The cross spoken word

The Word of the Cross: Spoken Word Animation by Chris Powers

Chris Powers is a seminary student, husband, and animator. His website is called Full of Eyes (FOE) and is at www.fullofeyes.com. His goal is to create free visual resources for the global Church.

He has an account at Patreon to which you can donate, to help him continue his free-for-anybody Gospel materials. He has created animations to music, study guides, and tracts, and in several languages, too. I support him at Patreon, and I am an admirer of his work.

Now, Chris has completed a new animation called The Word of the Cross. In this new work, Chris chose to use a speaking voice reading scripture overlaid on his animations and illustrations, rather than let the lyrics of a properly acquired song to do the work. Chris says,

As you guys know, this is the first of what I hope will eventually become the norm for FOE, that is, videos set to spoken word or scripture with instrumental backgrounds….I think this allows for more pointed communication of doctrines and concepts…..but, that being said, the next two animations planned are set to lyrical songs, so, I’m not making a «hard break» from the past May the Lord use this animation and its discussion guide to open eyes and minds and hearts and hands through the gospel of the glory of His Son!

Download a study guide which also contains the scripture references, to go along with the animation here.

The first of Jesus’ words from the Cross, spoken almost at the very moment when the act of crucifixion was being carried out, is a plea for the forgiveness of those who treat him thus: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34) What the Lord had preached in the Sermon on the Mount, he now puts into practice. He knows no hatred. He does not call for revenge. He begs forgiveness for those who nail him to the Cross, and he justifies his plea by adding: “They know not what they do.”

This theme of “not knowing” returns in Saint Peter’s sermon in the Acts of the Apostles. He begins by reminding the crowd that had gathered after the healing of the lame man in the portico of Solomon that they had “denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer” to be granted to them. (3:14) You “killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.” (3:15) After this painful reminder, which forms part of his Pentecost sermon and which cut his hearers to the heart (cf. 2:37), he continues: “Now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.” (3:17)

Once again, the theme of “not knowing” appears in one of Saint Paul’s autobiographical reflections. He recalls that he himself “formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted” Jesus; then he continues: “but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.” (1 Tim 1:13) In view of his earlier self-assurance as a perfect disciple of the Law who knew and lived by the Scriptures, these are strong words; he who had studied under the best masters and who might reasonably have considered himself a real expert on the Scriptures, has to acknowledge, in retrospect, that he was ignorant. Yet his very ignorance is what saved him and made him fit for conversion and forgiveness.

This combination of expert knowledge and deep ignorance certainly causes us to ponder. It reveals the whole problem of knowledge that remains self-sufficient and so does not arrive at Truth itself, which ought to transform man. In a different way again, we encounter this same combination of knowledge and failure to understand in the story of the wise men from the East. The chief priests and scribes know exactly where the Messiah is to be born. But they do not recognize him. Despite their knowledge, they remain blind. (cf. Mt 2:4-6).

Clearly this mixture of knowledge and ignorance, of material expertise and deep incomprehension, occurs in every period of history. For this reason, what Jesus says about ignorance, and the examples that can be found in the various passages from Scripture, is bound to be unsettling for the supposedly learned today. Are we not blind precisely as people with knowledge? Is it not on account of our knowledge that we are incapable of recognizing Truth itself, which tries to reach us through what we know? Do we not recoil from the pain of that heartrending Truth of which Peter spoke in his Pentecost sermon?

Ignorance diminishes guilt, and it leaves open the path to conversion. But it does not simply excuse, because at the same time it reveals a deadening of the heart that resists the call of Truth. All the more, then, it remains a source of comfort for all times and for all people that both in the case of those who genuinely did not know (his executioners) and in the case of those who did know (the people who condemned him), the Lord makes their ignorance the motive for his plea for forgiveness: he sees it as a door that can open us to conversion.

Three groups of mockers are mentioned in the Gospel. The first are the passers-by. They remind the Lord of his words about the destruction of the Temple: “Aha, you who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” (Mk 15:29-30) By taunting the Lord in this way, they express their contempt for his powerless state; they bring home to him once more how powerless he is. At the same time they try to lead him into temptation, as the devil himself had done: “Save yourself!” Exercise your power! They do not realize that at this very moment the destruction of the Temple is being accomplished and that the new Temple is rising up before them.

At the end of the Passion, as Jesus dies, the veil of the Temple is torn in two – so the Synoptics tell us – from top to bottom. (Mt 27:51; Mk 15:38; Lk 23:45). Probably it is the inner of the two Temple veils that is meant here, the one that seals off the Holy of Holies from human access. Only once a year is it permitted for the high priest to pass through the veil, to enter the presence of the Most High, and to utter the Holy Name. This veil, at the very moment of Jesus’ death, is torn in two from top to bottom. . . .Now God himself has removed the veil and revealed himself in the crucified Jesus as the one who loves to the point of death. The pathway to God is open.

The second group of mockers consists of members of the Sanhedrin. Matthew mentions all three elements: priests, scribes, and elders. They formulate their mockery using language drawn from the Book of Wisdom, the second chapter of which tells of the just man who stands in the way of the wicked life of the others, who calls himself a son of God and is handed over to suffering. (Wis 2:10-20)

The members of the Sanhedrin, taking their cue from these words, now say of Jesus, the Crucified One: “He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” (Mt 27:42-43; cf. Wis 2:18) Without realizing it, the mockers thereby acknowledge that Jesus is truly the one of whom the Book of Wisdom speaks. His situation of outward helplessness proves him to be the true Son of God.

We may add that the author of the Book of Wisdom could have been familiar with Plato’s speculations from his work on statecraft, in which he asks what would become of a perfectly just person in this world, and he comes to the conclusion that such a person would be crucified. (The Republic II, 361e—362a) The Book of Wisdom may have taken up this idea from the philosopher and introduced it into the Old Testament, so that it now points directly to Jesus.

It is in the mockery that the mystery of Jesus Christ is proved true. Just as he refused to be induced by the devil to throw himself down from the parapet of the Temple (Mt 4:5-7; Lk 4:9-13), so now he refuses to yield to a similar temptation. He knows that God will indeed deliver him, but not in the way these people imagine. The Resurrection will be the moment when God raises him from death and accredits him as Son.

The third group of mockers consists of the two men crucified alongside Jesus, to whom Matthew and Mark refer using the same word – lestes (robber) – that John uses for Barabbas. (cf. Mt 27:38; Mk 15:27; Jn 18:40) This clearly shows that they are regarded as resistance fighters, to whom the Romans, in order to criminalize them, simply attach the label “robber.” They are crucified with Jesus because they have been found guilty of the same crime: resistance to Roman power.

The offense attributed to Jesus, though, is of a different kind from that of the two “robbers,” who may have taken part in Barabbas’ uprising. Pilate is well aware that Jesus had nothing like that in mind, and so he adopts a particular formulation of Jesus’ “crime” in the charge that is placed above the Cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” (Jn 19:19).

Up to this point, Jesus had avoided the title Messiah or king, or else he had immediately linked it with his suffering (cf. Mk 8:27-31) in order to prevent false interpretations. Now the title “king” can appear quite openly. In the three great languages of that time, Jesus is publicly proclaimed king. It is understandable that the members of the Sanhedrin object to this title, in which Pilate clearly wants to express his cynicism toward the Jewish authorities and to take his revenge on them post factum. But this inscription now stands before world history, and it amounts to a proclamation of kingship.

Jesus is “exalted.” The Cross is his throne, from which he draws the world to himself. From this place of total self-sacrifice, from this place of truly divine love, he reigns as the true king in his own way – a way that neither Pilate nor the members of the Sanhedrin had been able to comprehend.

Of the two men crucified with Jesus, only one joins in the mockery: the other grasps the mystery of Jesus. He knows and he sees that the nature of Jesus’ “offense” was quite different – that Jesus was nonviolent. And now he sees that this man crucified beside him truly makes the face of God visible, he is truly God’s Son. So he asks him: “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.” (Lk 23:42)

What exactly the good thief understood by Jesus’ coming in his kingly power, and what he therefore meant by asking Jesus to remember him, we do not know. But clearly, while on the Cross, he realized that this powerless man was the true king – the one for whom Israel was waiting. Now he wanted to be at this man’s side not only on the Cross, but also in glory. Jesus’ response goes beyond what is asked of him. Instead of an unspecified future, he speaks of that very day: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk 23:43). This too is a mysterious saying, but it shows us one thing for certain: Jesus knew he would enter directly into fellowship with the Father – that the promise of “Paradise” was something he could offer “today.” He knew he was leading mankind back to the Paradise from which it had fallen: into fellowship with God as man’s true salvation. –From Jesus of Nazareth Part Two, Holy Week

*Image: Christ on the Cross by Mihály Munkácsy, 1884 [Déri Museum, Debrecen, Hungary]. This is one of Munkácsy’s Christ Trilogy at the Déri. In situ:

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The Scriptural Stations of the Cross

+ James V. Schall, S.J.’s Good Friday

крест, кросс, крестик, перекрестный, пересекаться, косо

существительное ↓

прилагательное ↓

глагол ↓

наречие

- редк. разг. криво, косо, неправильно

Словосочетания

a necklace with a gold cross — ожерелье с золотым крестом  
cross a horse and a donkey — скрестить лошадь и осла  
miles of waterless country to cross — многие мили безводной местности, лежащие впереди  
to cross / slip across a border — перейти границу, пересечь границу  
criss-cross of canals — сеть каналов  
as cross as a bear / two sticks — очень не в духе, зол как чёрт  
to cross the sea — переплыть море  
in the cross direction — в поперечном направлении  
to cross one’s mind — приходить в голову  
cross bill — встречный иск  
cross-talk coupling — перекрестная связь  
cross cut — поперечный разрез  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Фразовые глаголы

cross off — вычеркивать
cross out — перечеркнуть, вычеркивать
cross over — пересекать, переходить, переправляться, переезжать
cross up — морочить, сбивать с толку, сбивать с честного пути, втягивать в темные делишки

Возможные однокоренные слова

crossing  — пересечение, переход, скрещивание, пересекающий
crossly  — сердито, раздраженно, сварливо
crossness  — раздражительность, сварливость
crosswise  — накрест, крестообразно, крест-накрест
crossed  — скрещенный
uncross  — скрещенное, распрямлять

Формы слова

verb
I/you/we/they: cross
he/she/it: crosses
ing ф. (present participle): crossing
2-я ф. (past tense): crossed
3-я ф. (past participle): crossed

noun
ед. ч.(singular): cross
мн. ч.(plural): crosses

adjective
срав. степ. (comparative): crosser
прев. степ. (superlative): crossest

When I say “this God does not know me, my suffering!”
I speak with the knowledge of an infant
Railing against the absence of the parent preparing life-giving milk.
My pain twists inside me, a serpent of deception,
Turning my eyes from this God,
Stealing my perception,
Making me blind to the character of this God.

This God, EL OLAM, the everlasting God, (Genesis 21:33)
Triune Creator of heaven and earth.
This God, YAHWEH, the Uncreated One, who was, who is, who evermore
shall be.
Out of the formless darkness YAHWEH spoke light and there was light!
Separating the day from the night.
Every seed bearing plant, every fruit bearing tree display the signature of
YAHWEH,
Every creature of the sky, and sea, every animal that walks upon the earth
are marked for HIM.
YAHWEH formed man from dust, breathed the breath of life into us!
The heavens declare the glory of ELOHIM, the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit. (Psalm 19:1)
This God, ADONAI, LORD, Master, Overseer,
YAHWEH ROHI who shepherds His chosen people. (Psalm 23:1)

2

This God, YAHWEH JIREH, Provider, the author of my salvation! (Genesis
22:14)
EL SHADDAI, He under whose wings I dwell in the shadow of the Almighty
God! (Psalm 91:1)
This God, YAHWEH SHALOM, bringer of peace to a people who did not
deserve it (Judges 6:24)

This God-man, EL-YESHUATI, the God of my salvation (Isaiah 21:2)
Who did not think God-glory a thing to be grasped, (Philippians 2:6)
But humbled Himself to be born a man, in a dung-filled stable,
Lived the plain life of a modest carpenter.
He was not tall, not fair of skin or face, nothing striking to behold.
His stride was not majestic, His feet did not rest on a manmade throne.
Three decades of humility, crowned with three years of mission.
Punctuated by a conclusion of deep suffering.
This GOD-MAN.
Knelt in Gethsemane’s garden, blood pulled from His pores by the agony of
the pain to come.
The anguish of foreknowledge,
The pain of humiliation,
The knowledge of rejection.
Not just the disgrace of being stripped, whipped,
Mocked, scorned,
Beaten, broken,
By the very ones He came to set free from the bondage of sin.

3

Spikes pounded into flesh and bone,
Pain ripping though His body
As sorrow ran through His heart
For this lost and broken people.
The smart of the whip across His cheek,
Smattered with the hatred in the eyes of the one who wielded the whip.
The sting of the thorns as they dug into His head,
Peppered with the spite in the force of the arms that held Him down.
Not one word was spoken in His defence.
He held his tongue, when a host of heavenly beings could have sung His
praises.
Yet, the greatest pain was still to come.

Hung on a tree,
Arms outstretched in submission to His Father’s will,
Head hung low as the sky covered its face in shame,
Surrounded by a teeming cesspool of human fallen-ness,
Insults hurled with venomous force, carried on a volley of spit.
As humanity itself murdered it’s only HOPE.
The greatest pain was still to come.

4

As noon struck, the God-man cried, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)
In that moment,
Heaped with the sin of humanity,
Bearing all our inequities,
THE FATHER TURNED HIS FACE AWAY.
The Holiness of the Father turned from the sin-covered Son.
Separation.
Estrangement.
Severance.
Cut off from the love of His Father.
Isolated, ripped away.
The greatest pain.
The separation of self from self.
The tearing apart of righteousness.

In that moment, the temple curtained was cleaved in two,
Top to bottom, it was split!
The cherubim stood aside,
Obliterating the divide between God and man!

5

What great love is this?
That would give up the Heart’s most treasured Love for creatures so
unworthy?
What is this God-man,
That He would give it all for contemptible mortals?
What is this Father,
Who chose separation from His most precious Son for pitiful beings,
Crushing Him, bringing immeasurable suffering in the division of sin?

No mind can comprehend,
No heart can perceive,
The love of this Triune God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
He was allotted a grave with the depraved,
Dying a sinner’s death
Though there was no sin in Him.
In death His body lay with the rich,
Thought never to be seen again.

6

The LORD has been shut up in the tomb.
Mourn this dark Friday,
Mourn for the sin that held my King to a cross,
Mourn for me,
I nailed him to it.
Mourn for yourself,
You placed a mocking crown of thorns on His head.
Mourn for my brother,
He whipped my LORD.
Mourn for my sister,
She jeered from the crowd and spit in His face.
Mourn this dark Friday,
Feel the weight of sin.
Splayed like a downed bird, once soaring on the winds of self-glorification,
Covered in the dark flush of sin as it gushes from the wound of conviction!

Like sheep, we strayed from the Shepherd.
In His great mercy
He sacrificed the spotless LAMB
As an offering for our sin.

Crimson water washes me
Gushing from the cross of Calvary.
Like healing balm, it runs down my brow,
Like a tree planted by streams of living water, my thirst is sated. (Psalm 1:3)

7

Feel the agony of Perfection hung on a cross,
Fixed to it for imperfection’s sake.
My LORD, He hung.
He hung for me.
He hung for you.
His love for us locked Him to that tree!
Sink down to your knees
As you perceive
What true love looks like:
A GOD-MAN who would die for you!

An end to a life so brief.
A conclusion that should not be.
No happy ending as the sun sets this dark Friday,
As I hang my head in shame for my sin that secured my LORD to mockery,
to torture,
To a grief so deep it broke the Father’s heart.

Guilty.
I am guilty.
You are guilty.
Convicted.
Convicted by the only righteous JUDGE, God the FATHER.
The testimony of my depravity
Hangs on a cross, for all to see.

8

I am undone…
We… are ruined….
But hold yourself back from sinking to the depths of despair.
The task is not yet accomplished.
Mourn this dark Friday, my Saviour is gone.
But hold this in the depths of your heart,
Where the glimmer of hope shines bright!

Sunday is coming!

The God of the Cross (C) 2018 Moushumi Ann Mathews