Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church

Come, Carry Your Cross with Me

            1. What is the cross?     2. How do we carry our cross?

My dear friends in Christ,

Have you ever heard the name "Calton Marshall"? Unless you happened to read an article in the Jackson County Floridan, you probably haven't. His mission is to carry his white, life-size cross from Quincy, Florida, all the way to Los Angeles, California. Marshall is making his journey equipped with only a large plastic green bin full of some food, clothes, a cell phone for emergencies, a foam mattress for sleeping on the side of the road, and his furry friend Bugsy—a mixed white dog with one ear. When the reporter asked him why he's making this journey, he replied, "It says in the Bible, 'Take up your cross and follow me,' and that's what I'm doing."

Is that what Jesus was talking about in this section from Matthew's gospel? Jesus invites us to carry our crosses with him. We're going to ask two questions today. First, what is the cross Jesus is talking about? Second, how can we carry our crosses?

 I wonder what Jesus' disciples were thinking when they heard him say these words. In Matthew 10, Jesus gave them some instructions as they prepared to start teaching and preaching on their own. He told them what they should take along, where they should go, and what they should do if people didn't want to hear their message. He warned them that they would face opposition and persecution. He promised that the Holy Spirit would be with them. Then, Jesus said, "Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:38). Shortly before he died, he repeated his command: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24).

Cross? The disciples knew what a cross was. Crosses had already been in use for over 400 years. The Persian armies used them to punish the opposition during their campaigns. Alexander the Great stole the idea from them after he conquered the Persians. Later, the Romans mimicked the Greeks and made it their instrument of execution. The cross was reserved for the worst criminals. It inflicted great pain and suffering. It was an object of shame!

Was Jesus saying that his disciples should do what Calton Marshall is doing? Should they build a wooden cross and carry it with them wherever they go? No. Jesus taught that part of the burden of the cross was the hardship, the suffering, even the shame that believers would experience when they followed him and shared the gospel with others. He pointed toward arguments over religion in the family. He said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:34-37). The cross might include physical abuse because we follow Jesus. The apostle Paul had to deal with that cross. In the city of Lystra after he preached about Jesus, the crowd stoned him and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. When the believers gathered around him Paul stood up and walked back into the city. He used his experience to teach the believers about taking up their cross: "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).

That's what taking up our cross is all about. Christians will face many hardships here on earth. What kind of cross has Jesus asked you to take up as you follow him? Faith does cause divisions in families, whether it's between children and parents, spouses, or other relatives. That division can be a cross to bear. The cross might be poor health—some sort of disability that makes something as simple as hearing someone speak difficult, if not impossible. Maybe the cross is not having a spouse, whether you've lost a spouse through death or divorce, or you just haven't found one yet.

We can expect to carry a cross—some sort of hardship, suffering or shame. We are not exempt from the problems that everyone else faces in this world. When we believe in Jesus, we won't avoid trouble. Jesus tells us to take up that cross and carry it as we follow him. So, the question isn't, "Why do we have crosses to carry?" The question is, "How can we carry our crosses?"

Let's look at Hebrews 12:2 again. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus shows us how to carry our cross. The author of Hebrews wrote that Jesus "endured the cross, scorning its shame." Jesus didn't have to go to the cross. He could have refused. The sinless Son of God had fulfilled God's demand of perfection. Despite that, Jesus stayed behind. He endured the cross. He put his arms around the rough, splintery wood. He hoisted it on his scourge-torn shoulders, and carried it along with the crushing weight of our sins. John tells us, "Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha)" (John 19:17). The soldiers nailed him to the wood. Jesus didn't resist. He endured the shame of hanging there, mocked by his enemies, even deprived of simple modesty because the soldiers had taken away his clothing.

Why would Jesus, the Son of God, ruler of the universe submit to such hardship and shame? Jesus never asks us to do something unless he has done it first. Jesus took up his cross so he could experience our hardship, suffering and shame. That makes him our brother. Hebrews 2 says, "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers." (Hebrews 2:11).  He knows what we are going through today because he has been there already!

There's another reason why Jesus would take up his cross. It's the word "joy." It's hard to believe that we can use the word "cross" and "joy" in the same sentence. Listen again to what Hebrews 12:2 says, "Jesus, for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame." Jesus kept his eyes fixed on his goal. That's what the words "for the joy set before him" mean. Jesus' goal was to finish his Father's plan. The night before he died he said, "[Father,] I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do" (John 17:4). That would bring him joy! Jesus' goal was to announce from his cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30). His greatest joy is telling us that our sins are forgiven and our salvation is complete. Jesus goal was to experience death and crush its power. His greatest joy is seeing his brothers and sisters arrive safely at home in heaven.

That's a little different from Calton Marshall carrying a symbol across the United States. Jesus did the real thing. He asks us to do the same—to take up our crosses and follow him. How can we carry our crosses?

To be honest, my first thought about taking up my cross is: "I won't carry it! It's not fair. Why do all these awful things happen to me? Why now? I thought that life as a Christian was supposed to be better than this!"

At the same time, others see us carrying our crosses and their reaction is the same as people who viewed crucifixions in Jesus' day. People walking by the execution site were driven away by the awful sight. Fear filled their hearts as they thought, "What if that happens to me!" They made fun of the criminals and their shame. A person hears about someone being diagnosed with cancer and say, "How awful!" Fear blossoms in their hearts and they think, "What if I get cancer?" They see the cancer eating away at a person and think, "That's what happens when they don't take care of their bodies." Sometimes the crosses we bear are awful to experience. People who don't know Jesus don't see the goal that lies ahead of us.

I remember listening to a couple of experienced farmers talk about planting their fields in the springtime. They commented on some of the younger farmers' fields. If the rows were straight, they complimented the young men. If the rows were crooked, they gave them a hard time and told them, "Maybe you'll make a good farmer next year." The trick, they told me, was to focus on one point at the end of the field—a landmark like a tree. As they pulled the plow down the field for the first time, that tree would keep the tractor pointed in the right direction, and the furrows would be straight.

The author to the Hebrews says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:2-3). We can carry our crosses and keep going in the right direction when we keep Jesus in front of us as our leader. When we keep our eyes on him, we'll head straight for the finish line. We see everything that he dealt with as he carried his cross, and we think to ourselves, "Jesus did it. With his help, I can too."

Jesus found great joy in carrying his cross. Is it possible for us to have that joy? The apostle Peter knew how difficult carrying that cross could be. He offers this encouragement: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed" (1 Peter 4:12-13). We aren't carrying these crosses so that we get some sort of reward, or people can look at us and say, "Boy, look at the way the handle adversity. What a wonderful example!" Jesus gives us the privilege of sharing in his suffering, so that we look forward to the gift of eternal life. On that day, we won't see a Savior who is suffering humiliation and death. We will see him in his glory as he grants life to all who believe in him.

Calton Marshall has a good reason for his cross-march. Some time ago, Marshall was shot in the leg by a 12-gauge shot gun. It hit his femoral artery and his leg was in really bad shape. He is also overweight and has diabetes. He said, "It's a miracle I can walk, and I thank Jesus for it. So I walk for Him, and whatever glory comes of my journey should go to God." Isn't that our attitude? We take up our crosses and walk for Him who died for us and set us free. Whatever praise and glory comes from carrying our crosses doesn't belong to us, but to God. Jesus invites us, "Come, carry your cross with me." Let's take up our crosses and keep on walking! Amen.