The Disciples of Christ
7 - Taking up the Cross
In my last talk we looked at the Lord Jesus Christ’s ‘Charter of Discipleship’ as found in Matthew chapter 16 verse 24. We saw that in His statement "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me," the Lord was calling for five things: Decision, Discipline, Determination, Dedication and Devotion.
Having looked at the first two of these, we now come to the third one which is DETERMINATION, and linked with this the phrase: "and take up his cross." This will be the real test for anyone who would be a disciple of the Lord Jesus because it has to do with: Sacrifice, Hardship, Persecution - Rejection - Submission and Suffering.
I once read that Jesus Christ loves His followers far too well, to hide from them the cost and consequence of discipleship. So He never veils the hardness of the way, nor tones down the moral requirement, in order to gain followers. So we hear Him say, in Matthew chapter 10 verse 38, "Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me." And, in Luke chapter 14 verse 27, "And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple."
To the Lord Jesus Christ, the cross meant essentially His total submission to the will of God His Father. He said in John chapter 6 verse 38, "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me." And, in the Garden of Gethsemane, anticipating the awful prospect of the cross of Calvary, we hear Him say: "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me; yet not as I will, but as you will." Taking up the cross then to the disciple of Jesus can mean taking up the will of God - even if it leads to suffering or even death. Some of the disciples listening to Jesus on this occasion, including Peter and John, would eventually lay down their lives for Him.
Some years ago I read this statement which has been a help to me: "Every disciple must take up that which the wise God has made his cross. we must not make crosses for ourselves, but must submit ourselves to those which God has made for us. our rule is not to go a step out of the way of duty, either to meet a cross or to miss one, but we must be prepared to take them up when they are laid in our way.”
Before we leave this important point, we need to remember that in bearing the cross Disciples of Christ follow His supreme example. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2 puts it this way, speaking of the Lord: "Who endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God. Consider Him, who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
We now come to the final challenge in Christ’s Charter of Discipleship. Two words of great importance spoken by Jesus: "Follow me." They remind us again that our discipleship centres totally upon Him. He is the one who said: "Come to me" - "Learn of me" - "Abide in me"-and "Follow me." I have suggested that this calls for dedication and devotion, and these are two words which are closely related to each other. The word dedication is defined in the dictionary as ‘devotion to a vocation’, or ‘having single-minded loyalty.’ So, the apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians chapter 1, says, "For to me to live is Christ." In other words Christ is my total motivation; everything I am, have and can do is dedicated to His cause. Such single-minded loyalty is in itself devotion. What a word this is! It means to consecrate - give up oneself, one’s life and efforts to a person, purpose or pursuit. To be devoted is to be zealously loyal or loving.
Another definition of the word ‘devotion’ is : Strong attachment out of ardent love. The lesson then is very clear. We will only ever follow the Lord faithfully and effectively, if love for Him is our priority. Peter, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, had to learn this lesson the hard way, by painful experience. In Matthew chapter 19 verse 27, he said to his Master, "We have left everything to follow you." In Matthew chapter 26 verse 35, just before the Lord Jesus was arrested, Peter also said to Him, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." A little later, in verse 58 we read that when they took Jesus away, Peter followed at a distance. But, when he was really put to the test, just as the Lord had predicted, "Before the cock crows you will disown me three times." The clear lesson from this, for you and me, is that promises are easily made, but carrying them out can be something quite different! The Bible goes on to tell us that after this Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Shortly afterwards the Lord Jesus gave His life on the cross for sinful mankind. He was buried, and on the third day was raised triumphantly from the dead. Then he appeared to the disciples on a number of occasions, and one of these appearances is recorded in John chapter 21. In verses 15 to 19 the Lord speaks directly to Peter. Three times He asks, "Do you really love Me?" Some say that here the Lord was graciously giving Peter the opportunity to put right his three denials of his Master. Peter twice replies, "You know that I love you!" The third time he says, "Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you!" The Lord then says to him, "Feed my sheep." He is to become a shepherd to his Master’s flock. He is given a pastoral role in Christ’s church.
Then the Lord describes how Peter will eventually lose his life for his Lord, and He tells him that "in this you will glorify God."
The Lord’s final words to Peter are those two important words we thought about earlier: "Follow me."
True, dedicated following will never come about out of a sense of duty or obligation to the Lord. It must be the result of undying love for Him Who loved you and gave Himself for you.