Exegetical Insight (Chapter 34)

The cross, and by extension Christ’s crucifixion, has always been of central importance to the Christian faith. This was especially the case for Paul. Outside of the Gospels Paul is the chief writer to speak of the cross (staurovV). Similarly, except for the Gospels, the verbal form staurovw occurs most frequently in Paul’s letters.

Galatians 6:14–15 is contained within the interpretive key of the letter (6:11–18), written with the authority of Paul’s own hand (6:11). In verse 14 Paul uses both the noun and verbal form, indicating that the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (e∆n tw/Ç staurw/Ç tou: kuri√ou hJmwÇn =Ihsou: Cristou:) is his only cause for boasting, and the instrument or means by which (di= ou|) the world has been crucified (kovsmoV e∆stauvrwtai) with reference to him. He goes on to say, in essence, that the only thing that matters is new creation (compare similar statements in Gal. 5:6; 1 Cor. 7:19). For Paul the cross was the central point (or crux) in redemptive-history that brings about new creation (see 2 Cor. 5:17).

This emphasis on the importance of the cross was also expressed in early New Testament manuscripts. Sometime during the composition of the earliest manuscripts, scribes started to write the names for God, Jesus, Christ, and Lord in abbreviated forms with a supralinear stroke, now called nomina sacra (Latin for “sacred names”). Over time additional words were also written in this way. As early as 200 A.D. the words staurovV and staurovw were also written as nomina sacra. In addition, a unique form was developed for these words where the T and R were combined to form ⳨. This staurogram, as it is now called, is one of the earliest visual representations of the cross and the crucifixion of Christ.

In our culture the cross is often treated as a casual fashion accessory, but for the Christian it is of supreme importance. It represents the point in history where the mercy and justice of God met. It is the means by which the false ideologies of the world are crucified to us, and the means by which we are created anew. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).

Rick D. Bennett, Jr.