Photo by Christian Walker on Unsplash
What’s the difference between a Mormon temple and a Christian church?
This isn’t the setup to a bad joke. Nor is it a legitimate question, since there are several differences. Right now, I’m just interested in one specific difference.
I recently spent a lot of time in Utah and saw several Mormon temples. One thing that was interesting to me is that every neighborhood temple looks just about the exact same whereas most Christian churches are all different. It makes sense, obviously, when you consider that there is one overarching organization that builds Mormon temples, but then all the different churches build their own churches. That’s a common sense difference. Sure.
However, there is part of that building that is very, very important to take notice of. Mormon temples tend to look a lot like churches. They have brick walls and windows and a large steeple. Just like many churches. No, the difference between the two is what is on top of that steeple.
Christian churches overwhelmingly put a cross on the top of their steeples. This may not be a universal fixture, but it is exceedingly common.
I want to be clear right now that I am not mocking Mormonism or belittling it. Like I said, I have recently spent an extended amount of time in Utah and, as such, obviously saw a lot of Mormon temples while I was there. I obviously don’t hold to Mormonism or believe in it, but we can have those theological conversations some other time. Right now, I’m far more interested in the architectural observation.
It is, indeed, an obvious choice to have a cross at the top of a Christian church. After all, the cross is widely known as the symbol of Christianity. There’s a little more to it than that, though.
While the cross is the symbol of Christianity, it is also the symbol of something far greater and far more important than any organized religion. The cross is the symbol of hope and salvation that can only be found in the person of Jesus Christ.
If we do not raise up the cross above all else, then we are fundamentally failing to convey the most basic, most useful image of the Gospel message that we have available to us.
It may sound like an over-exaggeration when I say that it is distinctly important that we raise up the cross, perhaps I am being slightly hyperbolic, but the fact remains that the cross is the one symbol in all of the universe that can direct people to Jesus. And, as a matter of direct consequence, God.
I want to share a little passage from the Bible with you that illustrates what I’m referring to here and why it is so important that we treat the cross with reverence and prominence.
Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”
So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.
Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!
Numbers 21:4-9 (NLT)
Oh. I’m sorry. I seem to have slipped an Old Testament reference in here while talking about Jesus and the cross. Silly me!
This little vignette has always fascinated me. Moses is leading the Israelites through the desert while they whine and complain - as per the usual. After they had whined about manna and everything else, God sent poisonous snakes. And, as poisonous snakes are wont to do, they bit people.
The people come back to God, and they come back to Moses, begging that God take the snakes away.
Let me ask you a question. Would taking the snakes away have solved the problem? For the people who hadn’t been bit, sure. That would be good enough. However, a lot of the people had already been bitten and were needing more than just for the snakes to go away. They needed someone to heal them.
When the people beg for the snakes to be taken away, God does one better. God tells Moses to create something in the shape of a poisonous snake and lift it up for the people to look at it. Anyone who looks at the snake will be healed.
I’ve already alluded to the fact that God gave the people more than they asked for. Instead of just taking away the problem, God provided something that actually helped people who were already afflicted with the problem. Not only that, but they were given the simplest remedy. Just look at the darn thing!
There’s a good possibility that some of you already see where I’m going with this, and so I’m gonna dive right in. The story of Moses and the serpent is a beautiful Old Testament mirror of what Jesus does for us on the cross.
We were afflicted with a problem called sin, but God gave us a way to remove the affliction. All we have to do is look at the perfected image of our sin and find healing. If you want to really dig into the deep tracks of theology here, Paul refers to Jesus as the “New Adam” in Romans 5:12-21. We’re not going into that right now because Paul blows my mind in Romans and, frankly, it’s a little intimidating.
Moses was told to raise up the snake so that everyone could see it. So that everyone could be healed.
How much more, then, should we do the same thing with the cross of Jesus Christ? Not because the image of the cross has mystical, physical healing properties, but because the symbol of the cross directs people to Jesus.
Then again, perhaps the cross does have some sort of healing power. I was right to say that the cross isn’t a mystical talisman for physical healing, but it does bring spiritual healing. The cross can soothe a weary soul.
Now that we’ve looked at a metaphorical cross with the serpent, let’s look at the literal cross of Jesus in John.
And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.
Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”
Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”
John 19:19-22 (NLT)
When he was on the cross, Jesus was lifted up for the world to see. More specifically than that, Pilate even wrote a plaque and put it above Jesus that said He was the King of the Jews. Even more importantly than that, Pilate had the sign written out in three different languages so as to be sure that just about everyone who comes through sees it.
If Pilate was able to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ, in what would some consider to be the darkest moment in human history, then surely we can find some way to do this ourselves.
Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to literally raise a cross to the top of Stone Mountain like this guy. (Photo by Adam Wynn, Easter 2011)
I’m not saying that we need to put a cross on top of every building in the world. I’m really not even saying that we have to have a steeple on every church or even a cross on every steeple. It might be a good idea to have a cross on every Christian church, though I wouldn’t go so far as to “legislate” such a proclamation. But we do need to make sure that our lives are constantly raising up the cross.
Our actions, our lives, our attitudes. We have to be displaying the cross constantly, for the same reason that Moses lifted up a serpent and Jesus was lifted up on the cross and Pilate lifted the sign on top of the cross. It is crucial that people have the opportunity to see the cross of Jesus Christ in our lives and through our love. It is crucial that we raise the cross of Jesus up so that people can find the healing in it that only Jesus can provide.