The Way Of The Cross

by Toms, A. F. | Category: General | Aug 1974

"If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his

cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).

The context in which these words are set is most significant. The great declaration of Caesarea Philippi had just been made. The mystery which had been hid from all ages and generations was now revealed, that Christ was to build His Church, against which the gates of Hades would never prevail. And the scripture says "from that time began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed! and the third day be raised up". This Church was to be born out of suffering. The fact that their Master must suffer was completely new to the disciples, and they found it hard to receive. Their cherished hope was that He would restore the kingdom to Israel. They expected to see Him on a throne, not upon a cross. They had yet to learn that the way to the throne was via the cross. It was a hard lesson to learn in regard to their Master, and there was another, equally hard, which concerned themselves, for the Lord Jesus went on to speak the weighty words which we are considering together.

The Lord Jesus must suffer. There was no other way for Him. And if any man would come after Him, there is no other way for that man. "Let him deny himself". The strong "I" which so constantly asserts itself, and which loves its own way, must be denied. And let him "take up his cross daily". A cross is for dying on. It has no other purpose. The Master clearly taught that every one who would come after Him must be prepared to die to self each day, and so to follow Him. These are stern words which touch us deeply if we love the Lord Jesus and desire above all else to follow Him. We may well ask ourselves what exactly is involved. Help may be gleaned from references to the cross in the writings of the apostles and we refer to three of them.

Weakness

In 2nd Corinthians the cross is associated with weakness. "He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth through the power of God" (13:4). If the Lord Jesus was weary when He sat by Sychar's well, how much more weary must He have been when early in the morning of that Passover day they laid a heavy cross upon His back and led Him to Calvary. The help which Simon of Cyrene was compelled to give was doubtless necessitated by His extreme bodily weakness. Yet the "weakness" of the incarnate Christ included much more than physical weariness. But out of that weakness came power, for "He liveth through the power of God".

Power is made perfect in weakness; not an easy lesson to learn, as Paul found in his experience. Three times he besought the Lord concerning his thorn in the flesh, and the answer he received was different from that for which he had hoped, but in accepting it he found it was for his highest good. Indeed, not only did he accept his weakness but he learned to glory in it. "Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses ... for Christ's sake" he wrote, "for when I am weak, then am I strong". The power of Christ spread a tabernacle over human weakness.

Weakness (Greek, asthenes) is a relative word. We might be weak and have a little strength, but this is a word which means totally without strength. "While we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:6). We know that the sinner is entirely without strength to save himself. And the servant of Christ has to learn that of himself he is entirely without strength to serve the

Lord. "Apart from Me ye can do nothing" He said. Paul learned it, and we must learn it, too. This is the way of the cross. "Pressed ... perplexed ... pursued ... smitten down ... always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body".

Suffering

Peter in his first epistle refers to the cross of the Lord Jesus in connexion with His suffering for well-doing. "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth" (1 Pet. 2:21,22). Many of the household servants to whom he wrote were suffering for well-doing, suffering simply because they were Christians, and not ashamed to acknowledge the fact. The inference is that some of them were buffeted for Christ's sake. "Buffeted" is a strong word, meaning to strike with the fist. They did it to the Master. "Then did they spit in His face and buffet Him" (Matt. 26:67). They clenched their fists and struck Him until "His visage was so marred more than any man". And when Peter wrote his epistle many were called to be partakers of Christ's sufferings. Not His vicarious sufferings - these could never be shared but His suffering in association with the cross, "as it is written, The reproaches of, them that reproached Thee fell upon Me". There is a reproach associated with the cross which the disciple must not expect to escape. "Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution".

Death

Each epistle presents a different aspect of the cross of Christ, and in Galatians crucifixion and death are emphasized to us. Whether it is the world which presents its claims, or the flesh with its strong appeal, the cross is the only answer. Men would make a fair show in the flesh, but God says it is corrupt and the only place for it is death upon the cross. That was the secret of Paul's life, and his memorable words stand on record for the help of disciples through all time.

"I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20).

"Christ liveth in me". How our hearts respond to the possibility. The life of Jesus manifested in our mortal bodies. How is it possible? Romans 6:11 supplies the answer. "Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus". It is to be a daily reckoning. "I die daily" cried the apostle. "Take up his cross daily" taught the Master. And if we do so Christ will live His resurrection life in us, as surely as the new life of Spring bursts out of the death of Winter.

"Reckon, reckon, reckon,

Reckon rather than feel:

Let us be true to the reckoning,

And God will make it real".

Conclusion

Weakness, suffering, death! This is a stern word indeed. By nature we shrink from such things. And the great adversary whispers; "be it far from Thee ... this shall never be unto Thee". But the Master calls us to follow where He has led. And we know that He never calls but for our highest good. It is earthly loss set against heavenly gain, and each disciple must count the cost for himself. In our accounting let us remember that there is only one possible answer to the timeless question, which was addressed originally to disciples, and not to the unsaved, "what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life?" Our crucified and exalted Master still calls the way of the cross.

Toms, A. F. | Aug 1974
General