The Road To The Cross Series

The fact that the first disciples weren’t too bright gives me hope–because there’s still a lot about being a disciple I don’t understand! Most of us have a hard time understanding the full meaning of the cross. We must learn that: The cross is not just an historical event; it is a present reality for every disciple. I’m not talking about wearing a cross around your neck or carrying a cross in your pocket. Every disciple of Jesus must walk the road to the cross. It’s our daily pattern. The first verse I learned when I took MasterLife years ago was Luke 9:23. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” That verse is a lot easier to memorize it than to actually practice. It means we must acknowledge that our ego, the “big I,” has been crucified. A verse I quote nearly every day is Galatians 2:20. It says, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” If we allow “I” to remain at the center of our lives, “I” wants to get all the attention. “I” likes to boast, and “I” loves to be recognized and praised by the world. Every real disciple must embrace this attitude: “For my part, I am going to boast in nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others, and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate.” (Galatians 6:14, The Message)

For years, I thought carrying the cross was some kind of miserable experience in which the more I suffered the holier I was. Some people even seek suffering; they crawl on their knees for miles, or mutilate their bodies. As I was trying to be a holy, miserable disciple, I kept reading about how “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) and how I should rejoice in the Lord always! I was confused. Was I supposed to suffer or rejoice? Simple, I was to rejoice in my suffering. Remember there is the pain of the cross, but there’s the glory of the resurrection, too.

I found the key in Hebrews 12:2. It says, “For the joy that was set before Him, (Jesus) endured the cross and despised the shame.” (Hebrews 12:2). What was the JOY set before Jesus? What enabled Him to look through the pain? I believe it can be found in the very first thing Jesus said from the cross, “Father forgive them.” That’s the joy that was set before Him–the joy of forgiveness.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor in WWII who was arrested and died in a concentration camp for refusing to go along with Hitler’s policies. While in prison, He came to understand the cost of discipleship, and was able to experience joy in the midst of his suffering. He wrote: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die…The cross is there right from the beginning, you have only got to pick it up. There is no need for a disciple to go out and look for a cross, no need to deliberately run after suffering. Our forgiveness came by the cross of Christ, thus the call to follow Christ always means to share the work of forgiving men their sins. forgiveness is the Christ-like suffering which it is the Christian’s duty to bear.” (The Cost of Discipleship, pp. 99-100) And Bonhoeffer forgave his Nazi guards before they executed him–he told them, “I forgive you for what you’re about to do.” But he had to die to himself before he could forgive them. They didn’t really hurt him when they executed him because he was already dead–dead to self.