In the study held at the Harold Washington library every week we are studying Luke’s account of the gospel. As of this past week, we have been in chapter 9, where we have recorded for us the words of Jesus 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?” (Luke 9:23-25 ESV) I think to truly understand the things we have recorded for us in God’s word, we must take time to consider and process what we are being instructed to believe and do. Let us take some time to consider Jesus’ words and what implications and applications they have for our lives.
“If anyone would come after me”
Right from the start we see the word “if.” What does this imply? Is Jesus not telling us that we have a choice? Is Jesus not also telling us that this choice can be made by anyone who truly desires to follow Him? However, if this is our desire and we do choose to follow Him, then we must remember that we are following, and thus do not know the way, apart from Him. Thus, it should be no surprise to us that Jesus identifies Himself as “the way” in John 14:6.
“let him deny himself”
The word that we translate “deny” in this instance comes from the Greek word arneomai, meaning “to disregard his own interests.” How often do we give pause to consider this calling: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
Immediately following this instruction, Paul explains that the reason we are to have this mind and attitude is because it is the very same mind that Christ had. In our passage from Luke, we have already determined that Jesus is the one whom we are following. And what did Jesus do? Paul says that He gave up the glory of being in God’s presence to gain nothing but the very people who had made themselves His enemies, and to do so by suffering the shameful death of the cross as a falsely condemned criminal. (Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 5:6-11) Is this the mind you possess? What interests of yours have you set aside so that you could meet the needs of others? Let us remember that if we are truly following Jesus’ example, than our demonstration of this kind of love will not be limited to those who love us in return. (Matthew 5:43-48)
“take up his cross daily and follow me”
The metaphor that Jesus uses here is that of a cross. Our contemporary religious peers may view the cross as something to be glorified, and perhaps we even see the cross from the triumphant and redeeming perspective of the fulfilled plan of salvation. Nevertheless, the cross represented shame, degradation, and torture at the time in which it was regularly implemented. It is this connotation that helps us understand the love and sacrifice that Jesus made. Let us not forget how Jesus endured men challenging His deity and power, how He was stripped of His clothes in public, mercilessly beaten and mocked, and then was made to carry the very item on which He was to die to the place of His execution. If we are to follow Jesus in enduring this kind of suffering, then it makes complete sense why we would have to be the kind of people who set aside our own interests. We must knowingly venture into this world as lights (Matthew 5:14-16), knowing that the wicked who hate the light will hate us and do everything they can to snuff out such light. (John 15:18-25) And let us not forget that each day we must with renewed commitment resolve to suffer in this way.
Jesus gives us the reasoning behind this command in Luke 9:24-25. If we seek to preserve pleasant and comfortable lives here, we will lose the life that really matters—eternal life. (1 John 2:24-25) God is the source of life (Acts 17:24-25), and if choosing the world makes me an enemy of God (James 4:4), then by choosing to save my life in this world, I effectively cut myself off from the very source of life itself. We may not have to give our lives as Jesus did, but can we honestly say that we would do so if we do not practice giving up our interests for others’ on a daily basis? When Jesus goes on to say that we must lose our lives for His sake, this implies that we can also lose our lives for purposes other than His. He then carries this idea all the way to its logical end by proposing that a man lost his life for the purpose of gaining the entire world (something you and I will never do, by the way), which he “must leave... to the man who will come after...and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?” (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 ESV)
Consider what purpose for which you will give your life, since “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgement.” (Hebrews 9:27 ESV)