Cross-bearing. 2
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Now, as the Lord enables me, let me point out three things that the cross stands for:
First, the cross is the expression of the world's hatred. The world hated Christ, and its hatred was ultimately manifested by crucifying Him. In the 15th chapter of John, seven times over, Christ refers there to the hatred of the world against Himself and against His people. And just in proportion as you and I are following Christ, just in proportion as our lives are being lived as His life was lived, just in proportion as we have come out from the world and are in fellowship with Him—so will the world hate us!
We read in the Gospels that one man came and presented himself to Christ for discipleship, and he requested that he might first go and bury his father—a very natural request, and perhaps a very praiseworthy one. But the Lord's reply is almost staggering. He said to that man, "Follow Me—and let the dead bury their dead." What would have happened to that young man if he had obeyed Christ? I do not know whether he did or not—but if he did, what would happen? What would his kinsfolk and his neighbors think of him? Would they be able to appreciate the motive, the devotion which caused him to follow Christ and neglect what the world would call a filial duty? Ah, my friends, if you are following Christ—the world will think you are mad—and some of you will find it very hard to bear aspersions on your sanity. Yes, there are some who find the reproaches of the living—a harder trial than the loss of the dead.
Another young man presented himself to Christ for discipleship and he requested the Lord that he might first be allowed to go home and say farewell to his friends—a very natural request, surely—and the Lord presented to him the cross: "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God!" Affectionate natures find the wrench of home ties, very hard to bear; harder still are the suspicions of loved ones and friends for having been slighted!
Yes, the reproach of the world becomes very real—if we are following Christ closely. No man can keep in with the world—and follow Him.
Another young man came and presented himself to Christ and fell at His feet and worshiped Him, and said, "Master, what good thing shall I do?" and the Lord presented to him the cross. "Sell all that you have and give to the poor—and come and follow Me. And the young man went away sorrowful." Christ is still saying to you and to I this morning, "Whoever does not bear his cross, and come after Me—cannot be My disciple." The cross stands for the reproach and the hatred of the world. But as the cross was voluntary for Christ, so it is for His disciple. It can either be avoided or accepted. It can either ignored or "taken up"!
But secondly, the cross stands for a life that is voluntarily surrendered to the will of God. From the standpoint of the world, the death was a voluntary sacrifice. Turn for a moment to the 10th chapter of John, beginning at the 17th verse: "Therefore does My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from Me—but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." Why did He thus lay down his life? Look at the closing sentence of verse 18: "This commandment have I received of My Father." The cross was the last demand of God upon the obedience of His Son. That is why we read in Phil. 2 that, He "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death" (that was the climax, that was the end of the path of obedience), "even the death of the cross!"
Christ has left us an example that we should follow His steps. The obedience of Christ should be the obedience of the Christian—voluntary, not compulsory; continuous, faithful, without any reserve, unto death. The cross then stands for obedience, consecration, surrender, a life placed at the disposal of God. "If any man will come after Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me" and "Whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me—cannot be My disciple." In other words, dear friends, the cross stands for the principle of discipleship, our life being actuated by the same principle that Christ's was. He came here—and He pleased not Himself; no more must I. He made Himself of no reputation: so must I. He went about doing good: so should I. He came not to be ministered unto—but to minister; so should we. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. That is what the cross stands for:
First, the reproach of the world—because we have antagonized it, raised its ire by separating ourselves from it, and are walking on a different plane—because we are actuated by different principles, from those by which it walks.
Second, a life sacrificed unto God—laid down in devotion to Him.
In the third place, the cross stands for vicarious sacrifice and suffering. Turn to the first Epistle of John, the third chapter, verse 16, "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives." That is the logic of Calvary. We are called unto fellowship with Christ, our lives to be lived by the same principles that His was lived by—obedience to God, sacrifice for others. He died that we might live and, my friends—we have to die that we may live.
Look at the 25th verse of Matthew 16:25, "For whoever will save his life—shall lose it." That means every Christian, for Christ was speaking there to disciples. Every Christian who has lived a self-centered life, considering his own comforts, his own peace of mind, his own welfare, his own advantages and benefits—that "life" is going to be lost forever—all wasted so far as eternity is concerned; wood, hay and stubble—which will go up in smoke! But "whoever will lose his life for My sake," that is, whoever has not lived his life considering his own well-being, his own interests, his own profit, his own advancement—but has sacrificed that life, has spent it in the service of others for Christ's sake—he shall find life! That life has been built of imperishable materials which will survive the testing-fire in the day to come. He shall find "life". Christ died that we might live; and we have to die—if we are to live! "Whoever will lose his life for My sake—shall find it."
Again, in the 20th chapter of John, Christ said to His disciples, "As the Father has sent Me—even so I send you." What was Christ sent here to do? To glorify the Father; to express God's love; to manifest God's grace; to weep over Jerusalem; to have compassion on the ignorant and those that are out of the way; to toil so assiduously that He had no leisure so much as to eat; to live a life of such self-sacrifice that even His kinsfolk said, "He's out of his mind!" And, "as the Father has sent Me, even so," says Christ, "I send you". In other words, I send you back into the world—out of which I have saved you. I send you back into the world—to live with the cross stamped upon you. O brethren and sisters, how little "blood" there is in our lives! How little is there the bearing of the dying of Jesus in our bodies! (2 Corinthians 4:10)
Have we begun to "take up the cross" at all? Is there any wonder that we are following Him at such a distance? Is there any wonder that we have such little victory over the power of indwelling sin? There is a reason for that. Mediatorially, the Cross of Christ stands alone—but experimentally the cross is to be shared by all His disciples. Legally the cross of Calvary annulled and put away our guilt, the guilt of our sins; but, my friends, I am perfectly convinced that the only way of getting deliverance from the power of sin in our lives and obtaining mastery over the old man within us—is by the cross becoming a part of the experience of our souls! It was at the cross, that sin was dealt with legally and judicially. It is only as the cross is "taken up" by the disciple that it becomes an experience, slaying the power and defilement of sin within us. And Christ says, "Whoever does not bear his cross, cannot be My disciple". O what need has each Christian here this morning to get alone with the Master, and consecrate Himself to His service!
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