The Way of The Cross
In a recent blog, Randy Alcorn discusses why God allows
suffering in the lives of his people: Mountain climbers could save time and
energy if they reached the summit in a helicopter, but their ultimate purpose
is conquest, not efficiency. Sure, they want to reach a goal, but they desire
to do it by testing and deepening their character, discipline, and resolve.
God could create scientists,
mathematicians, athletes, and musicians. He doesn’t. He creates children who
take on those roles over a long process. God doesn’t make us fully Christlike
the moment we’re born again. He gradually conforms us to the image of Christ: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his
image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the
Spirit. (2 Cor 3:18).
We improve and excel in our
spiritual, professional, sports, and hobbies by handling failure
and learning from it. We find satisfaction and reward only in cultivating discipline,
endurance, and patience. And those qualities are mostly developed through some
form of suffering.”[1] God
ensures a pathway that leads to greater Godliness and a life of purpose and
fulfillment. However difficult it may be, if we don’t give up, we become more
Christlike.
During Lent, as followers of Christ,
we may give up certain things to pause and reflect on the passion of Christ on
His Way to the Cross. In so doing, we identify with Christ’s suffering; our struggles
and sufferings will hopefully fall into a proper perspective. Lent should not
be limited to a once-a-year, 40-day reflection for a true disciple of Christ.
Instead, it should be a way of life. In Mark 8:31-38, Jesus challenged
his followers and disciples to walk in The Way of the Cross. We
will see that this Way of the Cross is not meant only for those disciples but
also for everyone who wants to follow Jesus closer. Let’s see what The Way of
The Cross entails.
Where was Jesus on the way to the
Cross when he laid out this pathway? Jesus revealed to Peter one of the
greatest revelations of all time: He was the long-awaited Messiah. Right after
that high moment, he made his first prediction in plain language regarding the
manner of death He would go through on the Cross and the struggles and
suffering that preceded His death.
Peter couldn’t fathom that
possibility, so he took Jesus aside and rebuked him, for which he received one
of the sharpest rebukes from Jesus, saying, “Get behind me, Satan.” He
said to Jesus, “You don’t have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human
concerns.” Let’s watch out. As Christ’s followers, we may be overly concerned
with human concerns rather than God’s.
Then, he called the crowd along with
his disciples and laid out a pathway to become His true disciples. Mark 8:34,
“Whoever
wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their Cross and follow
me.” Luke adds “daily” to emphasize its ongoing nature. (Luke 9:23).
This call has a double impact.
First, it was a challenge for the crowds that followed Jesus because they saw
and perhaps experienced miracles in their lives but never made a serious
commitment. Secondly, all disciples must count the cost of being His true
disciples.
What does that mean for us today?
Are you like those crowds who saw many miracles in their lives yet were never
seriously committed to going with Jesus? Or are you one of those disciples who
have believed in Jesus? As a result, their lives have been changed, yet they never
counted the cost and did not know what it takes to be a true disciple of Christ.
This call to Walk in The Way of the Cross is crucial wherever you are on your
journey.
Let’s not ignore it but heed the
voice of the Holy Spirit. What does it mean for us to pick up the Cross daily
and follow Jesus? Does it mean that you and I will be crucified like our
savior, and as many other disciples did? It may mean we might be killed like
the disciples for following Christ. Let’s explore what The Way of The Cross
involves and how it impacts our lives today.
I.
The Way of The Cross is a Way of Denying Oneself.
Vs. 34. “Whoever wants to
be my disciple must deny themselves.” Denying yourself is an essential part of
the Christian life. Jesus called upon those who wish to be His followers to
reject the natural human inclination toward selfishness. The Lord Himself
exemplified self-denial by putting away his authority and washing his
disciples’ feet (John 13:1–17).
What does it mean to deny yourself?
The Dictionary of Bible Themes defines self-denial as “the willingness to deny
oneself possessions or status to grow in holiness and commitment to God.” The
words Jesus used in the original language for “deny yourself” were strong terms
similar to Paul’s wording in Philippians 3:7-8: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for
the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the
surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have
lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” The
purpose of self-denial is that we will gain Christ.
Denying oneself means saying no to what we want to do and saying yes to God's will. Jesus demonstrated this in the
garden of Gethsemane as He prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take
this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42.
II.
The Way of the Cross is a Way of Ultimate Submission
Jesus laid out this Way of Ultimate
Submission by giving them a symbol of a “Cross.” Vs. 34, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny
themselves and take up their Cross and follow me.” Mark’s original audience,
the Romans, knew what picking up the Cross meant. Death on a Cross was a form
of execution used by Rome for dangerous criminals.
A prisoner carried his own Cross to
the place of execution, signifying submission to Roman power. Jesus used the
example to illustrate the ultimate submission required of his followers. Jesus
himself carried his own Cross to model Ultimate Submission to God. Jn 19:17.
Paul’s writing to the Philippians
highlights these two aspects of the Way of the Cross: Denying oneself and
Ultimate Submission. In your relationships with one another, have the same
mindset as Christ Jesus: “Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own
advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of
a servant, being made in human
likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Phil
2:5-8.
III.
The Way of the Cross is a Way of Suffering
The way of the
Cross is marked with suffering for a child of God. Jesus himself laid out what
was awaiting Him as he entered Jerusalem.
He predicted His own Crucifixion and Resurrection, “He then began to
teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the
elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law and that he must be
killed and after three days rise again.” Mark 8:3. Jesus knew fully well what
the way of the Cross looked like, yet He did not shy away from that path of
suffering. His attitude toward suffering was one of Joy.
Jesus invites us to travel with Him on this
Way of The Cross. As you travel on this path, what is it that Christ asks you
to deny or give up for His name’s sake? What is that He is calling to obey? How
are you holding up in your struggles and sufferings? Hear the voices of those
who have gone before us. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles.
And let us run with perseverance the
race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of
faith. For the joy set before him, he 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 sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Hebrews 12:1-3. May God give us all strength, grace, and courage to journey
through this Way of The Cross.
[1] Randy
Alcorn, “Your Suffering Can Be the Pathway to Greater Godliness” Eternal
Perspective Ministries Blog, (8-6-18)
