Bel Air #5
Bel Air Sermon • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Take up your cross
Take up your cross
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
pray
Did you hear this teaching?
Jesus is talking to a group of men in the first century, right?
He says if you do not take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of me.
Now if you are into Bible study and there is an important point to grasp here.
This is truly amazing.
Although He has predicted His death and resurrection
He has not been crucified yet
His disciples have not seen Him executed yet
So to be this into context let us look at the culture
What empire is in charge?
Rome
What form of capital punishment did they perfect?
Crucifixion
And if you truly studied history, you would know that in the days of Rome...
You would be walking up the street and seeing guilty people nailed to the cross.
They would be on the side of the street
How did they get there?
You would see men walking through the street carrying the crossbar of a cross with a bunch of Roman soldiers around them.
They are walking to the place where they are going to be executed.
Imagine that
In this culture, if you see anyone carrying a cross beam, it assumed two things
One, they are guilty
Two, and where they are going , they are not coming back from that journey
You automatically assumed they were guilty
It was enough evidence to convict them in front of the bystanders watching them carrying that beam
Now, Jesus is saying “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Is there enough Christian fruits in you to convict you of being a true disciple?
What if we saw your heart
your life
your deeds in the dark
your marriage
your parenting of your children
Would people says this person is guilty?
This person is a true believer
Think about it
Is there enough evidence to convict you of being a disciple?
Or are you just a sometimes Christian?
Do you only open your Bible in church?
Maybe a Christian who just posts on social media.
Do you pray continually for guidance?
Jesus says
Take up your cross and follow me
To be a real Christian
a real follower of our Lord Jesus Christ
There must be evidence in your life from the way you live that you are living a sacrificial life
so much so that there is enough evidence to say that you are a real follower of Jesus.
If you are a real follower of Jesus,
we can see you
we can convict you
You are guilty of being a disciple.
Let us examine our key text to this message and start with our first verse
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
I started here to bring everything in context
Here Jesus is showing His disciples that the time has ended
Jesus tells them that He must go to Jerusalem
He says to them that He will suffer at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes
In fact, He will be killed and raised on the third day
Now we know from the rest of the story that Jesus’ mission was to die as a perfect, sinless sacrifice for the sins of humanity. look at this...
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 33 This he said, signifying what death he should die. 34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
This verse reveals that Jesus knew it also.
Jesus understood what must happen to Him for salvation to come
Jesus also would not resist it, look at this...
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. 27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. 28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
Now Peter and the other disciples would resist that idea.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Now Peter knew who Jesus was
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
However this proves that knowing who Jesus is was separate from knowing Jesus mission on earth
Most everyone in Israel including Peter focused on the Messiah restoring Israel and seeing the Messiah as a warrior king similar to David.
The idea that this figure would be killed by His enemies completely contradicted their traditions and assumptions.
So Peter attempts to correct His master
After all, Jesus had praised Peter for understanding who He was
He had even given Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Peter seems to be assuring Jesus that His disciples will defend and support Him
Peter tells Jesus boldly that will never happen to you
As with many of us today, we know who God is but that doesn’t stop us from trying to “correct” God’s plans
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Peter’s approach to Jesus would have been inappropriate for any student-teacher relationship in this culture
Disciples simply did not talk to their masters in that way, directly contradicting them
It also should be shocking that Peter felt comfortable correcting the one he had described as the Christ
Now Jesus turns to Peter and says “Get thee behind me, Satan”
Now either Jesus is literally calling Peter , Satan
or Jesus is directly speaking to Satan for his role in confusing Peter
Either way, this is a devastating response
Jesus tells Peter that he is a hindrance and obstacle to Jesus
Peter is more than not helping, he is actively getting in the way
Jesus is clear
This is happening because Peter’s mind is on human things and not the things of God.
What are those things?
Peter shows this in his claim during the Last Supper
37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.
His actions when Jesus is arrested
10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
Peter is overly confident in his own power
Peter and all the others are focused on Jesus ability to overthrow the Roman government
They are clearly thinking about what parts each of them will play when the Messiah establishes His powerful kingdom
look at this...
1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
They do not yet understand how essential it is for Jesus to suffer and die and be resurrected to complete His mission.
our next verse
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Jesus now introduces the idea of crucifixion, though He does not speak of His own.
That is something Jesus will allude to , regarding Himself, later in His ministry
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 33 This he said, signifying what death he should die. 34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
This is when He speaks of execution on a cross in relation to those who follow Him.
Crucifixion was about more than physical pain
It was an act of violation
public humiliation
control
torture
Victims were typically stripped naked and beaten
As I spoke before, the victims were forced to carry the cross beams themselves to the upright part of the cross
Mockery and insults were flung along the way
The crucifixion process was carefully arranged to maximize suffering and draw out death
What does this mean?
In short, References to the crucifixion evoked feelings of humiliation, dishonor, misery, and shame
Every person who heard Jesus’ words would have had a vivid picture of this in their minds
Jesus pictured a self-denial that included willing participation in the death of self.
In short, nobody who follows Jesus can hold on to even the smallest bit of their own agenda, their own dreams, their own way of living in this world
They must sacrifice every ounce of self if they choose to walk after Him
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Now Jesus becomes more clear
He is describing death of self
whosoever will save his life shall lose it
However those who willingly lose their lives for His sake will find true life
In saying this, Jesus has changed the stakes
Death to self is required to follow Him
yes
but it also is required to find the life that is truly life
In other words, Jesus says following Him comes at a terrible cost of losing oneself
but the alternative is to permanently lose one’s life
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Now you can keep your worldly interests, or you can save your soul
That is Jesus’ bottom line declaration
in the form of two questions
Jesus leaves those who will hear Him with only two alternatives
What is the ultimate benefit to someone who acquires everything the world could possibly offer, only to spend an eternity suffering separated from God?
What is a soul worth?
What should a man give in return for the saving of his soul?
I guess that truly is the ultimate question
Jesus has said that those who follow Him must willingly sacrifice themselves in every way
They must be willing to deny their own wants and preferences, taking up their cross as He is doing
In other words, they must be willing to give up every ounce of their own agenda
totally submitting to the will of God and His purposes
It will cost them everything
but what is given up is temporary and relatively worthless
Those who refuse to self sacrifice can live for themselves
Jesus’ question allows for the fact that they can quite successful in the world’s terms
Perhaps they can gain the whole world for themselves
Here is the problem
The earthly success can only last until death comes and raises the question of the soul persisting, and entering into eternal death
Look at this
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
In the end, each person must choose between one of two options
Lose everything I am in the world, to follow Jesus and be eternally saved
or keep everything I am in the world, to save myself, and lose my soul forever in the end
These are the only choices Jesus offers in this passage
and the only two choices presented in all of the Bible
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Now Jesus explains why
No matter what a person gains for themselves in the earthly life, the judgment of God will still come in the end
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Jesus declares that He, the Son of Man, will come with His angels in the glory of His Father.
This is sometimes called in the Bible as the “Day of the Lord”
When that day comes, Christ will repay each person according to what he or she has done
The clear implication is that those who have lived for themselves alone will be repaid with judgment
Those who have taken up the cross of self denial to follow Jesus will receive a reward
The difference between one result and the other is not sinless perfection. Look at this..
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Eternal life and eternal death are only separated by the choice whether to follow Jesus and identify with Him in His death. look at this..
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
This basic concept is central to what we call the gospel. Those who trust in Jesus in this way, refusing their own agenda and trusting in His work as the Messiah, in His death and resurrection as the way to salvation, will be rewarded.
now our last verse
28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
Now Jesus adds that some standing near to hear would not die before seeing the Son of Man coming in His kingdom
Jesus is clearly referring to the Transfiguration which is literally the next event mentioned in Matthew
Jesus will be transfigured from His fully human form into His glorious kingdom appearance as the Son of God.
His face will shine like the sun
and His clothes will be white as light
1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
Peter, James, and John will be eyewitnesses to this event.
The Transfiguration is clearly the natural fit for Jesus’ prediction here.
Peter, James, and John are truly given a glimpse of Jesus in the full glory of His natural state in the kingdom of heaven
Conclusion
How do you feel?
There are days I personally feel insecure
There are days I wonder why it took me so long to listen
God asking me through conviction
You tried doing it your way
Are you going to obey me now?
I felt the doors open
I understood the training
I realized I need to follow God’s guidance
I realized I needed to carry that cross
I will carry that cross
I can tell you that I have discovered pastoral ministry for me is sweet slavery
I have found out that I am doing this out of obedience
This is the cross I carry
I ask for the Holy Spirit to guide me
convict me
teach me
use me
I am a servant
a tool for God’s use to pass on His word
God prepared me to carry this cross
God trained me to carry this cross
I am doing this out of obedience to Christ
Where is your cross?
What are you carrying?
What are you fully surrendered to?
How about we actually live like a disciple for the rest of the year?
How about that for a cross?
How about we change our pray life to create a proper relationship with God?
How about that for a cross?
How about we fast from sin for the rest of the year?
How about that for a cross?
What is your cross?
Let us pray
