In one sense this is but the piece of wood which Simon carried, and on which the Lord was crucified, imitations of which are worn as badges, ornaments, or charms. It is commonly regarded as a symbol of the death of Christ. But in Scripture it has a significant far more deep and solemn. It was the measure of man’s hatred to God and to His Son. The death of Christ is that which brings eternal peace and blessing to the sinner, but the cross of Christ is that which separates the believer forever from the world, and puts him in a place of rejection here. It was in this cross that Paul gloried. It is possible to rejoice in the death of Christ and yet to be “an enemy of the cross” (1 Cor. and Gal.).