“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.“
Luke 22:41-44 NKJV
There is an old song entitled, “Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?” (Lyrics: Thomas Shepherd, 1693). Now, the answer to the question posed in the title, is yes, He must bear His cross alone; or rather, yes, He did bear His cross alone.
However, the second part of the first stanza that begins with that same question, “No, there’s a cross for everyone; and there’s a cross for me,” explains the intended message of the writer: Jesus first bore His cross. Now we must bear our own cross as well. That sentiment IS supported by scripture.
I make this distinction because of the well-meaning attempts of some who try to get people to follow Christ out of sympathy for the Lord. As such, some will make statements like, “We’ve got to get up underneath that cross with Jesus and do our part to lift it.” Well, there is no biblical support for that type of teaching. But, before going further in looking at what our responsibility actually is, let’s look at what the cross of Christ represents.
Of course, the immediate response, in terms of what the cross of Christ represents, is that it represents our salvation. That Jesus, being the perfect Lamb of God, was sacrificed to take away the sins of the world, so that—as Jesus said to Nicodemus—“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Certainly, our salvation is what the cross of Jesus represents to us. But, we must look more closely at what the Lord said about what He was doing, to understand what the cross represented to Him.
Jesus had ministered to the Samaritan woman, telling her many things about herself. This encounter caused the woman to basically evangelize the rest of her community, with many coming to believe on Jesus.
Now, while Jesus was there talking to this woman, the disciples had gone to get food. Upon their return, they urged the Lord to eat something. Jesus then basically tells them that He had already eaten; but the food He referenced was not what they had suspected.
“But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.“
John 4:32-34 NKJV
Jesus clearly tells the disciples that His nourishment is doing the will of God, and to finish the work He was sent to do.
At another time, the religious leaders were excoriating Jesus for breaking the Sabbath by healing the sick man at the pool of Bethesda. Within Jesus’ rebuttal to them, He explains that His mission is being divinely orchestrated.
”I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.“
John 5:30 NKJV
Again, Jesus makes clear that He is only doing what the Father wills that He should do.
Additionally, speaking to those who did not believe on Him, Jesus says that He is the bread sent down from heaven, so that all who come to Him would never hunger again. He then clarifies that He is on a mission that would one day enable Him to raise up all those who had believed on Him.
“And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.””
John 6:35-40 NKJV
Notice, Jesus again makes it abundantly clear that the Father had sent Him on this mission.
So, we see that the Lord’s cross represented His obedience to the Father. Yes, Jesus (as God, Himself) wanted us to be saved; but what He did, He did out of obedience to the Father. Indeed, the writer of Hebrews makes the connection clear between the cross of Christ and the will of the Father.
“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ” Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.“
Hebrews 10:5-10 NKJV
In our opening scripture, we see that just before Jesus completed the mission of the Father, He prayed for the cup to pass from Him. But with that, He declared that He would do whatever the Father willed. Indeed, He was obedient even to the cross.
“who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.“
Philippians 2:6-8 NKJV
Yes, the cross of Christ represents our salvation; but for our Lord, it represented His obedience to the Father.
Tomorrow we will begin considering the nature of our own cross.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
In preparation for our discussion over the next several days please read and meditate on the following scriptures:
”“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.“
Matthew 10:32-39 NKJV
”Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.“
Matthew 16:24-27 NKJV
“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?“
Luke 9:23-25 NKJV
“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.“
Mark 10:21-22 NKJV
Jesus was obedient to the Father all the way to the cross of Calvary. And—make no mistake—anyone who would follow Jesus must take up their own cross and bear it all the way to the end of this life’s journey.
Tomorrow we will begin our discussion concerning the nature of our personal cross and why we can’t follow Christ without it.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.“
Hebrews 10:35-39 NKJV
Over the last several days we have been discussing things that can cause someone to fall away from following Christ.
As we have discussed, the word of God tells us that there will be a great Apostasy, a great falling away, just before the return of Jesus Christ. Indeed, that falling away has already begun, and will only get worse.
However, I do believe that as this falling away from following Christ is happening, there will yet be an unusual harvest of souls. Unusual, in that it will suddenly produce zealous workers for the Kingdom, who almost immediately join the workers in the field of harvest, bringing in a multitude of souls in a short amount of time.
For our purposes of understanding, we have looked at some, who, in one way or another, denied Jesus when He walked among us.
Understand, although Jesus gathered huge crowds, there were also those who never even started following, like the rich young ruler.
“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” [Jesus said,] You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!””
Mark 10:17, 19-23 NKJV
Sadly, his possessions had possession of him, and he could not let them go, not even to follow the One Who offered eternal life.
And, even among the huge crowds who did follow Him, there came a time when many of them turned away from following when He said that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood. Taking this command literally, they were offended, and walked away from Him (John 6: 48-66).
So, why did some fall away from following Him, while others stayed the course, to spread the Gospel across the world?
Jesus told a parable illustrating why the same word spoken to different people can produce very different outcomes.
A sower took seed and sowed it across four different types of soil: compacted, rocket, thorny, and good ground.
The seed that fell on a compacted pathway, never was given the opportunity to germinate, but was rather eaten by the birds.
The seed that fell on the rocky ground, did germinate and spring up, but could not withstand heat or drought for lack of good roots, and so withered.
The seed falling on the thorny ground, although it also germinated, was choked out by the thorns that grew up with it.
But, the seed that fell on the good ground, not only germinated, but yielded a good crop.
The disciples, not understanding the point of the parable, asked Jesus for clarification, so He explained it to them.
“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.””
Matthew 13:19-23 NKJV
Think of it: In this scenario, Jesus is talking about Himself; He was the One spreading the word of the Kingdom of God at that point. Yet, not all who heard, received it, and allowed it to grow in them to the point of producing a wonderful harvest of good works.
What I have received from this parable is that we are talking about different levels of access to the human heart, in terms of the word of God.
I would say that the compacted ground represents hearts that—for whatever reason—are hardened to the point that they really don’t even understand, what they’re being told. As such, the devil sees to it that the seed never has a chance to germinate. These people are like the religious leaders who Jesus said had no place in them for His word. Hardened hearts give no access to the word.
Then there are those represented by the rocky ground, who give limited access to the word, but do not allow the word room in their lives to grow and produce a harvest. They will not give up those things that make their heart too cluttered for the word to take deep root. And, with these people, any level of adversity is too much for their level of faith, so they fall away.
The heart represented by the thorny ground, will initially give the word access to their hearts, developing some good roots. But because their affections stay divided, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, will eventually win out over their faith, and they will fall away.
Of course, the good ground represents a heart that will give the word complete access so that it grows up, puts down deep roots, and produces good works and a life that becomes a light shining in darkness.
James provides a concise instruction for making sure that the heart is good ground for the seed of the word.
“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.“
James 1:21-22 NKJV
We will never be able to stay the course if we allow things to continue to operate in our lives that are contrary to the word of God. We will never stay the course if we let our affections draw us off course, away from following Him, into sin. As well, we will never stay the course unless the word is put into practice in our being and doing.
In our opening scripture, the writer of Hebrews gives good instruction concerning our need to remain steadfast.
Yes, a great apostasy is coming, and even now has begun. But, we are not of those who turn back to perdition. We are those who believe to the saving of our soul!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!