"What
did Jesus mean when He said, "Take
up your cross and follow Me"
(Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke
9:23)?"
Answer: Let's
begin with what Jesus didn't mean.
Many people interpret "cross" as
some burden they must carry in
their lives: a strained
relationship, a thankless job, a
physical illness. With
self-pitying pride, they say,
"That's my cross I have to carry."
Such an interpretation is not what
Jesus meant when He said, "Take
up your cross and follow Me."
When Jesus carried His cross up
Golgotha to be crucified, no one
was thinking of the cross as
symbolic of a burden to carry. To
a person in the first-century, the
cross meant one thing and one
thing only: death by the most
painful and humiliating means
human beings could develop.
Two thousand years later,
Christians view the cross as a
cherished symbol of atonement,
forgiveness, grace, and love. But
in Jesus' day, the cross
represented nothing but torturous
death. Because the Romans forced
convicted criminals to carry their
own crosses to the place of
crucifixion, bearing a cross meant
carrying their own execution
device while facing ridicule along
the way to death.
Therefore, "Take
up your cross and follow Me"
means being willing to die in
order to follow Jesus. This is
called "dying to self." It's a
call to absolute surrender. After
each time Jesus commanded cross
bearing, He said, "For
whoever wants to save his life
will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for me will
save it. What good is it for a
man to gain the whole world,
and yet lose or forfeit his
very self?" (Luke
9:24-25).
Although the call is tough, the
reward is matchless.
Wherever Jesus went, He drew
crowds. Although these multitudes
often followed Him as Messiah,
their view of who the Messiah
really was-and what He would
do-was distorted. They thought the
Christ would usher in the restored
kingdom. They believed He would
free them from the oppressive rule
of their Roman occupiers. Even
Christ's own inner circle of
disciples thought the kingdom was
coming soon (Luke
19:11). When
Jesus began teaching that He was
going to die at the hands of the
Jewish leaders and their Gentile
overlords (Luke
9:22), His
popularity sank. Many of the
shocked followers rejected Him.
Truly, they were not able to put
to death their own ideas, plans,
and desires, and exchange them for
His.
Following Jesus is easy when life
runs smoothly; our true commitment
to Him is revealed during trials.
Jesus assured us that trials will
come to His followers (John
16:33).
Discipleship demands sacrifice,
and Jesus never hid that cost.
In Luke
9:57-62, three
people seemed willing to follow
Jesus. When Jesus questioned them
further, their commitment was
half-hearted at best. They failed
to count the cost of following
Him. None was willing to take up
his cross and crucify upon it his
own interests.
Therefore, Jesus appeared to
dissuade them. How different from
the typical Gospel presentation!
How many people would respond to
an altar call that went, "Come
follow Jesus, and you may face the
loss of friends, family,
reputation, career, and possibly
even your life"? The number of
false converts would likely
decrease! Such a call is what
Jesus meant when He said, "Take
up your cross and follow Me."
If you wonder if you are ready to
take up your cross, consider these
questions:
.
Are you willing to follow Jesus if
it means losing some of your
closest friends?
. Are you willing to follow Jesus
if it means alienation from your
family?
. Are you willing to follow Jesus
if it means the loss of your
reputation?
. Are you willing to follow Jesus
if it means losing your job?
. Are you willing to follow Jesus
if it means losing your life?
In some places of the world, these
consequences are reality. But
notice the questions are phrased,
"Are you willing?" Following Jesus
doesn't necessarily mean all these
things will happen to you, but are
you willing to take up your cross?
If there comes a point in your
life where you are faced with a
choice-Jesus or the comforts of
this life-which will you choose?
Commitment to Christ means taking
up your cross daily, giving up
your hopes, dreams, possessions,
even your very life if need be for
the cause of Christ. Only if you
willingly take up your cross may
you be called His disciple (Luke
14:27). The
reward is worth the price. Jesus
followed His call of death to self
("Take up your
cross and follow Me")
with the gift of life in Christ: "For
whoever wants to save his life
will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for me will
find it" (Matthew
16:25-26).
have a blessed day,
Gary
yfc77jesus@aol.com