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DENIAL AND CROSS-BEARING
(Mark 8:34-35)
"And He [Jesus]
summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them,
'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself,
and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes
to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for My sake and the gospel’s will save it'" (NASB).
Does this sound like the
demand placed on people today who wish to become a follower
of Christ—a
Christian? In this age of "comfortable Christianity,"
do the words of Jesus really speak to us? In this day of "easy
believism," in which one simply "invites Jesus into
his heart," the words of Christ sound strange indeed!
His terms of discipleship seem too demanding, too stringent,
too radical!
Our Lord made it clear that
no half-hearted, nominal, would-be disciples were welcome.
What was required
of one who wished to "come after" Jesus? He must "deny himself." He must deny his own will
in favor of Christ’s will. He must deny His own pursuit
of sin, pleasure, and an easy life. He must say "no" to
what he would naturally want to do if Jesus were not his
Lord. Basically, he must deny himself.
Further, Christ says that
he must "take
up his cross." Just as Jesus took up His own literal
cross and went to Golgotha (John 19:17) where he was put to
death by crucifixion (John 19:17-18,30), so we must take up
the cross of suffering and shame in order to follow in the
steps of our Lord (1 Peter 2:21). Our self-denial and confession
of Christ must be to the point of literal death, if necessary!
(Matt. 10:32-33). Jesus continued by saying that we must "follow" Him.
We must willingly die to ourselves and follow Him
who died for us. We must follow the One who is our Lord—obeying
His will, His commands, His every word (Luke 6:46).
Verse 35 is a paradox, but it contains a truth
that separates the genuine disciple from the false disciple.
If we wish to "save" our life by seeking
compromising pleasures, carnal activities, immoral relationships,
earthly riches, and acceptance by the world, then we will
lose out on eternal life. On the other hand, if we are willing
to "lose" our earthly life here—with all of
its pride, pleasure, popularity, and possessions, and even
suffer physical death for the sake of Christ and His gospel—then
we will inherit eternal life with God!
Jesus goes on to ask, "For what does
it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark
8:36-37). If one does seek to save his life here, even to
the point of gaining the entire world and its glory (cf.
Luke 4:5-6), what genuine and lasting profit
is there in this? And what eternal benefit would this bring?
In light of spiritual realities and an eternal relationship
with God, how can we even contemplate choosing whatever the
world has to offer?
The words of Jesus speak
to us today, for the majority of us are wedded to this
world and this present
age. We are largely concerned about our brief earthly life
and fail to take the demands of Christ seriously. However,
if we value our life and desire eternal life, let us wake
up and listen to Jesus! How plain and how radical are the
demands of the Lord—but how eternally needful!
Are you willing to
deny yourself? Are you willing to take up the cross of
suffering and shame and
trials for Jesus’ sake? Are you willing to lose your
life that you might have eternal life—the life that
will never end?
Richard
Hollerman |
