Take Up Your Cross

Now Jesus addresses the disciples and those who gather around about what discipleship involves. Not simply what Sonship involves for Himself, not simply what it means for Him to be the Messiah, but what it means for you and for me to follow the Messiah. He said, “Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself. Take up his cross and follow me.” It sounds like an enactment, doesn’t it? Sound like why in the world would Jesus say something about a cross in the middle of this lesson when the cross is yet in front of him? He hasn’t experienced this yet. Isn’t this an example of editorial redaction, where the gospel writers reading back into the historical context, an illusion to the cross, when the cross hasn’t even occurred yet? Not at all dear friends. Every Jew in Israel under the bondage of Roman authority was completely aware and conscious of the symbolic significance of the word cross, because the chief means of execution by the Roman government at this time was crucifixion. And as a matter of procedure that took place in every work of execution in Rome and in Roman provinces, the convicted person was required to carry the cross beam of the cross from their place of judgment to their place of execution, which Jesus Himself would be required to do at the time of His death. And so they all knew this idea of the cross, and Jesus said, “You want to follow me, then you might as well right now go pick up that crossbeam and you might as well carry it with you every day, because that symbol of ignominy, that symbol of death, that symbol of shame will be like a sign on your chest. If you call yourself by my name. If you’re going to be a Christian, then you have to be willing to pick up that crossbeam and follow me.”