Take up your cross!

Take up your cross

, And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Let us pray…

Father God, I ask that Christ will present His word this morning through this broken vessel with such truth and clarity that it is undeniable and that people received the gospel and are forgiven for their sins, past, present and future; and that they are saved from the Your wrath, which is to come. Those of us who are in your kingdom thank you once again this morning for the all-sufficient, all atoning, sacrifice of your Son Jesus the Christ.

It is in the precious and matchless name of your Son and our Savior, Jesus the Christ that we pray and all God’s children said Amen.

Take up your cross and suffer with me

Listen my brothers and sisters as we begin on a journey of having the truth revealed to us this morning. First of all we must recognize the main point of verses 31 to 33, which will serve as guide throughout our time together, this first paragraph, the main point here is that our Sovereign God, planned, and prophesied, and performed, the suffering, the rejection, the killing, and the raising from the dead of His Son Jesus the Christ.

And therefore for us to resist that fact is to adopt the mindset of Satan or fallen man, which by the way are the same in this text. Allow me put it this way; verses 31 to 33 reveal to us the relationship of God and the very murderers of the Son of Man and that relationship is shows this, that when it comes to the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ. Our Sovereign God planned it, prophesied it, performed it. It was God who ordained the suffering, the rejection, the killing, and the raising from the dead of His Son Jesus the Christ.

, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

It is Holy Scripture that confirms that this act of God was not random but it was required, it was required because it is the gospel. In fact the text says that Jesus the Son of Man, must suffer, and this is the key word here he “must,” look at verse 31a, ‘And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things…’ Jesus says that He must, not maybe, not it could happen, not that it would happen if He was not very careful, but Jesus, Himself taught that He must suffer many things.

Well Pastor what are the many things? It is in the text, , and Jesus must be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said it plainly.

So suffering did not catch Jesus by surprise, suffering did not confuse Jesus! No, Jesus was content with suffering! Jesus spoke of it often! Let’s go to the Scriptures.

, And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Jesus was content with suffering! Here is Christ again speaking to a larger group of disciples later in Luke,

, Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.

Jesus was content with suffering. In the book of Acts Paul gives his testimony and shares these words,

, To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

So suffering did not catch Jesus off guard, suffering did not confuse Jesus! Jesus was content with suffering.

Does suffering confuse you? Are you content with suffering? Well suffering should not because it is clearly taught in the Scriptures and we must learn to be content with suffering for Christ sake.

So, let’s go to the Scriptures, now remember these Scriptures are referring to us believers.

, For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

, And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

How could any believer be confused concerning suffering for and with Christ? Unless that have brought into the lie that this is your “best life now!”

Scripture states the fact plainly as Jesus taught them plainly, so when Peter rebuke Jesus it is not because Jesus was unclear. It was not because Peter was uniformed.

It was because Peter was being unrighteous. Look at verse 32, And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Now after hearing the clear and plain truth of the matter, Peter had the nerve to take the Son of Man aside and rebuke Him! Jesus had shared that His suffering, His rejection, His murder and His resurrection must happen.

Notice that the text does not say that Peter was frightened and that is why he spoke this way. The text does not say that Peter showed any compassion for what Jesus said must happen to Him. The text does not say that Peter was even sympathetic towards Jesus understanding of His suffering. In fact Peter was just the opposite, the text says he rebuked Jesus. He reprimands Jesus, he scolded Jesus, he criticizes Jesus and he admonished Jesus.

Peter confronted Jesus about the truth of what Jesus had just said. Because Peter says, Lord, this does not have to happen! Jesus your suffering, your rejection, your murder, and your rising again, does not have to happen. Peter for all intensive purposes called the truth a lie!

Yes, a lie, because the Bible talks a lot about suffering for the sake of Christ. In the era in which the New Testament was written, Christian families and communities were often ostracized as followers of Jesus. Some of the worst persecution came from the religious leaders (). Jesus told His followers, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (). He reminded His disciples, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first" (). says, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

Just as in biblical times, many Christians around the world today have found that making a public declaration of faith in Christ can result in imprisonment, beatings, torture, or death.

Often those of us in free nations shudder at the thought, but we feel relatively safe. We understand that there are thousands who suffer daily for the sake of Christ and are thankful we don't have to. But is there more than just one kind of persecution? Believe me our time in is coming and it is here now!

So, as Christian we must take up our cross and suffer with Christ. And we also need to take up our cross and follow Christ.

Take up your cross and follow me

Now the text tells us that Jesus rebukes Peter, look at 33, But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind of the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Now at the end of this verse you might expect Jesus to make the contrast between and God and Satan instead of God and man. But Jesus is saying here that fallen man and Satan are cut from the same cloth that is they are one in the same, they have the same mindset. Jesus is saying here, Peter you are not seeing the necessity of my sufferings, the way my Father in heaven does. You are aligning yourself more with the things of Satan that the things of God. Peter, Satan does not like it when I make statements like, “it must happen,” because those words boxed him in and shows that he might be the prince of the air, but I am the Prince of Peace and he is not in control, I am.

Peter, even you dislike the fact that you can’t control things and, fallen mankind dislikes the fact that they do not control all things. Peter you are wrong and I rebuke you. Peter, listen to me, the whole human race thinks like this, that don’t like the necessity of being saved through a Savior, they think that they can saved themselves.

So Pastor, what is behind this necessity of the suffering and rejection, and murder, and resurrection and this word “must” that Satan and Peter and the whole world despises?

What is behind this must? Why must Christ suffer? Why must Christ be rejection? Why must Christ be murder? Why must Christ be resurrected?

The Son of Man, must suffer, must be rejected, must be murdered, and must be resurrected. Why! Let’s look a three reasons (1) God planned it, Because it is written and the Scriptures cannot be broken. Christ must suffer because, It is written that in , that the Son of Man, must be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, and upon Christ will be placed the chastisement that brings us peace. It is written that Christ must be despised and rejected by men. It is written that Christ must suffer betrayal because in , When it says that even my close friend in whom I trusted who ate bread with me, has lifted his heel against me. It is written that Christ in must be spat upon and struck in the face because and why must all this must happen! Because the Scriptures cannot be broken, it has been written!

(2) God prophesied that The Son of Man must suffer, must be rejected, must be murdered, and must be resurrected. Why? God prophesied that, Christ must be rejected, have you not read that the stone that the builders rejected had now become the chief corner stone. God prophesied that Christ must be murdered, have you not read in , He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Have you not read still in , God prophesied that Christ who be cut out of the land of the living, that Christ would have his grave with the wicked and that Christ poured His soul out to death. God prophesied that Christ must be murdered. God also prophesied that Christ must would resurrected!

(3) God also predicts and preforms His Word. The Son of Man must suffer, must be rejected, must be murdered, and must be resurrected. Why? Because, God not only predicts but performs His Word. , so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Do you not understand that every prophecy will come to pass, not because God is not a fortuneteller, but because of what is says in , Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” Believe me God predicts and preforms His Word.

So, why did Jesus say to Peter, 'Get behind me Satan'?" The command “Get behind me, Satan,” spoken to Peter by Jesus, is recorded in and . “Get behind me, Satan” seems harsh and out of character for Jesus, especially when addressing Peter, one of His most devout disciples. What was it Peter did to deserve such a rebuke? Well, without knowing it, Peter was speaking for Satan. Jesus had just revealed to His disciples for the first time the plan: He was to go to Jerusalem to suffer, be rejected, die, and be raised to life (; ). Contrary to their expectations of Him, Jesus explained that He had not come to establish an earthly Messianic kingdom at that time. The disciples were not prepared for this new revelation of the Messiah’s purpose. Though Peter understood His words, he simply could not reconcile his view of the conquering Messiah with the suffering and death Jesus spoke of. So Peter “began to rebuke Him” for having such a fatalistic mindset. Unwittingly, Peter was speaking for Satan. Like Jesus’ adversary, Peter was not setting his mind on the things of God—His ways, His plans, and His purposes

, Set your minds on things that are above, not the things that are on earth. Instead, his mind was set on the things of man, the things of the world and its earthly values.

Jesus was saying that the way of the cross was God’s will, that the way of the cross was God’s plan of redemption, that the way of the cross brought death to death and life for all who would choose Christ. Satan had purposely tempted Jesus in the wilderness to divert Him from the cross, from fulfilling the grand design of the Father and the Son (). Innocently, Peter was doing the same thing. He had not yet grasped Jesus’ true Messianic purpose. Although Peter had just moments before declared Jesus as the Christ, he turned from God’s perspective and viewed the situation from man’s perspective, which brought about the stern rebuke: “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus went on to explain: “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” At the time, Jesus’ stern reprimand did not make sense to Peter. However, Jesus’ indictment presents a profound message for us. We can easily see that Peter had the wrong perspective of God’s plan for Christ’s suffering and death. But we must also see how easily we can become an unwitting spokesperson for Satan. This is especially true when we lose sight of God’s plan for us. This comes about when our focus is on our careers, our possessions, our security, and the things of the world rather than upon sacrifice and service and the proclaiming of God’s message. When Peter’s focus shifted to his own desires and plans, Jesus rebuked him in order to get him back on track. May our focus always be on God and His plans, that we may never experience a similar rebuke from our Lord. May we all take up our cross and suffer with Him, may we all take up our cross and follow Him. And may we all take up our cross and not be ashamed of Him.

Take up your cross and not be ashamed of me.

Jesus stated clearly what it means to follow Him: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? ().

Our modern understanding of the phrase "take up your cross and follow me" is often inadequate. In Jesus' day the cross always symbolized death. When a man carried a cross, he had already been condemned to die on it. Jesus is saying that, in order to follow Him, one must be willing to die.

Listen, we will not all die martyrs’ deaths. We will not all be imprisoned, beaten, or tortured for our faith, but we must all die for the cause of the cross!

So what kind of death did Jesus mean? Paul explains in , "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." To follow Christ means we die to our own way of doing things. We consider our will, our rights, our passions, and our goals to be crucified on the cross with Him. We consider our right to direct our own lives to be dead to us.

, But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Death involves suffering. The flesh does not want to die. Dying and denying ourselves is painful and it goes against our natural inclination to seek our own pleasure. But we cannot follow both Christ and the flesh (; ; ).

Jesus said, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (). Paul suffered more than most for Jesus' sake. He said this to the Christians at Philippi: "For it has been granted to you on that for the sake of Christ you should not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him" ().

The word granted here means "shown favor, given freely as a gift." Paul does not present suffering as a curse, but as a gift! Suffering can take many forms. By choosing to obey the Lord Jesus Christ, we are setting ourselves at odds with the world.

says, "For am I now seeking the approval of man or God? Or am I trying to please man? It I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." By closely adhering to the teachings of the Bible, we set ourselves up for suffering, rejection, murder, loneliness, and betrayal. Often, the cruelest persecution comes from those who consider themselves spiritual but have defined God according to their own ideas.

If we choose to take a stand for righteousness and biblical truth, we ensure that we will be misunderstood, mimicked, or mocked.

We need to keep in mind that no threat of suffering deterred the apostles from preaching Christ. In fact, Paul said that losing everything was worth it "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (, NASB). describes the reaction of the apostles after they received another beating for preaching about Jesus: "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." Suffering in some form is always going to be a part of being a true follower of Christ. Jesus said the path that leads to life is difficult (). Our hardship is also a way of identifying with Christ suffering in a small way.

Jesus said if we deny him before men, He will deny us before His Father in heaven (; ). There are many subtle ways to deny Christ and we do it everyday.

If our actions, words, lifestyle, or entertainment choices do not reflect His will, we are denying Christ. If we claim to know Him but live as though we didn't, we are denying Christ

(). Many people choose those forms of denying Christ because they do not want to suffer for Him. Often our greatest suffering comes from within as we battle for control over a heart; a heart that must die to its own will and surrender to Christ’s lordship. In whatever form suffering comes, we should embrace it as a badge of honor and a privilege that we, like the apostles, have "been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."

In our text Jesus asks what good it is for a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul? To gain the whole world is to receive all the world has to offer—money, fame, pleasure, power, prestige, etc. To lose one’s soul is to die without a right relationship with Christ and spend an eternity in the lake of fire. Is that clear brothers and sisters? Jesus is speaking rhetorical here. Jesus spoke to the crowd and reminded them that there was nothing worth more than one’s own eternal soul.

Rejecting Christ might mean temporary, earthly gains, but it comes at the worst possible price.

However, Jesus did not speak about conquering with an army or taking over the government. Instead, Jesus taught that the Messiah would suffer and die at the hands of men.

In other words, one needs to be willing to give up everything in order to be a follower of Jesus Christ. If we allow Christ to become our gain, then we gain more that the world could ever give us. Worldly suffering shouldn’t be a deterrent. This is the context of Jesus’ question “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” If a person rejects Jesus and becomes the richest, most powerful person on earth, he has still made a poor decision. Sooner or later, earthly things will fade away. And that person will have lost the only part of himself that lasts forever. The day of reckoning is coming: “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” ().

There is nothing more valuable than a person’s soul. To trade that away is the epitome of foolishness. When a person chooses to embrace this world instead of heaven, he is forfeiting his soul. If a person rejects Christ for the sake of anything in this life, he will lose his soul. Esau despised his birthright, choosing stew instead; Judas sold the Savior for a few pieces of silver; Demas loved this present world and forsook the ministry. All three men thought they were gaining something but actually lost everything.

, For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Take up your cross and be not ashamed of Me.

The word translated “ashamed” means “disgraced” or “personally humiliated.” A person “ashamed” in this way is like someone singled out for misplacing his confidence—he trusted in something, and that something let him down. The word can refer to being dishonored because of forming the wrong alliances. So, when Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel, he is saying that his confidence in the gospel is not misplaced.

He is saying that there is no disgrace in declaring the gospel and standing up for it. Paul is saying that he has given his life to proclaiming the truths that Jesus Himself has revealed to him. He explained to the Romans why he did not believe that he had wrongly identified with Jesus and why proclaiming Jesus’ message was his life’s work. The application can extend to us as well. Just as Paul placed his confidence in the gospel of Christ, so can we. We can proclaim with boldness the truths that God has revealed in His Word, with no fear that our confidence is misplaced. “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame” (). We can rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit who inspired the writing of Scripture never changes. What was true thousands of years ago is still true today. The offer of salvation that was presented to people of the first century is still open to us (; ). To live unashamed of the gospel means we proclaim it, but it also means we apply it to our lives and show we believe it. Paul’s life choices supported his message. He did not preach one thing and live another. When we are “ashamed of the gospel” when we allow sin in our lives to go unchecked (). When we are ashamed of the gospel we indulge in worldliness and carnal desires. When we are ashamed of the gospel we blatantly disobey scriptural standards. And when we are ashamed of the gospel we indicate that we lack confidence in our own message. When we are ashamed of the gospel we do not support the gospel with our full tithe. (; ). When we “walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, and sit in the seat of scoffers” (), we are being ashamed of the gospel. We are not allowing its truth to penetrate our lives so that others see its changing power; we are ashamed of the gospel. To live unashamed of the gospel means that we, like Paul, allow it to dominate our lives to the extent that everyone within our sphere of influence can see that we have “been with Jesus” ().

My brothers and sisters the time stand up for Christ is coming and it is already here, we must walk and not fait and we must mount up like eagles, we must not be afraid or ashamed because we are more than conquers in Christ who has saved us!

Are you ready to take up your cross and suffer with Jesus, are you ready to take up your cross and follow Jesus and are you ready to take up your cross and not be ashamed of Jesus. or His gospel!Take up your cross

es, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.

Let us pray…

Father God, I ask that Christ will present His word this morning through this broken vessel with such truth and clarity that it is undeniable and that people received the gospel and are forgiven for their sins, past, present and future; and that they are saved from the Your wrath, which is to come. Those of us who are in your kingdom thank you once again this morning for the all-sufficient, all atoning, sacrifice of your Son Jesus the Christ.

It is in the precious and matchless name of your Son and our Savior, Jesus the Christ that we pray and all God’s children said Amen.

Take up your cross and suffer with me

Listen my brothers and sisters as we begin on a journey of having the truth revealed to us this morning. First of all we must recognize the main point of verses 31 to 33, which will serve as guide throughout our time together, this first paragraph, the main point here is that our Sovereign God, planned, and prophesied, and performed, the suffering, the rejection, the killing, and the raising from the dead of His Son Jesus the Christ.

And therefore for us to resist that fact is to adopt the mindset of Satan or fallen man, which by the way are the same in this text. Allow me put it this way; verses 31 to 33 reveal to us the relationship of God and the very murderers of the Son of Man and that relationship is shows this, that when it comes to the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ. Our Sovereign God planned it, prophesied it, performed it. It was God who ordained the suffering, the rejection, the killing, and the raising from the dead of His Son Jesus the Christ.

, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

It is Holy Scripture that confirms that this act of God was not random but it was required, it was required because it is the gospel. In fact the text says that Jesus the Son of Man, must suffer, and this is the key word here he “must,” look at verse 31a, ‘And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things…’ Jesus says that He must, not maybe, not it could happen, not that it would happen if He was not very careful, but Jesus, Himself taught that He must suffer many things.

Well Pastor what are the many things? It is in the text, , and Jesus must be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said it plainly.

So suffering did not catch Jesus by surprise, suffering did not confuse Jesus! No, Jesus was content with suffering! Jesus spoke of it often! Let’s go to the Scriptures.

, And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Jesus was content with suffering! Here is Christ again speaking to a larger group of disciples later in Luke,

, Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.

Jesus was content with suffering. In the book of Acts Paul gives his testimony and shares these words,

, To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

So suffering did not catch Jesus off guard, suffering did not confuse Jesus! Jesus was content with suffering.

Does suffering confuse you? Are you content with suffering? Well suffering should not because it is clearly taught in the Scriptures and we must learn to be content with suffering for Christ sake.

So, let’s go to the Scriptures, now remember these Scriptures are referring to us believers.

, For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

, And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

How could any believer be confused concerning suffering for and with Christ? Unless that have brought into the lie that this is your “best life now!”

Scripture states the fact plainly as Jesus taught them plainly, so when Peter rebuke Jesus it is not because Jesus was unclear. It was not because Peter was uniformed.

It was because Peter was being unrighteous. Look at verse 32, And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Now after hearing the clear and plain truth of the matter, Peter had the nerve to take the Son of Man aside and rebuke Him! Jesus had shared that His suffering, His rejection, His murder and His resurrection must happen.

Notice that the text does not say that Peter was frightened and that is why he spoke this way. The text does not say that Peter showed any compassion for what Jesus said must happen to Him. The text does not say that Peter was even sympathetic towards Jesus understanding of His suffering. In fact Peter was just the opposite, the text says he rebuked Jesus. He reprimands Jesus, he scolded Jesus, he criticizes Jesus and he admonished Jesus.

Peter confronted Jesus about the truth of what Jesus had just said. Because Peter says, Lord, this does not have to happen! Jesus your suffering, your rejection, your murder, and your rising again, does not have to happen. Peter for all intensive purposes called the truth a lie!

Yes, a lie, because the Bible talks a lot about suffering for the sake of Christ. In the era in which the New Testament was written, Christian families and communities were often ostracized as followers of Jesus. Some of the worst persecution came from the religious leaders (). Jesus told His followers, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (). He reminded His disciples, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first" (). says, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

Just as in biblical times, many Christians around the world today have found that making a public declaration of faith in Christ can result in imprisonment, beatings, torture, or death.

Often those of us in free nations shudder at the thought, but we feel relatively safe. We understand that there are thousands who suffer daily for the sake of Christ and are thankful we don't have to. But is there more than just one kind of persecution? Believe me our time in is coming and it is here now!

So, as Christian we must take up our cross and suffer with Christ. And we also need to take up our cross and follow Christ.

Take up your cross and follow me

Now the text tells us that Jesus rebukes Peter, look at 33, But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind of the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Now at the end of this verse you might expect Jesus to make the contrast between and God and Satan instead of God and man. But Jesus is saying here that fallen man and Satan are cut from the same cloth that is they are one in the same, they have the same mindset. Jesus is saying here, Peter you are not seeing the necessity of my sufferings, the way my Father in heaven does. You are aligning yourself more with the things of Satan that the things of God. Peter, Satan does not like it when I make statements like, “it must happen,” because those words boxed him in and shows that he might be the prince of the air, but I am the Prince of Peace and he is not in control, I am.

Peter, even you dislike the fact that you can’t control things and, fallen mankind dislikes the fact that they do not control all things. Peter you are wrong and I rebuke you. Peter, listen to me, the whole human race thinks like this, that don’t like the necessity of being saved through a Savior, they think that they can saved themselves.

So Pastor, what is behind this necessity of the suffering and rejection, and murder, and resurrection and this word “must” that Satan and Peter and the whole world despises?

What is behind this must? Why must Christ suffer? Why must Christ be rejection? Why must Christ be murder? Why must Christ be resurrected?

The Son of Man, must suffer, must be rejected, must be murdered, and must be resurrected. Why! Let’s look a three reasons (1) God planned it, Because it is written and the Scriptures cannot be broken. Christ must suffer because, It is written that in , that the Son of Man, must be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, and upon Christ will be placed the chastisement that brings us peace. It is written that Christ must be despised and rejected by men. It is written that Christ must suffer betrayal because in , When it says that even my close friend in whom I trusted who ate bread with me, has lifted his heel against me. It is written that Christ in must be spat upon and struck in the face because and why must all this must happen! Because the Scriptures cannot be broken, it has been written!

(2) God prophesied that The Son of Man must suffer, must be rejected, must be murdered, and must be resurrected. Why? God prophesied that, Christ must be rejected, have you not read that the stone that the builders rejected had now become the chief corner stone. God prophesied that Christ must be murdered, have you not read in , He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Have you not read still in , God prophesied that Christ who be cut out of the land of the living, that Christ would have his grave with the wicked and that Christ poured His soul out to death. God prophesied that Christ must be murdered. God also prophesied that Christ must would resurrected!

(3) God also predicts and preforms His Word. The Son of Man must suffer, must be rejected, must be murdered, and must be resurrected. Why? Because, God not only predicts but performs His Word. , so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Do you not understand that every prophecy will come to pass, not because God is not a fortuneteller, but because of what is says in , Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” Believe me God predicts and preforms His Word.

So, why did Jesus say to Peter, 'Get behind me Satan'?" The command “Get behind me, Satan,” spoken to Peter by Jesus, is recorded in and . “Get behind me, Satan” seems harsh and out of character for Jesus, especially when addressing Peter, one of His most devout disciples. What was it Peter did to deserve such a rebuke? Well, without knowing it, Peter was speaking for Satan. Jesus had just revealed to His disciples for the first time the plan: He was to go to Jerusalem to suffer, be rejected, die, and be raised to life (; ). Contrary to their expectations of Him, Jesus explained that He had not come to establish an earthly Messianic kingdom at that time. The disciples were not prepared for this new revelation of the Messiah’s purpose. Though Peter understood His words, he simply could not reconcile his view of the conquering Messiah with the suffering and death Jesus spoke of. So Peter “began to rebuke Him” for having such a fatalistic mindset. Unwittingly, Peter was speaking for Satan. Like Jesus’ adversary, Peter was not setting his mind on the things of God—His ways, His plans, and His purposes

, Set your minds on things that are above, not the things that are on earth. Instead, his mind was set on the things of man, the things of the world and its earthly values.

Jesus was saying that the way of the cross was God’s will, that the way of the cross was God’s plan of redemption, that the way of the cross brought death to death and life for all who would choose Christ. Satan had purposely tempted Jesus in the wilderness to divert Him from the cross, from fulfilling the grand design of the Father and the Son (). Innocently, Peter was doing the same thing. He had not yet grasped Jesus’ true Messianic purpose. Although Peter had just moments before declared Jesus as the Christ, he turned from God’s perspective and viewed the situation from man’s perspective, which brought about the stern rebuke: “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus went on to explain: “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” At the time, Jesus’ stern reprimand did not make sense to Peter. However, Jesus’ indictment presents a profound message for us. We can easily see that Peter had the wrong perspective of God’s plan for Christ’s suffering and death. But we must also see how easily we can become an unwitting spokesperson for Satan. This is especially true when we lose sight of God’s plan for us. This comes about when our focus is on our careers, our possessions, our security, and the things of the world rather than upon sacrifice and service and the proclaiming of God’s message. When Peter’s focus shifted to his own desires and plans, Jesus rebuked him in order to get him back on track. May our focus always be on God and His plans, that we may never experience a similar rebuke from our Lord. May we all take up our cross and suffer with Him, may we all take up our cross and follow Him. And may we all take up our cross and not be ashamed of Him.

Take up your cross and not be ashamed of me.

Jesus stated clearly what it means to follow Him: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? ().

Our modern understanding of the phrase "take up your cross and follow me" is often inadequate. In Jesus' day the cross always symbolized death. When a man carried a cross, he had already been condemned to die on it. Jesus is saying that, in order to follow Him, one must be willing to die.

Listen, we will not all die martyrs’ deaths. We will not all be imprisoned, beaten, or tortured for our faith, but we must all die for the cause of the cross!

So what kind of death did Jesus mean? Paul explains in , "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." To follow Christ means we die to our own way of doing things. We consider our will, our rights, our passions, and our goals to be crucified on the cross with Him. We consider our right to direct our own lives to be dead to us.

, But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Death involves suffering. The flesh does not want to die. Dying and denying ourselves is painful and it goes against our natural inclination to seek our own pleasure. But we cannot follow both Christ and the flesh (; ; ).

Jesus said, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (). Paul suffered more than most for Jesus' sake. He said this to the Christians at Philippi: "For it has been granted to you on that for the sake of Christ you should not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him" ().

The word granted here means "shown favor, given freely as a gift." Paul does not present suffering as a curse, but as a gift! Suffering can take many forms. By choosing to obey the Lord Jesus Christ, we are setting ourselves at odds with the world.

says, "For am I now seeking the approval of man or God? Or am I trying to please man? It I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." By closely adhering to the teachings of the Bible, we set ourselves up for suffering, rejection, murder, loneliness, and betrayal. Often, the cruelest persecution comes from those who consider themselves spiritual but have defined God according to their own ideas.

If we choose to take a stand for righteousness and biblical truth, we ensure that we will be misunderstood, mimicked, or mocked.

We need to keep in mind that no threat of suffering deterred the apostles from preaching Christ. In fact, Paul said that losing everything was worth it "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (, NASB). describes the reaction of the apostles after they received another beating for preaching about Jesus: "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." Suffering in some form is always going to be a part of being a true follower of Christ. Jesus said the path that leads to life is difficult (). Our hardship is also a way of identifying with Christ suffering in a small way.

Jesus said if we deny him before men, He will deny us before His Father in heaven (; ). There are many subtle ways to deny Christ and we do it everyday.

If our actions, words, lifestyle, or entertainment choices do not reflect His will, we are denying Christ. If we claim to know Him but live as though we didn't, we are denying Christ

(). Many people choose those forms of denying Christ because they do not want to suffer for Him. Often our greatest suffering comes from within as we battle for control over a heart; a heart that must die to its own will and surrender to Christ’s lordship. In whatever form suffering comes, we should embrace it as a badge of honor and a privilege that we, like the apostles, have "been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."

In our text Jesus asks what good it is for a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul? To gain the whole world is to receive all the world has to offer—money, fame, pleasure, power, prestige, etc. To lose one’s soul is to die without a right relationship with Christ and spend an eternity in the lake of fire. Is that clear brothers and sisters? Jesus is speaking rhetorical here. Jesus spoke to the crowd and reminded them that there was nothing worth more than one’s own eternal soul.

Rejecting Christ might mean temporary, earthly gains, but it comes at the worst possible price.

However, Jesus did not speak about conquering with an army or taking over the government. Instead, Jesus taught that the Messiah would suffer and die at the hands of men.

In other words, one needs to be willing to give up everything in order to be a follower of Jesus Christ. If we allow Christ to become our gain, then we gain more that the world could ever give us. Worldly suffering shouldn’t be a deterrent. This is the context of Jesus’ question “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” If a person rejects Jesus and becomes the richest, most powerful person on earth, he has still made a poor decision. Sooner or later, earthly things will fade away. And that person will have lost the only part of himself that lasts forever. The day of reckoning is coming: “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” ().

There is nothing more valuable than a person’s soul. To trade that away is the epitome of foolishness. When a person chooses to embrace this world instead of heaven, he is forfeiting his soul. If a person rejects Christ for the sake of anything in this life, he will lose his soul. Esau despised his birthright, choosing stew instead; Judas sold the Savior for a few pieces of silver; Demas loved this present world and forsook the ministry. All three men thought they were gaining something but actually lost everything.

, For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Take up your cross and be not ashamed of Me.

The word translated “ashamed” means “disgraced” or “personally humiliated.” A person “ashamed” in this way is like someone singled out for misplacing his confidence—he trusted in something, and that something let him down. The word can refer to being dishonored because of forming the wrong alliances. So, when Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel, he is saying that his confidence in the gospel is not misplaced.

He is saying that there is no disgrace in declaring the gospel and standing up for it. Paul is saying that he has given his life to proclaiming the truths that Jesus Himself has revealed to him. He explained to the Romans why he did not believe that he had wrongly identified with Jesus and why proclaiming Jesus’ message was his life’s work. The application can extend to us as well. Just as Paul placed his confidence in the gospel of Christ, so can we. We can proclaim with boldness the truths that God has revealed in His Word, with no fear that our confidence is misplaced. “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame” (). We can rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit who inspired the writing of Scripture never changes. What was true thousands of years ago is still true today. The offer of salvation that was presented to people of the first century is still open to us (; ). To live unashamed of the gospel means we proclaim it, but it also means we apply it to our lives and show we believe it. Paul’s life choices supported his message. He did not preach one thing and live another. When we are “ashamed of the gospel” when we allow sin in our lives to go unchecked (). When we are ashamed of the gospel we indulge in worldliness and carnal desires. When we are ashamed of the gospel we blatantly disobey scriptural standards. And when we are ashamed of the gospel we indicate that we lack confidence in our own message. When we are ashamed of the gospel we do not support the gospel with our full tithe. (; ). When we “walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, and sit in the seat of scoffers” (), we are being ashamed of the gospel. We are not allowing its truth to penetrate our lives so that others see its changing power; we are ashamed of the gospel. To live unashamed of the gospel means that we, like Paul, allow it to dominate our lives to the extent that everyone within our sphere of influence can see that we have “been with Jesus” ().

My brothers and sisters the time stand up for Christ is coming and it is already here, we must walk and not fait and we must mount up like eagles, we must not be afraid or ashamed because we are more than conquers in Christ who has saved us!

Are you ready to take up your cross and suffer with Jesus, are you ready to take up your cross and follow Jesus and are you ready to take up your cross and not be ashamed of Jesus. or His gospel!