To Take Up The Cross - Matthew 16:24

   
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. - Matthew 16:24

    Not every Christian hangs from a cross. Forgive my brutal tone and candor but this is something that simply has to be said. For far too long now Christians have been underestimated by the world and misled by many of their pastors. I challenge you to look at the Bible version of your choice (i.e. KJV, ESV, NLT, AMP, NKJV, RSVCE, etc.) and turn to our title verse. In nearly every edition of the Holy Bible, the words are translated as “take up his cross.”  The Strong’s Concordance translates the word “take” as “airō” in this instance or to take up, bear up, carry, or lift up. There is literally no version of the Bible wherein Jesus says that His believers are to follow Him to be hung upon their crosses! It is never commanded or even suggested by Christ that we voluntarily offer ourselves up as sacrificial lambs to be slaughtered for our faith in Him. In fact, just the opposite is true - “Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.” - John 10:39. And what was the outcome after Christ fled from the crowd of persecutors? “And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, ‘John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.’And many believed in Him there.” - John 10:40-42. Did Christ Himself not choose both the time and place of His arrest and execution? Or were they orchestrated by finite and mortal men? And what was the point of Christ’s “escape”? The answer is twofold: first, His time to die had not yet come; second, He was not yet finished preaching His gospel.
    Christians have the right and the duty to engage in battle with the world as the carnal beast takes every opportunity to curtail religious liberty, to ban Christians from public office, to ridicule and lambast us for our faith, to quiet us, and ultimately to persecute us for our beliefs. Dead martyrs do not teach or preach the Gospel. We have the witness of Steven, but how many more martyrs remain unknown, not to our heavenly Father of course, but to mankind? How many glorified saints lie in unmarked graves? In other words: how many saints have left this world of flesh behind without witness? I say these things not to split hairs but as a reminder that our commission is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not to throw ourselves onto the bayonets of hostile unbelievers.
    Yes, we have been commissioned by Christ to spread His word. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20.
    While we Christians are expected to remain peaceful as we carry out our commission, we are not expected to become hunter’s prey or sheep being led to the slaughter! We have a responsibility to be wise and to exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” - Matthew 10:16.  The word “harmless” here translated from the Greek (akěraiŏs) means simple, innocent, unmixed or undiluted. In other words, we are to carry out our commission in meekness without prior agenda or prejudice. There should be no chip on our shoulder and no itch to fight.
     In the meantime, should we be required by circumstance to lay down our lives in Christ’s holy name: we are to do so with the joy of knowing our eternity is with the Prince of Peace. However, that requirement must meet specific criteria. “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” - Romans 12:18.
    If it is possible, as much as depends on you? Any translation, any reading of these words, implies the probability of a time or circumstance when it is neither possible nor dependent upon us to remain at peace with all men! The simplest understanding of this verse clearly places the impetus for peace upon us unless, of course, others deny us the possibility or contingency of remaining peaceful. Consider the commentary by John Calvin - “For we ought, for the sake of cherishing peace, to bear many things, to pardon offenses, and kindly to remit the full rigor of the law; and yet in such a way, that we may be prepared, whenever necessity requires, to fight courageously: for it is impossible that the soldiers of Christ should have perpetual peace with the world, whose prince is Satan.” Or the words of 18th Century theologian, John Gill - “‘if it be possible’; which is rightly put, for there are some persons of such tempers and dispositions, that it is impossible to live peaceably with; for when others are for peace, they are for war; and in some cases it is not only impracticable, but would be unlawful; as when it cannot be done consistent with holiness of life and conversation, with the edification of others, the truths of the Gospel, the interest of religion, and the glory of God; these are things that are never to be sacrificed for the sake of peace with men: the apostle adds another limitation of this rule, ‘as much as lieth in you’; for more than this is not required of us; nothing should be wanting on our parts; every step should be taken to cultivate and maintain peace; the blame should lie wholly on the other side; it becomes the saints to live peaceably themselves, if others will not with them.”
    A final thought -  did Jesus not offer the perfect sacrifice to God the Father? Would our voluntary deaths provide a greater sacrifice than the death of the holiest of holies? How dare we even consider such a provocative heresy!
    The command to take up our crosses is, at its ultimate best, the command of Christ to die to our selves and our worldly desires so that we may receive a much greater reward: eternity in heaven in the presence of the Triune God. This command is also in our title verse! We are commanded by Christ to deny ourselves and follow Him. There is no mandate for us to hang like thieves. It is Christ’s perfect sacrifice that we are to acknowledge when we “take up” our crosses, share His holy Gospel, and follow Him into eternal peace.