Take up your cross

May 4th, 2024

This past Sunday I was asked to speak at a middle school event at our church, and this is roughly what I talked about. I enjoyed researching this topic and while there’s probably more I could have said about it, this covers a bit.

Have you ever done something hard? Was it worth it?

When Jesus says that we are to take up our cross, he is telling us that we are going to need to do something hard, to carry something heavy. A cross was not light, it is estimated that Jesus’ cross was around 300 pounds. That is not an easy thing to carry. By telling people to “pick up their cross” Jesus is telling them that following him is not going to be easy, it is going to have a cost. But the cost is worth it. Doing something hard has a cost, but it’s worth it. In the same way, picking up your cross and following Jesus is worth it since without it you cannot truely live.

Mark 8:34-36 “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

So here Jesus commands us to take up our cross if we wish to follow him, but what does it mean to take up your cross? It means surrendering to Jesus, crucifying your flesh, being dead to sin and alive to God, making a commitment that could lead to rejection and other consequences, embracing Christ’s will no matter the cost, total surrender. I like how the notes from the NET Bible phrase it “To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion.” We have to die to ourselves to be alive in God.

How do we do this? By crucifying our flesh, and we do that by not letting sin reign in our bodies. Romans 6:12-14 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace”

We must not let sin reign in our bodies, meaning we should not continue to sin. We should repent and accept God’s grace. Instead of presenting ourselves to sin, we must present ourselves to God, meaning submit to his will, surrender ourselves to him, and then follow him. We can do all of this since we are not under the law but under grace. God’s grace is sufficient for us and he gives it freely. Remember how I said a cross weighed about 300 pounds, who here thinks they could carry 300 pounds? Carrying our cross is even more impossible than that. We cannot do it without God’s grace.

So what? What does this mean for you? If you take one thing away from what I said it should be this: following Jesus is not easy, but it is worth it. Jesus never promises that life will be easy or comfortable if we follow him, but he makes it very clear that is worth it. John 16:32-33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Jesus warns us that we will have trials and hardships, but ultimately He has overcome, and we can have peace in Him.

To finish I want to read something that I found in the Student’s Life Application Bible “If this life is most important to you, you will do everything you can to protect it. You will not want to do anything that might endanger your safety, health, or comfort. By contrast, if following Jesus is most important, you may find yourself in some very unsafe, unhealthy, and uncomfortable places. You will risk death, but you will not fear it because you know Jesus will raise you to eternal life. The person who is concerned only with this life has no such assurance. His earthly life may be longer, but it will most likely be marred by feelings of boredom and worthlessness.” We have two options: a life of safety, comfort and all the world offers, but at the cost of our souls, or an eternal life with Jesus. Each one of us has to choose what life we are going to live and who we are going to live for.