A sermon based on Matthew 10:34-42, Rev. J. Orlando Flahn
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!
What will it cost you to follow Jesus? What are you willing to risk or surrender for your faith? When Jesus invites us, His followers, to pick up the cross and follow Him, what does that truly mean to you?
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says to His followers, “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.” These are challenging words. Listen again to verse 39: “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” (vs 38-39 NLT).
Matthew 16:24-25 echoes this message: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
As I prayerfully prepared this message, I began to ask one question: “Lord, what does it truly mean to take up my cross and follow You? What does it look like to carry my cross daily in real, practical terms?
Honestly, I must admit that the Western Church often have little idea about what it means to truly carry our cross….. We sit in our comfortable, air-conditioned sanctuaries, and when there’s no AC, we complain or maybe even skip church. We stroll to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and a donuts or bagel….we get back in our cars….and drive back to probably a pretty good meal…. In the midst of such comfort, how can we really grasp what it means to bear the cross?
We often interpret persecution as something as minor as a strained relationship with a loved one. For example: “I guess I’m bearing my cross because my husband stopped speaking to me.” Or, “I worked so hard and no one appreciated me, maybe I’m being persecuted and have to bear my cross.” Or, “I’ve been so sick, perhaps that’s my cross to bear.” Even a car accident becomes a supposed cross. But is this what Jesus truly meant?
We often try to take comfort in our pride and self-pity during challenging times, telling ourselves, “That’s my cross I have to carry.” But is it really?
This is not what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.” Being sick with cancer, for example, is not necessarily bearing the cross, after all, even unbelievers suffer from illness. (I am not taking anything away from the pain and health challenges….)
In the first century, in Jesus’ day, bearing the cross had nothing to do with persistent annoyances, pain, sickness, or burdens. It wasn’t about saying, “My kids are making life difficult for me!”
In Jesus’ time, the cross meant one thing: death by crucifixion. To carry a cross was to face the most painful and humiliating form of death ever devised. The Roman method of execution was brutal—something you wouldn’t wish even on your worst enemy. That’s exactly the weight of Jesus’ words: “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me”, He says, “you are not worthy of being mine.”
Recently, I have been following the heartbreaking reports of Christians being murdered in Northern Nigeria by extremist groups. Their only ‘crime’ is their faith in Jesus. Please pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world, especially in Nigeria.
ILLUSTRATION: Recently, Pastor Ojih, a husband and father of four, was captured by radical jihadists and faced a stark choice: convert to Islam or die for Christ. He chose to remain faithful, standing with his fellow Christians and church family, even as they were separated and killed. As they began to sing praises to Jesus, Pastor Ojih was given a final chance to renounce his faith and live, or remain a Christian and die. He chose the latter, declaring, “If any of you survive, tell my family I died well and am living with Christ. But if we all die, we know we died for the Lord” (International Christian Concern, Pastor Ojih’s Martyrdom).
Two thousand years ago, the cross stood as a symbol of torturous and cruel death. However, today, it is cherished as a symbol of our atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love because of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who sacrificed His life n it. Thank God that our hope for eternal life is found in the cross….. Yet, we must remember that crucifixion was never a pleasant price to pay—it cost our Savior His blood as He was nailed to that tree.
Today, we wear the cross, make the sign of the cross, display it in our homes and vehicles, carry small cross “charms” in our pockets, bow to it, and pray before it.
I thank God for the cross. But for many of us, its meaning has been softened, and we have lost sight of what the cross truly represented…..torture, suffering, and rejection. The Romans would literally force convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion (see John 19:17).
Bearing a cross meant you were about to die…….you were prepared for ridicule and public disgrace. So, when Jesus calls us to “Take up your cross and follow Me,” what do you think He meant?
It is and invitation to die to self, be disgraced for our faith, if we have to, and to self-sacrifice……And essence, Jesus is saying, if you are not willing to die, you are not worthy of being His disciple….And dying to self means absolute surrender to God.
The therapeutic, comfort-focused Christianity we see today is not compatible with true biblical teaching. Jesus declared, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24 NKJV).
Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your closest friends? What if following Him leads to alienation from your family, loss of reputation, your job, or even your life?
In many places around the world, our brothers and sisters are paying the ultimate price for their faith with their very blood. Their only ‘crime’ is believing in Jesus Christ.
How did we misunderstand this? What kind of gospel have we truly received?
For Jesus, the arrival of the kingdom of heaven on earth brought conflict because it is radically counter-cultural. It began a holy battle between good and evil, a clash between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (v. 34). The sword stands for resentment, struggle, and conflict with those opposed to God’s holy will and plan. However, Jesus’ peace is experienced personally—He forgives your sins and transforms you by faith, through baptism. Still, we must remember His words: “That in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NKJV).
Jesus’ invitation to follow Him demands radical allegiance, which can lead to hostility—even from family, friends, and neighbors.
Radical allegiance to Christ can create division within unbelieving families. Anyone who picks up the cross of Jesus may find themselves facing disunity and conflict, even among their closest loved ones.
He says, “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.”
During His earthly ministry, Jesus touched many lives with His miraculous signs and wonders, drawing large crowds. Yet, many misunderstood the true nature and mission of the Messiah. People expected Jesus to be a political king, immediately establishing an earthly kingdom and restoring the Davidic throne. They believed their greatest need was political freedom, and assumed Jesus would deliver them from Rome’s oppressive rule.
Remember, some people even followed Jesus hoping for free meals (John 6:26). But one day, Jesus turned to the crowds and said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt 16:25-26). This statement must have made many reconsider their motivations and level of commitment.
Why are you following Christ? Do you truly understand what it means to follow Him as a disciple?
Remember the three men in Luke 9:57-62 who seemed eager to follow Jesus? When Jesus pressed them, He exposed their shallow commitment. They failed to count the cost of following Him, and none were ready to take up their cross and crucify their selfish interests.
To the last man, Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62).
CONCLUSION:
Commitment to Christ means surrendering your hopes, dreams, possessions, and even your very life if necessary for the cause of Christ. Remember, as Jesus called His disciples to “take up your cross and follow Me,” He Himself bore a cross. Our Lord led the way.
The Apostle Peter says, “For to this you were called, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps…When He was reviled, He did not revile back; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but He entrusted Himself to Him who judges righteously.” (1 Peter 2:21-23)
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