START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Mark 8:31-38
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OBSERVE:
In this passage Jesus “takes the gloves off” and issues a clear call to discipleship. Although in the previous chapters he has certainly stirred up controversy with the Pharisees by forgiving sin and healing on the Sabbath, much of his ministry has been a positive display of his power — healing, casting out demons, teaching the way of the kingdom of God, feeding the multitudes, even walking on water!
It might have been understandable if the disciples had concluded that they would all ride into Jerusalem on the shoulders of the crowds and Jesus would be crowned king.
Right before this passage in which Jesus addresses the reality of the cross he has asked the disciples the famous questions “Who do men say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?” Peter’s declaration that “You are the Christ” certainly seemed to fit all the data that he had observed.
But now Jesus will disclose the hard truth — that his role as Messiah is to be the Suffering Servant. The only road to glory is through the cross.
His disclosure that he will suffer and die in Jerusalem is not welcome news. Peter, the very one who “discovers” the Messianic nature of Jesus, is the one who rebukes him for saying such scandalous things. And Jesus must sharply rebuke Peter for failing to see things from God’s perspective. How that must have stung, to have been praised one moment for his insight, and compared to Satan in the next!
And Jesus isn’t finished. If there is a cross for him, there is also a cross for his followers. Note that this message of the cross isn’t merely for the “inner circle” of the twelve — Jesus calls the crowd to him as well, and shares with them:
Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
This is a difficult paradox, that in order to find life there must be death, and only those who lose their life will gain it. Yes, Jesus will come in glory with the holy angels, but only after following the way of the cross.
Becoming a disciple requires self-denial, taking up the cross and following Jesus — not only in the feasts and the glory, but to the death.
APPLY:
What does self-denial, the cross, and following Jesus look like in the life of the Christian? Before Martin Luther’s breakthrough with the doctrine of justification by faith, he thought it meant severe asceticism, hair shirts and self-flagellation with whips. His discovery of God’s grace set him free from such works of the flesh.
Still, there is a demand that comes with the Gospel. Dietrich Bonhoeffer declared in his book The Cost of Discipleship:
When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.
The death required is a death to sin and self-preoccupation. Self-denial doesn’t mean merely giving up some luxury (like chocolate) during Lent, but saying no to self-centeredness so that we may say yes to Christ.
Taking up the cross doesn’t mean putting up with some physical affliction, or some difficult situation that is a part of one’s normal life — like diabetes or a cranky family member that one has to tolerate. Taking up one’s cross is a decision to do the hard thing that may be required in order to obey Christ. It is a choice.
Following Jesus means not only focusing on the good stuff — the healings and the glory — but obeying even when it costs us something.
As Bonhoeffer said:
Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
RESPOND:
I confess I prefer self-indulgence to self-denial, comfort to the cross, and the Risen Christ to the Suffering Servant.
Oh, the meditation on the cross of Christ brings tears of grief and gratitude to my eyes, when I think of what my salvation cost Jesus. But I would be dishonest if I didn’t admit that the thought of witnessing to a member of ISIS terrifies me; and reading about the hardships of a John Wesley or a Francis Asbury in spreading the Gospel in the face of stiff persecution or adversity make me realize how soft I really am!
Yes, I can fast on Wednesday and Friday; and visit the sick; and even occasionally go the extra mile for the transient or the homeless person who crosses my path. But if not for the sheer grace of Jesus Christ, I would be lost and pathetic.
I am now, and suspect will continue to be, a work in progress. As my father used to say, “Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.”
Lord, I hear your clear call to self-denial, the cross, and what it means to follow you, and I confess that I am intimidated. Dying to self doesn’t come easy. I guess I will just have to admit that the only way that will happen is if you do it for me and in me. And that is also a ministry of your grace. Amen.
PHOTOS:
“Take Up Your Cross” by Godly Sheep is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.
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