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Take Up Your Cross
Matthew 10:24-39
Setting The Stage
In Matthew 10:5 through 23, Jesus has just given his disciples the "limited
commission" to preach the good news of the kingdom to the people of Israel.
Having given them their instructions, he then warns them about what to expect,
and it is not pleasant. Jesus instructs them to be wise, but harmless. He
cautions them to be wary of men, because men are not to be trusted. Men will try
them in the courts. They will beat them in their synagogues. They will be
brought before governors and kings because of their commitment to Jesus.
Jesus encourages them with the promise of inspiration during these hardships,
and assures them that they will always say that which God desires. In verse 21,
Jesus continues his warning to the apostles with descriptions of family
betrayals of disciples as a consequence of following Him. In spite of the
predicted persecutions and hardships, Jesus expects His disciples to remain
faithful, even unto death. He offers them some comfort with the promise that
God's judgment upon Israel will be soon.
The Text
Matthew 10:24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his
master. :25 "It is enough for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and
the slave as his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul,
how much more the members of his household! 26 "Therefore do not fear them, for
there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be
known. 27 "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you
hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28 "And do not fear
those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him
who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 "Are not two sparrows sold
for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your
Father. 30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 "Therefore do
not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 "Everyone therefore who
shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in
heaven. 33 "But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My
Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not
come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 "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; 36 and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. 37
"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; who loves son
or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Matthew 10:38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not
worthy of Me. 39 "He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost
his life for My sake shall find it.
Quotations from NASB.
Exposition
Become Like Jesus
Matthew 10:24 and 25 contain one of the first great principles of
discipleship. Simply, the disciple is to become like the master. Disciples of
Jesus are to become as much like Him as is humanly possible. It is to be their
goal. Paul echoed this principle when, in Galatians 4:19 he wrote, "My children,
with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you--..."
Triumph of the Faithful Disciple
Contrary to the beliefs of many, when one becomes a Christian, God does not
remove all trials, problems, and difficulties from life. Indeed, Jesus warns the
disciples that it will be just the opposite. If the world crucified the master,
Jesus, what could the it be expected to do to the servant of the master? If they
charged Jesus with working through the power of Satan, what will they say about
His servants? Surely no less evil charges will be made against them. In spite of
these dire happenings
predicted for his disciples, Jesus says God is watching- watching and caring! So
no matter what happens, do not hesitate to stand for truth. Then Jesus makes one
of the grandest statements of encouragement you will find anywhere when He says,
"Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him
before My Father who is in heaven." No matter what the world does to you,
stand for Jesus and His word, and when judgment day comes, Jesus will stand with
you before God! What wonderful encouragement to stay faithful. No matter what
the world manages to do to His disciple, Jesus will not forsake him, and when
the
final reckoning takes place, Jesus will stand with him before God and say, "This
one has been faithful. He is mine." That will be the disciple's ultimate
triumph!
Warning to the Unfaithful Disciple
In contrast to Jesus' defense of the faithful disciple is his warning for the
disciple who is diverted from his service by the pressures and threats of the
world. Jesus tells that disciple, "But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will
also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." Where the faithful will
experience the ultimate triumph, the unfaithful will experience the ultimate
rejection, and will be denied by Jesus, just as he denied Jesus. What a tragedy
for one who at one time knew Jesus.
Jesus then restates His warnings, with an emphasis on the difficulties that will
arise between the disciple and his family. Perhaps the greatest challenge to
faithfulness one will encounter will come, not from the stranger, but from those
who are loved. Family rejection has caused many to turn from the faith, and this
is Jesus' warning. Jesus says very clearly that he must come first. No matter
how close or dear family members may be, they must not be allowed to come
between the disciple and
his Lord.
The Demand to " ...take his cross..."
In Matthew 10:38, Jesus makes one of the most significant statements of His life
when he says, "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not
worthy of Me." What does he mean, "...take his cross...?" In our day, this
expression has been so trivialized that few really know its meaning. We hear
someone say about a chronic illness, "That is just the cross I have to bear."
Others will jokingly say about their wife, "She is my cross in life." In other
words, any thing that may be perceived as unpleasant or a trial is considered to
be the cross one is expected to bear.
A Life Forfeit
This is not the way Jesus used the phrase, "...take his cross..." To understand
Jesus' use of the figure, one must place himself on the streets of Jerusalem
during the first century. Imagine standing on a street corner talking to a
friend, when you hear a commotion down the street. You turn and look to see a
squad of Roman soldiers coming toward you. In the midst of them is a man
struggling with a cross. This was a common sight. It was not unusual and you had
seen it before. You knew what was to happen. Soon the man you were watching
would be outside the gates of the city. He would be forced to the ground
and nailed to the very cross
he was carrying. The cross would then be raised to an upright position and he
would hang there until he was dead. This was the picture created in the minds of
those who heard Jesus. Jesus was not asking for a token commitment. Jesus was
asking for total commitment. Jesus was saying that he wanted your life. Just as
you knew that the life of the man who was carrying that cross no longer belonged
to him, but belonged to Rome, so Jesus is saying that in order for one to be his
disciple, their life will not belong to them but will belong to Him! Just as the
life of the one struggling down the streets of Jerusalem with a cross was
forfeit to Rome, so the one who would become the disciple of Jesus will forfeit
his life to Jesus. Jesus will be the one to determine how that life will be
conducted.
A Wonderful Paradox
In order to hear Jesus confess him before God, the disciple must forfeit his
life to Jesus. So Jesus concludes, "He who has found his life shall lose it, and
he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it."
By Ney Rieber
From Expository Files 2.2; February, 1995
