Christianity Includes a Cross

Text: Luke 9:57-62

Recently I read a story about the famous sculptor Michelangelo!1
As many of you know he is the one who put together the remarkable statue, David! However, his greatest work might have been one that he originally never set out to do that is the painting of the Sistine chapel. When he was in his early 30's Pope Julius II commissioned him to paint the 12 apostles on the ceiling of that small chapel. He had no desire to do this, but because the Pope pressed him, he decided to do it. The story becomes amazing though, because after accepting the assignment, he enlarged the project from simply 12 apostles to over 400 figures and nine different scenes from the book of Genesis.
The thing that struck me is that this took Michelangelo, 4 hard years to do this. As the well-known story goes, he was four years on his back painting the ceiling. By doing this, he paid a huge price as his eyesight was severely damaged from his hard work. He would say after this experience, "After four tortured years, more than four hundred over-life-sized figures, I felt as old and as weary as Jeremiah. I was only thirty-seven, yet friends did not recognize the old man I had become."
He was so committed to his task that even the parts of the ceiling that nobody could see were done with the highest amount of care, when asked why was he working so hard on a place that no one would ever see, Michelangelo's simple reply was, "God will see."

What commitment for somebody to have! What kind of drive is inside someone that when commissioned to do a task would be willing to sacrifice so his job would be done with the idea that 'even if nobody else sees, God sees'?

Turn in your Bibles for a moment to Luke 9:57-62 and read with me what Jesus said to a group of his followers….
What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?
This is a question that every Christian should seriously ask both before becoming one and continually after becoming one!
Many people in the religious world today are searching for a soft-approach to Christianity. One thing, we want to always remember is that to have Christianity, there must always be a cross in the center of it! What do I mean by this?
There are many times in the Bible where Jesus explicitly told any who would become his followers that there is a cost involved and if you would consider joining the ranks of his followers you must consider what you might have to give up!
Today, however many people seem to be content on a religion that requires very little. They want the rewards of Christ without the responsibility. They want the church but not commitment. They want the empty tomb but not the crucifixion. They want a religion of Christ, but not a religion of the cross!
As in our reading some want to follow Jesus, but not to the places that conflict with present day living, or desires!

Listen to what Jesus says in another passage in Luke 14:27-33!
You cannot be my disciple if you don't count the cost and are willing to pay it!
Notice in this passage Christ's use of the word cross. Now, it could very well be that Jesus is looking ahead to his own death here and inserting the type of commitment he expects all of us to have. But, up to this point hardly anybody would have understood that about Jesus! Remember the apostles did not believe it when he first told them about it (Matthew 16:21-23). So, just imagine being the crowd that day and hearing this statement, whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple! What would be in your mind?
What are crosses used for?
He is asking us to be killed! He is asking us to voluntarily lay down our lives just to follow him! That is exactly what he meant! Any type of teaching that makes the call to discipleship less than that is wrong!
Bonhoeffer wrote, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." He is asking us to be as committed to following him, as the artist was to painting the Sistine chapel, if not more so!
Look at it this way, Jesus says, "if I take the cross that is beneficial to all of mankind and be crucified on it, and someone is not willing to take the cross of self-denial to follow me, he cannot be my follower." Or, as it is recorded in Matthew 10:38- he is not worthy of me!

Jesus tells the world something very important here. Just imagine for a moment what the people were seeing. They saw someone perform miracles that shook the world and brought hope to the masses. They heard teachings of a better place and better life that brought visions of glory to their minds. They witnessed love and compassion in a manner that no rabbi of their time came close to doing. They (and we) want and need someone like this in our lives!
But, then he says this, "If you want all of this, and I hope you do because it is worth it in the end, you have to look at what you would be willing to pay for it!" Would you be willing to say good-bye to loved ones?
Would you be willing to give up on some dreams because they conflict with your commitment to me?
Would you be willing to say no to some activity or hobby because it interferes with me?
Would you be willing to leave a behaviour or thought pattern because it runs diametrically opposed to my nature?
Would you be willing to put forth an effort for me?
Would you be willing to be responsible, accountable and giving for my cause?
Would you be willing to bear a cross so you might enjoy what I provide?2
These are the questions that people had to answer back then, and they are the same questions we have to answer today. To understand if we are disciples of Jesus it is not enough to say we are members of a church, but are we cross bearers?
It is not enough to say we attend a religious service, but are we attentive in our service?
It is not enough to say we have a Bible that is read, but are we led by the words of the Bible?
It is not enough to say we are in agreement with the words of Jesus, but are our lives in agreement with those words?
It is not enough to say we love the Saviour, but do we also follow the Lord?

"Are there some who just "go to church" because of their heritage or because it is socially acceptable? Do some church members simply sit in a building Sunday after Sunday without ever committing to follow Jesus? Or have all decided that their greatest desire is to be followers of Christ? Jesus isn't just the Savior who provided the sacrifice for our sins, as crucial as that is. He is also Lord, the Master whom we follow. As we read the Gospels, we must remember that not only are we recipients of Jesus' ministry, but also that we are called to continue his ministry. "3

When Jesus calls men and women to be devoted followers of his, he calls us to the difficult task of being the called out of the world to show the light of the Father (Matthew 5:14-16)!
What does it mean if we are disciples of Jesus?
The word disciple in and of itself means one who follows! We are to be imitators of Jesus himself!

We will love God! 1 John 5:3- loving God by the way means the path of discipleship does not seem burdensome to us.

We will love God's word! John 8:31,32- notice only by living in the words of Jesus can we truly say we are his disciples. It is so important to be a regular student of the Bible. Too often people sell out Bible study for something less, a man I respect says this, one of my family members studied and found this, I feel this, nothing serves as a replacement for honest Bible study (2 Tim.2:15). Hosea 4:6, Amos 8:11, Jeremiah 5:31. But, don't just study it, do it (James 1:22).

We will love God's people! John 13:35- this is harder than it sometimes looks. Because Jesus doesn't say that portion of the church that you get along with very well, he says love one another. (Phil.4:2,3)

We will love God's work! To the rich young ruler Jesus said Mark 10:21,22. Jesus does not expect to be given up for things that are dear to us. Nor does he expect things dear to us to be given up, only when they are in conflict with him!
Christianity has a cross. Not just one from 2,000 years ago, but because of that cross, we have our own to bear today as well if we want to be followers of the Nazarene. Crosses by the way are not nice instruments, they kill people. It would be like us saying today, we must bear our own electric chair, and the expression does not please us, but is a necessary one. When we bear our own cross, there will be prices to pay, people to say good-bye to, mockings to endure, behaviours to give up and hobbies to take a back seat. To be a cross bearer means you will always have the forces of evil at work to get you to set it down and turn around. To be a cross bearer means there will be times when instead of being rewarded in this life you will only be neglected. But, as Michelangelo taught us, even if no one else sees, God sees, and God will reward openly in the end.

Until we are ready to die with Jesus, we cannot say we are willing to follow him!
When you think of discipleship as being a synonym for submission, the idea of being baptized is even more beautiful! Because when you are being baptized into Jesus Christ, you are saying to him, I submit to you, I give my life to you so that one day I will live forever in heaven with you.
Acts 2:37,38…I hope you are ready to live for Jesus, let's stand and sing…

1. This story is taken from John C. Maxwell, The 21 Indisputable Qualities of a Leader (Nashville, TN: Maxwell Motivation, Inc., 1999) p.16-18
2. We are not saying we earn our salvation, for that mocks the cross of Jesus, but we must listen to the words of Jesus and to be a true disciple one must bear his cross.
3. Mike Cope & Rubel Shelly, What Would Jesus Do Today? (West Monroe, LA: Howard Publishing Co., Inc., 1998) p.5

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