THE WAY OF THE CROSS - Part III
REVIEW
We can make this summary thus far:
The Way of the Cross is defined as “self-denial” for the glory of God. In that the Way of the Cross entails a type of suffering contrary to the natural self, like Jesus, we must “learn obedience from the things we suffer”.
The Scriptures reveal that those who have come into Christ are destined to rule and reign with Him in the age to come. And in order to rule and reign with Him, and not contrary to Him, we need to learn how He rules and reigns – and that is with self-denying love. And so, if we learn the Way of the Cross, that is, if we suffer with or like Christ, we will also learn the self-denying love by which He rules and reigns. Our motivation for walking the Way of the Cross is not only to be able to rule and reign with Christ in the age to come; but both in the here and now and throughout eternity, to be able to know Him through the “fellowship of His sufferings” and thereby be conformed to His image.
The Scriptures speak of both “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” and “our cross” ; and that “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” is a pattern for “our cross”. The Lord’s self-denying love is a pattern for our self-denying love. This is a supernatural, transformational work of the Holy Spirit in our lives which conforms us to the image of Christ, as we “follow in His steps” on the Way of the Cross.
“AN EXAMPLE FOR US TO FOLLOW IN HIS STEPS”
We will now look at some of the ways in which Jesus left us “an example for us to follow in His steps” on this Way of the Cross:
JESUS SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US BY DENYING HIS WILL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
Jesus prayed to the Father: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." Jesus set an example of denying our human will for the glory of God. We read in Matthews’s gospel:
“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.’"
Peter wanted something contrary to God’s will: Peter wanted to see Jesus alive, over-throwing the Roman government, and being seated as King over Israel - with Peter seated right next to Him. Peter even said, “God forbid...”, like he was speaking God’s will. But Peter’s will was actually contrary to God’s will. Jesus called him “Satan”, which means “adversary”, because his will was going against God’s will. And the reason this was so was because Peter’s heart and mind were focused on himself and seeing things from a human point of view, rather than from a God-centered point of view.
Along with denying our own will when it was contrary to God’s, Jesus also instructed us to deny the will of our loved ones if it stood in the way of God’s glory. Again in Matthew’s gospel Jesus says:
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
So we see that walking the Way of the Cross can bring a sword – not peace – in family relationships. This happens when the will of our loved ones being exerted in our lives goes contrary to the glory of God in our lives. We are then forced into making a choice on who will be Lord in our lives – our loved ones or Christ. If we choose our loved ones, we deny Christ’s Lordship and are “not worthy of Him”. If we choose Christ and find ourselves at this departure with our loved ones, we are indeed following Jesus on the Way of the Cross. And He promised that if “for His sake”, we temporarily – or permanently – lose this familial part of our soul-life , we will find something in place of it, which God Himself has given as a blessing that comes with His will being done.
JESUS SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US BY DENYING HIMSELF OF PEOPLE’S ACCEPTANCE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
Jesus said, “I do not receive honor from men.”
He also said: "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”
The apostle John said: “…even His brothers did not believe in Him.”
And listen to what His own family had to say:
“But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, ‘He is out of His mind.’”
The Scripture speaks for itself: Jesus had to deny Himself of people’s acceptance for the glory of God; and if we walk the Way of the Cross, so will we. This is what Luke wrote about the acceptance of others in light of the cross:
“You are in for trouble when everyone says good things about you. That is what your own people said about those prophets who told lies.”
Or as a paraphrase version puts it:
"There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.”
JESUS SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US BY DENYING HIMSELF BY ALLOWING HIMSELF TO SUFFER AT THE HANDS OF SINNERS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
Probably nothing describes this better than Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the Christ as the Suffering Servant.
“He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”
Later, the author of the Book of Hebrews wrote:
“… consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
And he desired to encourage the Hebrews to continue on the Way of the Cross when he wrote:
“… remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”
JESUS SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US BY DENYING HIMSELF BY NOT OPENING HIS MOUTH FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
Again, this was succinctly stated in Isaiah’s prophecy:
“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.”
In his epistle, where Peter makes reference to Isaiah’s prophecy, he also brings forth something more for our instruction:
“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously….”
Here, Peter brings out the fact that “while being reviled”, Jesus “did not revile in return”, “He uttered no threats”; but rather, kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously”. Through His example, we can see that keeping silent is intimately related to trust in God – that is trusting God to “do the talking” for us”, if He so desires. God also may decide to also keep silent. But, we can trust in that which Isaiah prophesied said:
"If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me. Whoever assails you will fall because of you. Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and brings out a weapon for its work; and I have created the destroyer to ruin. No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me, declares the LORD.”
Yes, to keep silent, in the midst of criticism or accusation is yet another example that Jesus set for us in walking the Way of the Cross.
We can make this summary thus far:
The Way of the Cross is defined as “self-denial” for the glory of God. In that the Way of the Cross entails a type of suffering contrary to the natural self, like Jesus, we must “learn obedience from the things we suffer”.
The Scriptures reveal that those who have come into Christ are destined to rule and reign with Him in the age to come. And in order to rule and reign with Him, and not contrary to Him, we need to learn how He rules and reigns – and that is with self-denying love. And so, if we learn the Way of the Cross, that is, if we suffer with or like Christ, we will also learn the self-denying love by which He rules and reigns. Our motivation for walking the Way of the Cross is not only to be able to rule and reign with Christ in the age to come; but both in the here and now and throughout eternity, to be able to know Him through the “fellowship of His sufferings” and thereby be conformed to His image.
The Scriptures speak of both “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” and “our cross” ; and that “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” is a pattern for “our cross”. The Lord’s self-denying love is a pattern for our self-denying love. This is a supernatural, transformational work of the Holy Spirit in our lives which conforms us to the image of Christ, as we “follow in His steps” on the Way of the Cross.
“AN EXAMPLE FOR US TO FOLLOW IN HIS STEPS”
We will now look at some of the ways in which Jesus left us “an example for us to follow in His steps” on this Way of the Cross:
JESUS SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US BY DENYING HIS WILL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
Jesus prayed to the Father: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." Jesus set an example of denying our human will for the glory of God. We read in Matthews’s gospel:
“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.’"
Peter wanted something contrary to God’s will: Peter wanted to see Jesus alive, over-throwing the Roman government, and being seated as King over Israel - with Peter seated right next to Him. Peter even said, “God forbid...”, like he was speaking God’s will. But Peter’s will was actually contrary to God’s will. Jesus called him “Satan”, which means “adversary”, because his will was going against God’s will. And the reason this was so was because Peter’s heart and mind were focused on himself and seeing things from a human point of view, rather than from a God-centered point of view.
Along with denying our own will when it was contrary to God’s, Jesus also instructed us to deny the will of our loved ones if it stood in the way of God’s glory. Again in Matthew’s gospel Jesus says:
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
So we see that walking the Way of the Cross can bring a sword – not peace – in family relationships. This happens when the will of our loved ones being exerted in our lives goes contrary to the glory of God in our lives. We are then forced into making a choice on who will be Lord in our lives – our loved ones or Christ. If we choose our loved ones, we deny Christ’s Lordship and are “not worthy of Him”. If we choose Christ and find ourselves at this departure with our loved ones, we are indeed following Jesus on the Way of the Cross. And He promised that if “for His sake”, we temporarily – or permanently – lose this familial part of our soul-life , we will find something in place of it, which God Himself has given as a blessing that comes with His will being done.
JESUS SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US BY DENYING HIMSELF OF PEOPLE’S ACCEPTANCE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
Jesus said, “I do not receive honor from men.”
He also said: "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”
The apostle John said: “…even His brothers did not believe in Him.”
And listen to what His own family had to say:
“But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, ‘He is out of His mind.’”
The Scripture speaks for itself: Jesus had to deny Himself of people’s acceptance for the glory of God; and if we walk the Way of the Cross, so will we. This is what Luke wrote about the acceptance of others in light of the cross:
“You are in for trouble when everyone says good things about you. That is what your own people said about those prophets who told lies.”
Or as a paraphrase version puts it:
"There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.”
JESUS SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US BY DENYING HIMSELF BY ALLOWING HIMSELF TO SUFFER AT THE HANDS OF SINNERS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
Probably nothing describes this better than Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the Christ as the Suffering Servant.
“He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”
Later, the author of the Book of Hebrews wrote:
“… consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
And he desired to encourage the Hebrews to continue on the Way of the Cross when he wrote:
“… remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”
JESUS SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US BY DENYING HIMSELF BY NOT OPENING HIS MOUTH FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
Again, this was succinctly stated in Isaiah’s prophecy:
“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.”
In his epistle, where Peter makes reference to Isaiah’s prophecy, he also brings forth something more for our instruction:
“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously….”
Here, Peter brings out the fact that “while being reviled”, Jesus “did not revile in return”, “He uttered no threats”; but rather, kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously”. Through His example, we can see that keeping silent is intimately related to trust in God – that is trusting God to “do the talking” for us”, if He so desires. God also may decide to also keep silent. But, we can trust in that which Isaiah prophesied said:
"If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me. Whoever assails you will fall because of you. Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and brings out a weapon for its work; and I have created the destroyer to ruin. No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me, declares the LORD.”
Yes, to keep silent, in the midst of criticism or accusation is yet another example that Jesus set for us in walking the Way of the Cross.
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11:18 AM
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