34 Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
Mark 8:34
Take Up Your Cross (Mark 8:34-35)
In Mark 8:34, Jesus is teaching his disciples and the crowd about the cost of following him, the cost of discipleship. Jesus makes it plain, if you want to follow Jesus, you must:
- Deny yourself
- Take up your cross
- Follow after Jesus
Let's take a look at these in more depth:
Deny Yourself.
To deny yourself is not self-hatred or self-rejection, or low self-esteem. Instead, denying oneself is renouncing "the self" as the controlling factor of your life. To deny oneself is to replace "the self" with Jesus Christ as the object of our affections. To deny oneself is to place the way of Jesus before the way of self.
Take up your cross.
The cross had a much different meaning to Jesus' 1st-century audience than it does to us today. Today, people wear crosses around their neck or decorate their homes and churches with a cross. In the first century, the cross was a Roman torture and execution device. It was the means by which Rome would execute its enemies. So Jesus is inviting His prospective followers to carry the piece of wood on which they will die. It pictures a willingness to give up everything, including our lives for the cause of Jesus Christ. To take up your cross is closely tied to self-denial and takes it a step further as it is a commitment to suffer for Jesus and for others.
Follow after Jesus.
To follow after Jesus means to follow in his footsteps. In the 1st century, this idea of discipleship was common. A blacksmith would have disciples. A carpenters would have disciples. The role of the disciples was to be with their teacher in order to become like the teacher and then do what the teacher did. In today's language, we would call it an apprentice. And to follow after Jesus, to be his apprentice, would mean that the invitation is to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and then do what Jesus did. This is the call on our lives! Now, I've shared this before, but Jesus' invitation to follow him is directly opposed to the message of the world today. Here is the message of Jesus and the message of the world side by side:
World: “Follow your heart.”
Jesus: “Follow me.”
World: “Believe in yourself.”
Jesus: “Believe in me.”
World: “Discover yourself.”
Jesus: “Deny yourself.”
World: “Be true to you.”
Jesus: “Be true to me.”
The invitation extended from Jesus Christ to us today is to follow him. We do not follow Jesus because he makes life better; we follow Jesus because he is better than life. So, with joy, today, let's choose to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.
