Bear My Cross

Luke 9:23; 14:27

“And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me’” (Lk. 9:23, NASB). One of the favorite songs that we sang in the church that I grew up in is entitled, “Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?” The “A” part of the first verse of this song asks a question: “Must Jesus Bear the cross alone and all the world go free” The “B” part of verse one answer the question with these words: “No, there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me.” This song and others written about the cross raise some interesting thoughts and questions. First, we ask, “does the scripture support the idea that we have a cross to bear? Jesus bore His cross to Calvary. He was hung on the cross, and He died for the sins of the world. Since Jesus died once for all why do I need to bear a cross? What does the hymn writer mean when he says that there is a cross for me? I want to answer these questions in this article. In today’s church culture there seems to be the idea that Christianity is about being blessed. Christians are to follow certain rules and guidelines that assure them that they will enjoy the “abundant life” (John 10:10). One gospel DJ here in Nashville says, “I’m too blessed to be stressed.” Do you think that bearing a cross is stress free? The scripture tells us that as Jesus was being lead to Golgotha hill He became weak under the weight of the cross. The scripture says: “When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus” (Lk. 23:26, NASB). Obviously, carrying a cross, especially the cross of Jesus is not a stress free endeavor. Rather, bearing one’s cross is an intentional ongoing effort as one strives toward a desired end. All three of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke record that Jesus tells those who want to follow Him that they must be willing to bear their own cross. These scripture include Matt. 10:38, 16:24; Mk. 8:34, 10:21; Lk. 9:23, 14:27. I will use Luke 9:23 as a launching point for this discussion. Luke 9:23 is written at the beginning of this article. I like Luke’s recording in this verse because he adds the word “daily” indicating that carrying one’s cross is done on a daily basis. For me, it also indicates that what constitutes my cross for the day may be different from what constituted my cross yesterday. So, according to scripture, what is required of me in order that I may carry my cross? As we look through these scriptures the first thing that jumps out at me is this. I must deny myself. Now, what does this mean? This first requirement can be quite troublesome because many people look at Christianity more in terms of getting than they do in giving. As stated earlier, for many, Christianity is about being blessed, but the religion that Jesus proclaims is more about sacrifice and giving. When Jesus says that I must deny myself He means that I am not to put my desires and perceived needs above the life that Jesus is calling me to. We have this example: “Another of the disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead’” (Matt. 8:21-22, NASB). Burying one’s father is an expected and honorable thing to do. The point here, it seems to me, is that Jesus is telling the man that following Him is a higher priority than burying one’s father. Others can bury the dead, but no one else can answer God’s call on one’s life. When God calls you, you and you alone can answer God’s call. Indeed, Jesus emphasizes we must deny family relationships. He says, ‘“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple”’ (Lk 14:26, NASB). The word “hate” means to love less. Thus, one’s love for Jesus is more important than one’s love for a family member. So, honoring one’s father by taking the time to bury him is less important than following Jesus. In addition, Jesus tells us that you must love yourself less than you love Me. We must be willing to die for the sake of Jesus. Jesus issues this challenge: ‘“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” Lk. (9:24-26, NASB). As we look at the history of the Christian community we learn that the community has grown through the martyr of many saints. History shows us that when the saints seek to live in harmony and agreement with the world and its unjust systems of economics, morals, ethics, and social justice the church suffers loss of life and influence in the world. When we deny ourselves we are putting our trust in Jesus. We do not worry about our personal needs. We believe Jesus when He tells us that food and clothing, necessities of life, are provided for us every day. We need not worry about these things because the Father knows that we need them. Just as the Father feeds the birds and clothes the lilies of the field, He does the same for us. We are worth more than birds and flowers (Matt. 6:25-34). As Christ followers our first priority is this: ‘“But seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (v. 33). We must remove anything that will hinder us from taking up the cross. What is the cross that we are to carry? We must bear the persecution and suffering that comes with being a witness for the cause of Jesus Christ. You may ask what the cause of Jesus Christ is. Jesus dies on the cross to save humankind from their sins so that they are forgiven of sins and reconciled to the Father. Thus, we deny our own comfort so that we may be about the mission of telling the world about Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God come in the flesh to die for sin. There is no name under heaven other than the name of Jesus that can save us. There is no other way to the Father except through Jesus. Why is this cross? As stated earlier the name of Jesus is opposed in the world. Those who proclaim His name and tell of salvation in His name must bear the burden of ridicule, persecution, loss, and death. We must consider the context in which Jesus says these things. How do the laws of the laws of the United States of America give Christians freedom not available to those that heard the words of Jesus? In Jesus’ day the laws supported killing the saints. The Roman law made the emperor a god. The Romans believed in many gods. That Christians denied the emperor as their god was treason. The denial of the Roman pantheon of gods meant that they were atheists. The new doctrine was an affront to the Roman culture and religious belief. The antagonism between the church and the world continues through every generation. Even today, there are places in the world where Christianity is against the law. Christians are persecuted and killed. Christians must hide and meet in secret in order to stay alive. Can you think of ways in which Christians in America are persecuted and denied their religious liberties? How does your stand for the name of Jesus affect your relationship with family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors? Am I silent about my faith in Jesus? Do I keep silent on issues that challenge the spread of the gospel so that I can avoid confrontation or am I willing to openly stand for Jesus and His teaching? Jesus wants us to be His disciple. He wants us to follow Him. He wants us to learn of Him. He wants us to obey His teaching for how we live in this dark world. Jesus wants us to be a light in the world so that people can see Jesus, come to Jesus, confess their sins, receive forgiveness of sin, and be reconciled to the Father. Fellow Christians this is what it means to be saved. Our cross is being willing to deny ourselves, take up our cross and do whatever the Lord calls us to do for the purpose of bringing souls to salvation in Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus bore His cross, we too must bear our cross.