Artist’s Statement

The evangelical church has "prettified" the cross. As shiny gold emblems, or as abstracted and colorful stained glass windows, they adorn the interior of many sanctuaries. In one sense, there is nothing wrong with these depictions, for the cross is the symbol of God's triumph over sin and death. In this regard, it is beautiful and attractive. But in "prettifying" the cross, I think the church is missing something. By making our crosses easy and even pleasing to look at, we miss the gravity of what the Lord endured there and so stymie our faith. A pleasant cross can make for an easily-bought salvation. Easy-bought salvation generally elicits lukewarm gratitude. But a rugged, humiliating, horribly painful cross can make for a substantive salvation. Substantive salvation elicits manifold praise.

It is this substantive salvation found in the horrid cross that I sought to convey in this sculpture. I meant for the pain to be real, even inescapable to the viewer so that he could get a better grip on what salvation cost the Lord. Oh, how much our salvation cost the Lord! It did not cost Him a picnic on a summer day beneath a golden cross. But it cost Him the physical and spiritual agony of a splintery, vile, cruel cross.

Perhaps the most startling thing about this piece is that Jesus is naked. In most of the historic portrayals of Jesus' crucifixion, artists tend to drape him with some sort of sash. While I can appreciate the effort at modesty, such an addition robs the viewer of some of the truth. It was in part because He was naked that He was so humiliated as He hung there, for they had stripped Him of his "khitron" (John 19:23 "the garment worn next to the skin").

It is obvious that this is a bloody cross. So many artists have made it tidy and neat, with only a concise trickle or two flowing down. But that most certainly was not the case. Jesus was scourged repeatedly by the Romans (John 19:1), who were not gentle handlers! The slash marks across His back and the mix of dried and fresh blood there and on the cross itself bear witness to these cruel lashings. The crown of thorns was most likely pressed into His flesh (19:2). Being that the head bleeds perhaps more readily than any other part of the body, I portrayed that crown-borne blood as trickling down, matting His hair as it mingled with sweat.

In His prolonged fatigue due to blood-loss and lack of food, Jesus was too weak to carry the cross (Luke 23:26). He likely stumbled before temporarily relieved of that burden, so Jesus' knees were badly scarred from His efforts at carrying His cross. It is said that the Romans used nine inch nails to crucify Jesus. Nails of this sort that were strong enough to suspend a man from a piece of wood would most certainly cause a great deal of pain and bleeding. So, you see the torn flesh and flowing blood from the nail-wounds.

Of course, I could go on describing the physical pain Jesus endured on the cross, for there was much more to it. However, the physical pain must not overshadow the spiritual pain He endured on that tree. It was at the cross that the wrath of God was poured on Him for the sins of the elect (Col. 1:20-22). It is the physical that bears testimony to the spiritual reality in a sculpture like this. The blood is definitely physical, but it also could be seen as a pointer to the spiritual reality.

Gaze upon the horrible and glorious cross of Christ and marvel at His glory and love. What love it is to endure such pain and humiliation for a wretch like me! Hallelujah and amen.