Taking up the Cross
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Taking up the Cross
Taking up the Cross
Today we start a sermon series called: The Difficult Sayings of Jesus
These are words that Jesus spoke that make us take a second look. Some of us will wonder: “Did Jesus really say that?”
Examples:
“If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth, I have not come to bring peace, but a sword ()”
How about in , when Jesus said: “he who comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, he cannot be my disciple”? What?? Jesus wants me to hate my family first?
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To understand the difficult sayings of Jesus we have to study them in light of the following:
The Background (culture, context)
The Character of Jesus
The Rest of Scripture
Our goal in this series is not only to understand the difficult saying but to know more of Jesus. Remember He is Your Savior, He wants to be Your Lord, He is also Your Shepherd and Greatest teacher and the underlying truth as far as you are concerned is this: “Jesus Loves Me this I know”.
Seems to be a very simple and elementary truth but it is very profound and you will see that through our time looking into the Lord’s hardest of sayings.
The first difficult passage we are going to study is from the gospel of Mark.
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
What does Jesus mean by “we have to take up the cross”?
The common application of “the cross” is some hardship, or unwelcome experience, or a person that we are stuck with.
You’ve heard the expression: “This is the cross I have to bear”
Some mother will look at a wayward child and with total acceptance: “He is my cross!”
A wife looks at her husband and thinks the same way.
It can be other things, financial difficulties, a sickness...
With all this one might think:
Is Jesus making the Christian life a burden, a cross that we have to bear?
Do we need to have severe trials in life to be a worthy disciple?
Some people trip over this and with resignation say: “I don’t want that. ”
As we break this down this today with the help of the Holy Spirit, we’ll see that this statement is not really difficult.
(Lacrosse Image)
Background
Background from scripture: These saying of Jesus is found in all three synoptic gospels, it is found in , and in that we just read today.
In all three accounts, these words follow the story of Peter’s confession in Caesarea Philippi:
In all three accounts
When Jesus asked “Who do you think I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ” in , he even said the son of the living God!
The Bible says that after that, from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord![e] This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance[f] to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
So Jesus talked about His suffering and death, and everywhere in the three gospels that this story is told,
...these difficult words “if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” immediately followed.
So it is clear that Jesus did not talk about a symbolic cross of suffering in the sense that we understand it, but the literal cross on which he was going to suffer and die in a public way.
So in that context and the cultural background, the cross was form of public execution.
So when Jesus said: take up your cross, what He actually meant at that time when He said it was: “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him be prepared for public execution.”
What Jesus wants us to be shamed and killed as a requirement of discipleship?
2. The Character of Jesus
What did Jesus really mean?
Public execution is a thing that we find cruel and barbaric, still practiced in some parts of the world. Do you know that it was also practiced in Western countries before, even in America.
As an example, in the 1800’s, the people who conspired to assassinate Abraham Lincoln were publicly hanged in the gallows as an example to everyone.
There were public executions in the US until 1936, when it was finally outlawed.
So interpreting this in our time, when there are no public executions and Christians here in America are not killed for our faith should be done in our context.
Even after He said these words, not all of His disciples were martyred. The Apostle John was not martyred.
What is Jesus really seeking from us?
So Jesus asked them is asking us now:
What is Jesus really seeking from us:
“Are you willing to follow my example?”
“Are you willing to pay the ultimate price?”
“Are you willing to be publicly shamed for Jesus?” - This is what was meant by “let him deny Himself.”
Does Jesus just want us to suffer?
The Cost of Discipleship
Why? The answer lies in character and heart of Jesus, in the beginning of this chapter in Mark, we see His compassion towards the lost, He said “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat...”
In other passages we see Jesus having compassion for the lost, he looks at the crowd and sees them like “sheep without a shepherd”.
There was a time when a friend died and family members were mourning, that Jesus felt the sadness of the moment and cried with them, even though He would raise the dead man just a few minutes later.
Let us read the continuation of this passage:
35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
Jesus puts things in perspective, that our earthly life is so small compared to eternal life.
Jesus wants us to experience true life. He is talking of eternal life.
We focus on the cost of discipleship but there is a higher cost for non-discipleship.
In many ways, He is warning us.
The Cost of Discipleship
If our goal in life is just to live in comfort...
3. The Rest of Scripture
Luke amplifies this saying of Jesus by adding the word “daily”
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
In Paul said, “I die daily”.
Before that he said, “I am in danger every hour.”
He lived at a time when persecution was a daily threat, Christians can die any day for their faith.
We do not have to face these kinds of threat.
We can freely go to church..
picture here of Chinese believers..
In China, christians have to meet very early in the morning in caves, under the cover of darkness because of the threat of being thrown in prison.
As Christians here in Metro Denver, we don’t face the same kind of challenges. We can go to church freely, we don’t have to wake up really early to go to church we can come anytime..
Christians during the time of the apostles died daily and eventually they paid the ultimate price..
What was their attitude?
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The glory of God in our lives is worth paying the cost of discipleship.
If we are going to be honest, what is your personal cost of discipleship?
What will it cost us to follow Jesus today?
We have Christianity 101, which is a great course to get you on the path of following Jesus and leading others to discipleship.
“I have family issues..”
“I will wait until I get a regular job..”
“I will wait until I overcome life’s trials...”
Jesus said: “Go and make disciples..”
It is an imperative, it is a command, Jesus said go, he didn’t say wait..
If these life issues are reasons for you to wait until you become a disciple or make disciple, you will see that these reasons will remain to be hindrances to your growth that will persist in your life.
Step out and obey..
Last week we heard the words, “Just do it.”
Jesus said go,,,
GO FOR IT!
We do not have to literally carry the cross to save ourselves. Jesus already did that!
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Jesus said come follow me...
“Are you willing to follow my example?”
“Are you willing to pay the ultimate price?”
“Are you willing to be publicly shamed for Jesus?” - This is what was meant by “let him deny Himself.”