Christian Life

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 

Last week, two men came in for a food parcel. One carried both bags and as he walked out the other offered to help. ‘No, thanks,’ he said, ‘I have to carry my own cross.’

This phrase has become a common part of English language, but its meaning has been diluted. It certainly means more than carrying two shopping bags!

If you saw the film The Passion of the Christ you will have an idea of the terrible suffering endured by those who were executed. It has been described as possibly the most painful and fearful form of death ever devised.

Carrying the cross had an obvious meaning. It was a phrase used to describe the action of a criminal in carrying his own cross to the place of execution. It was the equivalent of building your own the gallows or constructing your own electric chair. Or like prisoners of war in Burma in World War Two who dug their own graves before being executed.

An unpopular journey

• When Jesus went to his death, he had to drag his cross through the narrow streets of Jerusalem. Probably much like they are today. Bumpy, dirty. Heavy, rough wood. Possibly blood-stained. Jeered and mocked. 
• It was painful and difficult. He stumbled under its weight. 
• So when Jesus calls us to take up our cross, he is actually inviting us to go to our death.
• People are not queuing up to carry the cross! There are no travel agents advertising this journey!
• Jesus told us that the number of genuine disciples would be small compared with those who seek the ways of the world (Matthew 7:13-14)
• Polycarp was a famous second century martyr who died as an old man by being burned to death. Surrounded by a crowd of blood-hungry people in an amphitheatre, he was given opportunity to deny Christ and to escape with his life. But he steadfastly refused. His reply to the governor who pleaded with him to make just a token offering to the Roman emperor has come dowen through the pages of history: 'Eighty-six years have I been His servant, and He hath done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?' Polycarp stood alone in the face of an angry crowd

A costly journey

Jesus was stripped virtually naked when he was crucified. He could take nothing with him.

• It is not possible to take anything with us when we carry a cross. All possessions and treasures are to be abandoned. You can’t carry a car and a TV and a laptop – not even a credit card. 
• Jesus told us to renounce all our possessions to follow him (Luke 14:33). Obviously we need basic material goods to live: the question is, How much are we attached to them? Can we walk away from them without hesitation when the Lord calls us to do so? 
• Hwei Yeow is an Asian friend who resigned his job rather than accept a huge bribe to approve sub-standard materials in a building project. His resistance to this and other immoral work practices cost him thousands of dollars
• Read Matthew 6:33

A despised journey

• Matt 27:39; John 19:1ff – Jesus was insulted and vilified. But he did not fight back (1 Peter 2:21ff). 
• It was a shameful thing to be crucified. Usually only the worst of society, hardened criminals were crucified. Those with him admitted they deserved it (Luke 23:41) 
• Jesus calls us to follow in his steps (1 Peter 1:21)
• Early martyrs were often put to shame by being stripped naked, spat on, abused and scorned
• All who live a godly life in Christ will suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:12)
• When my wife and I first began ministry in a country town in South Australia all kinds of rumours went through the community. It was said that in our meetings we all sat in a circle and rubbed our heads together while we prayed. The local mayor came to see me (the only time in my life a civic leader has done so) to ask me to desist from ministry to the sick. Many people made fun of us. It was part of carrying the cross.

A lonely journey

•  There is only room for one person on a cross.
• It happened to Jesus—‘all deserted him and fled’ (Matthew 26:56)
• Even God – ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ (Matt 27:46)
• For the first time sin came between Father and Son.
• This is often the case — you have to bear the burden alone, just you and God. 
• It means forsaking family and friends: you can’t take them with you. Verse 26 has always been a puzzling one. We need to remember that it was the practice in the ancient East to use metaphorical statements and to engage in what we call hyperbole (exaggerated statements) in order to make a point  Jesus often did this (eg  Matthew 5:22; 5:29,30; 7:4,5; 19:24). This is similar to people saying things today like, ‘That was a kick in the teeth,’ or, ‘Put your heart into it,’ or, ‘She thinks the sun shines out of her kids.’ 
• See John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress in which Christian sets off on his journey to the celestial city alone because his family will not accompany him—
  
  Now he had not run far from his own door, but his Wife and Children, perceiving it, began to cry after him to return… The Neighbours also came out to see him run; and as he ran, some mocked, others threatened, and some cried after him to return… Then said the Man, Neighbours, wherefore are you come? They said, To persuade you to go back with us. But he said, That can by no means be; you dwell, said he, in the City of Destruction, the place also where I was born, I see it to be so; and dying there, sooner or later, you will sink lower than the Grave, into a place that burns with Fire and Brimstone: be content, good Neighbours, and go along with me.
   Obst.  What, said Obstinate, and leave our friends and our comforts behind us!
   Chr.  Yes, said Christian, for that was his name, because that all which you shall forsake is not worthy to be compared with a little of that that I am seeking to enjoy…Now… Christian was walking solitary by himself…
  
  
•  To follow Jesus may well mean to lose friends and even family

A one-way journey

• Even before the crucifixion, Jesus was determined to see it through. He set his face steadfastly towards Jerusalem (Luke 9:53). He knew what he had to do and where he had to go.
• This was his whole purpose in coming to earth – to die for our sins.
• This is the gospel – that Christ died to save us from our sin and rose again to give us the ability to overcome sin. (Easter Day).
• Neither on its own is enough. To have forgiveness with no hope that we could do any better in the future would be intolerable; to be able to overcome sin but not get rid of past guilt would be unbearable. Christ’s death achieves both.
• What would you think of an employer who said to you, ‘If you want to work for me, you must realise that it could cost you your life. You should prepare now to be executed.’
• This is, in effect, what Jesus said. There is no turning back; no return!
• Eg Jackie Pullinger, the renowned missionary to Hong Kong once said, ‘We are training our people to die.’
• Many martyrs and Christian saints have literally carried the cross. The fourth century history Eusebius records what happened to Sanctus in A.D. 177. 

To every question, he replied in Latin: "I am a Christian." This he proclaimed over and over again and not another word did they hear from him. Consequently, when they could think of nothing else to do to him they ended by pressing red-hot copper plates against the most sensitive parts of his body. These were burning, but Sanctus remained unbending and unyielding, firm in his confession of faith. But his poor body was a witness to what he had suffered—it was all one wound and bruise, bent up and robbed of outward human shape, but, suffering in that body Christ accomplished most glorious things, utterly defeating the adversary
A few days later, people again put the martyr on the rack, thinking that now that his whole body was swollen and inflamed, a further application of the same instruments would defeat him, unable as he was to bear even the touch of a hand. However, nothing of the sort happened. To their amazement, his body became erect and straight as a result of these new torments, and recovered its former appearance and the use of the limbs. Thus, through the grace of Christ, his second spell on the rack proved to be not punishment but cure.
Sometime later, he was taken into the amphitheatre to face the wild beasts. Again he ran the gauntlet of whips, in accordance with local custom. He was mauled by the beasts and endured every torment that the frenzied mob on one side or the other demanded and howled for. This culminated in the iron chair which roasted his flesh and suffocated them with the reek. They heard nothing from Sanctus beyond the words he had repeated from the beginning—the declaration of his faith. Despite their prolonged and terrible ordeal, life still lingered; but in the end he was sacrificed, after being made all day long a spectacle to the world.

Conclusion

• The Cross is the centre of our faith
• By dying on the Cross, Jesus atoned for our sins. He also began the process of bringing us freedom from sin. 
• And he established a pattern of living for us. We can never do what he did, but the same principles can apply. Taking up the cross means dying to self and the ways of self.
• Everything must come under the cross. 
• Anything that is not crucified is of no value to God.
• We always carry about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus may be revealed in us (2 Corinthians 4:10)

Challenge

• What about you this Good Friday? Will you take up the challenge?
• First put your faith in Jesus and accept his great sacrifice for you
• Then, take up your cross and follow him.

Something to think or talk about

You don’t have to answer all the questions: just choose those that seem most relevant.
Read: Luke 14:26-33

Biblical

1. What is Jesus really saying in verse 26? 
2. What is the point of the parable Jesus tells in 28-32?
3. What do you think verse 33 means? Is this just hyperbole (ie an exaggerated word picture)? Or are we to take him literally? How can we apply this text to our own lives? 
4. What other biblical stories are relative to verse 33?
5. What does Jesus promise to those who forsake all for him? See Mark 10:30.
   
      Personal and practical
   
6. Note that discipleship begins with coming to him (26). How did you come to Jesus? Two or three of the group may like to share their testimony.
7. What has carrying the cross meant for you? What could it mean for you? Be specific.
8. Consider the situation some Asian young people find themselves in when they are faced with a choice between obeying Jesus and obeying parental wishes in regard to honouring ancestors etc. What should they do?  Share any experiences you have in this area.
9. Think about what Hebrews 12:2 says about Jesus. Make a list of the main points together with a reflection on how each one applies to your own life. (The first one is done for you.)

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