Daily devotion – Cross bearing – what is it?
Mark 8: 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
Jesus is with the disciples at Caesarea Philippi and Peter has just exclaimed by he revelation of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus is the Christ!
You would think that Peter from now on would be brimming with confidence with anything that he now spoke regarding Jesus. But no, for Peter has no discernment as yet as the Holy Spirit has not flooded the disciples hearts which would not occur until Pentecost.
For in just a few moments Peter will speak words from the enemy himself.
Jesus begins to give great detail now to the disciples of what await Him when He completes His journey from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem…and Calvary!
As Jesus tells of His coming suffering, rejection and death Peter is really disturbed. He pulls Jesus aside and begins to berate Him.
Now Jesus in front of the other disciples rebukes Peter for what he has just rebuked Jesus about.
33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He chastises Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Peter spoke words parallel to those Jesus heard as He had faced Satan in the wilderness for those 40 days and 40 nights. Satan telling Jesus to abandon His Father’s will and seek an easy saviour-hood. No suffering, no cross!
Soul saving salvation that you and I have experienced and all those who have received Christ’s substitutionary death on Calvary’s Cross, only comes through a suffering Messiah. There was no other way!
But why were the disciples rejecting Jesus as a suffering saviour – because it was out of sync with their human reasoning.
Who would design such a method? That included disaster, despair, and death – no one.
This is why Israel misinterpreted its own Holy Scriptures as they told of the coming ‘suffering Messiah’.
If we are to confess Christ, we too must embrace a suffering saviour, which would be His example and our model for living.
Such living is not easy. It means we must follow Him to crucifixion.
He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
The Cross is for ALL who follow Christ – Christ leads this procession carrying His Cross, we follow in His footsteps bearing our own crosses…we march to the death of our selfish living.
What are our crosses? They are NOT simply trials or hardships – like a bad boss or harsh teacher. Even an illness is not a cross.
A cross comes from specifically walking in Christ’s steps embracing His life. Bearing disdain because we embrace the narrowing of the Cross – John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
It is living out the sexual ethics of God’s Word in our school, workplace, and family. It is embracing weakness instead of power. It’s extending yourself in difficult circumstances for the sake of the Gospel.
Our crosses are proportionate to our dedication to Christ.
Difficulties are NOT an indication of cross bearing.
Difficulties for Christ’s sake are!
This week let us examine our following of Christ, are we bearing a cross, losing our lives for His sake?