Key Verse: Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35 CSB)
If you were to identify the greatest hindrance or stumbling block to following Jesus, what would it be? For some it might be worldly distractions, certain relationships, or struggles with sin, fear or doubt.
Ultimately though, the greatest obstruction to a life fully surrendered to Jesus comes down to one thing: us. The problem is you and me! It’s our inherent tendency toward self-centeredness. We want what we want. We desire to be in charge of our own lives. We prefer to serve our own interests. It is what Martin Luther King, Jr. once referred to as “the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
Jesus, however, calls us to a radically different approach. As He called the crowd of people along with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (v.34).
The word “deny” that Jesus uses here refers to rejecting, repudiating or disavowing something. To deny self means to make the intentional decision to say, “Life is not about me!” As Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Because I follow Jesus, I no longer am going to make myself the center of my life. Jesus now holds that position.
It sounds a little easier said than done, doesn’t it? The truth is that to deny self, to turn from self-centeredness to a life fully devoted to Jesus, is going to cost us something. This is exactly what Jesus is getting at when He uses the phrase, “take up his cross.”
In ancient times, the cross was an instrument of execution reserved for the worst of criminals. It was a symbol of torture and death. To hear of someone taking up their cross meant picturing a condemned criminal walking along the road carrying the very beam on which he would soon by executed. It was a picture of someone on a death march.
When Jesus says that to follow Him requires us to “take up our cross”, He is basically saying that we must be willing to start on a death march. We need to be willing to suffer, like a condemned criminal, humiliation, pain and even death to follow Jesus. The death is not necessarily a physical death, but rather a death to self.
Why would we want to live this way? Why pay the price of dying to self each and every day? It is really worth it? According to Jesus, it is. Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it” (v.35). There is a great reward waiting for those who die to self in order to follow Jesus. It’s a reward far greater than anything we’ll have to give up!
Like Jesus, who willingly chose to die to self and walk the painful road to the Cross, we must choose to follow Jesus in the same way. To die to self means to reject the temptation today toward self-centeredness. It means giving your life to serving others for the sake of the gospel of Jesus.
What does it look like for you to die to self today in order to follow Jesus more fully?
Prayer: Spirit of God, I ask you to cleanse my heart today from all selfishness and pride. My life belongs to you, Jesus. Help me to die to self as I seek to follow you more fully today. Give me opportunities to serve you by serving others, instead of myself. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
