What Did Jesus Really Mean by 'Take Up Your Cross'?

The Burden of False Assurance and Heritage-Based Righteousness

So to the person who is already struggling with their assurance, who already feels like they're not dedicated enough, like this constant fear of, am I saved? Like, I don't know. They look at their relationship to Christ and it's crushed because they assume everyone else must be doing this.

And if this is the stated absolute requirement of Jesus in order to be his disciple, maybe I'm not. Multiple times, the Jews would come to him and say that, we are of the children of Abraham. And they use this heritage of saying, no, we are right with God and God is good with us.

And we are a part of his kingdom because of our heritage of who we are. And the moment you claim heritage as being what makes you right with God, Jesus is gonna flat out put a kibosh on that. And he does.

Your allegiance and your excitement and all this stuff and your confidence is in Abraham. When the irony of that is that Abraham's confidence is excitement is oriented around me and is in me.

The Cross as Shame, Defilement, and Roman Execution

So when he talks about the cross, we immediately think affectionately about a cross. Jesus bore our sins on a cross. We sing about the cross. Paul talks about the power of the cross, but that is post resurrection.

Christ hasn't gone to the cross yet, not in this context and not in this narrative. Due to the Romans, the cross was used to keep the, they put their thumb down on the Jews and said, you wanna try and do anything to get out from underneath us and we will torture you to death for days.

The Jews hated the cross. They saw them all over the place. They were in Jerusalem, they were in Rome. So when the Jews saw a cross, there was nothing about it other than pure hatred and disdain.

Right, what he's saying, he's asking and saying, take up your cross. It's in one, like take up an instrument of defilement. Take up an instrument of shame.

Jesus wants them to admit to utter defeat of life. Like their life is an epic failure. And it is so much so that not only does he call them away from the victory of Israel, but he's saying, oh, you're gonna be defeated.

Discipleship Means Weakness, Suffering, and Shame

What Jesus is requiring of people in saying this, like you've gotta be so committed to me in one sense that it's as though you hate everything else. Well, nobody can meet that standard. Or if it's, you've got to be willing to suffer anything for my sake.

Again, nobody can do that. I think what Jesus is very clearly communicating here in Luke and especially is communicating in Mark eight is if you follow me, if you're going to be mine and united to me, you need to expect a life of weakness and suffering and even shame, not a life of triumph and glory.

And what Jesus is saying is, yeah, you need to consider your own life and do you meet the test? That's right. And he is not saying, do you meet the test of being willing to give anything away from me?

Do you meet the test of being willing to suffer for me? No, he is saying, do you meet the test of God's holy requirements as revealed in his holy law?

The Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Prodigal Son in Luke 15

That's right. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This is so powerful. Now tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to hear him. That is their on purpose because they are the ones who get it. They're not basing their righteousness on their heritage.

They're not basing it on their right actions because they have none. Those are the ones who heard what Jesus said and went, okay, I'll pick up my cross and follow you. Tell me more about that. Yeah, and what does he teach?

What does he say in Luke 15? Three parables of the lost sheep. The premise there is there's a sheep that's lost. The shepherd goes and finds the sheep, brings it home and says, let's celebrate. Then there's a lost coin.

A woman's turning her house inside out and upside down. She finds the coin that she's lost. She calls her friends and says, let's have a party. Then he tells the parable of a son. He goes off into a far country, comes to his senses.

He's convinced he's gonna return to his father as a slave. He's ready to present the whole pitch. He's got it nailed. Gets close to his household. His father runs out to meet him, which is a scandalous thought in that context, in that day.

And before the son begins to give his pitch and before he can even finish, his father interrupts him and says, put a robe on him. Put rings on his hands and shoes on his feet and let's have a party because my son is home.

It's just like, holy smokes. I mean, the whole context of all of this, it does, John. It absolutely explodes any notion of merit and worthiness. And Jesus makes very clear his posture and the posture of his heavenly father, our heavenly father, to seek and save that which is lost.

That's right. Our suffering now is serious, but the glory that awaits is so much better it can't even be compared. And so I think Christ is giving people this kind of a view on their lives on earth. Don't hope in this life.

Don't look for strength. Don't look for ease. Don't look for comfort. Don't expect triumph. Expect suffering. But friend, glory awaits you.