January 24, 2010
Key Passage: Mark 8:22-38
“Counting the Cost of Carrying the Cross”
Whether you’re eighteen
or forty-eight, chances are you’re actively plotting out some kind
of vision for your life: the things you hope to accomplish, the relationships
you’d like to develop, the job you want to have, the places you’d
like to live. So… how do you feel about relinquishing the right
to define your life? Let’s be brutally honest here
– most people can’t even begin following Jesus because they can’t
fathom denying themselves, much less picking up a cross and carrying
it. Yet, that’s exactly what Jesus states a Follower of his
must do. It’s almost impossible to do because at our core, most of
us are as narcissistic as the day is long
– it’s ALL about us. The Good News is, this process is actually
a series of small steps. Remember, Jesus didn’t just appear
out of nowhere in the Garden of Gethsemane to make the most difficult
– and most significant – decision in history; the decision to submit
to the Father’s will and, quite literally, take up his cross.
Christ journeyed toward the cross one step at a time. He made
hundreds of decisions along the way
… and so it is with us. Count the cost of carrying the cross
one day at a time!
Mark 8:22-26 Setting the
stage for teaching the disciples about counting the cost…consider:
- This miracle
is the only one Jesus ever performed in two stages
– the only one that involved a process instead of immediate healing
- Likely, this
was done as a deliberate act – for the benefit of the disciples
– to teach them that spiritual blindness and its subsequent
“healing” is a progressive act
… note what follows:
Mark 8:27-33 Peter confession
of Jesus as the Christ, and Jesus’ rebuke of him…consider:
- “Christianity”
without the cross isn’t Christianity at all, but a cruddy, slimy substitute
(“Health, Wealth”). The way of the cross is what makes up
Christianity, and that encompasses three things:
- It means the
end of self-sufficiency, self-reliance. That’s the philosophy
of our day – think
- It involves pain
and hurt. Which of us, if allowed to choose our own vision for
our life, would
include defeat, disaster, despair, disappointment and death? Yet
these are the very elements,
Scripture tells us, that God finds absolutely essential to working out
his plan for us.
3.
The Good News is, the cross always leads to a resurrection. Does
anybody else think it
rise again? Resurrection is simply a new beginning, on different
terms. It leads to freedom.
Mark 8:34-38 The process
of discipleship – of being a true Follower of Jesus Christ
- “Denying oneself”
– this is NOT the same thing as self-denial (I won’t eat chocolate
for lent)… no,
denying oneself says we give up our right to ourselves, our right to
run our own lives.
- “Take up his
cross” – again, this is NOT looking at some difficulty and stating,
“well, that’s just my
cross to bear!” The cross forever stands as a symbol for the
circumstances and experiences in our
life which humble us, expose us, offend our pride, and reveal our basic
evil.
- “Follow Me”
– Essentially, this is simply saying
“obey me.” “If you love me, you’ll obey me. If you
don’t love me, you won’t obey me.” Simple in concept; difficult
in execution!
Q: Is it right
to appeal to a person to believe in Jesus for the temporal benefits
they’ll receive?
Q: What expectations
of Christ did you have which he has not fulfilled? Were they biblical?
Bottom Line:
The world has so many different versions of Jesus (Teacher, Prophet,
Good Man). Let’s make no mistake
– the Jesus of the Bible is the Christ of the cross. If anyone
wishes to follow Him, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and obey
Him. Until we understand that, we haven’t grasped the primary
reason Jesus came to earth. Take an inventory this
week of where you really stand with Jesus…
