Today’s text begins with Jesus and his disciples. The disciples were his main supporters. Jesus was the leader of their group and they were the followers. He taught them many things as they journeyed together. Today there would be yet another lesson. Jesus was predicting his death and resurrection. Peter, specifically, did not like this prediction that his leader was giving. So, he rebuked Jesus. And what does Jesus do, he rebukes Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan.” Jesus explains that Peter is not setting his mind on God’s interests, but on that of humanity’s interests. In fact, the role of a disciple was not to guide or protect, but to follow. Regardless of the fact that Peter is rebuked he is still a disciple. Jesus does not revoke his disciple status. Instead, Jesus uses this as a teachable moment. He explains to the disciples and the crowd what a follower of Jesus is called to do.
Jesus says, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” This is a call to Christian life and discipleship. However, the way in which we understand this summon from Jesus is much different than the way the disciples and the crowd understood it. Taking up one’s cross would not have been seen as metaphorical, like it is today. Taking up one’s cross would have meant crucifixion. One commentator explains it this way, “Crucifixion was the death penalty with an attitude—an unspeakably shameful way to die. Criminals were crucified naked. Crucifixion itself did not kill a person; the spike wounds were too slight. Instead, the condemned hung helplessly for days at a time, weakening from starvation and thirst. The stretched arms caused the rib cage to compress the lungs. The only way to get a deep breath was to ease tension off the arms by straightening the legs, putting weight on the spiked feet. As the condemned person grew weary, he became too feeble to leverage himself up for air. Most crucified people died of eventual suffocation.” In addition, crucifixion was very public, often taking place near major roads, where many people would see the event. So as Jesus tells the crowd and the disciples that in order to follow him they need to take up their cross, the people would have been shocked and terrified. Today, in a country where we do not crucify people, we can barely understand what those followers of Jesus were thinking at the time. Therefore, we need to use our own context to think about what it means for us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.
Imagine this situation with me. There are 100 middle school youth walking in silence throughout bible camp while watching a reenactment of Jesus’ life. As their counselor, I walk along with them. Jesus is baptized. He calls the disciples. He ministers to a variety of people. Jesus and the disciples celebrate the Last Supper. Jesus prays in the garden. Jesus is arrested. Peter denies Jesus. Jesus is handed over to Pilate. Barabbas is released. Jesus carries his cross to the place where he will be crucified. As Jesus carries this heavy cross he falls to the ground. The soldiers that walk with him point to me and tell me to take his cross and carry it for him. It was at this moment when I began to realize how difficult it was to carry that cross. It was physically difficult. It was also emotionally, psychologically, and socially difficult. I wondered how much larger and heavier the cross actually was that Jesus was crucified upon. As I carried that cross and the middle school youth followed me to the place where Jesus’ crucifixion would be reenacted they stared at me, watching my every move. I could only imagine what Jesus felt like. Today, as I reflect on that moment, I wonder what it would be like to literally take up my own cross.
Jesus says deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow me. Jesus summarizes this process of being his follower in three important steps, all of which are not easy. Deny yourself. In this action we are called to stop striving for what we think is right in our lives, those things that might hinder us from doing God’s will. We are called to entrust God with this control over our lives. Not easy. Take up your cross. This is not just about bearing burdens. It is also about dedicating our whole lives to Christ. Also, not easy. Follow me. This signifies that Jesus will be with us. Jesus is leading us. We are not alone, because Jesus is our leader and we are the followers. Jesus, our leader, has already taken each step that he calls us, his followers, to take. Up to this point in Jesus’ life we have seen his ministry, healing, and compassion. Now we are called to follow him into his suffering, the suffering of death on the cross. Once again, not easy.
As Jesus continues to explain what this life of discipleship looks like he says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.” This is not the road toward personal gain. It is a way of service and love. It is also a way of sacrifice and suffering. With Jesus as our leader he calls us to follow this road. Along this road there is not necessarily a destination, but there is a journey, a way of living into discipleship and cross bearing.
So, what does this life of discipleship and cross bearing look like today? It is about being a Christian in our church lives and our public lives, in our whole lives. When we are at work we must not allow the pressures of our co-workers to lead us to deny our faith. We must not allow the coaches at our schools to punish young people for not attending practice on Wednesdays, because they are at church activities or confirmation. Cross bearing discipleship is about living the Christian life even when it may be difficult, discouraging, or unpopular. It is about bearing our Christian identity no matter what the rest of the world thinks. With that in mind we understand that this life of discipleship is not easy and it is certainly not a one-time deal. Christ calls us to deny ourselves, bear our cross, and follow him each moment of every day and each and every day of our lives.
So Jesus says to each of us, “Will you come and follow me if I but call your name? Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same? Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known, will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?”
My hope is that we can each respond, “Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name. Let me turn and follow you and never be the same. In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show. Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.” Amen.
