Jan 24
28
Old Testament Reading: Daniel 7:13–14
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13–14, ESV)
New Testament Reading: Luke 9:23-27
“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:23–27, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
In the previous passage – Luke 9:18-22 – two important and pivotal things we said.
Firstly, the question that has been asked many times now in Luke’s Gospel was answered. The question is, “Who is Jesus?” Peter gave the correct answer when he spoke up as the representative of the other apostles and confessed Jesus to be “the Christ of God.” So, Jesus is the Christ or Messiah promised by God from long ago. He is the anointed one of God, the great Prophet, Priest, and King of God’s people. He is the eternal Son of God incarnate. That confession made by Peter was important and pivotal in the ministry of Christ and in the Gospel of Luke.
Secondly, immediately after Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ of God, Jesus clarified what kind of Christ he would be. He would be a Christ who would suffer even to the point of death. He would accomplish his Messianic mission and win the victory over Satan, sin, and death, not in a glorious way, but in a humble way. He would win the victory by enduring suffering, ridicule, abandonment, and death. This, you might remember, was not the kind of Messiah that people were expecting. They were expecting a great King who would conquer in the way that kings usually conquer, that is to say, with power and glory. But Jesus Christ would enter into glory, not by exulting himself over others, but by laying his life down as a sacrifice for many. The multitudes were expecting the Messiah to arrive, but they were not expecting a Messiah like this. Even Jesus’ disciples could not comprehend what he said about his suffering and death. It’s as if they did not have a category for this in their minds. In fact, the Scriptures say that these truths were concealed or hidden from them (see Luke 9:45, 18:34).
So, the previous passage was pivotal. Peter confessed that Jesus is the “Christ of God” and Jesus clarified what kind of Christ he would be – a suffering servant in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 53.
As we come now to Luke 9:23-27 we see that Christ had more to say to his followers after Peter’s profession. In response to Peter’s declaration, you are “the Christ of God”, Jesus did not only clarify what kind of Christ he would be – he also clearly stated what would be required to follow after him.
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Deny Yourself, Take Up Your Cross Daily, And Follow Jesus
In Luke 9:23 we read, “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’” (Luke 9:23, ESV).
The words, “If anyone would come after me….”, mean if anyone wishes to follow me and to be a disciple of mine… Here we have a kind of broad invitation to be a follower of Jesus. But the invitation is not without qualification. You see, there are certain standards to be met to be a disciple or follower of Jesus. Hear the words of Christ again. He spoke to all, saying, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23, ESV). To be a follower of Jesus – to have him as Lord and Savior – a person must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow him. What does this mean?
Firstly, to follow after Jesus one must deny himself.
To deny is to reject. To deny is to dismiss. Self-denial is the first requirement that Jesus mentions. If one wishes to be a true disciple of his they must first deny themselves. Stated negatively, no one can be a true disciple of Jesus if they regard themselves as self-righteous and self-sufficient. No one can follow after Jesus if they are self-centered, self-directed, self-powered, self-motivated, and filled with self-love. Of course, all of this sounds like foolishness to the world. The world would teach that the very best thing you can do for yourself is to love yourself, trust yourself, and be true to yourself. But Jesus says, “if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself.”
The one who denies himself says, I am not self-righteous – I need a Savior. And I am not self-sufficient – I need God to sustain me in every way. The one who has denied himself does not make himself the center of his life but has God at the center. He is not self-directed but looks to God and to his Word to direct his steps. He is not self-powered or self-motivated but is empowered and moved by God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The one who has denied himself does not love himself supremely but loves God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and his neighbor as himself.
To state the matter in another way, to deny oneself is to live no longer for the passions of the flesh and the desires of the body (see Ephesians 2:3). It is to live no longer for the world and the pleasures of this world. It is to stop making the gratification of the flesh and the desires of the flesh the motivating factor of one’s life.
If one wishes to follow after Jesus he must first deny himself. He must take himself off of the throne of his life and invite Christ to sit there. He must remove himself from the center of the stage of his life and invite God and Christ to take center stage. So you can see that to gain Christ something first must be lost. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself”, Jesus says.
Secondly, to follow after Jesus one must take up his cross daily.
What does it mean to take up a cross? A cross, as you know, was an instrument of death – a tool that the Romans used to carry out executions in the days of Jesus. We tend to romanticize the cross. The crosses that we display are clean and pleasant to look at. In reality, the cross was a rough and gruesome instrument of suffering and death. So, to take a cross upon your shoulders is to endure suffering. To take up a cross is to taste death.
In a way, the phrase, “let him… take up his cross daily and follow me” carries the same meaning as the phrase, “let him deny himself.” To take up the cross is to deny yourself. To take up the cross is to die to yourself. To take up the cross to live, no longer for yourself and for the passions of your flesh to gratify its desires, but for the Lord. The image of picking up a cross and carrying it upon your shoulders serves to illustrate the principle of denying yourself.
But the command to take up the cross communicates more. It reveals that following after Jesus will involve difficulties. Jesus’ disciples will not be immune from suffering. We will experience the kinds of trials and tribulations of life that are common to all who live in this fallen world, and disciples of Jesus may also be called to suffer especially on account of their faith in Jesus. And the same may be said regarding death. Disciples of Jesus will, like all men and women, taste death (unless they are alive when the Lord returns). And some disciples of Jesus will die because they are followers of his. To take up the cross is to deny yourself. More than this, to take up the cross is to submit yourself to suffering and even death for the sake of Christ.
The Scriptures have a lot to say about suffering as a Christian. Before looking at a couple of important texts, I think it should be clarified that not all Christians suffer always or in the extreme. Indeed, many true followers of Jesus have lived very pleasant lives. Rarely will Christians suffer continually. Relatively few have experienced the extreme form of suffering that is martyrdom. But some have. And it seems clear from the text that is before us that to follow after Jesus one must be willing to identify with him in his suffering.
Listen to Paul in Romans 8:16-17: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16–17, ESV)
Listen to 1 Peter 2:19-21: “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:19–21, ESV)
And listen to Paul again in Romans 5:3-6: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:3–6, ESV)
There is a common theme found in each of these passages, and it is that when suffering for Christ’s sake as disciples of his, we identify with him in his suffering. We should not miss this connection. Christ suffered for us and for our salvation, and if we are disciples of his we ought to expect to suffer as he suffered. Jesus took up his cross, and as disciples of his, we must bear our cross too. This relationship between Christ’s suffering and the suffering of his followers is present within our text. Remember that in Luke 9:22 Jesus revealed what kind of Christ he would be, “saying, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised’” (Luke 9:22, ESV). Here he reveals what kind of disciples he will have. They are those who will “deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow him” (Luke 9:23, ESV).
I have a few observations to make about this command of Jesus to take up the cross.
One, the cross that we as followers of Jesus are called to carry is our cross. It is not the cross of Christ that we are called to carry. Furthermore, you are not called to carry my cross, and I am not called to carry your cross. Followers of Jesus are called to carry their own cross, that is to say, the cross that God has ordained for them. Listen again to the command of Jesus. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Only Christ could bear the cross that God ordained for him. Only Christ could fulfill the terms of the Covenant of Redemption to live in obedience to God on behalf of the elect and to suffer and die in their place, being raised in victory on the third day. You are not called to carry that cross, for you cannot. And neither are you called to bear the cross that God has ordained for others. Each disciple of Christ must bear the cross ordained for them.
How prone we are to look at the crosses of others and to complain, saying, but theirs looks lighter and smoother and more pleasant than mine. Friends, you do not know what it is like to bear the cross that others are bearing. The cross of your neighbor might be heavier than it appears. And besides, we must submit ourselves to the perfectly good and infinite wisdom of God that the cross he has crafted for us is just right. The cross that he has for each one of us if perfectly suited to bring him glory and to bring us good. It thought the experience of bearing that cross that God has ordained for us that we are refined and strengthened. And it is through the experience of bearing the cross that God has ordained for us that we will, like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, enter into glory. The cross that you are called to take up and bear is your cross. And to bear it you must bow yourself low before God and submit yourself to him. Undoubtedly, some who are listening to these words today are fighting against God and his will for them and are tempted to cast off their cross. If this is you, I encourage you to submit yourself to God, for this is good and right. By faith and in love you must, “humble [yourself]… under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6–7, ESV).
Here is another observation concerning the cross that Christ calls his disciples to bear – it is a cross that is to be taken up daily. As I have said, all men and women will endure the trail of death (unless alive when the Lord returns). And some Christians have been, and will be, called to bear the cross of martyrdom. But the cross that Jesus calls all of his disciples to bear is to be taken up daily. This means that disciples of Jesus are to die to themselves daily. This means that disciples of Jesus are to patiently endure affliction daily while entrusting themselves to God and to Christ. Bearing our cross is to be a way of life for the Chriastian.
Finally, disciples of Jesus are not only called to take up their cross, they are also commanded to follow after Jesus. “If anyone would come after me”, Jesus says, “let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” All men and women will at some point in their lives bear up under sorrow and affliction, but disciples of Jesus willing submit themselves to God’s will for them, they entrust themselves to God’s loving care, and they follow after Jesus. They listen to and believe his word, and strive to obey him. They follow his example and imitate his way of life.
So I ask you, should all men and women be invited to follow after Jesus? Yes, all men and women should be invited to follow after Jesus. Men and women need to be told about God, his perfect creation, and man’s fall into sin. Men and women need to know that they are sinners who stand guilty before God. They need to hear the good news that God has graciously provided a Savior, Christ the Lord, and that forgiveness of sins comes to all who place their trust in him. Men and women need to be invited to trust in Jesus and to follow him. More than this, they should be urged to follow him! But note this: following after Jesus comes with conditions. To follow Christ, one must turn from their sins. To follow Christ, one must deny themself. To follow Christ, one must take up their cross daily. There is a sense in which following after Jesus will cost you everything. But it is so very worth it.
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Do This Now For Three Good Reasons
In verses 24, 25, and 26 Jesus presents three reasons why it is worth it. Notice the threefold repetition of the word “for”. The word “for” indicates that a reason is about to be given.
“And [Jesus] said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23–26, ESV)
Let us now briefly consider each of these three reasons as to why denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, and following after Jesus is worth it.
First, “whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for [Christ’s] sake will save it.” What is the meaning of this paradoxical saying of Jesus? Here Christ teaches that the one who holds on to their life tightly – the one who insists that they are self-righteous and self-sufficient, living in a self-directed and self-centered way, and for their own pleasure, arrogantly and stubbornly refusing to submit themselves to God and Christ – this one who saves his life, will ironically find that he loses his life in the end. But the one who loses his life for Christ’s sake – the one who confesses his need for Christ, trusts in Christ, and submits himself to Christ as Savior and as Lord – will find that he gains his life in the end.
Friends, you must understand this. When Christ calls you to deny yourself and to take up your cross and follow him daily – when he calls you to lay it all down – it is not so that you might lose, but gain. When Christ commands you to deny yourself it is so that you might find yourself. When he commands you to die to yourself daily by taking up your cross daily, it is so that you might truly live. This reminds of what Jesus said as recorded in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10, ESV). It is abundant life that Christ gives to his followers. But to have it, they must first deny themselves, die to themselves, and follow after him.
This abundant life of which Christ speaks will be experienced now and in eternity. That Christ has come to give his followers abundant life in eternity should be clear to all. He came to earn the forgiveness of our sins. He came to reconcile us to the Father. He came to give those who trust in him eternal life. But the abundant life of which Christ speaks is not only a future hope, it is a present gift and reality. Christ does want his disciples to be happy and joyous. But the way to happiness is the way of the cross. The world will never understand this. But the Christian knows. Do you wish to be happy, friends? Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus. Serve God. Serve your neighbor. Do you wish to be miserable? Live for yourself. Live to fulfill your passions and desires. Live for the riches and pleasures of this world. Do this, and you will find yourself to be a truly miserable person now and for eternity. Friends, paradoxically, the way of the cross is the way of life and joy and peace.
The second reason Christ gives as to why it is worth it to deny yourself and to take up your cross daily and follow him is that it will profit a man nothing to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit himself. Here Christ builds upon his previous statement and begins to direct our attention to the time of the end and the final judgment.
The word “profit” is interesting. It indicated that Christ wants us to do a cost/benefit analysis. He wants us to make a good and wise investment, not a foolish one. Only a fool would invest in something if he knew that tomorrow the investment would be lost. And yet most men and women spend their lives investing in things that will be lost at the moment of death. More than this, most people live in such a way that they themselves will be lost at the moment of death and at the judgment. They will be lost for all eternity. Christ is urging you to make a good and wise investment. If you lose your life now by surrendering it to Jesus Christ, you will gain your life for eternity. Those in Christ will live when they die – they will live abundantly in the blessed presence of God. Those in Christ will not be judged, but will be graciously acquitted on the day of judgment. Those in Christ will not be punished, but will live forever in the blessed presence of God in the new heaven and earth. To lay down your life and to take up your cross and follow Jesus is the best investment you can possibly make! And it is a sure investment, for it is guaranteed by Jesus Christ, the crucified, risen and ascended one.
The third reason Christ gives as to why it is worth it to deny yourself and to take up your cross daily and follow him is found in these words: “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Here Christ builds upon the previous two statements and directs our attention to the glory that will be his after his work of redemption is accomplished.
When Christ came for the first time, he suffered and died. But it was through his suffering and death that he was raised to glory. Stated differently, it was by bearing the cross that God had decreed for him that Christ, the Son of Man, entered into glory.
When Christ, the Son of Man, comes again it will not be to suffer and die. When he returns, he will be in glory and with the power to judge. The prophecy of Daniel 7 that we read at the beginning of this sermon speaks of the glory that belongs to the Messiah, the eternal Son of God incarnate, the Son of Man. Hear it again. “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13–14, ESV). This glory was given to Christ at his resurrection and ascension to the Father’s right hand. When Christ, the Son of Man returns, he will return in glory, to judge, and to rule all things in heaven and earth, forever and ever, in glory.
Will the Son of Man welcome you into his glorious kingdom when he returns, or will he be ashamed of you? Listen to the words of Jesus again: “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Here is yet another reason why you would be most wise to deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow him. To welcome Christ, the suffering servant, as your Lord and Savior now will mean that he welcomes you into his glorious kingdom on the day of his glorious return. But to deny him in this life will mean that he denies you on the last day.
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Conclusion
Christ then concludes by saying, “But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” This, I think, is in reference to the event that is recorded for us in the next passage – the transfiguration. In that event – the event of the transfiguration – Peter, James, and John were given a special glimpse and foretaste of the glory that was soon to be Christ’s and of the glory of his eternal kingdom.
