The cross symbolizes giving up everything we hold dear—not primarily feeling sorry for Jesus, but letting go of selfishness. This is not to downplay His suffering; rather, it acknowledges that He set the example for how we should live. Jesus repeatedly emphasized that anyone who truly follows Him must carry their own cross (Matthew 16:24).
Why, then, is the cross such a powerful image when remembering Jesus? For many Christians, it is a symbol of worship; for others, an emotional reminder of His significance. The name of Jesus is almost inseparably linked to the cross, and when people hear His name, they often picture the cross before recalling His teachings.
“Jesus” was a common name among people at that time, so its significance comes from the person Himself, not merely the name. His birth marked a turning point in history, fulfilling numerous prophecies of the coming Messiah. Humanity, trapped in sin, needed a Savior and could not break free on its own. But to receive what the Messiah offers, people must first accept their own helplessness.
The Jews carefully preserved the prophetic Scriptures but often missed their deeper meaning. While they honored Moses as the one through whom God gave the Law, idolatry still dominated humanity. This was unacceptable to God, for it meant worshiping something other than the one true God—who exists beyond the physical world and can be honored only by following His ways.
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:3-6 NIV).
The Israelites did not fully grasp the concept of idolatry. They looked up to Moses for delivering God’s word, not realizing they themselves were made in God’s image. God could have chosen anyone for that role, but never for the purpose of being idolized. Knowing their tendency toward idol worship, God kept the location of Moses’ burial site a secret.
“And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over” (Deuteronomy 34:5-8 NIV).
People who lack full understanding can easily fall into idolatry. The Israelites acted as if Moses were greater than God, even though it was God who gave His laws through him. Yet God knew Moses was just like everyone else and even prevented him from entering the Land of Canaan. God’s focus was on living out the deeper meaning of the Ten Commandments, not treating them as mere objects. Jesus later highlighted this same misunderstanding when speaking to the Jews, showing that they valued the Law itself more than the true purpose behind its application.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:23-25 NIV).
The Israelites clung to idolatry when they failed to take responsibility for their communal life. They seemed unable to confront corruption or recognize that no one stands above God’s laws. This was a problem facing all humanity, rooted in comparing people—treating some with undue reverence and others with disdain. Some voices are ignored no matter how truthful they are, while others are taken seriously even when speaking nonsense.
When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain, accepted bribes, and perverted justice.
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king” (1 Samuel 8:1-7 NIV).
The Israelites unknowingly rejected God as their king and turned instead to idolatry. It was only through God’s patience that He tolerated such a community. They did not realize that having a physical king would represent idolatry. Although they considered themselves God’s people, they were unaware they were breaking the Law against idol worship. To them, the Ten Commandments were more of a symbol than a guide for living.
They clearly desired a king they could admire, yet overlooked the God who had delivered them from Egypt. In doing so, they broke the second commandment and stirred God’s jealousy, for He will not share His reverence with anyone. Their first king, Saul, brought many avoidable troubles to Israel.
Had they followed the Ten Commandments, they could have steered clear of idolatry. All they needed was understanding—which Jesus later provided, as Moses had foretold. If they had taken Moses’ prophecy to heart, they would not have conflicted with Jesus, and the story of salvation would have been far simpler.
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen” (Deuteronomy 18:17-20 NIV).
All the Israelites really needed was to listen to and follow what God’s prophet said, rather than chasing ideas that mirrored the world around them. If they truly respected Moses, why could they not follow what he taught in the Scriptures? They never found Jesus guilty of breaking any recorded laws. The real problem seemed to lie in how they interpreted and applied what the Law required. At the core of their conflict with Jesus was idolatry.
They focused on worshiping the Scriptures themselves instead of seeking the deeper meaning within them. They placed Moses on a pedestal rather than honoring the One who sent the message through him. They turned away from Jesus because He did not match the image they wanted to revere. They sought something symbolic to justify elevating Him, but it never came. In the end, their actions showed that idolatry may be one of humanity’s greatest stumbling blocks.
Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here” (Matthew 12:38-41 NIV).
The Pharisees pretended to respect Jesus for His undeniable knowledge of God, yet nothing stirred their reverence toward Him. Their issue was placing too much emphasis on the physical rather than the spiritual. In His conversation with the Samaritan woman, Jesus stressed the essence of true worship—shifting focus away from material things and toward worship in spirit and in truth.
“You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:22-24 NIV).
Worshiping God in spirit and truth means avoiding the idolization of the cross or even the name of Jesus, while embracing and living out His teachings in every aspect of life. It also makes dwelling on the idea of God’s triune nature unnecessary. A true Christian is someone reconciled with God, with His presence living within them.
To worship in spirit and truth is to adopt God’s way of thinking and share in His perspective. The purpose of true Christianity is to glorify God through one’s actions. Since humans are made in God’s image, it is not impossible to think like Him. Jesus never sought worship during His time on earth, which makes it striking that so many people today choose to worship Him.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28 NIV).
It does not really make sense to worship someone who serves you. Service itself is a form of worship, showing honor to the one being served. While some serve hoping for a reward, many in the past—like slaves serving their masters—did so without expecting anything in return. Gentile rulers were served with reverence, and even today, leaders under such systems often demand worship.
In Zimbabwe, for example, leaders are sometimes called “chefs,” a term borrowed from communist ideology, and they expect respect. Jesus’ disciples brought a different approach: instead of lording over others like Gentile rulers, they were to show reverence by serving one another—the greatest becoming the servant and the least being served. Jesus modeled this perfectly by giving His life for those He served. Sacrificing one’s life to save others is the ultimate act of service.
Even though humanity is sinful, it was made in God’s image, so by serving people, Jesus was serving God. This challenges traditional ideas of respecting church leaders, though it does not mean those being served should disrespect those serving. Service was meant for everyone, rooted in the principle of treating others as you would want to be treated.
It seems that many people lean toward worship based on falsehoods rather than spirit and truth, with idolatry at the core of many issues. The cross is a powerful symbol for most worshipers, and stories of Christ’s suffering often move them deeply, inspiring them as they picture the pain Jesus endured. In many churches, worship styles can reflect a worldliness connected to idolatry.
A Christian friend recently told me how inspired he felt after visiting places linked to Jesus, but true faith goes beyond experiences tied to the crucifixion. The important question to ask oneself is what one considers the cross in one’s own life, as Jesus suggested (Matthew 16:24). It is not about Jesus as a person to be worshiped, but about applying His teachings and carrying one’s cross.
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:26-29 NIV).
Unlike the spiritually blessed, Thomas was spiritually limited, though he was one of Jesus’ own disciples. Jesus emphasized the inability to separate physical from spiritual perception. When Jesus revealed the imminence of His death, He did not give instructions that the cross should be treated as a worship symbol.
There is no significance in the particular manner in which Jesus was killed. The importance lies in the fact that Jesus treated us as His masters, choosing to die in our place. That is the spiritual content that needs to be understood by those claiming to be His followers. Such people ought to behave likewise toward their fellow human beings (1 John 3:16).
For Christians, the cross ought to stand for self-denial. Today, many are drawn to Christianity for the blessings linked to Jesus’ sacrifice, but that view overlooks its deeper meaning. The cross invites us to let go of worldly desires and strive for godly character. Followers are called not just to worship Jesus, but to give up anything that feeds their worldly nature in order to follow Him. Rather than taking the wide, easy road most prefer, the narrow path of self-sacrifice should be seen as the only way to salvation.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, relieving those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions, leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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