Faithfully Follow: When the Cross Makes It Hard Luke 9:18-24 062313M
How much weight can you lift? Sometimes people have weight restrictions, so that they can only lift ten pounds or less. Others do weight lifting so they build up their muscles. Then they can lift even more weight. Jesus lifted weight too. It was his cross. The cross is a symbol of Christ and all he suffered. Jesus tells us we also carry a cross as we follow him. Thus our theme FAITHFULLY FOLLOW:
Faithfully Follow: When the Cross Makes It Hard
1. Consider Jesus' cross.
2. Carry your own cross.
1. Every civilization has invented its own means of execution. Today in our country we might think of lethal injection, or, in the past, electric chair or the gallows. Some of these means were downright brutal, but few were more brutal than crucifixion. It was not designed to be a painless death. On the contrary, it was designed to torture its victim. The word "excruciating" has the word for "cross" in its root, meaning "out of crucifying." As difficult as it is to faithfully follow when the cross makes it hard, we need first to Consider Jesus' Cross.
That begs a simple question. Who is Jesus? In our lesson, Jesus asked his disciples what others thought about him: 18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"19 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." As Jesus and his disciples prayed in private, both probably cherished the quiet moments they were able to spend together. They were few and far between. Jesus posed the question of what others were saying about him. There were many different ideas about him, although he made it clear who he was. Still, many got him mixed up with John the Baptist, Jesus' forerunner, and Elijah, God's Old Testament pattern for John the Baptist, one of the great prophets of Israel. Or they thought he was one of those other prophets come back to life.
But the most important question was to follow about who was carrying the cross. What did the disciples themselves believe about Jesus? So Jesus asked: 20 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God." Note that Jesus posed his question to all of them. But Peter, being the most vocal, and the spokesman for the group, gave his answer. And it was a good one. Another gospel writer gives his complete answer, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In either case, Peter acknowledged that Jesus was sent by God as the anointed one, chosen to be the sin bearer and the Savior of the world (what Christ really was). In fact, Jesus was God himself, as a human being, because Christ was also called "Emmanuel" (God with us), fulfilling the prophecy that "God has come to help his people."
That Jesus was the Christ of God meant something as far as his work and mission were concerned. It meant the cross: 21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Jesus told them not to tell anyone who he really was because he didn't want to set the events in motion leading up to the cross before their time. But the cross was coming. It would include his rejection by his own people and his death, and, since only the Romans had the power to execute anyone, and they used crucifixion as the preferred means of execution, the means of that death would be crucifixion. And Jesus also predicted that he would rise from the dead--on the third day after he died. Jesus clearly foretold that event and when it would happen.
How heavy was Jesus' cross? In his weakened state, Simon from Cyrene carried it for Jesus for awhile. The wood from the crossbeam alone probably weighed about 100 pounds. But the cross was much heavier than that. Neither Simon nor anyone else could carry its weight--only Jesus, the sinless Son of God, God incarnate. That's because with the cross came all human sin, and God's punishment for those sins, namely, being forsaken by God. As Isaiah said in prophecy: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is 53:5-6). No wonder Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death in Gethsemane even at the thought of what he was going to endure! But Jesus carried the cross and all that went with it to save us. It was God's plan.
Christ and his cross are still central to Christianity. Yet, people still have weird and wrong ideas about the one who carried the cross. If you asked, "Who do people say Jesus is?" you'd still get some of the same answers. He's a great teacher, a prophet, a wonderful example of love and sacrifice. Those things are true, but if that's all he was, we still have no Savior. We only have a role model we'll only imperfectly imitate, to our own damnation. Jesus carried his cross and the burden of our sins FOR us. He was punished in our place, abandoned by God on the cross. That's foolishness to natural man, but pure wisdom of God. But the cross is foolishness--God's stupidity as Paul once called it. Yet it is also his wisdom. Who do YOU say Jesus is? That's the question. He still is the Christ of God, the one chosen to bear the cross, and with it, the responsibility for our sins. How much does responsibility weigh? Consider presidents of the United States before and after they come into office: four years later they look ten years older. It's the weight of the responsibility. Think of Jesus bearing responsibility for every sin you ever committed and every good thing you ever omitted--every sin of everyone. No wonder that weight crushed him. But it's off of you! He bore the cross for you! Consider Jesus' cross as you faithfully follow.
2. So now Jesus calls on you to faithfully follow, even when the cross makes it hard because it's also necessary to Carry Your Own Cross. Jesus says that doing so is absolutely necessary for anyone who wants to faithfully follow him: 23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Three things go together: denying yourself, carrying your cross, and following Jesus. To deny yourself means to say "NO" to yourself, that is to your sinful flesh. It's the opposite of denying Jesus as Peter did. Instead, you say YES to Jesus and NO to yourself. In doing so, you "take up your cross daily"--yes, every single day, day in and day out! THEN you're following Jesus, the third thing he mentions.
So exactly what is the cross Jesus says we have to carry? It's something that is heavy, difficult, and distasteful as Jesus' own cross. The cross is any hardship, any burden, any difficulty disciples endure because they belong to Jesus. Could it be ridicule or persecution for believing in Jesus, as it was with the first disciples, many of whom literally bore crosses as Jesus did? Yes! What about health problems? People problems? If those things tempt disciples to turn away from Jesus and deny him, yes, those are part of their cross. The daily struggle against temptation, sin, doubt and despair is part of that cross. If Christ were not in the picture, there would be no struggle, no burden, no cross.
What's the point of bearing that cross? Jesus says, 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. If you want to save yourself, that is, be your own person, live life "my way," and enjoy all the pleasures and treasures this sinful world holds out to you, you will ultimately lose your life eternally. But if you say "NO" to yourself and the desires of your sinful flesh, and, in so doing, say "YES" to Christ, ultimately you'll save your life. You'll save it because you'll be holding on to Jesus and the fact that HE saved YOU! Because of him you'll be saved eternally.
So what is your cross? Maybe it's an enduring illness, knowing and trusting that you're in the Lord's hands even when it seems like he's dropping you. Maybe it's a struggle with a nasty temptation that keeps coming back like a weed in the garden of your soul, like anger, lust, of jealousy of someone else. Maybe it's the attitude of a friend who doesn't understand your faith, and makes fun of what you believe. All our crosses are different, yet they're all the same in that they're a struggle and a weight we carry for Christ, if we're not to deny him. What is the Lord accomplishing by having us carry our cross? It's strengthening our faith muscles as we follow. And what happens when we THINK the cross is too heavy and we drop it? What happens when we say YES to ourselves and NO to him? Remember HIS cross! He carried your sin and guilt too, even for THAT time. And he says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened , and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Mt 11:28-30). Again we are forgiven, and again Jesus invites us to pick up that cross and keep following. We can even welcome that cross, and carry it willingly and joyfully, because we know it keeps us connected to Jesus.
Then, considering Jesus' cross, we carry our own, faithfully following even when the cross is makes it hard. It's a dear and beloved cross when we have found our life in Jesus! Because of his cross, no one will ever take that life away! Amen.
Luke 9:18-24
FAITHFULLY FOLLOW:
Faithfully Follow: When the Cross Makes It Hard
1. Consider Jesus' cross.
2. Carry your own cross.
18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"19 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."
20 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."
21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is 53:5-6).
23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened , and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Mt 11:28-30).