Who do you say Jesus is?
Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” – Matthew 16:24-25
In Matthew 16, Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, and Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (16:13-20).
Then, Jesus predicted his suffering and death and Peter pulled him aside and rebuked him. Jesus fired back, “Get behind me, Satan.” (16:21-13).
The Jews expected the Messiah to be a king who would conquer their enemies. Instead, Jesus came as a Savior who would die for their sins.
Jesus followed the rebuke by commanding his followers to take up their own crosses (16:24-25).
The cross has become a pleasing symbol and a thing of beauty in my contemporary decorations, but in reality, it was a gruesome practice.
Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted from the cross (Matthew 27:46) was composed a thousand years before Jesus’s execution and five hundred years prior to the Persians inventing the practice, contains the graphic details including piercing of the hands and feet, heart melting like wax, and bones pulling out of joint.
What’s the purpose of our crosses?
It’s not simply self-denial to build self-control and better versions of ourselves. Like Jesus’s death, our suffering and sacrifice have saving power, not for the individual soul but for society as a whole.
For example, as we sacrifice ourselves, the church has the capacity to eliminate the foster care system, malaria, racism, or any other effect of sin in society, families, and communities.
Beginning with the first-century church, the greatest social strides in culture, art, medicine, compassion, education, poverty relief, and the protection of women, children, and the marginalized have come primarily from those who follow Jesus with crosses strapped to their backs.
If we confess him as Lord, we’re obligated to follow his example. We cannot celebrate a Lord we won’t imitate.
