Finding our way through the Wilderness

Matthew 16:24-27

New International Version (NIV)

 ²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life^[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Day Forty

Take up your Cross (The Finale)

   As we end this journey as well as another Lenten season let us remember one of Jesus’ most important commandments. Jesus told us that if we are to be His disciple we must take up our cross daily and follow Him. What did Jesus mean when He said take up our cross?

   Well to understand it fully we have to examine the verses that preceded the twenty-fourth verse. Starting with verse number twenty-one, Jesus was explaining to His disciples that He must, remember that word, go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hand of the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Now Peter pulled Jesus to the side and told Him that this could not be true and that that it could never happen. Just before this happen Peter had proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah and The Jewish people believed that the Messiah was going to be the one who came and delivered them from the Roman emperor and ushered in an age of peace ending all hatred, suffering, oppression, and disease. So you can understand why Peter thought that Jesus could not die if He was the Messiah, which Peter had already recognized Him to be. However, Jesus rebuked Peter and told him that he was a stumbling block because he did not have in mind God’s concerns only human concerns.

   This is what take up your cross daily means. We must deny ourselves and do His will daily. This is what Jesus is telling Peter in the twenty-fourth verse. In order to be a disciple of Christ we must lose life, or our way of thinking, acting, talking, and being, and then we will find our life through Him. This is a daily process as we seek God’s will and not our own.

   Many people have misinterpreted this commanded as in we must endure unnecessary burdens in our lives: a bad job, a bad relationship, or physical illness. You have hear the saying, “That’s my cross to bear”. This is how we view the cross but during Jesus’ time the cross was not viewed as carrying a burden. The cross was not yet viewed as an act of atonement. The cross was viewed as one thing, death. This is the way that the Romans killed thieves, murderers, and other criminals.  So when Jesus says take up your cross follow Him, He means that we must be willing to die to follow Him. One website that I study before writing this called it dying to self.  Absolute Surrendering of one’s self to God will, this is taking up your cross. We must be willing to lose friends, family members, spouses, social status, our jobs, and even our life if we want to truly follow Jesus.

   The price to pay is a large one. However, look what Jesus says afterward. Whoever loses their life for Him shall Find it. This is not only talking about the eternal life to come but He is talking about this life as well. If we give our lives to Christ we will live more abundantly.

   Lastly, Jesus Himself showed us how to shoulder our own cross. If you look by at the twenty-first verse of Matthew chapter sixteen Jesus said that He must go and suffer these things. He said must because these were things that He knew He had to do because it was the will of the Father. Remember Jesus cried out, “My Father, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39) So Jesus knew of the pain and agony that He was about to face and continue to walk forward because He was doing not His own will but the will of the Father. We must follow our Savior’s example and do the same thing and when we do the blessing in this life and the life to come will overflow.

   I truly thank you for joining me through this journey. It is my hope and prayer that God has spoken to you just as He has spoken to me. 

   Remember God is ready to usher you into your Promised Land, but are you ready to leave your wilderness? 

   May God Bless and Keep You All!