Crosses Come from Christ

Pentecost 17

September 20, 2015

Mark 8:34-38

Crosses Come from Christ

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father's glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38 NIV84)

Jesus is speaking to Christians. The cross He talks about is for Christians only. He describes the Christian in four ways:

1) it's a fruit of following Him,

2) it's necessary for those following Him,

3) it's painful and heavy for those following Him,

4) and in a word, the cross means saying NO to yourself.

Notice that the cross is something we carry because we're alive. Spiritually dead unbelievers can't carry anything; only Christian can carry crosses because we're alive.

Boys and girls, what do trucks do? They carry stuff. Have you ever seen a truck, for example a big mega Ford F-150 drive by with nothing in the back. Maybe he's on his way to pick something up, but if the back of any truck is spotless, you wonder, “Why'd you buy a truck?”

Trucks are supposed to carry stuff. Christians carry stuff. We carry crosses because we are alive and follow Jesus. He's calls us to follow after Him. If someone refuses to carry their cross, they aren't Christians. It's not an unforgivable sin, but there's no such thing as a cross-less Christian.

Now, it's not our job to judge the crosses of other Christians. (Thank the Lord!) Crosses come in many shapes and sizes. Many crosses are hidden, other crosses are very obvious. Mind your cross and give support to others as they carry their crosses.

And every cross, whether known to others or not, is painful. They hurt and weigh heavily on our hearts.

Perhaps it's an unexpected heart surgery or coping with a chronic disease. Perhaps it's a defiant child or a grumpy parent. Perhaps it's a pastor who doesn't understand you or someone at church who seems determined to avoid growing in God's Word. Perhaps it's habitually losing your temper in front of your family or not sharing your money with those in need. None of our crosses are made of wood; they are made of people, mostly yourself and sometimes others.

The pain of our crosses come from saying No to ourselves. Doing things we'd rather not do. Saying things we'd rather not say.

Jeremiah and Isaiah were Christians who carried crosses. They denied what they wanted and listen obediently to God's word. God told them to do dangerous things: preach highly offensive sermons to His people. And Isaiah and Jeremiah suffered for their preaching. For example, Jeremiah was thrown into a big water pit and then after being rescued, was put into jail. Isaiah maybe was murdered by being sawn in half. No magic trick, just bearing their crosses. As they suffered, they must have wondered, “Doesn't He care?”

Dear friends, by grace Isaiah and Jeremiah asked the question, but they also heard the answer

“. . . whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35)

We too ask the question as we carry our crosses: Doesn't He care? And the answer is always the same: I have laid down My life for you. I have suffered for you. What I give you is always better than what you want apart from Me. And I will always be with you to the very end.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners―of whom I am the worst. Alleluia! Amen!