Deny self, take up cross and follow
Matthew 16:24-28
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
27 ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. 28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’
Here we have the pinnacle statement of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus: three parts: Deny self, Take up cross, and Follow Jesus.
Deny self – being a follower of Jesus means putting ourselves, our agendas, our goals as of less importance. Following Jesus is to put our personal wants and desires in submission to the plan, purposes, goals of God, the Triune God of grace. To deny self is to serve others and to serve God. To deny self is to give up our desires to put ourselves in the center of the story and recognize that the story is not about us, not about our benefit. To deny self is to recognize that we are invited not to think less of ourselves, but to think of ourselves less often. To deny self is not to say we are worthless, rather it is to give up our self-importance.
Take up the cross – to have a purpose, calling, mission from God that will take up all of our energy, commitment, even our lives. It could be in caring for a person in need, giving ourselves to their care. It could be being willing be ridiculed and laughed at because of our commitment to serve God. It could be giving of our time and money in sacrificial ways to serve the mission and ministry of God.
Follow Jesus – to follow Jesus’ lead, to be willing to be in step with his pattern, with his ways of being with people. Jesus’ pattern involved caring for others even when that meant difficult conversations and calling people to account. To care for others is in fact a call to show both compassion and a willingness to hold others accountable. To follow Jesus is to have his life as our example, as our goal.
PRAYER:
O Lord, teach us to do the hard work of being your follower. Teach us the hard work of denying ourselves, of taking up our cross, of following your Son, Jesus Christ. Shape us into disciples of Jesus. In whose name we pray. Amen.