Embracing the Cross

To be the Messiah of Israel meant suffering and death for others, and Jesus summoned his disciples to follow that same path – Mark 8:31.

Jesus explained what it meant to be Israel’s Messiah and the Son of God as his entourage approached Jerusalem, suffering and death. This was contrary to popular expectations, including those of his closest disciples. He also summoned anyone who wished to follow him to take up his cross and emulate his example. Failure to do so would result in shame before the Lord of Glory.

Although the Roman government was the instrument of his execution, Jesus placed the responsibility for his death on the “elders and chief priests and scribes.” The Torah-observant religious leaders of Israel were complicit in the plot to deliver him into the hands of Pontius Pilate - (Mark 8:31).

[Photo by Félix Besombes on Unsplash]

As he neared the city, Jesus “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 to be killed, and after three days, to rise.” Peter took him aside and “reproved him.” For a disciple to rebuke his master demonstrated how seriously Peter objected to Christ’s words.

Jesus declared “plainly” what was coming. His statement was no parable or enigmatic saying. The fact that Peter reacted sharply and quickly proved that he understood his words but did not like what he heard from Jesus. The idea that Israel’s Messiah would be killed by the nation’s greatest enemy, Rome, and through the machinations of the priestly authorities was intolerable to a devout and patriotic Jew.

However, Jesus “turned around and looked on his disciples” as he rebuked Satan. Although Peter said the words, the rebuke was for the benefit of the other disciples, for Peter gave voice to what they all were thinking. He also recognized that Peter’s words originated from Satan.

The Devil had determined to thwart him from completing his messianic mission. That explains why Christ responded to Peter with such a sharp and immediate reprimand.

Christ’s mission was to destroy Satan and his strongholds. But, as Scripture itself attested, the Messiah would accomplish this by suffering and death:

• “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes, we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his way, and Yahweh laid on him the iniquity of us all” - (Isaiah 53:4-6).

Jesus said this in private, and his words were clear.  An incorrect understanding of what it meant to be the Messiah would produce an incorrect understanding of what it meant to be his disciple. Just as God called His Son to self-denial and suffering, so Jesus called his disciples to walk the same difficult path.

DISCIPLESHIP

Every disciple must be willing to tread where the Nazarene walked even when doing so means shame, persecution, rejection, loss of possessions, and sometimes death. Doing so is not optional. “Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel will save it.”

In his explanation, Jesus did not yet predict his death by crucifixion. But in his summons to follow him, he compared doing so with “taking up the Cross.” Not only did this hint at how he would die, but he also presented his audience with a grim image.

Rome used crucifixion to execute rebellious slaves and political revolutionaries. The condemned man was forced to carry the crossbar to the execution site, adding to his humiliation. Romans were so horrified by crucifixion that citizens were exempted by law from it - citizens found guilty of capital offenses were beheaded instead.

According to Jesus, the “Son of Man” will be ashamed of anyone ashamed of him in “this adulterous and sinful generation.” Any disciple who fails to deny himself and “take up the cross” may find himself in this predicament when he “comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Jesus identified himself with the “Suffering Servant” of the Book of Isaiah and the “Son of Man” from the Book of Daniel. The former illustrates his suffering and death for his people, the latter his arrival in glory at the end of the age.

Both passages from the Hebrew Bible are necessary for understanding Jesus and his mission. Glory will come, but it does not precede self-denial, suffering, and death. Glory comes afterward and results from the disciple persevering in trials and suffering. To follow Jesus means embracing his Cross.

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SEE ALSO:

• Ransom for many - (His disciples are called to engage in self-sacrificial service for others just as Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many – Mark 10:35-45)

• The Cruciform Road - (To follow Jesus wherever he goes requires a life of self-denial and mercy and sacrificial service to help others – Matthew 20:20-28)

• His Path - (Jesus proclaimed a very different political reality, the Kingdom of God, one that bears little resemblance to the governments of this evil age)