To the ancient world, the cross meant one thing: crucifixion. It was a painful torture of hanging exposed before everyone, fighting for every breath, and every breath in pain. Finally, once one had to rest from the pain, he could no longer breathe. But this was not the worst of it. Everyone who was crucified was shamefully exposed before all people—openly accused, hung on a tree, naked, mocked, and shown to be the insignificant bug that he really is.
Romans kept this terrible, shameful torture reserved only for foreigners who openly opposed Rome—even Roman citizens who were traitors were beheaded. To bear a cross meant only one thing—perpetual rejection, oppression and hatred from everyone they saw. It is taking on a world of mockery and pain how long one could bear it before they gave up and died.
Jesus saw the cross during his life and he trembled—he loathed it. He called it “the cup” and he wanted nothing else but to be rid of it. At the same time, he knew that it was the secret for both him and his disciples to gain the greatest joy.
The Secret Mechanism of the Universe
Jesus knew a secret that few knew, and those that did know did not want to admit it even to themselves. Jesus revealed it to his followers in many different sayings—“Whoever lowers himself will be exalted, but whoever exalts himself will be lowered.” “Whoever loves his life will lose it, but he who hates his life in this world will gain it for life eternal” “As long as a grain lives, it is alone. But if that grain falls into the earth and dies, then it will bear much fruit.” “Blessed are you when men hate you and ostracize you and insult you and scorn your name as evil. Rejoice in that day, for great is your reward in heaven.”
The secret was this: Those who are rejected and shamed and oppressed for God’s sake, God will reward himself. They do not have to gain the limited reward of men, rather, they will gain the greatest amount that the universe has to give—peace, and joy and immortality.
The Death of Jesus
And so Jesus died the terrible death—the death of the cross. It wasn’t just something imposed on him. He could have denied it. But he chose it for the greater reward. And the reward he gained was this: chosen by God to be the king of the earth, and all authority was given to him. And he was resurrected from the dead to show that he had gained this authority. He is the only one in all the world resurrected in this way, only because he was the first to sacrifice every honor he deserved—even his own life—to face the greatest dishonor. Because of his sacrifice, he began the Peace of God and he opened the way for everyone to enter it—everyone who follows him.
How do we carry the cross?
And we can gain the promise of God as well—if we do what Jesus said. And Jesus gives us all this call, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” So the first thing we are to do is to commit ourselves to following Jesus. Even if it means mockery or rejection by our family and friends. We need to be ready to surrender all to come to Jesus.
Then we need to deny ourselves. Our desires are treacherous and want us to do every right thing in every wrong way. We want to live for ourselves, but Jesus calls us to live for God and to obey Him in all things. This means that we have to reject ourselves and our desires for the sake of Jesus. This is the inner cross.
Then we need to humbly serve others. We need to do for others what no one else would do. We must see their needs and sacrifice ourselves to grant them their needs. We must feed the hungry, even if we ourselves go hungry sometimes. We must give honor to others, even if we are dishonored sometimes. We must tell people the truth of Jesus with gentleness and care, even if we are called liars.
Then finally, as if all this was preparation, we will be rejected by oppressors. The oppressors will come and take away what we have, and reject us and mock us and punish us. We will not deserve it, but we will receive their punishment meekly—doing only good to them in return.
What is our reward?
If we endure the cross, even as Jesus did, we can be assured that we will receive the reward that Jesus did. Because Jesus endured the cross, he was resurrected from the dead. Even so, we will be resurrected if we endure. Because Jesus suffered at the hands of evil oppressors, they were stripped of their authority and punished. Even so, if we suffer for righteousness, those who oppress us will also be stripped of authority and punished. Because Jesus was made the lowest of the low, when he deserved authority, God granted him authority over all those who were his enemies. Even so, we will be granted authority if we allow ourselves to be made low. Because Jesus was given only death, when he deserved peace, God granted Jesus peace above all. Even so, if we endure the stress and rejections of this life for Jesus, we will gain life and joy and peace—forever without end.
The Lord’s Supper
We need to commit ourselves to Jesus—devote ourselves exclusively to him and trust in him for all we need. We need to honor Jesus death and acknowledge that Jesus is risen to the right hand of God. And we need to devote ourselves to carrying the cross as well. Our commitment can begin as we take the bread and the cup of the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s supper symbolizes the sacrifice that Jesus made—and by taking it, we accept that same pattern in our lives. When we take the bread, we memorialize Jesus’ broken body, and we accept that our flesh needs to be broken for him. When we take the cup, we memorialize Jesus’ blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins, and we accept that our lives are to be laid down for others as well. (John 6:53-57)
Being a Christian means taking up the Cross
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