Our Own Cross to Bear
Mark 8: 34-38
I. Introduction
I have to be honest. Preparing this message has been a challenge. It’s a hard word, but it is Jesus explaining the very heart of discipleship. The words Jesus spoke that day to his disciples and to the crowd are just as pertinent to discipleship today as they were then. Nothing has changed.
And here’s the thing: Jesus spoke to the crowds as well as the disciples, so this is not some program for advanced Christians. This is entry-level stuff…an entry-level class in basic discipleship.
A contemporary issue is that we’ve grown accustomed to convenience and an easy discipleship—in the western church, anyway. We have turned Christianity into something that costs very little — attendance, affiliation, maybe some generosity—in contrast to what Jesus described. When Jesus first defined discipleship, He described execution. Dietrich Bonhoeffer quote—“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die” (The Cost of Discipleship). We’ve spent the last 100 years trying to redefine it.
II. Self-Denial
The first thing we lose when we come to faith in Jesus is the steering wheel. Carrie Underwood—Jesus Take the Wheel. Jesus is my co-pilot? Means one thing: we’re in the wrong seat. I’ve got my “little” Jesus sitting on my truck dashboard. Jesus always rides along with me wherever I go, but does it remind me that I’m not in control, or do I just invite Him to come go with me?
Too many times, we come to the church for self-improvement not self-denial. We want to come to church to learn how to be a better spouse, or a better parent, or a better whatever. We come to church to learn how to be a better disciple. Be a better disciple and you’ll be a better spouse or better parent or better whatever. And, basic discipleship begins with self-denial. What are we looking for? Jesus doesn’t want a better version of ourselves. He wants a crucified version of ourselves.
III. Take Up the Cross
Your cross to bear is not your mother-in-law. Your cross to bear is not your mean boss. Your cross to bear is not your cancer. The cross is not something we’re given. The cross is something we willingly embrace. What sacrifice are we willing to make for the Kingdom’s sake? That’s the question every disciple must grapple with.
The cross means one thing—death. That’s what everyone that day heard. Crucifixion was a horrible, humiliating death. The crowd would have been accustomed to seeing thousands of them a year. It was the Romans preferred method of execution.
It was an incredible image, but it was also a very discomforting image. Here’s the thing: We cannot follow a crucified Savior and demand a comfortable life. The church has chosen comfort over conviction. We choose comfortable crosses that we can wear around our neck or hang upon the wall. We like our cross bumper sticker on the car or the little wooden one we can carry in our pocket. We like to believe Jesus died on the cross so we don’t need to. That’s not what Jesus says. Jesus says, “I’m going to the cross. Come go with me.” What did the cross cost Jesus? Everything. What will it cost us? The same. The cross is not a brand—it’s a burden!
IV. Follow Me (Obedience)
The world tells us to “follow your heart,” but Jesus says, “Follow me.” The prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV). The heart in Scripture is not a compass; it’s corrupted. We don’t need affirmation. We need transformation. We don’t need affirmation of our desires. We need transformation of our desires. Discipleship means obedience to the call of Christ and the way of Christ.
We can belong to a church for 20 years and never follow Jesus a single step. Discipleship is not simply belonging to a church. We are not called to belong to a church, we’re called to follow Jesus—to be disciples. By simply belonging to a church without becoming disciples we make the church nothing more than a social club. It’s great to belong. We all want to belong. Belonging is a gift. Becoming is the goal.
Following Jesus means we reframe how we view the world and our place in it. It challenges our every assumption about life, family, politics, etc. That’s really how “repentance” unfolds, and remember, repent was Jesus first word in ministry—it is the doorway to discipleship. How does that flesh out in real life, at least from Jesus’s perspective? As Luke records it in Luke 14: 26ff, “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple’.” It changes our worldview.
Likewise, with politics. We awoke yesterday to the news that the US had attacked Iran. That’s not good news no matter which side of the political spectrum one resides upon. In times like these, as disciples we need to be reminded of Jesus’s words in the Sermon on the Mount: 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48 NIV).
Jesus’s own words should give us pause, even in our patriotism (and I’m a patriot!). That doesn’t mean disciples are naïve about evil. It means our posture toward enemies is shaped by Jesus, not by headlines.
V. Conclusion
If following Jesus hasn’t cost us something, we may not be following Him. And, I remind you, this message has not been an easy one to preach, but I feel the cost in my own life.
See, this discipleship thing…this cross thing…this Gospel thing is a paradox. That’s what Jesus says: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the Gospel will save it.” We must lose to gain. That’s an other-worldly view. That’s an eternal perspective, and we must remember, this world is not our home. We are citizens of another Kingdom.
Self-denial feels like loss. The cross feels like loss. Obedience feels like loss. Jesus says the only way to truly live is to die. Jesus knew the cross was not the end of life. He knew the cross was the doorway to real life. That is hope, my friend. That is resurrection logic. That is Easter logic. Yes, we’re on a journey to the cross. It’s a challenging journey, but Easter waits at the end. Jesus thought it was worth His life. I think that’s worth mine. Is it worth yours? Amen!
