take up your cross

Background Passage: Mark 8:31-37

Passing a large church in the Philippines several years ago, a pastor from the United States spotted a number of vendors selling incense, candles, veils and rosaries. That’s not really what caught his attention.

His eyes were drawn to two young boys running through the crowd selling small wooden crosses. Hawking their goods with enthusiasm, he heard them calling, “Crosses!. Cheap crosses for sale! Buy a cheap cross!”

It’s a painful reality, isn’t it? That’s exactly what many of us do. We want a cheap cross, one that demands little of us. All celebration and no commitment.

The cross of Christ was no cheap cross. It came at an unbelievable cost as a ransom for my sin…and yours.

Jesus and his disciples just returned from a staff retreat in Caesarea Philippi where Jesus earnestly began teaching them about the role God sent him to play. When Peter, in a moment of clarity, declared that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, God’s Anointed One, he got the title right. Despite his confession, he and the others still failed to understand exactly what that meant.

From that moment on, Jesus spoke more plainly to them about the suffering that was to come. Mark records the moment.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priest and teachers of the law, and then he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. (Mark 8:31-32)

Peter missed the whole point of the lesson learned in Caesarea Philippi. Comfortable in his preconceived notions about what a Messiah should look like and how a Messiah should act, he pulled Jesus aside and fussed at him for saying anything contrary to his idea of a political deliverer. “This is not the way to win friends and influence people, Jesus.”

Peter’s response must have broken Jesus’ heart. Jesus glanced back at the disciples who still looked a little shellshocked at Jesus’ description of the work ahead and then at Peter’s “better listen to me” scowl. The whispered rebuke to his strongest disciple must have pierced Peter’s heart.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! he said. “You do not mind the things of God, but the things of men!” (Mark 8:33)

After a brief standoff, Jesus shook his head and sauntered back to the crowd that stood nearby. After a glance back at his disciples to make sure they were paying attention, Jesus laid his heart open for all to see.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whomever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 34-37)

Jesus seemed to tell them, “You call me Messiah, but have no clue what it means for me or for you…let me be clear.” Don’t you imagine the words he preached burned like hot coals into the core of Peter’s soul!

I can see Jesus looking straight into Peter’s eyes when he started his message. “If anyone would come after me…” These words speak to a decision point. More literally in the Greek, the phrase suggests, “to come to a point of being with…”

Jesus is telling them if you’re truly with me, if you’re going to walk with me, if that’s what you decide to do, then understand clearly the price you must pay.

When Jesus talks about denying oneself, he speaks of changing out one’s selfish heart with one that looks toward a greater good. Understanding what God needs you to do and not getting in his way. Moving away from being served toward serving.

You see, Peter’s picture of the Messiah was drastically different than the one Jesus was painting. The path he thought he was following far different from the one for which Jesus was preparing Peter and the rest of the disciples.

To deny oneself is to realize life is no longer all about me. No longer about my personal agenda. It is about the one to whom I belong. It’s about my service to others. It is about losing myself in Christ. It’s about allowing God to work in and through the gifts he gave me so Christ is revealed in me. Giving God custody and control of my life.

Paul hinted at this when he said, “…You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.” (I Corinthians 6:19-20)

To take up one’s cross conjured up a horrific image within the context of those first century, would-be disciples. The cross stood as Rome’s unique and cruel form of public punishment and humiliation designed to keep the population in check. Its brutality was on display for all to see.

Undoubtedly, almost all, if not all, of those present that day with Jesus had witnessed its barbarity on display. They clearly understood the implications of what Jesus demanded of them.

If you make the decision to be with me, you must be prepared to give your life for my sake. There is nothing cheap about this cross. It was a cost too many, even in Jesus’ day, were unprepared to pay.

I think of the rich, young ruler who chased Jesus down and honestly shared his faithfulness to the teachings of scripture and his devotion to prayer and the slew of good thing he did for others. Jesus looked in his heart and saw that his lifestyle consumed him. Jesus suggested that if this rich, young man wanted to come with Jesus, he had to give up the lifestyle he enjoyed. (Matthew 19:16-22)

I think of the three men who came to Jesus while he was traveling, pledging to follow him wherever he went. The first turned back when he discovered the Jesus life would be a bit uncomfortable. The second man wanted to wait until his father died. The third man just needed a bit more time with his family and friends. (Luke 9:57-62)

Each in their own way threw up obstacles that prevented them from committing their all to Jesus. The cost of discipleship was too steep. It wasn’t a cheap cross then and it isn’t any less expensive today.

I’ve heard some trivialize this passage by interpreting the cross as some burden they have to bear…a physical illness, a soured relationship, a thankless job. It becomes little more than some aspect of life that is little more than a symbolic annoyance.

To the first century follower of Christ to take up the cross expressed the willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of Christ. It didn’t mean everyone who followed Christ would die on the cross, but it meant a full surrender to that possibility. To give your life completely to him.

Jesus certainly understood the cost as he agonized over it in the Garden of Gethsemane. As he endured its painful reality at Calvary. But, when Jesus spoke the words, asking us to take up our cross, I believe Jesus thought less about the dying and more about surrendering. Yielding to whatever God asked of him. Asking us to yield to whatever God asks of us.

You can’t do that with a divided heart, holding on to a distorted or watered down version of what following Christ means. We must submit our hearts absolutely and without reservation to the call of Christ. It is a call of self-sacrifice and surrender. Paul called it “dying to self.”

Look how Jesus described the cross-bearing life in Luke 8:35. He said we gain life in all its abundance and fullness when we lose or surrender our lives to “me and to the gospel.” Absolute devotion to Christ and to the sharing of the gospel, the good news, of the grace offered through Jesus.

The questions Jesus then posed to the crowd conveyed the seriousness of that decision.

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or, what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

The ancient Hebrew viewed the soul as the entire inner nature of man, the eternal and imperishable essence of every being. Based on our faith commitment to Christ it is that part of us that endures in the everlasting presence of God or separated from him for all eternity.

The passage ends with the consequence of the choice we make when we don’t take up the cross. We could gain all there is to gain in this world…all its wealth and power…all its beauty and bounty…yet when we die, we’ll find our souls outside the eternal presence of God, unable to share in his glory for all time.

Jesus said even if we gained the wealth of the whole world, it would not be enough to purchase what Jesus so freely gave.

Late in the nineteenth century, Justin Van DeVenter struggled with the decision to leave his teaching career and enter the ministry. He describes a pivotal turning point in his life when he gave in to God’s call.

“A new day was ushered into my life,” said Van DeVenter. “I discovered deep down in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart and, touching a tender chord, caused me to sing.”

It was a song that would profoundly influence Billy Graham’s early ministry. I suspect his words touched many of us as well.

All to Jesus I surrender;
All to him I freely give.
I will ever love and trust him,
In his presence daily live.
I surrender all.
I surrender all.
All to thee my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

Jesus calls us to take up our cross. To do so means surrendering all to him. I’d like to say I do that every day, but I don’t. It’s easier to hide behind an obstacle, make an excuse or convince myself that I know better. I’ll surrender some things but hold tightly to others.

Then, I hear those words again. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, but forfeit his soul?” The answer is clear. No good at all. The cross is not cheap.

Let’s allow that old hymn resonate knowing full well the cost.

All to Jesus I surrender.

I surrender all.

That’s a Good Question

Background Passages: Matthew 16:23-27

Though many kings and conquerors held such lofty ambitions, no one ever came close to ruling the whole world. A quick journey through history reveals a host of men who gave it their best shot. Sargon of Akkad. Julius Caesar, Cyrus the Great. Genghis Kahn. They and many others held stated goals of ruling the known world.

Alexander the Great of Macedonia carried similar ambitions and came close to seeing it through. Despite conquering most of the known world and gaining vast wealth and tremendous power, Alexander finally recognized the folly and hubris in his effort. Nearing the end of his life, he said, “When my casket is being carried to the grave, leave my hands hanging outside. For empty-handed, I came into this world and empty handed, I shall go! My whole life has been a hallow waste, a futile exercise, for no one at death can take anything with them!”

When I read that quote this week, I was reminded of two rhetorical questions Jesus asked his disciples as he neared the end of his earthly ministry.

“For what profit is it to a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What can anyone give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

It is an intriguing question that made me wonder why Jesus posed it to his closest followers. When something piques my interest, I’m usually curious enough to keep digging.

Jesus kept a frenetic pace while ministering to the multitudes in Galilee. Crowds of people followed him around seeking his teaching and his touch. Shortly after Jesus fed the 5,000, he took his closest disciples north to Caesarea Philippi.

Though the Bible doesn’t tell us why, the region around Caesarea Philippi was more sparsely populated. Jesus was now weeks away from the cross. Many biblical scholars speculate Jesus left the crowds behind in order to spend quiet and quality time with his disciples. He needed them to understand what was going to happen over the course of the next few weeks. He needed them to be ready for his death and to know what was expected of them.

In one quiet moment in Caesarea Philippi, surrounded by the temples to the various pagan gods, Jesus asked his disciples what the people were saying about him. They told him some people were calling him John the Baptist. Others thought him to be Elijah, Jeremiah or some other prophet of God.

“Who do you say that I am?” he asked his disciples. In typical fashion, Peter blurted out an answer for all of them,

“You are the Christ! The Messiah!”

The affirmation Peter spoke had to be both gratifying and troubling to Jesus. Gratifying, in that the disciples understood at some level of faith who Jesus was. Troubling, in that they didn’t fully understand what that meant.

As they began the journey toward Galilee and on to Jerusalem, Jesus began to teach them that he would suffer at the hands of the religious leaders…that he would be killed and would rise from the dead on the third day.

Peter took exception to what he considered morbid and fatalistic teaching. Pulling Jesus aside, scripture says that Peter “rebuked” him, saying essentially, “Stop talking like this. You’re frightening the others. This will never happen to you. Not on my watch! You are destined to rule.”

Jesus’ words to Peter cut to the quick, stunning the disciple to silence.

“Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:23)

The terse exchange between Jesus and Peter opened the door to deeper teaching about God’s priorities. Read the words of Christ.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his very soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person for what he has done.” (Matthew 16:24-27)

Peter’s concerns about Jesus’ impending death were human concerns. It seems his understanding of Messiah, though tilted toward the miraculous power of Jesus’ teaching and miracles, most closely aligned with that of the rest of Israel as they looked to the Messiah to free them from the yoke of Roman oppression.

Peter had his mind and heart set on human things.

The question Jesus posed moves beyond rhetorical when we look into our own hearts. Are there concerns in our lives that take precedence over the things of God? Is our pursuit of those things putting us in danger of losing our very soul?

Let’s get the easy part out of the way. I believe God wants the very best for every one of his children. There is nothing wrong with gaining wealth, fame, success and power if those things are God’s plan for your life, if you’ve acknowledged that those blessings come only from God’s good grace and you use the blessings to meet the needs of others. However, to seek to tuck God in the corner of your life while you pursue earthly things runs counter to God’s will for his people. Jesus said doing so, will cost you.

The price for pursuing human concerns is our soul. Those who reject the call of Christ and chase after the things of this world, will face eternal condemnation as a result of their choice. Even if they rise to rule the world, the cost, says Jesus, is too high.

Believers who make that sincere, initial faith commitment then get bogged down in the things of the world, may not lose their eternal soul, but their lives will never experience the deep contentment, inner joy and peace God promises through our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Their souls, their lives, are wasted potential in pursuit of things that ultimately don’t matter. The light God called them to be is hidden under a bushel of ambitions never fully realized.

Solomon, God’s anointed king of Israel, denied himself nothing, seeking greater pleasure and greater wealth. When he realized what it cost him in relationship to his God, he said in Proverbs 1 that everything he gained is “meaningless,” “vanity,” a “chasing after the wind.”

Solomon knew that by chasing after earthly blessings as the primary motive of our lives outside the will of God we compromise the very being of our souls. The fruit of our spirit rots on the vine. We inevitably lack the love, compassion, peace, gentleness, patience and self-control. Those things come our way only when we abide in Christ.

When Jesus responded to Peter’s rebuke, he outlined succinctly the cost of discipleship. This is the hard part of his statement. Simple in its concept. Difficult in its execution.

Pick up your cross and follow.

Give up your life for his sake.

Let go of your hold on the world.

We are called to die to the life we think we deserve and yield our lives to Jesus as boss of our lives. To surrender our will to the will of God. To go where he sends us. To make a difference in the lives of others in the place he sends us and the time he allots us.

When you really think about what Jesus said, he’s simply asking us to do what he did for us. No more. No less. The Rev. Charles Hoffacker put it this way. “This request shatters the life of every Christian like a rock thrown through glass. Echoing Peter’s refusal, we don’t want a suffering Messiah, one who calls us to no better place than his own, a cross with our name on it…The formation of Christian character over time then shows itself decisively. Jesus offers us a cross with insistence and we take hold of it, guided more by faith than fear.”

To be a disciple, a learner and follower of Christ, I must take up my cross and follow Jesus. It is a call to self-sacrifice. Absolute surrender to God. To die to self, as Paul declared, and live for Christ. Christ modeled the life we are called to live. You and I are called to live Christ-like lives. To follow in those remarkable footsteps. To love the lost as much as he did. To care for one another as much as he did. To mirror his compassion. To live faithfully even in the most demanding times. To declare as he did in the garden, “not my will, but yours be done.”

Given how much I struggle to pick up my cross, Jesus asked a really good question.

“What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?”

To those of us who know what he desires for us, the question begs an answer, doesn’t it?

Fan or Follower?

Background Passages: Matthew 16:13-24; Luke 5:1-11; Matthew 4:18-22 and Luke 16:25-26

It’s baseball playoff season. I think I’m finally over the baseball strike of 1994-95 and find myself watching the games again with interest. I know. That’s a long time to hold a grudge.

It’s also the middle of the college football season and I love to watch college football.

I am a fan of the Houston Astros. I enjoy watching their games and I might even do a fist pump when they win. I rarely lose sleep if they blow the game in the ninth inning. I’m a fan of the Houston Astros.

I am a follower of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. I wear the shirt. I watch the games. I celebrate when they win. I will toss a pillow and lose hours of sleep with every defeat. During the week, I’ll check out a few Red Raider websites to get a perspective on last week’s game. I’ll read about the players and coaches. I’ll fret over next week’s game. Cut me and I’m pretty sure I bleed scarlet and black. I am a follower of Texas Tech.

Jesus talked a little about being a fan or being a follower.

Jesus and his disciples left the region of Caesarea Philippi after a brief retreat north of the Sea of Galilee. The deep discussion elicited a confession from Peter who declared the understanding of his heart.

While looking at the throng of people milling about that pagan city, Jesus asked those with him what the people were saying about him after almost three years of ministry.

The disciples shared a few names as if the rumors were laughable.

“Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:13-14)

Then, Jesus asked the question he really wanted to ask.

“But what about you? Who do you say I am?”

While the others stared blankly at the ground, Peter declared with strength of conviction,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

With that confession, Jesus gathered his disciples and began the journey back to Galilee, but the dialogue didn’t get easier. The teaching grew more intense as Jesus began to talk more plainly about his death on the cross.

Peter didn’t like the way this conversation was going.

“Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!’

“Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:22-24)

It was those last two words that caught my attention this week. “Follow me.”

My church has been in a six-week long Bible study about discipleship. While family matters have kept me from attending every session, I have kept up with the study.

I underlined these words in the study guide. “Following Jesus is a serious, weighty calling. Taking up our cross means putting to death our desires and goals and following Jesus wherever he leads. Christians are supposed to look increasingly like Jesus.”

When Jesus told his disciples to take up the cross and follow him, it wasn’t the first time they had heard the call to follow.

At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus spent the early morning talking with a crowd that followed him down the coast of the Sea of Galilee. He came across a group of fishermen cleaning their nets after an unsuccessful night on the water where the fish were nowhere to be found.

Jesus climbed into Peter and Andrew’s boat and asked them to push off a few feet from shore so the water would add its acoustic effect to his voice.

“When he finished speaking, Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Peter answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But, because you say so, I will let down the nets.

“When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. …When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.”

Then, combining this passage with what we read in Matthew 5, Jesus said to Peter, Andrew, James and John, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of me.” (Luke 5:1-11 and Matthew 4:18-22)

There’s the phrase again, “Follow me.”

He said the same words to Matthew when he called him from the tax collector’s booth. To Phillip when he pulled him from a crowd. He said the same words to a rich, young ruler after he told him to rid himself of all the material things that stood between him and Jesus. “Follow me.”

I suspect they were words he extended in every conversation shared and every invitation given. “Follow me.”

What is behind this idea of following Jesus?

The Greek word akoloutheo gets translated in most versions of the Bible as follow, but it has a broader range of meanings. It can mean accompany, assist, pursue or attend. So, if the word can also mean assist or pursue, for instance, Jesus was not calling people to simply tag along. He called for personal engagement.

Akoloutheo is written in present tense meaning the action is in the here and now and its voice is active. So, when Jesus calls his people to follow, he means they are to do so in every moment of life. It is something they are to do. They can’t send someone to do it for them.

Jesus didn’t want his disciples to just listen and believe in him from a distance. He invited them to draw near, to join him, join and commit to the mission. Jesus wanted his disciples to be fully engaged with him in both learning and doing the work of God.

From the beginning of their call to the critical times near the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Jesus asked them to follow.

Think about what that meant for those first disciples. From the moment they began their journey with Jesus he taught and trained them. He sent them to preach as he preached. He asked them to serve those with great need. He prepared them to continue his work after his ministry was completed. He expected them to spread the gospel throughout the world.

Jesus is still inviting you and me to be his disciples. His followers. To personally join him, learn from him, and help him in gospel ministry. There is nothing passive about being a follower of Christ.

Timothy Keller founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, put it this way, “Jesus says, ‘I want you to follow me so fully, intently, so enduringly that all other attachments in your life look weak by comparison.’”

We can’t be a disciple or difference maker until we are willing to deny ourselves…to set aside the life that matters to us and pick up the life that matters to God. To put God on the throne and make him Lord of our life. To make Christlike living our passion.

We can’t be a disciple or difference maker until we are willing to take up our cross. We tend to trivialize Jesus’ death on the cross if we think this term means simply facing stoically the difficulties of life that all experience, whether a follower of Christ or not.

It speaks to the complete obedience and devotion to the cause of Christ, no matter where it leads. To yield our hearts fully to his. After asking them to take up the cross and follow, Jesus spoke to the eternal value one gains by following him.

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Luke 16:25-26)

Jesus tells them that nothing in this life is worth keeping if it means missing out on eternity. So, when we deny ourselves and take up our cross all that’s left is to invest our lives completely into the kingdom of God. To follow.

New Testament theologian Scot McKnight put it this. way, “Those who aren’t following Jesus aren’t his followers. It’s that simple. Followers follow, and those who don’t follow aren’t followers. To follow Jesus means to follow Jesus into a society where justice rules, where love shapes everything. To follow Jesus means to take up his dream and work for it.”

I’m a fan of the Houston Astros. I’m a follower of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. But, there is more at stake than my athletic affiliations.

If I’m a fan of Jesus Christ, I might profess my faith in comfortable settings. I might toss a few dollars into the offering plate when it’s passed. I might even listen to a sermon or two. If I’m a fan of Christ, however, I am rarely personally invested in the work, sacrificing little time and energy for the cause of Christ.

If I am a follower of Christ, I cannot just passively believe in him. Being a follower is all about digging deeply into his teachings. Understanding how Jesus reacted to different situations in life. It is all about imitating him, his example and his works. It is all about being Christlike. It’s all about being a difference maker.

When you get right down to it, the question Jesus asked his disciples in Caesarea Philippi may have been as basic as that.

Will you be a fan or a follower?

It’s a decent question for us to answer.