A Cross Not Easily Lifted

Purpose

The purpose of this message is to explain that a life with Jesus should not be mistaken as easy going, a life with Jesus demands suffering, sacrifice, and to carry the weight of your cross.

Slide #1:

Matthew 16:24–28 NIV

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

What does Jesus mean to deny yourself and to take up your cross and follow him?

Explain that our only reference of this is when Jesus was taking up his own cross

Slide #2: Matthew 27:27-32

Matthew 27:27–32 NIV

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.

Explain how your going to break up Jesus carrying the cross in three section before carrying the cross, during carrying the cross, and after carrying the cross

Before the Cross:

Explanation: In this scripture Jesus had just before this gotten beaten with roman flag-rum a tool of roman torture, and this weapon was made out of nails, glass, or sheep bone in each lead tip and these objects were connected to the end of anywhere from 3-12 leather straps. Romans sometimes would even tip the ends in goats blood in order to insure and quicken the infection process, this torture weapon was so brutal that often people hit with it rib’s were visible through the chunks taken out of their skin and on top with this it was often done by two different men. What’s interesting also is because of what these weapons are made of there is not been not one found from the time period of Jesus, all of them decayed away isn’t that powerful? That the very used against Jesus to be beaten could not survive.

Slide #3:

Insert Picture of Roman Flagrum

Slide #4: Take up our cross daily and you will experience opposition, a beating to your flesh, but you will survive

(Note say: “but you will survive” slowly with emphasis)

Say This: Remember this though just as the weapon used against Jesus was dipped in goat’s blood which by the way goats or goats blood is usually associated with the devil and demonic rituals you will be sustained through the beating of the enemy through Jesus and the weapon formed against you by the enemy WILL NOT SURVIVE the test of time because the victory is the Lord’s.

Taking up the cross: Jesus taking up his cross to his crucifixion would have been around half mile but because Jesus was on the verge of death from the beating he endured it would of took hours for him to reach the place where he would be crucified especially since the cross would have weighed about 300 pounds and was 7-9 feet tall even with Jesus dragging the cross it would have been heavy to his already beaten body on top of all of this Jesus was walking in public in the presence of all the people who hated him so as Jesus is walking people are throwing rocks, trash, and spitting at him I can the imagine the weight of the cross digging in into the tears in Jesus’ flesh causing pain

Slide #5: To be in the process of carrying your cross is to prepare your flesh for crucifixion

Say This: The weight of the cross will dig into your scars the enemy has caused you, it will be hard to hard to carry, it will be hard to withstand, you will face the shame the world throws at you (say this slowly in a lower voice) but their is a king, their is a father, who carried the weight of the cross first and he is on the other side of the cross carrying its weight with you (use the cross in your office to illustrate this)

Being Crucified: Jesus after the sustaining the beating by the roman soldiers being spit at and mocked then walking with his cross to his own crucifixion through public being mocked and objects thrown at him by his own people was now at the place of his own crucifixion. Crucifixion was the equivalent of the electric chair of our era it was the most painful and brutal way to die. In the process of crucifying someone the romans had Seven-inch nails would be driven through the wrists so that the bones there could support the body's weight. The nail would sever the median nerve, which not only caused immense pain but would have paralysed the victim's hands.

The feet were nailed to the upright part of the crucifix, so that the knees were bent at around 45 degrees. To speed death, executioners would often break the legs of their victims to give no chance of using their thigh muscles as support. It was probably unnecessary, as their strength would not have lasted more than a few minutes even if they were unharmed.

Once the legs gave out, the weight would be transferred to the arms, gradually dragging the shoulders from their sockets. The elbows and wrists would follow a few minutes later; by now, the arms would be six or seven inches longer. The victim would have no choice but to bear his weight on his chest. He would immediately have trouble breathing as the weight caused the rib cage to lift up and force him into an almost perpetual state of inhalation. Suffocation would usually follow and as the lungs began to get stiffer the pressure around the heart would impair its pumping and lead to death.

(Pause)

Say this: This is what happened to our savior, our king and our father so when we carry our cross daily as Jesus calls us to why do we not expect suffering if we must crucify our flesh and when I say flesh I’m referring to the sins we commit daily basis against the king. The king who sent his only son to be sacrificed on the cross for our sins so why can’t we crucify our sins daily for the one who has done it already. Jesus does not say that the cross will levitate and it will be easygoing and you will not have to carry it’s weight, Jesus does not say that taking up your cross daily will not cause suffering, Jesus does not say that because you carry your cross you will not face shame, ridicule, and lose those close to you.

Matthew 16 (NIV)

Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

Concluding Word: To take up the cross daily is to withstand the beating of the enemy, carry your cross to your flesh’s crucifixion feeling it’s weight with help of the savior, and to crucify your flesh just as our saviour had done first, we must crucify our flesh DAILY. So I ask you this question, Are you willing to lose your life to save it? Are you willing to lose your life to find it? Are willing to take up your cross daily for the saviour of your lives

Prayer