Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, today we will reflect on a theme related to discipleship. And we will learn about the price a disciple must pay through what the Lord Jesus said in His teaching.
In the passage of God's word we see that the Lord Jesus told the people who were following Him about the suffering he would experience. And we also see Peter's reaction, from this it can be seen that Peter still does not understand the mission of Jesus Christ.
And the Lord Jesus took the opportunity to teach those who followed Him. Who are the people who follow the Lord?
Mark 8:34 says, “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Mark divides them into two groups, namely the crowd and His disciples.
The crowds here are probably people who are just joining in, who just want to see miracles. In fact, many who follow Jesus Christ are just following. Sometimes people just want to be in a crowded place. Sometimes we also see a busy restaurant, maybe people just see it's busy, then join the queue there. Just because many people say it's delicious, they also find the food delicious.
Next we see what the Lord Jesus asked, through this opportunity Jesus Christ explained what to do or what God asked of a disciple, and here the Lord emphasized three things, he said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
The first requirement of the Lord Jesus is to deny ourselves.
Humans don't like to deny themselves: Humans are more inclined to elevate themselves, enhance themselves, magnify themselves, and satisfy their desires.
Self-denial is actually an attitude of humbling yourself before God. Paul wrote a beautiful example of the Lord Jesus emptying Himself in Philippians 2:5-11.
When the Lord Jesus became flesh, He completely denied Himself. From the example of the Lord Jesus, we learn the attitude of a self-denying person:
1. Those who deny themselves will put God's will first.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, he did not live for himself, but to fulfill the mission entrusted by the heavenly Father. It is because of this mission that we hear these extraordinary sentences from the Lord: By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30). And in John 4:34 the Lord Jesus said, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
2. Those who deny themselves will hand over the authority of their lives to God
Paul said in Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
My question is who lives in you? After we accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior, will He be the master or just a guest in our life? The guests may only be in the living room, but the host has full power over the house.
If you are a self-denying person, then you will surrender the authority of your life to God like what Paul declared about his relationship with God in the verse above.
Surrendering the authority of life to God, means putting your full trust in God amidst the storms and battles in your life. It means that even though you may be in a very difficult or painful situation, you always believe that God is with you in the midst of your suffering.
Jesus did not die on the cross to end human suffering. Just look around, the world is in pain. There are famines, natural disasters, crime, abortion and many other terrible things. Christ became flesh and filled pain and suffering with His eternal presence.
Jesus is there in the darkest hours of our lives, even in the struggles and trials we face every day.
As he willingly emptied himself for us, so we must deny ourselves for him.
3. Those who deny themselves are those who are willing to be renewed by the Holy Spirit at any time.
This is a real process of self-denial, through which we distance ourselves from self-centered idols.
This is in stark contrast to the world and the modern day, where everyone puts a lot of emphasis on carnal stuff like self-esteem, self-fulfilment, self-worth, self-actualization, and all kinds of self-centered emphasis.
The purpose of flesh-centered people is to enrich themselves, make themselves happy, and even if they experience God's miracles and works, they are not glorifying God, but fulfilling their own desires.
That's why Jesus told us to deny ourselves because the root of the problems happening in this world is human beings, is ourselves. Many problems happen because a person is narcissistic and selfish.
Paul in Galatians also describes the condition of humans who live according to the flesh and according to the Holy Spirit.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
There are many things in us that are not suitable for God's kingdom and for God's use. Many old preferences that our old selves loved had to be discarded. The Lord Jesus wants to treat us like a gardener who picks up useless twigs. A self-denying person is cleansed and renewed by the Holy Spirit every moment, making him more like the Lord Jesus.
The second requirement of the Lord Jesus is to take up our cross.
The cross is the way to glory.
As Christians, we strive to live according to God's will. We are committed to keeping His commandments, we don't live like the world tells us. Living this way comes with persecution, temptation and pain. We must take up our cross for Jesus. He is with us every step of the way.
Just as Christ was raised on the third day, those who love God and believe in Him will be victorious in this life and in the world to come.
To be willing to bear the cross is to acknowledge our identity as disciples of Christ. The relationship with God is the foundation of getting close to God, firmly bearing the cross is a relationship full of trust in God, acknowledging God’s love and sacrifice, fully knowing that you are God’s redeemed person, you are no longer arrogant, but you must be upright like Christ .
Taking up the cross is also a firm attitude of loving God. The attitude of daring to say “no” to sin and all desires or pleasures that go against God’s will, and daring to say “yes” to obey God’s will. Even with high prices.
Taking up the cross involves God and ourselves as one, as the Holy Spirit who dwells in us guides us to the truth and enables us to understand God's Word (John 16:13; Ephesians 3:16-17). It can be seen from this that those who bear the cross are those who are willing to let go of their own desires and melt into obedience to what the Lord Jesus wants.
His soul becomes a vessel into which the will of God is poured out, bringing his thoughts and feelings under the control of Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus took up the cross for us, as his followers, we too must be prepared to imitate him and take up our cross as faithful servants of God.
The third requirement of the Lord Jesus is to follow Him.
"I have decided to follow Jesus" is one of the oldest songs still sung today. The song's lyrics are taken from the last words of a man in the state of Assam in northeastern India. In the middle of the 19th century, he and his family decided to accept the Lord Jesus. The Assamese chief forced him to renounce his faith, but the man said "I have decided to follow Jesus". Although the leader and residents threatened to behead him, the man was not afraid, and kept saying: "Though no one joins me, still I will follow"
His wife was killed for her faith and the man was later executed when he sang "The cross before me, the world behind me". The faith this man showed caused the village chief and all the villagers to repent and follow Jesus.
Let us who are loved by God, we ask God to give us a God-like heart with compassion for lost souls. Also pray that the Holy Spirit will give us the courage to preach the gospel of salvation to many people, so that many people will be saved through our ministry.
Let us respond to God's demands by denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him wholeheartedly. Amen
