Our November sermon series takes a look at some of Jesus’ teaching from the Gospels which can be hard. Hard to understand or hard to put into practice, or both! Jesus’ call to take up our cross and follow him comes at a cost but the benefits are always rich, deep and wide as we surrender every area of our lives to him.
Matthew 16:24, Matthew 16:13-28
Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’ Matthew 16v24.
This teaching comes just after Peter has declared that Jesus is the Messiah v16 - a highpoint in Matthew’s Gospel as Jesus identity is revealed. No sooner has this revelation come then the reality of what Jesus as Messiah will have to go through is also described. He will die and rise again. It is in this context that Jesus speaks to the disciples and tells them they too must take the road of denial and take up their cross. If Peter wants to follow Jesus, then following him to death is a possibility, for some persecuted Christians today this is a reality.
Denial can be quite tame these days; in Lent it can be anything from fasting from Netflix to missing breakfast! What is Jesus asking his disciples to do in this verse? The imagery of the cross was a very vivid one in the ancient near East as Jesus would come to experience and the disciples would witness. How does this teaching apply to us today? Paul talks about dying every day, 1 Cor 15v31 and carrying the death of Jesus in his body 2 Cor 4:10-11 and how he shares in Jesus’ sufferings and the power of his resurrection Phil 3v8,10. Death and suffering for Jesus and us is never the end of the story. Resurrection and life is!
