Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Matthew 16:24 NIVUK
There's a saying you might have heard: ‘Each of us has our cross to bear’. It means that each of us has our little problems and irritations. It’s not nice when someone says this. It minimises your problems and makes them seem like nothing.
But that isn’t the only thing it minimises.
It also minimises Jesus’ suffering on the cross.
Why?
Because it compares minor ailments, aches and pains, or irritating and frustrating friends or family members, with the suffering Jesus experienced when He carried the cross to Golgotha.
Let me tell you: there is no comparison. Not even remotely.
Jesus bore His cross after being whipped thirty-nine times with a whip deliberately designed to tear the flesh on His back to ribbons (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1). After being flogged, the soldiers rammed a crown of desert thorns, some of them several inches long, into His brow, and dressed Jesus in a robe to mock Him, meaning that His blood would have started to congeal into the fabric of the robe (Matthew 27:28-29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2).
They also spat on Him, slapped Him and beat Him (Matthew 27:30; John 19:3). They then stripped the robe from Him and put His own clothes on Him (Matthew 27:31; Mark 15:20).
The pain must have been unimaginable. Isaiah is very descriptive of this:
Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.
Isaiah 52:14 NIVUK
And we haven’t even got to the cross yet.
The cross was not what we think of it. It wasn’t made of carefully carved planks of wood. It was more than likely two rough tree trunks banged together in a ‘T’ shape. After all, why waste good carpentry on a criminal?
Try, if you dare, to imagine carrying that on your back after the vicious and merciless beating Jesus had been given.
Now imagine that this whole agony is utterly unjustified.
Yet Jesus still had to endure carrying His cross through a cacophanous, baying mob, goaded by heartless soldiers, until spikes were banged to His hands and feet and He was left to slowly perish, asphyxiated by His own body weight.
That is what it means to carry a cross.
Natural pains from getting old are not a cross.
Irritating family members are not a cross.
Struggles at work, or even a lack of work, are not a cross.
Not even remotely close to it.
So why does Jesus tell us that we should take up our cross?
I believe that it means we should be willing to surrender three crucial cornerstones of what we would consider to be a happy life.
The first is favour. The Bible is clear that, as Jesus grew up, He enjoyed the favour of the people around Him:
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Luke 2:52 NIVUK
This favour culminated, quite spectacularly, in the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-19).
Yet the favour of the people dissipated very quickly – the same mob that yelled ‘Hosanna!’ a few days later yelled ‘Crucify!’ (Matthew 27:23; Mark 15:14; Luke 23:21; John 19:6).
And that’s just it: carrying the cross means being willing to let go of the favour of the people around you and, if necessary, bear shame and disgrace for the cause of the Gospel.
The second cornerstone is freedom. Free men were not crucified. To be crucified, a criminal would have to be captured. Their ability to decide for themselves would be removed from them. They would be captives, prisoners, convicts.
To bear a cross means being willing to lose that agency, that ability to decide, that freedom.
Of course, the Bible is plain that Jesus had freedom because the cross did not choose Him, He chose the cross (Hebrews 12:2). But on a human level, He was a captive. On a human level, it seemed like He had no choice. And for those who choose to bear the cross for Christ, this is often how it is.
The third cornerstone is fairness. It isn’t hard to come to the conclusion that Jesus’ trial was massively and completely unfair and unjust. The Jewish leaders resort to false testimony about Jesus, their stories don’t add up (Matthew 26:59-60), yet Jesus is tried and found guilty. It’s the single greatest injustice that has ever been or will ever be.
Those who choose to bear the cross are often victims of flagrant and obvious injustices (1 Peter 2:12). Many, many Christians face trumped up charges, fines, restriction of activities, imprisonment or even death when they have done nothing wrong.
Being a Christian, no matter your skin colour, far from guarantees you a fair hearing. In fact, in many settings, it guarantees you the exact opposite.
The cross is not a minor inconvenience. It is an instrument of deadly torture. Choosing to take up your cross means actively and determinedly choosing a life which will not bring you automatic respect, and may, in some settings, bring you exactly the opposite.
But it isn’t possible to truly follow Jesus without it, because that is what Jesus did – for you.
So are you willing to do the same for Him?
Questions
1. What does it mean for you take up your cross?
2. What are the three cornerstones of a happy life that we have to give up to take up our cross? Would you be willing do to that? Why / why not?
3. Why is it impossible to take follow Jesus without taking up our cross?
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