The Cross - Our Motivation

“And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, ‘Who do the people say that I am?’ They answered and said, ‘John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.’ And He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ And Peter answered and said, ‘The Christ of God.’ But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.’

And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.’”  Luke 9:18-26

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Read the narrative surrounding this statement by Christ (verses 18-26). After foretelling the things He would suffer, Jesus called His followers to follow Him.

Lest His statement lose any of its punch, translate it into contemporary symbols and see if you feel the same way about it. The cross was a method of execution (one which is not currently in use), so let’s replace it with the term “electric chair.” His statement then would read, “...let him deny himself, and take up his electric chair daily, and follow Me.” Now that’s an attention-getting statement. But what does it really mean?

Fortunately, we find the answer in the next verse. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it” (Luke 9:24). True discipleship means the definite, deliberate, voluntary transfer of possession, control, and use of my total being (spirit, soul, and body) to the Lord Jesus Christ to Whom it rightfully belongs by creation and by redemption.

That, my friend, is motivation for living in the victory of the Cross of Jesus Christ.