Matthew 16:24-25 NLT
[24] “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [25] If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
It’s a puzzle, isn’t it? What did Jesus mean by “take up your cross”? What is “my cross”, and how do I “take it up”?
Over the years, many have thought, and taking up the cross has come to mean, carrying the specific burden life has placed on us. For example, my husband abuses me, or my child is disabled in some way, or I have a physical or psychological problem that hinders me….many more “crosses” we must bear because they are inescapable.
Some people think that the cross is an appropriate piece of jewelry to decorate their necks or a marker on a fatal accident site or on a grave.
The cross is a torture stake used to kill people in a slow and agonizing way. How can it ever be anything else?
Did Jesus mean that our specific trisls are our cross in life? Are we qualified to be His disciples only if we bear our lot in life without complaining?
In what way did Jesus carry “His cross”? Why did He say, “Your cross?”
The cross, for Jesus, was not accepting His lot in life but, rather, deliberately carrying the torture stake that caused His own agonising death. The cross was the overriding purpose of His time on earth, a deliberate choice, and act of trust in and obedience to the Father’s will.
The cross and death were inseparable. For Him, there was no death apart from the cross.
The context of this instruction, for His disciples, was His own death. In vivid language, Jesus described to them what would happen.
Matthew 16:21 NLT
[21] “From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day, he would be raised from the dead.”
At this point in their journey with Jesus, the cross was meaningless to the disciples. It would take the unfolding of the whole horrible saga to shed light on the mystery. To them, it made no sense for Him to die a violent death, so they dismissed His attempts to alert them to His warnings.
The cross, for Jesus, had a “before” and “after”. Before the cross, Jesus bent all His energies towards doing the Father’s will. Every word and action followed the course of the Father’s plan. Submission and obedience were the prerequisite for the outcome of His life on earth.
Jesus remained in constant contact with His “command centre”, to ensure that He never missed a cue or strayed from His purpose.
Jesus was dogged by a relentless enemy, impersonated by counterfeit religious leaders. Never once did He fall for their schemes or fall into their traps. He knew His destiny on earth and His path to it. He pursued His goal with relentless determination, whatever the cost. As drastic as the Father’s plan was, Jesus embraced it with joy for the “after” of His suffering.
Hebrews 12:2 NLT
[2] “… Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
How beautifully the old hymn describes the story of the cross…
- My song is love unknown–
my Savior’s love to me;
love to the loveless shown,
that they might lovely be.
Oh, who am I, that for my sake
my Lord should take frail flesh and die? - He came from His blest throne
salvation to bestow;
but men made strange, and none
the longed for Christ would know.
But oh, my Friend, my Friend indeed,
who at my need His life did spend! - Sometimes they strew His way,
and His sweet praises sing;
resounding all the day
hosannas to their King.
Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,
and for His death they thirst and cry. - Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run;
He gave the blind their sight.
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these
themselves displease,
and ‘gainst Him rise. - They rise, and needs will have
my dear Lord made away.
A murderer they save;
the Prince of Life they slay.
Yet cheerful He to suff’ring goes,
that He His foes from thence might free. - In life, no house, no home
my Lord on earth might have;
in death, no friendly tomb
but what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home;
but mine the tomb wherein He lay. - Here, might I stay and sing –
no story so divine!
Never was love, dear King,
never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend, in whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.
Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #260
Author: Samuel Crossman (1664)
Just as the “before” of the cross had an awful cost, so, the “after” won a glorious crown.
Isaiah 53:10-12 NLT
[10] “But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. [11] When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. [12] I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”
The rewards, for Jesus, are “out of this world”!
This is the cross Jesus calls us to take up and carry. The cross, for us as it was for Jesus, is not a contradiction. To take up the cross does not mean pain and loss for nothing. To lose our lives, in the final analysis, is purposefully to throw away whatever is useless and unprofitable and to embrace lives that are committed to doing the will of God, whatever that might be.
The cross is my cross, unique and personal. Yes, my struggles are the struggles of all yet my struggles are mine. I have sins to kill, things I think, say, or do that must be cut off if I am to be a true follower of Jesus.
The cross is a condition. No one can reap the reward of faithful obedience to the will of God without taking up the cross of death to self-will and selfish ambition. Gain through loss, life through the cross, is Jesus’s way to enjoy eternal life.
Tha Apostle Paul chose this life at a very heavy cost but, in the end, he could say with confidence…
2 Timothy 4:6-8 NLT
[6] “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. [7] I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. [8] And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.”
Compare Paul’s words with those of Saul of the Old Testament.
1 Samuel 26:21 NLT
[21]”Then Saul confessed, “I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong.”
Saul’s foolishness led to his untimely death on the battlefield, forsaken by the Lord. Saul of the New Testament was confident of a royal welcome into glory for his faithfulness to the will of God, wherever it took him.
Finally, taking up the cross is a deliberate choice to embrace the will of God, not with reluctance or distaste but with joy, whatever it brings. There is a prize to be won. We must run with anticipation, in keeping with the wonderful love of God that is preparing indescribable and unimaginable blessings for those who go the course.
1 Peter 1:6-9 NLT
[6] “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. [7] These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. [8] You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. [9] The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”