Greek word · Strong's G4716

σταυρός

staurós · noun · “cross”

In a sentence

Stauros means cross — the Roman instrument of execution Jesus carried and on which he died. In the New Testament it becomes the symbol of God’s saving love.

Stauros was simply an upright stake or cross — the most brutal Roman execution device, reserved for slaves and rebels. It was not jewelry but a curse.

The New Testament boldly takes this symbol of shame and makes it the heart of the gospel. Paul boasts only “in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” because there God absorbed our sin and showed his love. The cross is the New Testament’s great act of love.

Strong's reference

Definition: a stake or post (as set upright), i.e. (specially), a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment); figuratively, exposure to death, i.e. self-denial; by implication, the atonement of Christ

KJV usage: cross

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Galatians 6:14 “But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Colossians 2:14 “having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.