A Gnostic Perspective of Jesus on the Cross

[This article has been reposted to my new "New Gnostic Gospel" blog. You may read it here, now, or jump to the dedicated Gnostic Gospel blog and continue there.] 

Now that I have completed writing The Gnostic Gospel Illuminated, I am revisiting the standard teachings of my Christian faith. 

One of the central themes of the Christian faith is the death of Jesus on the cross. Christians the world over focus on the body of Jesus hanging on the cross. I have often pondered why this fixation of Jesus on the cross? Why is the crucifix the focal point of every church and altar? Why do people wear the cross as jewelry or hang a crucifix in their bedroom?

The obvious answer Christians give is that without the cross, Jesus could not have saved humanity from sin, for he bore our sins into the grave with his death and they were washed away with his resurrection from the dead. Okay. Praise be to God. But why the cross? If Jesus had been stoned to death, or drowned, or beaten, or thrown from a high tower, would we feel such affinity for a stone, a lake, a club, or a roof? I don't think so. I think there is something very special about the shape of the cross itself.

I ask this question because Jesus never said, "I am soon to pass on from this world, and I want you to focus on my body hanging on the cross as I take on the sins of the world." Yet, that's what people do, as if that were the point of the Gospel. As far as I can tell, Jesus did not ask for his death and resurrection to be the focal point of worship. What Jesus actually said was, "I and my Father are One," and "Whoever welcomes me welcomes the Father that sent me." In other words, Jesus acknowledged himself in reference to his Father, and he deflected glory to his Father. Yet, Jesus is worshiped by modern Christians to the extent that the Father almost goes unmentioned. Thank goodness for the Lord's Prayer which is directed to the Father, and not the Son. Jesus taught it to be said to the Father; he did not teach it to be recited to himself. No slight to the Son, of course; I am here simply emphasizing the Father.

During the Last Supper, Jesus instructed his followers to think of his broken body as they break and eat bread, and to consider his blood as the fulfillment of a contract with humanity as they drink wine. This is what Jesus left the church as instruction regarding his death. He did not instruct them to erect images of crosses and to worship him hanging on the cross as if he were stuck up there forever. Yes, Protestants have allowed Jesus to come down off the cross and therefore their crosses are unoccupied to remind us that Jesus resurrected. But still, the focus is on the cross.

Again, why the cross in particular?

Last year I wrote "A Simple Explanation of the Sign of the Cross," wherein I explained my view of the symbolism of the cross. It is still a good explanation. In the meantime, I have developed a visual symbolism for the Gnostic Gospel, laid out in The Gnostic Gospel Illuminated. Now I can apply the Simple Explanation to the Gnostic Gospel, or is it the Gnostic Gospel to the Simple Explanation? And here it is:

The cross draws down power from above to earth below, and bridges side-to-side the Powers engaged in Endless War.

If you read The Gnostic Gospel Illuminated book, you will fully understand the symbolism presented here. 

We who dwell on earth are engaged in endless warfare with the imitation that always seeks to lure us away from our Father in heaven. Oftentimes we do not realize we are engaged in warfare with the imitation because it can appear disguised as goodness. That is what is meant by the devil being a liar.

The Second Order of Powers are engaged in endless warfare with the deficiencies of the imitation. Although the Second Order of Powers comes from the good disposition of the Father and the Fullness, they have forgotten their heavenly nature and become deluded through rage and other passions and addictions.

The Christ came to earth in the form of a Son of Man to bring the Third Order of Powers to earth as the solution to overcoming the phantoms of the imitation that have mired the Second Order Powers in error. Those who have eyes to see the Christ are able to remember their Father in Heaven. Those who remember their Father in Heaven and repent from the imitation are redeemed.

Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the promise to redeem the fallen. Jesus, as the Son of God and the Son of Man, brought salvation to the deficiency and restored it to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The reason the cross looks as it does and occupies such a central role in worship is that the cross represents human beings. The cross is shaped like a human, a Son of Man. It is no accident that Jesus was crucified on a cross, because Jesus is a Son of Man, the Son of Man. If, hypothetically, humans looked like dogs, then the Son of Man would have come in the form of a dog and the cross would look like that, too.

The human form is shaped like a cross. Small wonder we are drawn to the crucifix.

The cross should remind us that humankind has been redeemed by the body and blood of Christ in an even more profound way than acknowledging the indignity and suffering of Jesus on the cross; it should remind us that the Son of God, the Christ, bridged with the form of his human body, Spirit to Matter, Top to Bottom (Spirit to Earth) and Neighbor-to-Neighbor (side-to-side). 

In the Gnostic Gospel, redemption comes to all of creation through the incarnation of the Son of God into the body of the Son of Man. The manner of the Savior's birth, death, and resurrection will come to every soul as they realize their Father is in Heaven and to Heaven they will return. For every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It just takes time.

The First, Second, and Third Powers follow Christ the King, while the Phantoms of the Imitation cling to the darkness below.

We aren't there yet, because of the common delusion of presumptuous thought, which causes people to behave selfishly. Ego must first make way for the love of Christ to take over the throne of the Self. Only then may you rise above the egoic imitation, for then you will have a Champion and King.

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For more Gnostic Gospel Illuminated, you may begin with Chapter One of the series posted to the Simple Explanation blog.

Better yet, you may purchase your own ebook, readable on all e-reader platforms here.

Or, if you are like me, you will want your own printed copy to stand on the shelf and show to your friends. There are two versions available, a 6x9 full color paperback, and a 4x5 full color pocket edition. All Gnostic Gospel Illuminated books are available at my lulu.com storefront.