The Disciple’s Cross

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

The cross has become meaningless in today’s society. Many people today, Christians and non-Christians wear the cross as a necklaces or as earrings from their ears. Some wear it by having it tattooed on bodies. But Jesus said that we should bear the cross not wear the cross. The world have beautified the cross so we don’t have to think about the suffering and the death of Jesus Christ.  But Jesus Christ said if you are going to be His disciple (follower), you have to bear your cross. The call of Christ will always include the call of the cross. 

Notice the Call of the Cross, Jesus begins by saying “if.” Discipleship is a conditional call of the cross.

• Deny Your SELF

To “deny yourself” doesn’t mean giving up some little thing for God. It means giving up control of your whole life to God. It means making Jesus Christ the “Lord of your life.” It means giving Jesus Christ control of ALL your life.  To “deny yourself” means that you are no longer in charge of your money, or your career, or anything else in your life. Jesus is. It means that nothing is yours; it all belongs to the Lord. It is not your house; it is His. It is not your money; those are not your children or grandchildren; they are His. To really be a disciple means first of all that “self” is no longer on the throne of your life because Jesus is your Lord. Dying to self is an absolute surrender to God.

• Take Up Your Cross Daily

During the days in which Jesus was speaking, the “cross” was the instrument of the death penalty. Jesus told His disciples “If any man will come after me, you must take up your cross.”

You must be willing to die, physically and to your own popularity, goals and plans for your life.

Many Christians today will identify whatever problem or obstacle they dealing with as their “cross to bear.” But “Taking up your cross” means you are even willing to lose your life. The famous author, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his book, The Cost of Discipleship: “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

This is something we do not see from so many “Christians” in churches across America today. They have “filled out cards” and “gotten baptized” and “joined churches”, but they are not willing to sacrifice anything for His cause. They don’t want to become uncomfortable for Him

Or lose their reputation for Him. They won’t talk to anyone about Him because they are afraid of what people might think, much less die for Him.

• Follow Jesus

“Follow Me” is the call of Jesus to all who would be His disciples. To “follow Him” today is similar to how His disciples followed Him while He was here on earth.  

First, He called His disciples “so that they would be with Him.” When you follow someone you are “with them.” One of the most important things it means to follow Jesus is to spend time with Him; just to be with Him.

Second, when you follow Jesus, it means that you go and do what He did. In Matthew 4, Jesus called Peter and Andrew and said to them, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” He was telling His disciples that they were to learn to do the things that He did in the world. Jesus says: “Follow Me” He means go where I would go, and do what I am doing in the world!