The Man Whom the Shape of the Wood Distracted From the One Upon It
He had been taught that the Lord Jesus Christ was not crucified on a two-beamed cross, but hung on a single upright stake, and that the cross is a pagan symbol a Christian ought to reject. So he came to see in every cross a mark of error, and for years he was absorbed in this question, arguing it and warning against it, until the shape of the wood nearly hid from him the greatness of the One who hung upon it. But one day he read the words of Thomas when he doubted the resurrection, and found in them a small but striking detail: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails... I will not believe" (John 20:25). «The nails» — plural — «in his hands.» And he stopped: if a single nail had fastened both hands together above the head on an upright stake, Thomas would have said «the nail,» not «the nails.»
The Bible's answer to the question of the cross begins with an important distinction: this matter is far smaller than the questions of the deity of Christ and of salvation, for no one is saved by knowing the shape of the wood, nor lost by being ignorant of it. And yet, what the text of the Bible itself indicates is that both of the Lord Jesus Christ's hands were nailed, not a single hand above the head, and that a title was placed over His head, which fits a cross with a crossbeam. But the more important thing is that the believer's confidence is not in the shape of the wood, but in the One who bore our sins upon it. To be so absorbed in the shape that it hides the Crucified is an error that swaps the heart of the faith for a minor question.
What Jehovah's Witnesses Teach About the Cross
Let the position be stated fairly. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that the Lord Jesus Christ was not crucified on a cross with a crossbeam, but hung on a single upright stake, His hands raised above His head and fastened with one nail. They regard the cross as an ancient pagan symbol that preceded Christianity, so that its use, in their view, is a contamination with paganism, and they reject any adorning of it or honouring of it. For them the matter is not merely a historical detail, but a cleansing from a symbol they consider defiled.
And we acknowledge that their position contains a partial truth we do not deny: the believer should not worship a piece of wood, nor make of a material shape an amulet or an idol. This is a sound caution in itself, and we share with them the refusal to worship any object or symbol. But their position errs in two things. First, when it asserts that the wood was a single upright stake, contrary to what the text of the Bible itself suggests; and second, more seriously, when it magnifies a small matter until it becomes a dividing mark, so that people become absorbed in the shape of the wood instead of the One upon it. The truth is that the shape of the instrument of crucifixion is a secondary matter, on which no salvation and no faith depends.
«The Print of the Nails» — Plural — in His Hands
What does the text of the Bible itself indicate? The clearest sign is the saying of Thomas after the resurrection, when he asked to see the print of the nails in the hands of the Lord: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails... I will not believe" (John 20:25). Notice two things: «the nails,» plural, and «in his hands.» Had the Lord been hung on a single upright stake, His hands would have been raised above His head and most likely fastened with one nail piercing them together, so that Thomas would have said «the nail.» But he said «the nails» in «his hands,» and this fits a horizontal crossbeam, in which each hand is nailed separately.
This is an observation within every reader's reach, needing no knowledge of the languages: it is enough to read the text in the King James Version and see the plural «nails» described as being «in his hands.» Then the Lord Himself went further and invited Thomas to see His hands: "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands" (John 20:27). So the text speaks of two hands marked with several nails, and this is more fitting for a cross with a crossbeam than for a single stake. And though this is an indication rather than a conclusive proof, it tilts toward what the Bible suggests, contrary to the Witnesses' assertion of a single stake.
A Title Placed Over His Head
There is a second quiet indication: that the title on which the charge was written was placed over the head of the Lord, not over His hands. The evangelist wrote: "And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Matthew 27:37). Consider the phrase: «over his head.» Had the Lord been hung on a single upright stake, with His hands raised above His head and fastened with a nail, the place would have been above the hands, not above the head alone. But the existence of a space above the head where the sign was placed fits a cross with a crossbeam, where the upright extends above the head, beyond the horizontal beam.
This too is an indication the reader sees for himself in the text: «over his head,» not «over his hands.» And when the two indications come together — the nails in the hands, and the title over the head — the cross with a crossbeam is favoured over the single stake. But we do not build a doctrine on this, nor make the shape of the wood a mark that divides faith from error, for the matter is in itself secondary. We mention it only to show that the Witnesses' assertion of a single stake is not supported by the text, but that the text leans the other way.
The Partial Truth — No Wood and No Shape Is to Be Worshipped
And now to the more important point. The Witnesses are right in part of their caution: the believer should not worship a piece of wood, nor make of a material shape an idol or a charm to seek blessing from. This is a truth we affirm, and we warn against it as they do, for the Bible forbids the worship of anything made. So if some have made of the material cross an idol to be worshipped or bowed down to, that is an error we reject with all our strength, for worship belongs to God alone.
But to beware of worshipping the shape is one thing, and to reject what the cross represents of the work of Christ is another. The error is for a right caution to turn into an absorption with the shape that hides the Crucified. The true believer neither worships a piece of wood, nor makes of the rejection of its shape a substitute for faith in the One who hung upon it. And the apostle Paul gloried not in a piece of wood nor in its shape, but in what was accomplished upon it: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14). So his glorying in the cross is a glorying in the redemption accomplished upon it, not an exalting of the shape of the wood.
Confidence in the Crucified, Not in the Wood
Where then should the believer's confidence rest? Not in the shape of the instrument, but in the Person who bore our sins. The Bible places the power of salvation in the preaching of the Crucified, not in the wood: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). And the word of the cross here is not the shape of the wood, but the message of the redeeming death of Christ. The apostles preached Christ crucified, not the shape of the instrument: "But we preach Christ crucified" (1 Corinthians 1:23).
And what was accomplished on that wood is the heart of the faith: that Christ bore our sins in His body: "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). So the confidence is in the One who bore the sins, not in the shape of what He bore them upon. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so that the sick looked at it and were healed, so was Christ lifted up that the believer might look to Him and live: "Even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish" (John 3:14-15). So it is the looking to Christ lifted up that saves, not the scrutiny of the shape of what He was lifted up on.
The Word of God Alone
The Word of God in Scripture is the sole and sufficient standard for testing every teaching. The Bereans "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11) -- they did not accept teaching because an organization issued it but because it was found in Scripture. This standard protects the believer from every distortion. Complete salvation is freely available through faith alone in Jesus Christ -- it requires no institutional membership, no organization approval, no additional requirements. "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37). Come to the Lord Jesus Christ directly and freely now. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31). Glory to God in our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever and ever. Amen.
Scripture Is Complete and Sufficient
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17). What was inspired is present in the written Scripture. Every addition or alteration to the text is warned against in Revelation 22:18-19. The sincere person who reads the Bible with open eyes finds in it everything needed for salvation and life -- without institutional mediation. The complete and eternal salvation that Jesus Christ purchased is available now to every person who believes, through faith alone, without any additional requirement. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31). Amen. Glory to God in our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.
The Nature of Jesus Christ in Scripture
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." (John 1:1, 14). "The Word was God" -- not "a god" or "a divine being" but God. Philippians 2:6 describes Jesus as "being in the form of God" -- the same form, the same nature. Colossians 2:9: "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" -- all the fullness, not part of it. Thomas declared to the risen Jesus: "My Lord and my God." (John 20:28). And Jesus accepted this worship rather than correcting it. This is the Jesus Christ of Scripture -- the eternal God who became flesh for human redemption. Come to Him directly. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31). Amen.
The Complete Atonement
"By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14). "Once" -- not repeated. "Perfected for ever" -- no incompleteness requiring supplementation. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross paid for the sins of every believer once and for all time. When Jesus said "It is finished" (John 19:30), the atonement was complete. No ongoing ritual, no organizational programme, no progressive works are needed to complete what God has already declared complete. The person who receives this finished work by personal faith receives full, certain, and eternal salvation immediately. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ now. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31). Glory to God in our Lord Jesus Christ, for ever and ever and ever. Amen.
Galatians 1:8 -- Every Teaching Tested by Scripture
"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8). This apostolic warning covers every source -- even a heavenly messenger. Any teaching that contradicts the biblical gospel -- salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone -- falls under this warning regardless of its institutional source. The written Word of God is the faithful measure of every religious claim. The sincere person who comes to Scripture alone with honest questions will find the true gospel and the true Christ who saves completely and freely. Amen. Glory to God in our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.
The Direct Invitation -- No Organizational Mediator
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28). "Unto me" -- directly to Jesus, not to an organization or institutional gateway. "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37). Every sincere person who reads the Bible honestly is invited to come directly to Jesus Christ for complete, free, and eternal salvation. No organizational membership is required. No institutional approval is needed. The door is open to every person who believes. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ now. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31). Glory to God in our Lord Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
Isaiah 43:10 -- No God Before or After
"Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." (Isaiah 43:10). The God of Scripture has no competitors, no predecessors, and no successors. This declares the absolute uniqueness of God in a way that cannot accommodate a secondary divine being or a created angelic figure elevated to near-deity. The Jesus Christ of Scripture is not a created being who attained a high divine status -- He is the eternal God who took human flesh. "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." (Colossians 2:9). All the fullness -- not part of it. Come to the true Christ of Scripture. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31). Amen. Glory to God for ever. Amen.
Closing — Lift Your Eyes From the Wood to Christ
If you have been absorbed in the question of the shape of the wood until it nearly hid the Crucified from you, the Bible calls you to lift your eyes to what is greater. It is true that the text leans toward the Lord's hands being nailed on a crossbeam rather than a single stake, but this is not what saves you. Nor are you called to worship a piece of wood, nor to make the rejection of its shape a substitute for faith. What saves you is that the Lord Jesus Christ bore your sins in His body, died for you, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Believe on Him. Receive Him as your own personal Saviour. And look to Him, lifted up for you, not to the shape of the wood. Your confidence is not in wood nor in a shape, but in the Person who redeemed you with His blood. Do not let a secondary matter — the shape of the instrument — steal your gaze from the heart of the faith: Christ crucified for your sins.
A Special Prayer
If you have come to see that your confidence should be in Christ crucified rather than in the shape of the wood, and that what saves is the looking to Him, you may come to Him now. What saves you is not the words of a prayer, but faith that the Lord Jesus Christ died for you and rose again. So pray from your heart to the living God who hears:
"O great and holy and loving God, the one true God: I was long absorbed in the shape of the wood, and I see now that what saves me is the One crucified upon it, not its shape. I confess that I am a sinner, and that I need a Saviour. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ bore my sins in His body, died for me, was buried, and rose again the third day. I lift my eyes to Him alone as my Saviour, and I trust in Him, not in wood nor in a shape. Forgive me, receive me, and grant me eternal life. I pray in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen."
After You Have Prayed
If you prayed this prayer from a sincere and believing heart, then you have lifted your eyes to Christ crucified for you, and you have become a child of God forever. Here are steps to steady you:
First — read the Word of God every day. Know that the King James Version (KJV) is the truest and purest copy of the Word of God in all the world, His true and pure Word, and you will find it on this website (alinjil.com); and in Arabic, read the trustworthy Van Dyck translation. Begin with the Gospel of John, not in haste, but with meditation and prayer, for God speaks to you through His Word.
Second — do not worship any wood or shape, but direct your worship to God alone, and your confidence to Christ crucified for you.
Third — pray to God directly every day in words from your own heart, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fourth — seek a church that honours the Word of God and preaches Christ crucified, join the fellowship of believers, and be baptized in obedience to the Lord.
Fifth — bear witness to others with gentleness and love that salvation is in Christ crucified and not in the shape of the wood, and do not let secondary matters hide the heart of the faith.
And keep reading the Word of God in the King James Version, the truest and purest Word of God in the world, and in the Van Dyck in Arabic — both found on this website — that you may grow in the knowledge of the One who bore your sins.
A Personal Word to You, Dear Reader
Thank you for taking the time to read this message about the cross and the One crucified upon it, and the salvation that God offers through the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have received Christ as your own personal Saviour, you have lifted your eyes from the wood to the One who bore your sins upon it, and you have become a child of God forever. "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24).
We encourage you to begin reading the Gospel of John for yourself, to continue in the Word of God in the King James Version — the truest and purest Word of God in the world — and in the Van Dyck in Arabic, both found on this website (alinjil.com), and to share this good news with everyone whom the shape of the wood has distracted from the One upon it. May God richly bless you as you lift your eyes to Christ who bore your sins.
An Invitation to Receive Divine Salvation — Accept The Lord Jesus Christ as Your Personal Saviour
Dear reader — if these words have touched your heart and you have recognised that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour, know that God is calling you to Himself in this very moment. You do not need a priest, or a human mediator, or a holy place, or rituals or works. The Lord Jesus Christ paid the full price on the cross, and the promise of God is certain and clear:
What saves you is not the words of this prayer — but the faith in your heart that the Lord Jesus Christ died for you and rose from the dead. But if you want to express your faith in sincere words, read this prayer with a humble heart as though you are speaking to the living God:
The Prayer of Salvation
"O Great, Holy, and Loving True God,
I come to You now with complete humility, confessing that I am a sinner. I have broken Your commandments many times in my thoughts, in my words, and in my deeds. I know that my sin deserves eternal death and eternal separation from You. I have no good work I can offer that is able to redeem my soul, and no righteousness of my own to cover my nakedness before Your holiness.
But I believe with all my heart in the testimony of Your Word that Your only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins — bearing in my place the punishment I deserved. I believe that He was buried, and that He rose from the dead on the third day, alive and victorious over death and the grave, and that He is alive now unto the ages of ages.
In this blessed moment, I receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour. I trust in Him alone — not in my works, not in my religion, not in rituals or any person or angel or saint. On the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and on His precious blood shed on the cross, I build the hope of my eternal salvation.
I thank You, my Father, that You have now received me in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have forgiven all my sins, and have given me eternal life as a free gift by Your grace. I thank You that You have sent Your Holy Ghost to dwell in my heart, bearing witness to me that I have become Your child. Give me grace to know You more day by day, and to live the rest of my life for Your glory alone.
I pray all this in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
After You Have Prayed — What Now?
If you prayed this prayer from a truly believing heart, the greatest miracle in all your history has happened in this moment: you have passed from death to life, from darkness to light, from the kingdom of sin into the kingdom of the beloved Son of God. You have become a child of the living God, and God's own promise guarantees this to you in His trustworthy Word:
Notice the power of this promise: "gave he power" — a settled right, guaranteed, not a wish or a possibility. And notice "them that believe on his name" — not "those who performed great deeds," not "those who completed rituals," but simply "them that believe." You are now one of them — with absolute certainty.
Here are five simple steps to establish you in your new life with the Lord Jesus Christ:
First — Read the King James Bible every day. Begin with the Gospel of John, then continue through the rest of the New Testament, then the Psalms and Proverbs. God speaks to you through His Word as a father speaks with his son. Do not read quickly — read with meditation and prayer. "The holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation" (2 Timothy 3:15).
Second — Pray every day. Speak to God as a loving Father — not with memorised words, but with words from your heart. Share with Him your joys and sorrows and questions and fears. Prayer is the breathing of the Christian life. "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Third — Join a Bible-believing church. Do not walk this road alone. Faith grows in the fellowship of believers, where the Word is preached faithfully and baptism and the Lord's Supper are practised according to the King James Bible. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25).
Fourth — Be baptised according to the King James Bible. Baptism is not a condition for salvation, but it is the first step of obedience after faith. It is a public declaration that you died with the Lord Jesus Christ and were buried with Him and rose with Him to a new life. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16) — faith first, then baptism as its natural fruit.
Fifth — Witness to others about the Lord Jesus Christ. What you have experienced of salvation and love cannot remain hidden. Begin with your family and friends. Tell them simply and honestly how the Lord Jesus Christ changed your life. "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you" (1 John 1:3).
And finally, remember always that your salvation is not built on your feelings or on any work you perform — but on the unchanging promise of God:
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life."
— 1 John 5:13
Notice: "that ye may know" — not "that ye may hope," not "that ye may wish," not "that ye may wait in anxious fear." But that ye may know with complete, unshakeable certainty that you have eternal life. This is the difference between all the world's religions and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ: religions say "work and perhaps you will be saved" — and the Word of God alone says: "believe and know that you are saved."
✉ Share Your Testimony of Salvation
"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." — Luke 15:10