The Way of the Cross
September 14, 2025. Mark 8: 34-38. Richard Senum
I’ve always had an interest in military history and military things – like wars and significant battles – and the equipment and technology like airplanes – ships and land armour like tanks and infantry firearms. Along with the men and woman who fought using that military equipment.
I’ve watched many movies and documentaries as well as I have read many books about national - international and guerilla wars from ancient times up to the Gulf war - the war in the Ukraine and terrorist attacks like the one by Hamas against Israel.
What always impressed me was the willingness of the men and woman who put their lives on the line for a cause. Their courage and bravery to sacrifice not only their life but a future life as well.
GOSPEL
I have a cross on a chain around my neck and a cross-lapel pin on my suit jackets. And most Christians have a cross on a chain around their neck or a cross in their pocket or in their purse –and sometime in their car and on a wall in their home. And a church to be a Jesus preaching church must have a cross prominently displayed somewhere outside. For many years our governments and businesses had crosses on or in their buildings. -- As a nation we acknowledged Jesus as our LORD and Saviour. Our national anthem has the words; “God keep our land glorious and free.”
It is sad to see how far western societies have fallen from God’s blessings and grace. It’s like watching a Shakespeare tragedy where something unique and sacred dies while we are watching it happen.
Some crosses are simple pieces of wood or metal but others are ornate pieces of jewelry made of gold or silver and maybe a few inlaid precious stones as well. But they are all supposed to represent Jesus on the cross at calvary where he suffered and died for the sins of you amd me and every one else.
But when I read the Bible and Christian history - particularly early Christian history and the struggle of Christians in non-western cultures today and compare that with todays western view and commitment to the cross – I have to wonder – what happened to the reverence for it – to the cost to us to bear it. – Well for most of us there is little or no cost at all – no persecution – at least for the majority of us.
Last week Pastor Ed read in chapter 14; 26 from the gospel of Luke where Jesus explained what it would cost to be his disciple and to follow him - Jesus says; “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”
In Mark’s gospel this morning Jesus says at v 35 - 37; “ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” and “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
What a choice Jesus give us – lose family and friends or lose your life and your soul. Really both gospel writers are saying the same thing. There is a social – emotional – financial and a life cost if we choose to be a disciple and follow Jesus – that is - whole heartedly – with out reservation – without hesitation. It cost Jesus his life to save us -- do you think we could do the same?
In our safe and comfortable western societies we don’t think of the cross as Jesus and those first century Christians did. To them it was a feared symbol of torture and pain and death used by an oppressive Roman Empire to control subjected populations. It was the ultimate symbol of the power of a human world over people and the ultimate symbol of human destruction devised by the human heart.
If you were condemned to be hung on a cross it was a one-way ticket – like a prisoner on death row.
Everything your life accounted for was gone.
So is it just a nice piece of jewelry that some people wear around their neck and Christians talk about on Sunday?
Many of you will remember Tabs Christian Book Store – certainly Joe does. One day a young woman came into the store and wanted to see the crosses. I showed her what we had in the store and she picked out one that was fancier and more costly than the rest. I asked her what church she went to – an obvious question. But her reply was interesting and it was also very sad. She said she didn’t go to a church and didn’t believe in all that religious stuff. I then asked her - why did she want the cross – (thinking of possible demonic ritual). She said – she liked it because it was a nice piece of jewelry.
Shouldn’t we change the way we think about the cross - because the reality of it - is that it is a symbol of suffering and death and of denying of one’s self – denying our personal desires – wants and needs. To follow Jesus and let him lead our life. To be a committed disciple of Jesus we must be prepared to give up everything that is about us and surrender body mind and soul to him. Then he will lead us to where he wants us to go and wants us to do.
But – really - are we prepared for that? Can we do it? The reality is that 99.9% of us are not prepared or willing to go that far to be a disciple of Jesus.
So where is the reverence? Where is the suffering – pain and death. In the ensuing 2,000 years we’ve lost something that is really – important to who we are as followers of Jesus Christ. We need a dose of reality as to what that cross really means to each of us.
Suffering – denial of self – even death – and a denial of the world and its glittery toys and sparkling amusements. Are we willing to do it?
Listen again to what Jesus says in Mark 8: 34;
“Then he called the crowd (that is us as well) to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me? --- Y’see – for Jesus there it’s an option – it is a command - that if you choose to follow him you must deny yourself – you must accept what it means to carry your own cross and the potential consequences of doing so.
In the Message translation – the authors description of what it means to follow Jesus is is a little clearer.
The Message
“Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self.”
In this translation Jesus says;
· We have to let him lead us to where he wants us to go. And it may not be where we want to go. But it is his will - not ours.
· Embrace suffering because it will happen. Remember these words from Jesus in John 15: 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
· Self sacrifices is to deny our own desires – wants and needs. It is not about us anymore – it is all about Jesus.
· Following Jesus as a disciple is the way to save our true self.
Denying one’s self is surrendering to Jesus' lead instead of following our own way. Surrendering our plans, our desires, our wants to follow him.
Deny means to refuse – decline or maybe repulse our own self interests.
Sacrifice is the act of giving up something that is valuable to you in order to help someone else or something else – like the gospel of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ. Instant self-gratification isn’t a part of living a disciples life.
When we are carrying that heavy wooden cross following Jesus to calvary – nothing else in our life matters anymore. Family – friends – career – wealth – power even our life. We belong to Jesus. He bought us with his life and his blood.
To be his disciple - notice that Jesus didn’t say when or if – we carry that cross – he said you MUST deny yourself. To follow Jesus as a disciple there are no options he says you must. On the wall in my place is a sticker that says; “Let go and let God.” To apply those words to be a disciple of Jesus we might say – “Let go of your life – your desires – your wants and your needs and let Jesus lead the way.”
But – there is a but;
Most of us are never going to be the kind of disciples Jesus describes. As sinful human beings in a sinful world – it seems to me that pride is a big hinderance. It’s pride that will keep most of us from denying ourselves – and Jesus knows that of us. We are part of his creation. As the Psalmist says; “…you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Jesus knows us better than we could possibly know our selves.
But there are somethings we can do – as sinful as we are - to be a disciple of Jesus by telling others about him and his love for each of us – to share our blessings with others – to feed others – to cloth others. Even though as Paul says in Romans 3: 23; “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
We all fall short of God’s glory but we are saved by Christ. Therefore – we can be the best disciples sinful people can be.
Remember the story of the short Zacchaeus – the chief tax collector.
Zaccheaus had one of those Ah Ah moments of repentance when Jesus came to his house. Luke 19: 1-10 records this encounter with Jesus and Zaccheaus’s response:
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Share what we have in abundance.
And this little congregation does share and help where we can – with the local food bank and various local – national and international charity organizations.
Just to be clear – Jesus does not want us to hate and abandon our families. Family is the foundation of society and God wants us to be fruitful and we can only do that morally through a family.
Also – sometime Jesus and the Scripture authors use exaggeration to get a point across. That is – to listen to him and follow his example.
What I like about James is that he connects the dots between faith and excursing our faith by showing it to the world by the way we conduct ourselves. James says 1: 22-25:
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
So can we be the kind of disciple Jesus wants to deny ourselves and carry that cross? No – but we must do what we can as saved children of the living God.
Amen Come Lord Jesus
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View this sermon presented live here: https://youtu.be/uDKEB2VegvM
