THE WAY OF THE CROSS
It's not a pretty picture. Our modern representations of it are nice and sentimental, sure, but they ignore the real horror of it. The cross is a despicable thing. It was the most painful, humiliating undignified death that a person could die in Jesus' day. As Troy talked about on Sunday, this cross was no sanitary, polished thing. It was shame and foolishness and death and filth and all the worst of the criminals and evil men were subjected to it. The cross is sin and death. Jesus became those things for our sake, for our good. His love motivated Him (fully God) to allow Himself to be subject to the worst death available. He became literally God-forsaken on the most godforsaken instrument of torture there was.
Sure, I'm being sensationalistic, melodramatic, even crass to some. What could possibly be the purpose in being so graphic about Jesus' death on the cross? Mel Gibson got the same questions about "The Passion". It's uncomfortable to be so blatantly confronted with the violence and gore of the cross. It's uncomfortable, but we need to know because we need to count the cost, realistically. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 6:24). We hear those words and they are almost meaningless. We say things like taking up our cross and denying ourselves means taking out the garbage or emptying the dishwasher, even when it's not our turn. But imagine you are one of the disciples, listening to these words for the first time. You've walked down the roads; you've seen the criminals dying on their crosses. You are all too familiar with the horror, pain and shame of the cross. But here is Jesus saying, take up your cross and follow. Embrace your instrument of torture and follow me. The disciples didn't have the luxury of taking Jesus' words metaphorically.
Honestly, this is an uncomfortable passage. I'm not sure what it looks like for me to take up my cross and follow Jesus. What I am sure of is that we need to know what we are getting ourselves into. We need to be realistic about the nature of discipleship. Dietrich Boenhoffer said that grace is the free gift that costs us everything. We need to count the cost.
What does it mean to walk the road of the cross? How do you respond to Jesus words? How can we obey such a radical commandment?
Sure, I'm being sensationalistic, melodramatic, even crass to some. What could possibly be the purpose in being so graphic about Jesus' death on the cross? Mel Gibson got the same questions about "The Passion". It's uncomfortable to be so blatantly confronted with the violence and gore of the cross. It's uncomfortable, but we need to know because we need to count the cost, realistically. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 6:24). We hear those words and they are almost meaningless. We say things like taking up our cross and denying ourselves means taking out the garbage or emptying the dishwasher, even when it's not our turn. But imagine you are one of the disciples, listening to these words for the first time. You've walked down the roads; you've seen the criminals dying on their crosses. You are all too familiar with the horror, pain and shame of the cross. But here is Jesus saying, take up your cross and follow. Embrace your instrument of torture and follow me. The disciples didn't have the luxury of taking Jesus' words metaphorically.
Honestly, this is an uncomfortable passage. I'm not sure what it looks like for me to take up my cross and follow Jesus. What I am sure of is that we need to know what we are getting ourselves into. We need to be realistic about the nature of discipleship. Dietrich Boenhoffer said that grace is the free gift that costs us everything. We need to count the cost.
What does it mean to walk the road of the cross? How do you respond to Jesus words? How can we obey such a radical commandment?
posted by Journey Church at 8:34 a.m.
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