The Cross as Political Act

Today's Reading

Read Philippians 2:5-11 slowly, the great Christ-hymn: "He emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him."

Then read Colossians 2:15: "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."

Reflection

The cross of Jesus Christ is the most recognizable symbol in human history. It appears on churches, necklaces, and flags. But in the first century, it was not a symbol at all. It was a method of execution — the Roman Empire's most brutal tool of political terror. Crucifixion was reserved for slaves, rebels, and enemies of the state. It was designed not merely to kill but to humiliate, to send a message: this is what happens to those who challenge Rome.

And this is exactly what God chose as the means of salvation.

The Philippians hymn traces the astonishing arc of the story. The one who existed in the form of God did not cling to equality with God but emptied himself, took the form of a servant, and became obedient to the point of death — "even death on a cross." That phrase is not a detail. It is the point. The most powerful being in the universe submitted to the most degrading form of human execution. He did not merely die. He died as a political criminal.

N.T. Wright has argued powerfully that the cross was both a spiritual and a political event: "On the cross, God disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them. The very instrument of imperial terror became the means of imperial defeat." Colossians 2:15 uses the language of a Roman triumph — the victory parade in which a conquering general displayed his captives. But the image is inverted. The captive on the cross is the conqueror. The empire that executed him is the one put to shame.

This is the revolution at the heart of Christianity. God did not defeat evil by outmatching its violence. He defeated it by absorbing it. He did not fight fire with fire. He fought fire with the blood of his Son. The cross reveals a kind of power the world has never seen and still cannot comprehend — the power of self-giving love that absorbs the worst that evil can do and transforms it into redemption.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who would himself die at the hands of a totalitarian state, understood this with painful clarity: "When Christ was nailed to the cross, he took upon himself the curse of the law, the wrath of God, and the penalty of human rebellion. In so doing, he broke the power of every earthly authority that claims to stand in the place of God." The cross does not merely save individuals from sin. It dethrones every idol — including the idol of political power.

The "therefore" in Philippians 2:9 is the hinge of history: "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name." The humiliation leads to exaltation. The servant becomes the sovereign. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow — including the knees of every ruler, every president, every emperor.

Going Deeper

The cross redefines power. In the world's eyes, power means the ability to impose your will on others. In the cross, power means the willingness to lay down your life for others. How would your political engagement change if the cross — not the ballot box, the Supreme Court, or the bully pulpit — were your primary model of how God changes the world?