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Mark 8:34-38
After Jesus heard Peter’s confession of faith, he began to teach his disciples the core of the gospel, his suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. But Jesus’ disciples did not understand the way Jesus would become the Messiah. They rejected Jesus’ teaching right away. Therefore, Jesus laid down the basic requirements to follow him for all his future followers. Let’s accept the way of discipleship today. May God bless us to accept the universal truth of self-denial and cross-taking in following Jesus. I pray that we all may deny ourselves and take up his cross and follow Jesus in the fall semester so that we can experience the power of God. PART I. THREE BASIC REQUIREMENT OF JESUS’ DISCIPLES (34) Look at verse 34. “Then he called the crowds to him along with his disciples
and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take
up his cross and follow me.’”
First, he must deny himself. The first step to follow Jesus is to deny oneself. It is unthinkable to take up his cross without denying himself. It is like learning calculus without knowing algebra. The motto of the X generation is “take care of yourself or love yourself or enjoy yourself or promote yourself or indulge yourself.” “Self” is the object of our life. People love to promote their selfish desires these days. It is very difficult to deny oneself when living in a "I, my ,me," generation. But Jesus listed self-denial as his number one criteria to follow him. How can we deny ourselves? It is only possible when we accept Jesus as our King and Savior. It is possible when we commit our lives to Jesus completely. No one can deny oneself with own will power. We can deny ourselves when we follow Jesus’ example. Jesus was God. But he gave up the glory of God and became poor to serve all kinds of sinners. Jesus denied his desire to sleep in order to pray in the early morning. He denied his desire to take rest in the evening to heal the sick. He denied his will to avoid the cup of suffering to obey the will of God. He denied his human desire to come down from the cross to save the world. He could have been the most proud man who ever lived. But Jesus was the most humble man who ever lived. (Mt 11:29) Jesus denied himself. Although he was in very nature God, he became obedient to death--even death on a cross. When we think of Jesus, we can deny our own desires. To deny one's pride is a most painful spiritual battle. But we must not shun this spiritual battle. To apostle Paul, to die to his pride was as painful as crucifying himself. So he said in Galatians 5:24, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." It is true that we cannot follow Jesus with our sinful nature. But to deny oneself does not simply mean that we control our sinful nature for a while. Controlling the sinful nature is a temporary solution. It does not help us follow Jesus. To deny oneself means to give up our old sinful nature. It is a decision to give up a me-centered life and begin a God-centered life. It also means to respect God's word more than our own ideas. When Simon Peter respected Jesus’ word more than his own idea, he was able to follow Jesus and experience the power of Jesus. How can we respect God's word more than our own idea? In John 14:23,24 Jesus says, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. He who does not love me will not obey me." Those who love God can respect God's word more than their own ideas. Jesus loved God. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane until he could give up his own will and accept God's will. (Mk 14:36) We have to pray until God’s will becomes our will and God’s desire becomes my desire. The first step to follow Jesus is to give up what we loved in the past and is to love what Jesus asks us to do. Some people try to take up the cross without denying anything. But that’s not possible. Taking up the cross is so hard to someone who did not deny oneself. They confront so many conflicts and quit their mission life. If we only do what we like to do all the time, it is hard to deny our desires. If we want to lose weight, we must deny our desire to eat that chocolate ice cream. Men are clumps of desires. If we do not deny our desires, there is no time to follow Jesus. S. John Lee decided to be a medical doctor for the glory of God. So he denied his desires to play sports and to sleep more and to help others in order to prepare the MCAT exam. I never saw him to study before like a Harvard student. If he studied like this before, he would have become a 4.0 student. It is necessary for us to give up anything we like if that is for Jesus. We can do it because Jesus set the example to follow. Second, he must take up his cross. The second step is to take up his
cross. Self-denial has a true meaning only when we take up our cross. The
Romans, Mark’s original audience, knew what taking up the cross meant.
Death on a cross was a form of execution used by Rome for dangerous criminals.
A prisoner carried his own cross to the place of execution, signifying
submission to Rome’s power. Jesus used the image of carrying a cross to
illustrate the ultimate submission required of his followers. He is not
against pleasure, nor was he saying that we should seek pain needlessly.
Jesus was talking about the heroic effort needed to follow him moment by
moment, to do his will even when the work is difficult and the future looks
bleak. Jesus did not promise an easy life for his followers. He was honest
and blunt telling them that they might be executed on the cross in order
to follow Jesus. The way of the discipleship is a way of cross. This is
a Biblical truth throughout the ages. There is no exception. There is no
compromise. If we seek an easy comfortable trouble-free life, we should
forget about following Jesus. Rather, we should follow the world from the
beginning. There is no such a thing as an easy-going life if we decide
to follow Jesus. The central theme of Apostle Paul’s message was the cross
of Jesus. He said in 1 Cor. 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power
of God.” Likely, some very wise people had said to Paul the evangelist:
“Paul, you would get a better response for your preaching if you would
stop talking about the Cross. It is like waving a red flag in front of
the Jews, and it is foolishness to philosophers like the Greeks. Why don’t
you focus on the life of Jesus rather than upon his death?” Why not? “You
don’t understand what you are asking,” Paul answered. “You would drop out
the very heart of my gospel.” “May I never boast except in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14). Because the world hated Jesus, we
who follow him can expect that many people will hate us as well. If circumstances
are going too well, ask if you are following Christ as you should. We can
be grateful when life goes well, but we must make sure it is not at the
cost of following Jesus halfheartedly or not at all.
The cross of Jesus is the heart of our salvation. Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) We cannot omit the cross in following Jesus. Luke 9:23 says, “Take up his cross daily.” We have a daily cross to take up in order to follow Jesus. Each of us must take up own cross daily. Here cross is the cross of mission. Jesus took the cross to fulfill God’s mission. In the same way our mission is to follow Jesus. Our mission involves the cross. During my vacation I had time to visit the Douglas McArthur memorial in Norfolk, VA. I was curious how he became an American hero. He emphasized “duty, honor, dedication, and country” in his address to the West Point cadets. Most of all, he had the best GPA among all West Point graduates. He took up the crosses to become a fine soldier and general. He said in his farewell address to the Congress, “Old soldiers never die but they just fade away.” To Christians, the cross symbolizes a glorious mission from God, a mission which involves self-denial, obedience, pain, suffering, and commitment. Jesus took up the cross of mission and obeyed God's will to death, and accomplished God's salvation work. God crowned him with honor and glory. Our cross is different from Jesus. We have cross of feeding sheep as Bible teachers. We have cross of studying as a student. We have cross of taking care of our children as parents. We have cross of working as employees. We have cross of loving each other as husband and wife. These are mission God gave us as we follow Jesus. One who tries to avoid suffering and pain by living an uncommitted life is meaningless. So we must take up our own cross daily and follow Jesus. Jesus said "daily" not weekly or monthly or yearly. We must pray and find out what we must do for Jesus every day. Then our lives will be glorious, and our sufferings meaningful. These days, an easy-going mentality prevails. People think that they will be happy when they have money and fame without mission. Those who want to be happy without God's glorious mission cannot be happy. Taking up cross is an essential part of Christian life. In my early mission life I had to take up multiple-crosses daily. I thought I would die if I took all the crosses in front of me. But I did not die. Rather, God enabled me to do his great work. I experienced ultimate joy in my heart when I endured the cross of mission. Therefore, I found an important spiritual lesson, “Double cross is a double blessing.” But these days I felt weak when I tried to avoid my cross and be an easy-going Christian. Jesus rebuked my hidden desires of an easy-going mentality through this passage and renewed my faith. When we don’t take up the cross of mission, we will carry the cross of the world anyhow. It is better to take up the cross of God’s glorious mission rather than the cross of eating three meals a day. I know that God gives us enough strength to endure any kind of cross if we decide to take up the cross of mission. Someone told me several days ago, “Good times are over and only heavy crosses are waiting for me.” But God gives us only crosses we can bear. Jay Jagun and Andy Chang transferred to UMCP and God will give them strength to carry their crosses to study. When M. Sarah Chang decided to take up the cross of feeding sheep, God granted her courage to invite young students like her own sons. Do not try to avoid the cross but participate in the remaining suffering of Jesus positively. Then God will make you a strong person who endures the cross of mission. For example, when a man builds his house, he builds it strong enough to endure any kinds of storms. He will not try to avoid the storms because he knows he cannot escape them. Rather, he wants to build a house to stand any storms. In the same way we must take up all kinds of crosses as God’s servants so that we can have a victorious Christian life. Abraham and Lot started the life of faith together. God blessed them. They became wealthy, so wealthy that the land could not support their flocks and herds when they stayed together. So they separated. Abraham continued to live the life of faith and mission, holding God's promise in his heart. He moved around in tents, and raised his son Isaac to follow in his footsteps as a man of faith and mission. On the other hand, Lot thought he would be happy if he bought a house and settled down in the city. But he had no mission from God, no command of God or promise of God in his heart. He lived with material advantages, but he was miserable. No one recognized him as a man of faith. He was despised even by his own son-in-laws. He had no friends. His wife and daughters became just like the Sodomites, and he passes from the scene of history drunk in a cave, leaving behind him children of incest. But Abraham's home rang with the sounds of joyful laughter when little Isaac, son of promise was born. He became the source of blessing to all people of the world. Those who have accepted their mission from God live gloriously. Their suffering for mission is full of meaning and for the glory of God. Third, "Follow me." Many people deny themselves and take up their crosses and they don’t follow Jesus. They follow themselves or follow someone else. That’s not good. We must follow Jesus. Our shepherd is Jesus Christ. Our life goal is Jesus. We must fix our eyes on Jesus so that we can follow him side by side. We must stay close to Jesus. Though Peter wanted to follow Jesus, he failed to do so when he followed Jesus in a distance during his trial in Mark 14:54. The gap between Jesus and Peter became wider and wider. He ended up sitting among the unbelievers. When he was challenged, he denied Jesus three times. Let's examine whether we are staying close to Jesus or following him at a distance. We learn from him how to deny ourselves and how to take up the cross of mission daily. Jesus is our promised Messiah. This is why we study the Bible and spend time in prayer. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. The Jesus of the gospels still teaches us how to live and how to love. He is the Good Shepherd who says to us, "Follow me and feed my sheep." We must follow after him and learn from him, and draw strength from him. PART II. REWARDS OF DISCIPLESHIP (35-38) Verses 35-38 tell us why it is necessary to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. First, the way of discipleship leads to life. Look at verses 35-37. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” In these verses Jesus teaches us a paradox. Life seen as mere self-centered earthly existence and lived in denial of Christ ends in destruction, but when our life lived in loyalty to Christ, despite earthly death, it arrives at fullness of life and eternal life. We should be willing to lose our lives for the sake of the gospel, not because our lives are useless but because nothing—not even life itself—can compare to what we gain with Christ. Jesus wants us to choose to follow him rather than to lead a life of sin and self-satisfaction. He wants us to stop trying to control our own destiny and to let him direct us. This makes good sense because, as the Creator, Christ knows better than we do what real life is about. He asks for submission, not self-hatred; he asks us only to lose our self-centered determination to be in charge. There are two kinds of life. The first one is the selfish life without Jesus. It is a losing life. In another word, to save without Jesus is to lose and to lose for the gospel and Jesus is to save. There are two worlds-the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. If we work for Jesus who is our King and Savior, we will receive the kingdom of God and live in his kingdom forever regardless of what happens to our earthly body. If we work for Satan, we will live in the kingdom of Satan no matter how well we live in this world. That does not make sense to most of people who are not saved. It only makes sense when we accept Jesus as our Savior and King. Let’s think about Jesus’ parable of the kernel of wheat in John 12:24 to understand this paradox. If the kernel of wheat is to be kept in a storehouse, it loses life by remaining as a single seed. But if it falls to the ground and loses its life, it will gain life by producing many seeds 30 times, 60 times and 100 times more than what was sown. This is truly an amazing life secret. Rev. 2:10 says, "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." If we die for Christ's sake, God will give us the crown of life. What makes it different? We have life after all. When we live for the gospel, we will lose nothing. Many early Christians were willing to give their lives for the sake of Christ because they knew that Jesus would give them eternal life. They were afraid of death or persecutions. They were courageous because they had gospel faith. If this present life is most important to you, you will do everything you can to protect it. You will not want to do anything that might endanger your safety, health, or comfort. By contrast, if following Jesus is most important, you may find yourself in unsafe, unhealthy, and uncomfortable places. You will risk death, but you will not fear it because you know that Jesus will raise you to eternal life. Nothing material can compensate for the loss of eternal life. Jesus’ disciples are not to use their lives on earth for their own pleasure—they should spend their lives serving God and people. Life is not a consumer good which we just use up and throw away. But life is God's creation, which is eternal. After we use up our life, we will have to give an account. Therefore, we have to give it to God for his use. On the other hand, those who are self-seeking and reject the truth only invite God's wrath and anger. (Ro. 2:8) Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Europe by crossing the Alps but he could not save his soul with his mighty army. Alexander the Great built a mighty Greek Empire at the age of 33 and lamented, “I have no more land to conquer.” But he died of marsh fever. He conquered the mighty armies of Persia but could not conquer a fever and could not save his soul with his fast horse-riding skills. We cannot trade our soul for money, power, fame and love because our soul is more precious than anything the world offers. Let’s think about what we have suffered for Jesus at this moment? Second, Jesus is coming again in glory. Some people like to skip Jesus
teaching if denial and death, but only want to like Jesus coming in glory.
They do not want to follow Jesus to Calvary but they do want to follow
him to glory. Look at verse 38. "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed
of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." It is
not easy to follow Jesus in this adulterous and perverse generation. But
according to God's promises, Jesus will come again in glory and power.
When Jesus comes again, he will come as the Judge of the living and the
dead. Then he will separate the sheep from the goats. (Matt. 25:31-32)
Then he will separate those who were ashamed of him and his words from
those who took up the cross of mission and suffered to keep God's words
in their hearts. Those who are ashamed of him and his words will be condemned.
Jesus will say to them, "Go away from me. I don't know you." But those
who suffered for the gospel and Jesus will be accepted into his kingdom.
Jesus will say to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and
share your master’s happiness!” (Matt. 25:21) Paul says that we are heirs
of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in
order that we may share in his glory. He goes on to say that the present
sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed
in us. (Ro. 8:17) Jesus rewards us richly when we take up our cross and
follow him though it is a narrow way. May God bless us to accept Jesus’
invitation to the glorious life of mission by deny ourselves and take up
our cross daily his coming semester. I pray that God may give you his grace
to understand this passage though it is hard. Let's read the key verse
8:34.
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