What it means to carry the cross
Mark 8:34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
It’s hard to watch the current 2020(1) Olympics without being mesmerized by the performance of the athletes. We admire the strength and grace displayed, not to mention the unimaginable hours of training and focus leading up to it. It’s true that not everyone can become an Olympic athlete. But with the exception of certain sports, almost everyone can do the same things. Any person can reasonably expect to be able to run on the same lane for 100 metres as Usain Bolt did. It’s easy to run 100 metres with Usain Bolt, but it is profoundly difficult to run like Usain Bolt. It’s easy and hard at the same time.
So here’s the question – is becoming a Christian easy or hard? Most of us tend to think of becoming a Christian as easy. Hopefully there weren’t a whole list of achievements you’ve had to tick off before qualifying. Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord – easy. But at the same time, it’s actually incredibly difficult. That’s what Jesus teaches us in this passage.
Following Jesus will cost us everything
Mark 8:34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Jesus says to anyone who wants to be his disciple, that is, anyone who wants to become a Christian, must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. What does that mean? First off, denying ourselves is simply putting someone else before us. Their needs are more important. Their good is more urgent. You prioritise them before you. It’s nothing controversial I think. You don’t need to be a Christian to know this is a good thing.
There are lots of examples about people denying themselves to save others – whether it’s the soldier who jumps on top of a grenade to save his buddy or the firefighter running into a burning building. Or even the normal mundane stuff that parents do for their kids.
So that’s denying themselves. What does it mean to take up their cross? Most of you would know the symbolism of the cross. It’s one of the worst ways to die. What’s more is that back then they will force you to carry your own cross to the place where you will be crucified. It’s the ultimate humiliation. So the picture is of someone who is heading toward their death. Someone living under a death sentence.
How do you actually do that? Should we live as though you’re going to die. Imagine you go to the doctor thinking you’ve sprained your back. Then he tells you, sorry but the x-ray shows you have bone cancer and you have 6 months to live. Is that what Jesus is saying? I guess that’s not a bad attitude to have. Kinda like live everyday as though it’s your last. Carpe diem. Seize the day. YOLO. And all that. But it doesn’t take a Christian to come to that conclusion. If that’s all it means, then we actually didn’t need Jesus to tell us live live everyday like it’s your last. So what exactly is Jesus asking us to do when he says take up your cross?
It’s not just about dying
If you think about, the cross actually is a terrible way to kill someone. It’s totally not practical at all. It takes effort and time. The cross itself has to be built. Someone has to nail the person onto it and lift it up. Then someone has to stay there the whole time to make sure the poor guy doesn’t escape or gets rescued. It can then take days before they die. It’s not a very efficient way to kill someone. Compared to the Nazi gas chambers, a cross just takes too long. What it’s good for though, is to send a message. No one is ever crucified secretly. The whole point of a cross is that it’s public. It is meant to humiliate someone. As a way to kill someone, it’s not all that good. But as a symbol of shame and humiliation, it is the perfect thing. And Jesus says, take up your cross. Here’s an emblem of suffering and shame. Wear it. This is so much more than live everyday like it’s your last.
Which explains why Jesus says in verse 38.
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.
What has shame got to do with this? We don’t look at someone willingly denying themselves for the sake of others and say that’s shameful. Shame on you. No! We say good on you. So there’s nothing to be ashamed about if that’s what Jesus is asking us to do. Deny yourself, die for what you believe in! What’s so shameful about that? So you see, when Jesus says take up your cross and follow me, he’s not asking us to be willing to die for him. He’s asking us to be willing to embrace the shame. To be made a public spectacle. To have people look at you and not say good on you, but shame on you.
Why we can and should
That’s what it takes to be a Christian. Following Jesus will cost us everything. The question is, can we pay it? Or even better, should we pay it? Well, look at what Jesus says in v.35.
35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
What is Jesus doing here? He’s challenging the way the world works. He’s turning it upside down. If you want to save your life, you will lose it. If you gain the world, you can still be broke. It’s backwards. It’s like saying the person who runs the slowest will get the Olympic gold.
Can you imagine running that race and when you thought you’ve won, you look back and the one who came in last suddenly is celebrating? How confused would you be? And how would you feel about training so hard to be the fastest when in fact it’s not how fast you can go, but how slow? It’s upside down! That’s what Jesus is doing here. He’s changing the rules.
So when Jesus tells us to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him, it’s because that’s the way we will live. It’s for our good. And how can we be sure that this is true? What proof do we have that Jesus is right? If you’ve been to our mid-year conference, you would know – resurrection! That’s what happened to Jesus.
Look how the passage ends.
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.
Jesus didn’t save himself. He lost everything. And God raised him to life. Just as the Olympic committee sets the rules for the games, Jesus now has authority to save and redeem. To turn losers into winners, sinners to disciples.