Heavy Weight
Matthew 16:24-27 Then
Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny
himself and take up his cross and follow me.
JESUS has spoken of his own death and suffering (v 21); he’s
rebuked Peter, who tried to turn him away from his appointed death (v 23); and
now he lays down one more heavy burden for his disciples: Deny yourself and
pick up your cross.
What a picture! The
disciples knew Jesus had just called them into uncompromising agony. Let’s
advertise to the community, “Join Us. Deny Yourself. Pick up Your Cross.”
Certainly no one would find that appealing.
But even thought
that is exactly what we must say, we know that as Jesus’ church we do not really
want to “come after” him. Instead, we want to go after our own desires of
comfort and fun. Get the music right. We need food for fellowship time. What
happened to, “What must we do for you, Jesus?”
The disciples of
Jesus’ day thought they would become highly respected rabbis, perhaps even
Pharisees one day. To be a religious authority was a posh job. They had all the
benefits, got all the perks, and told people what to do. James and John asked
to sit at Jesus’ right and left side in the Kingdom. They were ready for
privilege.
Instead, Herod
killed James. John lived a long and hard life—even was dipped in boiling oil
from which God miraculously protected him. Except for John, all who stood
before Jesus that day died for their Lord. Dieing, though, was the easy part as
many suffered horribly for their love for Jesus and passion for a lost world.
The Gospel does
lead to eternal joy. But somewhere in some form, discipleship requires picking
up a heavy weight.
LIFE Link: Cross-bearing.
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