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The Shame And Reproach Of The Cross Galatians 5:11 - “And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.” Galatians 6:12 - “As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.” In these two verses we see a truth about the cross of Jesus that is not mentioned much at all today. The truth is that true identification with the cross of Jesus is an offense, thus it brings suffering through persecution to the one who is identified with it’s true meaning. Think of the words of that old hymn of the faith we sing; “The Old Rugged Cross”. In that song in the first three verses we sing about the cross being an emblem of suffering and shame, being despised by the world, stained with blood so divine, but in the last verse we sing; “To that old rugged cross I will ever be true, its shame and reproach gladly bear”. But we are not witnessing the church bearing the shame and reproach, offense and persecution of the cross. It seems the church is doing everything it can to remove the offense to make the Gospel all popular and pleasant to the hearer. To most the cross is nothing more than a pretty charm to wear around one’s neck. What does the cross mean to you? John 19:17-18 - “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.”