, was accordingly made, and borne by the Roman armies. It remained the standard of the Roman army till the downfall of the Western empire. It bore the embroidered monogram of Christ, i.e., the first two Greek letters of his name, X and P (chi and rho), with the Alpha and Omega. (See A.)

1. (n.) A gibbet, consisting of two pieces of timber placed transversely upon one another, in various forms, as a T, or +, with the horizontal piece below the upper end of the upright, or as an X. It was anciently used in the execution of criminals.

2. (n.) The sign or mark of the cross, made with the finger, or in ink, etc., or actually represented in some material; the symbol of Christ's death; the ensign and chosen symbol of Christianity, of a Christian people, and of Christendom.

3. (n.) Affliction regarded as a test of patience or virtue; trial; disappointment; opposition; misfortune.

4. (n.) A piece of money stamped with the figure of a cross, also, that side of such a piece on which the cross is stamped; hence, money in general.

5. (n.) An appendage or ornament or anything in the form of a cross; a badge or ornamental device of the general shape of a cross; hence, such an ornament, even when varying considerably from that form; thus, the Cross of the British Order of St. George and St. Michael consists of a central medallion with seven arms radiating from it.

6. (n.) A monument in the form of a cross, or surmounted by a cross, set up in a public place; as, a market cross; a boundary cross; Charing Cross in London.

7. (n.) A common heraldic bearing, of which there are many varieties.

8. (n.) The cross like mark or symbol used instead of a signature by those unable to write.

9. (n.) Church lands.

10. (n.) A line drawn across or through another line.

11. (n.) A mixing of breeds or stock, especially in cattle breeding; or the product of such intermixture; a hybrid of any kind.

12. (n.) An instrument for laying of offsets perpendicular to the main course.

13. (n.) A pipe-fitting with four branches the axes of which usually form's right angle.

14. (a.) Not parallel; lying or falling athwart; transverse; oblique; intersecting.

15. (a.) Not accordant with what is wished or expected; interrupting; adverse; contrary; thwarting; perverse.

16. (a.) Characterized by, or in a state of, peevishness, fretfulness, or ill humor; as, a cross man or woman.

17. (a.) Made in an opposite direction, or an inverse relation; mutually inverse; interchanged; as, cross interrogatories; cross marriages, as when a brother and sister marry persons standing in the same relation to each other.

18. (prep.) Athwart; across.

19. (v. t.) To put across or athwart; to cause to intersect; as, to cross the arms.

20. (v. t.) To lay or draw something, as a line, across; as, to cross the letter t.

21. (v. t.) To pass from one side to the other of; to pass or move over; to traverse; as, to cross a stream.

22. (v. t.) To pass, as objects going in an opposite direction at the same time.

23. (v. t.) To run counter to; to thwart; to obstruct; to hinder; to clash or interfere with.

24. (v. t.) To interfere and cut off; to debar.

25. (v. t.) To make the sign of the cross upon; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun; as, he crossed himself.

26. (v. t.) To cancel by marking crosses on or over, or drawing a line across; to erase; -- usually with out, off, or over; as, to cross out a name.

27. (v. t.) To cause to interbreed; -- said of different stocks or races; to mix the breed of.

28. (v. i.) To lie or be athwart.

29. (v. i.) To move or pass from one side to the other, or from place to place; to make a transit; as, to cross from New York to Liverpool.

30. (v. i.) To be inconsistent.

31. (v. i.) To interbreed, as races; to mix distinct breeds.

CROSS

(stauros, "a cross," "the crucifixion"; skolops, "a stake," "a pole"): The name is not found in the Old Testament. It is derived from the Latin word crux. In the Greek language it is stauros, but sometimes we find the word skolops used as its Greek equivalent. The historical writers, who transferred the events of Roman history into the Greek language, make use of these two words. No word in human language has become more universally known than this word, and that because all of the history of the world since the death of Christ has been measured by the distance which separates events from it. The symbol and principal content of the Christian religion and of Christian civilization is found in this one word.

1. Forms of the Cross:

The cross occurs in at least four different forms:

(1) the form usually seen in pictures, the crux immissa, in which the upright beam projected above the shorter crosspiece; this is most likely the type of cross on which the Saviour died, as may be inferred from the inscription which was nailed above His head;

(2) the crux commissa, or Anthony's cross, which has the shape of the letter T;

(3) the Greek cross of later date, in which the pieces are equally long;

(4) the crux decussata, or Andrew's cross, which has the shape of the letter X.

2. Discovery of the True Cross:

The early church historians Socrates (1, 17), Sozomen (2, 1), Rufinus (1, 7) and Theodoret (1, 18) all make mention of this tradition. The most significant thing is that Eusebius (Vit. Const., iii.26-28), who carries more weight than they all together, wholly omits it.

According to it, Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, in 325 A.D., when she was 79 years old, discovered the true cross of Jesus by an excavation she caused to be made on the traditional spot of His grave. With the cross of the Saviour were found the two crosses of the malefactors who were crucified with Him. A miracle of healing, wrought by touching the true cross, revealed its identity. Whenfound it was intact, even the holy nails of the crucifixion being discovered. The main part of the cross was deposited by Helena in a church erected over the spot. Of the remainder, a portion was inserted into the head of the statue of Constantine, and the balance was placed in a new church, specially erected for it at Rome and named after it Santa Croce. Small fragments of the wood of the true cross were sold, encrusted with gold and jewels, and since many among the wealthy believers were desirous of possessing such priceless relics, the miracle of the "multiplication of the cross" was devised, so that the relic suffered no diminution "et quasi intacta maneret" (Paulinus epistle 11 ad Sev). Fragments of the true cross are thus to be found in many Roman Catholic churches of many countries, all over Christendom. It is said that the East celebrated the staurosimos hemera (Crucifixion Day) on September 14, since the 4th century. The evidence for this fact is late and untrustworthy. It is certain that the West celebrated the Invention of the Cross, on May 3, since the time of Gregory the Great in the 6th century. The finding and publication of the apocryphal "Doctrina Addaei" has made it evident that the entire legend of the discovery of the cross by Helena is but a version of the old Edessa legend, which tells of an identical discovery of the cross, under the very same circumstances, by the wife of the emperor Claudius, who had been converted to Christianity by the preaching of Peter.

3. Symbolical Uses of the Cross:

(1) Extra-Scriptural.

The sign of the cross was well known in the symbolics of various ancient nations. Among the Egyptians it is said to have been the symbol of divinity and eternal life, and to have been found in the temple of Serapis. It is known either in the form of the Greek cross or in the form of the letter "T". The Spaniards found it to be well known, as a symbol, by the Mexicans and Peruvians, perhaps signifying the four elements, or the four seasons, or the four points of the compass.

(2) Scriptural.

The suffering implied in crucifixion naturally made the cross a symbol of pain, distress and burden-bearing. Thus Jesus used it Himself (Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24). In Paulinic literature the cross stands for the preaching of the doctrine of the Atonement (1 Corinthians 1:18 Galatians 6:14 Philippians 3:18 Colossians 1:20). It expresses the bond of unity between the Jew and the Gentile (Ephesians 2:16), and between the believer and Christ, and also symbolizes sanctification (Galatians 5:24). The cross is the center and circumference of the preaching of the apostles and of the life of the New Testament church.

4. Crucifixion:

As an instrument of death the cross was detested by the Jews. "Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree" (Galatians 3:13; compare Deuteronomy 21:23), hence, it became a stumbling-block to them, for how could one accursed of God be their Messiah? Nor was the cross differently considered by the Romans. "Let the very name of the cross be far away not only from the body of a Roman citizen, but even from his thoughts, his eyes, his ears" (Cicero Pro Rabirio 5). The earliest mode of crucifixion seems to have been by impalation, the transfixion of the body lengthwise and crosswise by sharpened stakes, a mode of death-punishment still well known among the Mongol race. The usual mode of crucifixion was familiar to the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, Persians and Babylonians (Thuc. 1, 110; Herod. iii.125, 159). Alexander the Great executed two thousand Tyrian captives in this way, after the fall of the city. The Jews received this form of punishment from the Syrians and Romans (Ant., XII, v, 4; XX, vi, 2; BJ, I, iv, 6). The Roman citizen was exempt from this form of death, it being considered the death of a slave (Cicero In Verrem i. 5, 66; Quint. viii.4). The punishment was meted out for such crimes as treason, desertion in the face of the enemy, robbery, piracy, assassination, sedition, etc. It continued in vogue in the Roman empire till the day of Constantine, when it was abolished as an insult to Christianity. Among the Romans crucifixion was preceded by scourging, undoubtedly to hasten impending death. The victim then bore his own cross, or at least the upright beam, to the place of execution. This in itself proves that the structure was less ponderous than is commonly supposed. When he was tied to the cross nothing further was done and he was left to die from starvation. If he was nailed to the cross, at least in Judea, a stupefying drink was given him to deaden the agony. The number of nails used seems to have been indeterminate. A tablet, on which the feet rested or on which the body was partly supported, seems to have been a part of the cross to keep the wounds from tearing through the transfixed members (Iren., Adv. haer., ii.42). The suffering of death by crucifixion was intense, especially in hot climates. Severe local inflammation, coupled with an insignificant bleeding of the jagged wounds, produced traumatic fever, which was aggravated the exposure to the heat of the sun, the strained of the body and insufferable thirst. The swelled about the rough nails and the torn lacerated tendons and nerves caused excruciating agony. The arteries of the head and stomach were surcharged with blood and a terrific throbbing headache ensued. The mind was confused and filled with anxiety and dread foreboding. The victim of crucifixion literally died a thousand deaths. Tetanus not rarely supervened and the rigors of the attending convulsions would tear at the wounds and add to the burden of pain, till at last the bodily forces were exhausted and the victim sank to unconsciousness and death. The sufferings were so frightful that "even among the raging passions of war pity was sometimes excited" (BJ, V, xi, 1). The length of this agony was wholly determined by the constitution of the victim, but death rarely ensued before thirty-six hours had elapsed. Instances are on record of victims of the cross who survived their terrible injuries when taken down from the cross after many hours of suspension (Josephus, Vita, 75). Death was sometimes hastened by breaking the legs of the victims and by a hard blow delivered under the armpit before crucifixion. Crura fracta was a well-known Roman term (Cicero Phil. xiii.12). The sudden death of Christ evidently was a matter of astonishment (Mark 15:44). The peculiar symptoms mentioned by John (19:34) would seem to point to a rupture of the heart, of which the Saviour died, independent of the cross itself, or perhaps hastened by its agony.

SeeBLOOD AND WATER.

Henry E. Dosker

4716. stauros -- an upright stake, hence a cross (the Rom. ...
... 4715, 4716. stauros. 4717 . an upright stake, hence a cross (the Rom.
instrument of crucifixion). Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4716.htm - 8k

1276. diaperao -- to cross over
... to cross over. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: diaperao Phonetic Spelling:
(dee-ap-er-ah'-o) Short Definition: I cross over Definition: I cross over, pass ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1276.htm - 6k

4362. prospegnumi -- to fasten to (spec. to a cross)
... to a cross). Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: prospegnumi Phonetic Spelling:
(pros-payg'-noo-mee) Short Definition: I fasten to Definition: I fasten to ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4362.htm - 6k

3586. xulon -- wood
... wood. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: xulon Phonetic Spelling:
(xoo'-lon) Short Definition: a staff, cross, anything made of wood Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3586.htm - 6k

1224. diabaino -- to step across
... to step across. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: diabaino Phonetic Spelling:
(dee-ab-ah'-ee-no) Short Definition: I cross, pass through Definition: I cross ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1224.htm - 6k

4717. stauroo -- to fence with stakes, to crucify
... crucify. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: stauroo Phonetic Spelling:
(stow-ro'-o) Short Definition: I crucify Definition: I fix to the cross, crucify; ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4717.htm - 8k

4008. peran -- on the other side
... Word Origin akin to pera (on the further side) Definition on the other side NASB
Word Usage beyond (8), cross (1), other side (13), over (1). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4008.htm - 6k

5051. teleiotes -- a completer, finisher
... 2: "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the 747 and (5051 ) of the (operation of) (4102 ),
who in place of (473 ) joy set before Him, endured a cross (4716 ), despising ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5051.htm - 7k

3846. paraballo -- to throw beside
... land. Word Origin from para and ballo Definition to throw beside NASB Word
Usage crossed over (1). arrive, cross over. From para ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3846.htm - 6k

953. bebeloo -- to profane
... pollute, violate. Cognate: 953 (from 952 ) -- properly, to cross over --
literally, walking past a threshold . This is illustrated ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/953.htm - 6k

5674a. abar -- to pass over, through, or by, pass on
... 2), circulating (1), come (2), come around (1), come over (3), comes (3), continue
(2), continued (13), continued through (1), contrary (2), cross (29), cross ...
/hebrew/5674a.htm - 7k

5674. abar -- to pass over, through, or by, pass on
... A primitive root; to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or
figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to ...
/hebrew/5674.htm - 6k

Cross
... Cross. Cross, Ada Cambridge, the daughter of Henry Cambridge, was born at Norfolk,
England, November 21, 1844. In 1870 she married Rev. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/nutter/hymn writers of the church/cross.htm

The Wondrous Cross.
... The Wondrous Cross. WHO can tell out the story of the cross! There was a
time when we thought we knew much of it; but oh! the depths ...
//christianbookshelf.org/gaebelein/the lord of glory/the wondrous cross.htm

The Finding of the Cross.
... Chapter III Writings. 7. The Finding of the Cross. It is said in a certain
"tolerably authentic chronicle," according to Voragine ...
/.../pamphilius/the life of constantine/7 the finding of the.htm

The Joy of the Cross
... The Joy of the Cross. Long plunged in sorrow, I resign My soul to that dear hand
of thine,. ... I taste no sweets in you; Unknown delights are in the cross,. ...
/.../the joy of the cross.htm

The Cross and Crown.
... The Cross and Crown. At last He cried, with a loud voice: "It is finished!"
Perhaps not many on earth heard it, or cared about it ...
/.../moody/moodys anecdotes and illustrations/the cross and crown.htm

Words from the Cross
... VOLUME II: ST. LUKE Chaps. XIII to XXIV WORDS FROM THE CROSS. 'And when
they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/words from the cross.htm

The Title on the Cross
... THE TITLE ON THE CROSS. 'Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross.'
"John 19:19. This title is recorded by all four Evangelists ...
/.../the title on the cross.htm

The Glory of the Cross
... THE GLORY OF THE CROSS. 'Therefore ... train. He had gone out on his dark errand, and
that brought the Cross within measurable distance of our Lord. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture i/the glory of the cross.htm

When on the Cruel Cross
... When on the cruel Cross. tr., John Brownlie 6,6,8,6. Kurie, anabainontos sou en
to stauro. ... d^1). I. When on the cruel Cross. The Lord was lifted high,. ...
/.../brownlie/hymns of the greek church/when on the cruel cross.htm

Parables of the Cross
Parables of the Cross. <. Parables of the Cross I. Lilias Trotter.
Produced by Free Elf, and Bookworm (Bookworm.Librivox ...
//christianbookshelf.org/trotter/parables of the cross/

Cross (157 Occurrences)
... The forms in which the cross is represented are these: 1. The crux simplex
(I), a "single piece without transom.". ... Andrew's cross. ...
/c/cross.htm - 50k

Cross-mark (1 Occurrence)
Cross-mark. Crossings, Cross-mark. Cross-paths . Multi-Version
Concordance Cross-mark (1 Occurrence). Leviticus 19:28 ...
/c/cross-mark.htm - 6k

Cross-ways (1 Occurrence)
Cross-ways. Cross-way, Cross-ways. Crouch . Multi-Version Concordance
Cross-ways (1 Occurrence). Matthew 22:9 be going ...
/c/cross-ways.htm - 6k

Cross-paths (1 Occurrence)
Cross-paths. Cross-mark, Cross-paths. Crossroads . Multi-Version
Concordance Cross-paths (1 Occurrence). Proverbs 8:2 ...
/c/cross-paths.htm - 6k

Cross-roads (2 Occurrences)
Cross-roads. Crossroads, Cross-roads. Crossway . Multi-Version
Concordance Cross-roads (2 Occurrences). Matthew 22:9 ...
/c/cross-roads.htm - 7k

Cross-way (1 Occurrence)
Cross-way. Crossway, Cross-way. Cross-ways . Multi-Version
Concordance Cross-way (1 Occurrence). Obadiah 1:14 Neither ...
/c/cross-way.htm - 6k

Cross-beams (1 Occurrence)
Cross-beams. Crossbars, Cross-beams. Crossbreed . Multi-Version
Concordance Cross-beams (1 Occurrence). 1 Kings 7:4 ...
/c/cross-beams.htm - 6k

Cross-examined (1 Occurrence)
Cross-examined. Crosses, Cross-examined. Crossing . Noah Webster's Dictionary
(imp. & pp) of Cross-examine. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/c/cross-examined.htm - 6k

Nailed (9 Occurrences)
... Mark 15:24 And he was nailed to the cross; and they made a division of his clothing
among them, putting to the decision of chance what everyone was to take. ...
/n/nailed.htm - 9k

Crucifixion (4 Occurrences)
... The condemned one carried his own cross to the place of execution, which was outside
the city, in some conspicuous place set apart for the purpose. ...
/c/crucifixion.htm - 11k

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Cross: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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