“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

There are many synonyms for the word wonderful: amazing, superb, outstanding, phenomenal, fabulous, incredible, and many more. For instance, someone may go on a wonderful trip. Perhaps a guest would say to a host at a dinner party, “That was a wonderful meal”. You guys might even have a wonderful wife.

What about wonderful rituals? No way! Wonderful doctrines? Absolutely not! Wonderful works? You must be joking! How about this one: the wonderful cross! What?! How could a cross stained with sweat and blood be wonderful? The cross is associated with pain, torture, humiliation, execution and death.

Only God can speak in terms of a wonderful cross. Only Jesus dying on the cruel cross to pay for our sins can be described as wonderful. That’s because it is only through His sacrificial death on the cross that we have eternal life. Now that is wonderful news about a wonderful cross.

We never want to be far from the wonderful cross in our Christian living. The wonderful cross of Christ should always be on our mind. I don’t have any tattoos (permanent reminder of temporary insanityJ) but if I did get one it would be a cross on my wrist as a reminder of who Jesus is and what He did for me. It would be a great evangelism tool as well.

Survey the wondrous cross by reading John 19:17-30 and then listen to a wonderful song by Phillips, Craig & Dean called The Wonderful Cross. Then, go through the day, week, and rest of your life with the wonderful cross in the front of your mind.

John 19:17-30

Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

So this is what the soldiers did.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.