阅读经文 

耶稣的十字架很多时候都会出现在珠宝首饰、建筑雕塑、媒体海报、产品商标和其他艺术品中，这个标志是如此普遍，以至我们从不去想它是何等恐怖。不过，在古代，被钉十字架，或被挂在木头上，是一个为杀人犯、拜偶像者、行邪术者和其他死刑犯定罪处决的恐怖刑罚。受刑的罪犯在众人面前痛苦地慢慢死去，而他们也被众人视为被神咒诅的人。（参申 21:23）

使徒信经为什么强调耶稣如此悲惨地死去？这是因为圣经教导我们，耶稣死在十字架上，表示祂为我们承担了神的咒诅。耶稣为我们肩负了罪的重担。

在加拉太书第三章，使徒保罗解释说，那些尝试凭着遵守律法（记载在旧约圣经里）生活但又失败的人是有罪的。当然，除了耶稣以外，没有人能够完全遵守律法，就如保罗在罗马书三章二十三节所说的：“世人都犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀。”

在神面前，我们每一个人都有罪，我们都应该被神责罚。然而，有一个好消息，就是藉着祂在十字架上受死，“基督既为我们受了咒诅，就赎出我们脱离律法的咒诅。”

下一次你看见一个十字架时，无论你在何处看到，你当停下来思想一下，耶稣为我们的牺牲是何其浩大！

The cross of Jesus is often featured in jewelry, sculpture, posters, logos, and other kinds of art. This symbol has become so common that we hardly ever think of its horror. In ancient times, though, crucifixion, or being hung on a pole, was a terrifying sentence of death for murderers, idol worshipers, sorcerers, and other convicted criminals. The guilty died a slow, agonizing death in public, and they were considered cursed by God. (see Deuteronomy 21:23)

Why does the Apostles’ Creed emphasize that Jesus died in this wretched way? Because the Bible teaches that Jesus’ death on the cross means he took on the curse of God for our sake. Jesus shouldered that burden for us.

In Galatians 3 the apostle Paul explains that people who try to live by the law (as given in the Old Testament) and fail to keep it are guilty. And of course no one except Jesus could keep the law perfectly. As Paul notes in Romans 3:23,  "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. "

We are all guilty before God, and we all deserve God’s judgment. But the good news is that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us " through his death on a cross.

Next time you see a cross, wherever it may be, pause and think about the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.