In the Blue Cross, Christ is not like a man, Christ is a man. The loincloth which was a neatly pleated liturgical garment on the figure of Christ in the San Damiano Cross has now become a banner, a flag highlighting Christ's manhood. The rehumanization-of-the-divine theme of the Franciscan movement empowered the Renaissance to emphasize the maleness of Christ as the preeminent manner of expressing a new found goodness in being human.

The Virgin Mary and John the Apostle are standing at the foot of the cross. They are plainly figured. They are obviously saddened, pondering what they cannot bear to see. The John and Mary of the Blue Cross are not like the John and Mary of the San Damiano Cross. Here these two holy people are not yet rejoicing in the resurrection because they still feel the agony of Jesus' death. The John and Mary of the Blue Cross are looking at the viewer but pointing to Christ. They stand as firm witnesses that Jesus Christ was truly a man who had endured a torturous crucifixion and had died. He was not merely pretending to die on the cross as several of the heresies of the Middle Ages believed. Our God loved us so much that he suffered with us in our humanity. A mystery of love which will ever remain a mystery to logic.