When I see the word crucify, I automatically think of Jesus. He was crucified and died for my benefit. It was for no gain of His own. The definition of crucify is to put someone to death by nailing or binding the hands and feet to a cross. This was the ancient form of punishment. We use the word today to indicate treating someone cruelly, to torture, or persecute. In our culture, we know very little about the crucifixion, the process, the pain, and the result. Yet, in Jesus’ day, it was the common means of punishment for crimes.
The Apostle Paul, before His conversion, was a persecutor of Christians. He was defending his faith and Jewish culture. He was so steeped in the practices of his religion that he missed the God of his religion. One day, while en route to Damascus to persecute Christians, God gets his attention. In Acts chapter 9, we see his “come to Jesus” moment. Jesus shines a bright light on him and speaks to him. He became a believer, and his life was never the same.
Act 9:1-6 “And Saul, yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”
From the day of his conversion, Paul was sold out to serve Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, the holy one who died for his sins. In Galatians 2:19-20 Paul makes it known that he is not justified by the law. “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” He no longer is counting on his works to get him to heaven. But because of what Christ did for him, he has crucified his desires of the flesh and surrendered his life to serve the living God. He is determined to allow his actions to be controlled by the Holy Spirit that now dwells within him.
Paul made a choice to follow Christ and live his life surrendered to the will of God, not his own. He chooses to not sin, to not allow the influence of the world to dictate what he will or will not do. When someone is dead, they are no longer affected by their surroundings. They are not controlled or influenced by it. In Galatians 2:20, Paul proclaims he is crucified with Christ. He is not physically dead, but the world, the Jewish laws, and the sins he once committed are now dead to him. He has become so focused on Christ that the world around him does not control him. He no longer obeyed the rituals and laws as a means of justification. His ambitions, desire for things, his pride in being a prominent figure in the Jewish system meant nothing to him now. His desire was for Christ to live through him. He is determined to crucify his own desires and live for the one who died for him.
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Paul longed to identify with Jesus in his sufferings. He wanted to be like Him in every way. Whatever Christ endured, he wanted to experience. Whatever would make him closer to Jesus was his desire to experience. In Philippians 3:10, we have his desire: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” He understood that to fully identify with the resurrection, he must first identify with His death.
If we fully believe as Paul did, our belief will produce a steadfast and sure hope. This knowledge will help propel us to witness and serve Christ no matter what the odds are against us. His resurrection confirmed who He is and what we, too, will experience after our physical death. We know that there is life after death, and if we place our faith in Jesus, we will live with Him forever.
Paul settled his purpose on this earth when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. After his salvation, you never read anything that leads you to believe he was an “up and down” Christian. He was focused on serving the one who gave His life for Him. He kept this focus and purpose in life by dying daily to his own desires. He expressed this sentiment in I Corinthians 15:31 “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” He made a conscious choice every day to live for Christ alone!
My prayer is that I, too, would love Christ so much that nothing and no one will slow me down or keep me from seeking Him and Him alone. I want to be, as Paul stated in Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” A crucified life is a life filled with hope, joy, and peace, and an assurance that I will stand before Him one day, praising and thanking Him for all He has done for me.
