In our western church culture, bigger is viewed as better. Bigger means success. Bigger means God’s blessing; God’s approval or better yet, special approval. Bigger is better!
And to achieve & maintain this status everything the church does must be big – its music & “worship service”, its special programs & presentations, its ministries to the different age-groups, its community outreach – all of it has to be big, over the top, many times extravagant. Also in order to achieve & maintain this status, quite often it requires making people feel good, not saying anything offensive or taking strong biblical stands, not requiring hard choices or sacrifice – unless it has the promise of double or more return in this life. That’s the way many attempt to get around it.
Point is: Jesus probably wouldn’t do well in our western church culture, especially if He preached what He preached in our section today in the Gospel According to Mark, where He really lays out what it means to follow Him, to be 1 of His. And what He teaches in this section, may make someone here today feel uncomfortable, but this is what Jesus says it means to follow Him. Turn to Mark 8:34-38:
So Jesus begins with (34), “if anyone wishes (desires) to come after Me…” “If anyone” means its open, wide-open for any person. Whosoever will may come! It’s not a club where only a certain class of people are allowed to even be considered. No, & we see this open invitation represented here for Jesus doesn’t say this only to His disciples or back in Jewish Galilee but v.34 reads, “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples & said to them…” And remember, at this point Jesus was in the region of Caesarea Philippi, a Gentile region, not Jewish. So when He said, “If anyone” He was speaking to a predominantly Gentile audience, i.e. the outsiders, in terms of how the Jews viewed them. Point is: it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, your ethnicity, your family background, or your own past no matter how bad or messed up it is, or lack of abilities or any other such thing. Jesus simply says, “If ANYONE wishes to come after Me.” No exclusions! So there’s no, “Well, you don’t know about me or what all I’ve done.” Ok, maybe I don’t & maybe IT IS bad, but do you meet the qualification of ANYONE? Do you fit under that term? Encouraging!
Now we have to keep reading pass the “if anyone.” That’s set, Jesus invitation is open to anyone, but there is something critical that follows. 2 weeks ago, I talked about (31) the “musts” of Jesus. He said He MUST suffer many things, be rejected, be killed & rise from the dead. These were musts if salvation was to be provided for us. Well, in today’s section there are also some “musts” in connection with anyone coming after Jesus.
Have you ever taken the time to read the “Terms & Conditions” dialogue box that pops up on a newly installed App or Program? Probably not, b/c it’s like 50 pages long & written in lawyer language. You just want to start enjoying the program or app but you can’t until you click on the “Agree” button.
Well, v.34 is kind of like a pop-up dialog box for following Jesus – This tells us, from Jesus own lips, what is required to be a follower, to come after Him. And contrary to the dialogue boxes on your phone or computer, Jesus continues to speak here, as He began to do in v.32a, plainly. No lawyer language here, rather plain language that the disciples & the others listen-ing would have understood - and so can we. But these are Jesus’ terms & conditions & they require our clicking on the “Agree” button.
Christians sometimes think of following Christ kind of like the special forces in the military. IOW, there are a lot of people in the military but only some of them become a ranger, a seal, Delta Force – some of them do, but not everybody that’s in the military. A similar thing can be thought of in regards to being a Christian. There are a lot of people who are Christ-ians but not everyone is called to that deeper walk or that more mature walk with Christ. That’s just for those who are the elite or the varsity, first-stringers.
Well, that may be what many or even someone here thinks, but I don’t know where you go to support that from the Bible. And you most definitely can’t use Jesus’ teaching to support it - b/c what He says here is, “If anyone” or whoever wants to come after Me, MUST “deny himself, & take up his cross & follow Me.” IOW, this doesn’t apply to some elite class of Christ-followers, it applies to whom? Anyone who desires to follow Jesus. That’s not going to go over well with many Christians, not going to fit well with what many churches teach, but it is what Jesus said is required. It is a MUST – so let’s walk through it. Let’s look 1st at what Jesus says is...
? The Requirements in Following Jesus – 8:34
“If anyone desires to come after me, he must deny himself, & take up his cross & follow Me.
-You must deny yourself!
It is easy to misunderstand what this means. For example, we are currently in the season of Lent where Christians give-up some-thing for 40 days, denying themselves some pleasure, as a expression of their devotion to Christ. Some give up chocolate/desserts or social media or something else. Nothing wrong with that, but that is not what "deny yourself" means here. And it also isn't something that has a time limit such as 40 days; it's to be continuous, life-long, a lifestyle.
Self-denial is not the same thing as denying self or dying to self. Again, we practice self-denial all the time for we don’t indulge in everything or indulge it to the max. Maybe it’s you don’t eat certain foods or at least eat them often or go back for seconds. You don’t buy something b/c it’s not in your budget or you realize you don’t have the right motives or you know it is out of impulse, but you don’t buy it. Point being: In self-denial, SELF may still be on the throne in your life, but you have enough discipline (at least in that moment) to deny yourself a certain thing(s).
That’s different from denying self for the sake & love of Christ. SELF-DENIAL CAN MEAN self is still on the throne; DENYING SELF for Christ’s sake means Christ is on the throne; He’s the center of your life, not yourself. It means dying to self, to me! It’s not just denying something TO ME, rather it’s a complete & total denial OF ME, of my flesh, for Jesus.
Kenneth Wuest: deny – to lose sight of one’s self. That’s a great definition – just think how many things do people do or say, how many times or ways do people respond b/c self (themselves) IS in view & very much in view? That’s what causes or elevates the problems, the irritations, isn’t it? B/c self is in view!
So Jesus says to be His follower you must be willing to disown yourself, lose sight of yourself, dethrone self for Him & His sake. Dethrone yourself & enthrone Christ.
For that is what it boils down to - It’s really a question of who sits on the throne of your life: self or Christ? And not in theory or saying the right thing, but in practice, in daily living. Take a look back over this past week – who was really sitting on the throne of your heart; who was calling the shots, who was determining how you would respond to people or situations, who was determining what you did? Was it really Christ determining, defining that or yourself with maybe a little Christian polish to it?
To "deny yourself" means you deny SELF. You no longer consider yourself to be on the throne deter-mining things. You give control of your life to Jesus. Remember the bumper sticker: Jesus is my co-pilot? Please don’t put that on your car. He's not your co-pilot; He's THE pilot, your only pilot. In fact, get in the backseat – and you have to make the choice to do that b/c self is our default pilot. We come out of the womb completely committed to ourselves. So get in the backseat & don't be a back-seat driver or whine like children can do on a long trip. He’s THE pilot, not your chauffeur but THE Pilot, THE Captain.
To deny self means a radical reversal in the way we live. It is a radical renunciation of “me” as the center of my life. We must say like Paul, “I am crucified with Christ & it is no longer I who live (rule), but Christ who lives in me. To crucify means death, death to self!
You know what we’re really talking about here? Surrender - to deny self is to surrender myself, rulership of my life to the Lord. And be aware, there’s a moment of surrender at salvation & then there’s the practice of surrender (sanctification), which is moment-by-moment & lifelong. And not a single day goes by w/o this truth coming into play. Surrender & denying self for Jesus.
To be a Christ-follower means you don’t belong to yourself. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
So all of this is what is involved in Jesus’ call to deny yourself, a requirement that Jesus says is a MUST if you are going to come after Him. So – where do you stand on this? Does this describe your life, your relationship with Jesus? Not asking are you perfect at it, but is this seen & is it growing in your life with Christ? If not, either 1) you’ve misunderstood what it means to follow Jesus or 2) maybe you really don’t have a true relationship with Jesus. Do you today, need to trust in Jesus as your Savior & surrender yourself to Him?
Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, you must deny yourself – and then secondly…
-You must take up your cross!
This has actually been minimized, even cheapen in much of Christianity by saying things like, “Well, we all have our crosses to bear.” Some look at certain difficulties in their lives as their “crosses to bear” – a difficult spouse, a difficult in-law, a difficult job or boss, a difficult set of circumstances. It may be something more serious – a birth defect, a serious illness, the premature death of a loved one. Listen, not to minimized the hardship or pain those can bring, but none of those are crosses. There would have been no confusion for the disciples & the crowd as to what Jesus meant by saying “take up your cross.” They understood the cross meant 1 thing & 1 thing only: death.
The cross has also been turned into a sentimental symbol to wear as a piece of jewelry, & I’m not saying you shouldn’t but I’ve seen it worn by people who quite clearly have no regard for Christ. I’ve even asked myself before, “Why are they wearing a cross? They & their lifestyle stands directly opposite of Jesus & His cross.” B/c it’s a sentimental symbol.
Again, to Jesus’ listeners, a cross was understood as an instrument of execution, similar to what the electric chair use to picture in our society. And unlike contemporary forms of executions, crosses were designed to prolong the agony of death for as along as possible. And the Romans crucified their victims in public, along highways, as a gruesome reminder of what happened to those who defied Caesar’s imperial authority. Estimates suggest that as many as 30,000 Jews were crucified during Jesus’ lifetime.
Jesus’ point was that those who desired to follow Him, rather than seeking prosperity & ease that’s preached in our day, they must be willing to pay any price for Christ’s sake. Thus, it is a willingness to endure shame, embarrassment, reproach, rejection, persecution, & even martyrdom, if necessary.
Not every believer or even most believers, will die as a martyr, but a true follower of Christ should love Christ so fully that even death is not too high a price in exchange for the forgiveness of their sins & promised eternal joy.
To take up the cross then is call to being willing to pay any price for the relationship & blessings & eternal life Jesus gives. True salvation causes a person to view the Lord Jesus & the promise of heaven as so precious that no personal sacrifice is too much. As Paul explained to the believers in Corinth (4:17-18): For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
So when Jesus spoke of taking up the cross, there was nothing mystical in the idea to those hearing His words. They would have immediately pictured a condemn-ed man who literally was required to “take up his cross” – the crossbeam – place it on his shoulders & then carry it to the place of his crucifixion. They literally shouldered the instrument of their death. Thus, for a follower of Christ to take up his cross is to begin the death march – to be willing, in His service, to suffer whatever lies in their path as they follow Christ.
And yet some today, who claim to be a Christian can’t even endure standing up to a friend(s) who might laugh at them for declaring their love & devotion to Jesus. Can’t endure someone whispering about them to others, when they out of love for Christ don’t participate in a certain activity or dress a certain way.
I’m afraid that here in the West, the gospel has become so enculturated that there isn’t category for such “radical” teaching. Yet when you read the book of Acts, & subsequent church history, you discover that Christians literally laid down their lives for Jesus & the gospel. They died for Christ. And millions of Christians today face the same threat. We need to face up to the very real cost that many Christians face for their faith in Jesus & a cost we might face much sooner than later in our country.
Leonard Ravenhill: I had a man chase me one day b/c I said that to become a Christian you must renounce your sin, repent & take up your cross. He said, “Oh no, you mustn't tell young people to take up their cross; you'll frighten them.” I said, "Why don't you argue with the Lord about that, not me?" That's what He said - you take up your cross & follow Me.
We take up our cross when we choose the narrow way over the way of the world, when we choose biblical ethics over compromise, when we choose purity over immorality & fornication, when we choose identification with Christ over identification with this world or friends in this world.
To take up your cross means that you are willing to identify yourself with Christ, His truth, His ways regardless of what it costs you! No, it’s not popular to talk about sacrifice, suffering or death, but that IS what Jesus endured for you. It is the cost He was willing to pay for you. He doesn’t call you to offer, to give anything for Him that He didn’t live out & give to save you.
Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, you must deny yourself, you must take up your cross & thirdly:
-You must follow Me!
To come after Christ a person MUST take their place behind Jesus & follow wherever He leads. And this is in the present tense thus speaking of an ongoing, daily, continuous following Him.
This requires a loyal obedience to Him & His ways. This is the same verb found in John 10:27 where Jesus described His followers in this way: “My sheep hear My voice & I know them & they follow Me.” Like sheep submitting to the voice of their shepherd, we are to be characterized by loving obedience to Him & His Word.
Who were you following this past week? Not in general way but in the specifics of your day? Was He leading you & you followed?
Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, you must deny yourself, you must take up your cross & you must follow Me.
Brethren, what I’ve shared with you today from the lips of Jesus is to be the normal Christian life - and yet tragically in our day, I’m afraid far too many Christians think of it more like the radical Christian life. It’s only for those elite Christians. Not so, at least according to Jesus. So where do you stand in relationship to these MUSTS Jesus says is required to follow Him? Does this describe your life? I’m not saying you are perfect in it, but is there sufficient evidence that you are clearly on this road of following Jesus as He has explained it?
This is a counter-cultural message. Those in charge of marketing would say that Jesus has done an awful, terrible job of marketing His message. It goes against the grain of what our culture promotes & praises. The marketers would classify it as a profoundly unappealing message. They promote following after one’s own heart – follow your heart. Yet Jesus says, “Deny yourself & follow Me! Deny yourself & surrender to Me.”
Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, you must deny yourself, you must take up your cross & you must follow Me.”
And you know what? He has the absolute right to call you to this for #1 He is God & therefore nothing else is required. He is God; He holds your next breath in the palm of His hand. You will stand before Him to give an account.
But there’s a 2nd reason He has the right to call you to this – b/c He took up a cross for you. He is the Almighty God AND He is the Almighty God who loves you, with a love that cost Him greatly, infinitely.
Someone might think, “The cost is too high.” If you think that, they you really don’t comprehend the cost Christ paid to be able to offer you salvation. There is NO comparison to what He commands of you, to what it cost Him to provide salvation, heaven & a relationship with Him. No comparison. Whatever your cost is, is not even on the scale, does not even register on the scale compared to what it cost Him. I’m not minimizing what it cost you, but if you think it’s too high, I challenge you to begin to ask the Lord to open your eyes to see what it cost Him. Ask Him to do that – for as you comprehend what it cost Him, your “cost is too high” thinking will simply melt away.
Do you need to surrender to Him in some way today?
