Wednesday
As Jesus carried his cross up Calvary Hill, people were thinking that the cross was a symbol of a burden to carry. So what were they thinking?
First of all, the First Century person would know exactly what a cross was used for. (Just like we know what an electric chair is for.) It was used for one purpose. It was used for putting someone very painfully, very humiliating and very slowly to death. Many people throughout the Roman Empire had been executed by this means. The cross was a symbol of torture and death, not the beautiful symbol of the cross we see exhibited now.
Look at what Jesus says after this, that “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” I think the picture is very clear. Being a disciple of Christ means, dying to self. It means carrying the cross. And carrying the cross, is a call to absolute surrender.
We see how difficult this is when three people (9:57-62) approach Jesus and seem to want to follow Him, but their commitment appears to be only half-hearted. They weren’t willing to sacrifice their discomfort by leaving family and home, they failed to take into consideration the cost of following Him. None of them were will to take up their cross and have their own interests, their own self – put to death, crucified on it.
So are you willing to follow – to pick up your cross, die to self and follow? The call is tough, but oh the reward is matchless.
Blessings
Pastor Kathy