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Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples
near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I
am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah,
and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has
arisen.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I
am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” He sternly
ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, “The
Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by
the elders, chiefs, priests, and scribes, and be killed, and
on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my
followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross
daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life
will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will
save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole
world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed
of me and my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed
when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of
the holy angels. But truly I tell you, there are some standing
here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of
God.”
So here’s Jesus, probably feeling pretty good after just
relieving a crippled woman of her pain, raising a hysterical
mother’s daughter from the dead, and not to mention feeding
over five thousand hungry people from five loaves of bread and
two fish. Naturally, he wonders what everyone’s been saying
about him. Jesus asks his disciples and they give him the low
down. Jesus gets some answers; John the Baptist, Elijah, just
another prophet… So Jesus asks his disciples, “Well, who
do you say I am?” And Peter answers, quite accurately,
“The Messiah.” Jesus
warns the disciples not to tell anyone else, and also tells
the disciples of the long, painful, trying journey he has to
make, ultimately leading to his death at the cross. Jesus
names the heart of discipleship for anyone who wants to walk
with him in his journey to the cross. He has already made it
clear that this isn’t going to be just a walk in the park,
but a journey full of trials and hardships.
Jesus begins by setting the bar for anyone who wishes to
follow him. “If any want to become my followers, let them
deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow
me.” We know that Jesus’ cross was martyrdom, and a burden
he was destined to carry from the beginning. Jesus carried the
burden of his cross so all of us wouldn’t have to, and
instructs his disciples to take up their
crosses, not his. Jesus not only distinguishes between his
cross and ours, but also tells the disciples to take up their
crosses daily—another indication that Jesus isn’t suggesting martyrdom
for our lives, and also instructing that the cross should be
central to one’s life. Jesus isn’t asking us to bear
inescapable burdens to follow him, but rather to opt for
voluntary sacrifice, which involves struggles that differ with
each individual.
Okay, Jesus, great. We’ll take up our own crosses daily to
follow you. But what exactly does that mean? If we’re not
meant to bear your cross, could you explain ours? The answer
to that question involves a personal evaluation of our own
lives. Essentially, Jesus is asking his disciples, namely us,
to lay down their lives to follow God’s will. Each one of us
is held captive by our own struggles that prevent this
partnership Jesus wants to have with us. Jesus wants us to
confront these hard things—as Dr. Ritter once described
perfectly as “fears afraid of facing, people afraid of
confronting, wrongs afraid of righting, corrections afraid to
make, truth afraid of telling”—in order to follow him.
When we really look at these things and carry them in our
walk, we can become not only followers but examples to all of
those touched by our lives.
I’m sure that considering our similar ages and lifestyles,
to a certain extent we share some of the same crosses, and
I’m sure you all have some of your own. After somewhat
unwillingly looking at my life, I found that my cross included
lots of broken relationships…between family and friends,
wronged areas in my life I’ve been too stubborn to correct.
My cross also includes my personal struggle to standing up for
the things I believe in even when no one else seems to agree
or even understand. Whether you share these crosses or
struggle in other areas of your life, we can all name our own
crosses, and the next step is learning how to journey with
these crosses. Well,
Jesus thought about that one, too, and the passage continues
with three guidelines to living daily with our crosses.
Luke 9:24 reads, “For those who want to save their life will
lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save
it.” Jesus’ first guideline attacks the self-reliant
approach to living that all too often creeps into our minds.
Setting your own interests above God’s is not only
counter-productive and a roadblock in your journey, but
becomes destructive as it sends you down a completely
different road. It’s all too easy to become caught up in the
worries, stress and fears of our own lives, but by doing this
we ultimately lose out on what God wants. Jesus asks us to
hand him the keys and get out of the driver’s seat. Easier
said than done. Laying your life down is one of the biggest
tests of your faith, but Jesus gets that and he, better than
anyone, understands what it means to take a leap of faith.
Guideline number two takes the form of a question, as Jesus
asks, “What does it profit them if they gain the whole
world, but lose or forfeit themselves?” Jesus is talking
about materialism— nasty greed and a desire to have every
“thing” our society tells us we want. Jesus asks what we
could possibly gain from attaining earthly things if we lose
ourselves in them. Jesus’ question is a valid one. It just
takes one look at lottery outcomes to understand how one can
gain the world but lose themselves in the midst of it all.
Studies have shown that among those “lucky” people who win
the lottery, there is a higher divorce and alcoholism rate,
and these people lose their friends and become completely
isolated, and many go broke within a decade of winning the
lottery. Although these people have “gained the world,”
they have “forfeited themselves,” and they, better than
anyone can answer Jesus’ question: “What does it profit
them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit
themselves?” Nothing.
Jesus’ last guideline to journeying with the cross is a
warning for anyone who feels shame rather than pride in God.
“Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the
Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and in
the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Jesus
basically says that what goes around comes around. Any that
are aware of God’s love but are too ashamed to spread the
Word are not only disgracing God, but depriving others of the
knowledge of God. Discipleship can’t be a secretive journey;
a crucial element to following Jesus is being an example and a
reflection of Jesus.
I think it’s important to acknowledge that throughout this
lesson to the disciples, Jesus isn’t so much concerned about
the disciples’ belief in him, but more that they follow in
his ways. Jesus isn’t suggesting here that his disciples
force-feed their beliefs to others, but rather live in a way
that serves all of humanity, and therefore encapsulating all
that is the essence of Jesus.
So what can we do? Be there for friends and family when the
rest of the world leaves them alone, help out a neighbor who
is in a bind, try to make life a little easier for our parents
by helping out in ways they don’t expect, tutor a struggling
classmate, or spend some time doing something for someone they
can’t do for themselves.
Again, this is much easier said than done. Although it
must’ve been a little harder for Jesus’ disciples to
publicly live for Jesus, as their lives were constantly in
jeopardy, it’s a stretch, but sometimes I feel like I can
relate and I think you can, too. Smirks from certain friends
when they hear about all the time spent at church and the
not-so-nice labels that are associated with being Christian
can be very trying at times. Again, Jesus, better than anyone,
understands what it means to suffer in the name of God.
So all we’ve got to do in order to follow Jesus is look deep
into ourselves and shed light on all the dark, scary places,
hand our lives completely over to God, put our desire for
earthly things on a back seat to our desire to follow God, and
openly demonstrate our love for Jesus. Easy, right?
I don’t think so. This is all a little overwhelming,
but after his long list of “dos and don’ts,” Jesus
throws in a little motivation to send us walking down the road
with him. “But truly I tell you, there are some standing
here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of
God.”
Jesus tells the disciples that if they can carry their crosses
through this world, they won’t have to die in order to
experience heaven. I’m sure many of you, especially any who
have been on a church mission trip, have experienced “God
moments” similar to the moments Jesus is describing here.
Playing with the kids at a SOS work site, seeing all your hard
work pay off in your homeowner’s appreciation at the end of
a long week, watching the sun set over the Mississippi River,
and finally sitting amongst new and old friends at the end of
a long week, hearing about their experiences.
Now all of this may sound like a nice story and great in
theory. But I’m here to tell you that it is because, in one
way or another, you have taken up your crosses that I was ever
introduced to Christianity and continue to come to church
today.
Not long before our passage in Luke, King Herod had heard
about some of the things Jesus had been doing and was curious
about who this Jesus guy could be. Herod questions, “Who is
this about whom I hear such things?” And he tried to see
him.
Four years ago I was Herod, and had observed something unique
in these “Christians” I had encountered. My curiosity got
the best of me, and I found myself wanting in on whatever
secret these Christians shared. I was questioning who this
Jesus guy must be, and if it wasn’t for so many of you, I
would’ve never come to the church, and who knows where I’d
be now. I believe so adamantly in this teaching because I’ve
experienced what it’s like to be on the other side, and how
drastically my life was affected by everyone who has carried
their cross.
So as you’re getting ready for Lent, deciding what you
should give up and then counting down the days until you can
have it back, remember that Lent is Jesus’ journey to the
cross, and it’s a great time to embark on a journey with
your own cross. No one can tell you where we’re going to end
up, but we’re not expected to have the answers, just to step
down that path less traveled and follow.
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