Mark 7 - 8

Take Up Your Cross

Today's reading repeats, albeit in a much more condensed form, many of the miracles that were presented in Matthew. At the end of chapter 8 (see also Matt 16:24-28 and Luke 9:23-27), is the account where Jesus talks to His disciples about "discipleship" and directly relates it to His upcoming crucifixion. The key to understanding this vital subject is Jesus' statement "...take up your cross,..." (v. 34). What does this mean?

The cross represents death.  It evokes the act of crucifixion, the cruel form of torture and death the Romans employed against those convicted of a capital offence. When a person was nailed or strapped to the cross, there was no returning to their former life.  This life was over, the only option was death - which due to the insidious nature of crucifixion, was welcomed.  When a person has a dread disease or is seriously wounded in an accident, there is always the possibility that physicians can provide some remedy to heal them. Even when threatened with death (from a criminal or as an act of revenge) there is the possibility that the threatening person will reconsider or not follow through.  But not so with the cross.  The cross was final. There was no turning back, no remedy, no reconsideration.

How does this fit into discipleship?  Jesus is telling His followers that in order to be His disciple, their old life had to be over, i.e. it must be "crucified."  All prior desires, ambitions, responsibilities, and wants had to be totally killed.  Thus, when we "take up our cross" for Jesus, we identify our old life with death.  The old man dies and we are born again into a new life as His disciple.  When we get into the teachings of Paul, this will become clearer.  In 8:35 Jesus states, "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake and the sake of the Good News, you will save it." This completely crystallizes the concept of discipleship - first we must give up our life, so that our [new] life can be saved.

May God bless you and bless the reading of His Word.