In hoc signo vinces.
"By this sign you will conquer." These words are reported by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 312 A.D. He had a vision that he would win the upcoming battle by trusting in the sign of the cross. Constantine did conquer by the sign, but in so doing he altered its meaning. The sign of the cross became a powerful symbol for rulers and armies after that. Crosses would rally troops for crusades and other campaigns to expand so-called Christian realms.
Constantine altered the role of Christianity in the empire. He gave it legal status. He supported Christian bishops, and even entered into the internal dispute over the nature of Jesus Christ. He personally supported the Council of Nicea and oversaw most of its proceedings. From this Council came the first formulations of the Nicene Creed in which Jesus Christ is confessed to be "of one being with the Father" and "who for us and our salvation . . . was made human."
Before Constantine's reign the cross was scarcely used as a sign among Christians. It was feared that they would give themselves away and expose themselves to unnecessary ridicule or persecution. There are many places in the world where this fear is still justified.
The meaning of the cross was always political. The cross was a form of execution reserved for political enemies, rebels, and insurrectionists. Jesus' death on a cross is the strongest evidence that his life and death had political significance. Why else would he be tried by a religious court, an imperial court, and the court of public opinion? Jesus threatened the religious and political authorities and caused them to join forces to execute him.
The belief that he was a messiah produced a kind of false sign. The authorities and the people feared each and every announced messiah. Each would-be messiah excited the people's expectation that God was intervening to set them free from the oppression of yet another conqueror. The religious authorities, who had worked out an arrangement with Rome, were very much threatened by the people's acclamation of the various messiahs.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, "What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation." But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed." John 11:47-50
Jesus was also rejected by those who were committed to violence in order to overthrow the Roman occupiers. In the famous trial scene in the Gospel according to John, Jesus responds to Pilate.
"My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. John 18:36
The irony of Jesus' crucifixion is that an insurrectionist committed to violence is pardoned by Pilate at the insistence of the crowd. Jesus announced the coming Kingdom of God. He also renounced violence as a means of bringing about peace. The Cross of Christ is a sign of one man's obedience to the will of God. His obedience to God's will result in his death. The proclamation that God raised him from the dead places us now in a crisis. If we trust in this word, we too are going to be in conflict with religious authorities, politicians, and the mob.
In hoc signo vinces.
If it is true that we will conquer through the cross, we had better be certain of which cross we speak. During Holy Week we will encounter this challenge and the promise in the crucified and risen Savior.