"Three Laws of the Discipleship"
Pt. 2 -- Cross Bearing
Matthew 16:24-28
Introduction: This morning we're going to take a look at the second aspect of discipleship that our Lord speaks about as He seeks to prepare his disciples for what is up ahead. If you recall last week we said that to be a disciple of Jesus you must deny yourself and that involved three things. You must surrender self to Christ, sacrifice self for Christ and submerge yourself in Christ. The next step in this process may be the most difficult of the three. How then do we take up the cross? Let's examine what Jesus said exactly and see if it holds any clues. First, you cannot separate cross bearing from:
I. The Reproach of the Cross
It is after all a cross, and we must never forget that. The cross was not a Jewish tradition but was introduced by the Romans as a method of execution for condemned criminals and that matters. At the time of our Lord's crucifixion the Jews had no authority to put anyone to death so they brought their grievances concerning Jesus to the attention of the Roman authorities, which in this case was a man named Pontius Pilate. A word about this man would probably be helpful at this point. He was the fifth prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26--36. He served under Emperor Tiberius, and is best known for presiding over the trial of Jesus and ordering his crucifixion. In all four gospel accounts, Pilate lobbies for Jesus to be spared his eventual fate of execution, and acquiesces only when the crowd refused to relent. He thus seeks to avoid personal responsibility for the death of Jesus. Most of us are familiar with the response of the crowd when they are given the option of releasing Jesus or Barabbas. The Bible tells us that the crowd chose the latter of the two and when asked what their desire was for Jesus they responded with "...let him be crucified." In the minds of the Jews Jesus was a blasphemer of God because he "...made himself equal with God..." and for them there would be no greater punishment than for him to be crucified. The word "...curse...cursed..." if often translated damned, so in the mind of the Jews Jesus could suffer no greater fate than to be hung on a "...tree." Paul writes as much in Galatians when he quotes from a passage in Deuteronomy.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, he shall be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God ;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
"That word "tree" there is used in the New Testament to refer to the cross of Christ. In the fifth chapter of the Book of Acts 30 and in the tenth chapter of the Book of Acts 39 that you just got through reading, you will find in those passages words like this: whom they slew, "Jesus, whom they slew and hanged on a tree." W. A. Criswell
What then should we take into account when we chose to "bear the cross?"
a. It is an individual choice
Notice that Jesus says that a man must bear "...his..." cross.
One commentary makes this note about cross bearing:
"The figure itself was borrowed from the practice which compelled criminals to bear their own cross to the place of execution. His cross: his own. All are not alike. There are different crosses for different disciples. The English proverb runs: "Every cross hath its inscription" - the name of him for whom it is shaped." Vincent's Word Studies
b. It is an identifying choice
Make no mistake we cannot bear the cross in a closet. Once you take up the cross you are identified with Jesus. When you cast your lot with him you will not be able to hide it.
Hebrews 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Matthew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
1 John 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
c. It is an intentional choice
No man takes up the cross lightly.
Hebrews 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
All its joys are but a name;
But His love abideth ever,
Through eternal years the same.
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Sweetest comfort of my soul;
With my Savior watching o'er me,
I can sing though billows roll.
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Let me view His constant smile;
Then throughout my pilgrim journey
Light will cheer me all the while.
Take the world, but give me Jesus.
In His cross my trust shall be,
Till, with clearer, brighter vision,
Face to face my Lord I see.
Refrain
Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
Pledge of endless life above!
The second aspect of cross bearing involves:
II. The Reception of the Cross
The Cross is about death and you cannot separate the cross from our Lord any more than you can separate true discipleship from cross bearing! They are inseparable. To bear the cross:
a. Embrace the purpose of the cross
The purpose of a cross is crucifixion!
In the "The Cost of Discipleship," Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:
"The cross is laid on every Christian. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death--we give over our lives to death. The cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
b. Embrace the pain of the cross
None of us will ever know the pain and suffering that Jesus experienced on the cross but it is plain that if we are crucified there will be pain.
c. Embrace the power of the cross
The cross is life altering. It is has the power to radically change our state.
There is power in the cross. It's undeniable. Even unbelievers seem to squirm when considering its potential. David Brooks, of the Weekly Standard, reports "of the conniption being thrown by the American Atheist, the group founded by the late Madalyn Murray O'Hair (may God have mercy upon her soul). It seems that when the World Trade Center collapsed, the force of the fall, or some supernatural force, fused two steel beams into a 20-foot-high cross, which has been kept on the edge of the site. The atheists want the cross removed, of course, but in their passion to do that, they are actually revealing their faith in the power of the cross. If it didn't have power, why get so upset?"
There is power in the cross. It's undeniable. And there is potential in the cross, the potential to reconcile all things and all men to Christ who "made peace through the blood of His cross." Colossians 1:20.
SOURCE: SermonCentral Staff. Citation: David Brooks. "Religious Impulses, Good and Bad." The Weekly Standard, 6/21/2002. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles
The third aspect of cross bearing involves:
III. The Reign of the Cross
a. Cross bearing requires a complete commitment
Luke 14:25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
b. Cross bearing requires a consistent commitment
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
1 Corinthians 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
c. Cross bearing requires a costly commitment
Conclusion: Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free, no there's a cross for everyone and there's a cross for me....
There was a bright and happy tree:
The wind with music laced its boughs,
Thither across the houseless sea
Came singing birds to house.
Men grudged the tree its happy eves
It's happy dawns of eager sound;
So all that crown and tower of leaves
They leveled with the ground.
They made an upright of the stem,
A cross piece of a bough they made:
No shadow of their deed on them
The fallen branches laid.
But blackly since the year was young
When they a fitting hill did find,
There on the happy tree they hung
The Savior of mankind.
"The Happy Tree"; Gerald Gould, 1926
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
In a painting of the Crucifixion by the famous Dutch artist, Rembrandt, our attention is drawn immediately to the cross and to Him who hangs there. Then looking at the crowd gathered around the Cross, we note the attitudes and actions of these people. As our eyes drift to the edge of the picture, we see another figure in the shadows. This is Rembrandt himself. Rembrandt, helping to crucify Jesus! How true that is according to Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)- "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed."
"Twas I that shed the sacred blood, I nailed Him to the tree,
I crucified the Christ of God, I joined the mockery!"
I look again and there in the shadows next to Rembrandt I stand.
Charles Spurgeon offers this warning: "If you haven't looked at Christ on the cross, you'll have to look at Him on the throne--with great trembling. The sacrificial death of Christ will be brought before the eyes of all who refuse to accept His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. In Bethlehem He came in mercy to forgive sin. In the future He will come on the clouds in glory to establish justice. What will we do without a Savior? On the day of judgment there is nothing we can do if we have not trusted Christ."
