This is a modern glamorous image of the cross. It is silhouted againist a calm sunset sky. It is different from the original shameful stake that Jesus was crucified on. That is alright. It does draw us into contemplation, to a place where can focus on what we have taken for granted for so long. We connect the knowledge in our heads with the values that motivate our hearts, and the impulses that drive us into certain action. For me it comes back to discipleship—following Jesus. The cross should speak to the way we live our every day life.
You might be tempted to think that contemplating on and following that path of down-ward mobility is synonymous with being a psychologically weak person, one who allows everyone to walk over them. No, that is not the point. The point is an essential attitude of the heart coming out of a life surrendered to our Lord. It speaks to the motives of all that you do. You have to figure out that attitude for yourself in your own situation.
By the way, lest you dismiss Jesus as self-effacing contemplative, think of his provocative attacks directed at Pharisees and Sadducees in the Temple in Matthew 23, and the sharp words he spoke to the Jews in John 8. We may find it hard to believe, but he did call people ‘a brood of vipers’, ‘hypocrites’ and ‘children of your father, the devil’ and so on. The person who spoke in those chapters was not a wimp.Think of the man that violently drove money chargers from the temple with a whip. He was a man with a passion. But he is the same one who went Via Dolorosa, the way of the cross, the path of powerlessness. He is the same that spoke these scriptures of powerlessness to his disciples. A man of paradox?
Keeping these tensions in mind let me ask you a question. Was Jesus taking an exclusive path that he did not expect his disciples to follow? Did Jesus intend for us to take him seriously on the following scriptures?
You might be tempted to think that contemplating on and following that path of down-ward mobility is synonymous with being a psychologically weak person, one who allows everyone to walk over them. No, that is not the point. The point is an essential attitude of the heart coming out of a life surrendered to our Lord. It speaks to the motives of all that you do. You have to figure out that attitude for yourself in your own situation.
By the way, lest you dismiss Jesus as self-effacing contemplative, think of his provocative attacks directed at Pharisees and Sadducees in the Temple in Matthew 23, and the sharp words he spoke to the Jews in John 8. We may find it hard to believe, but he did call people ‘a brood of vipers’, ‘hypocrites’ and ‘children of your father, the devil’ and so on. The person who spoke in those chapters was not a wimp.Think of the man that violently drove money chargers from the temple with a whip. He was a man with a passion. But he is the same one who went Via Dolorosa, the way of the cross, the path of powerlessness. He is the same that spoke these scriptures of powerlessness to his disciples. A man of paradox?
Keeping these tensions in mind let me ask you a question. Was Jesus taking an exclusive path that he did not expect his disciples to follow? Did Jesus intend for us to take him seriously on the following scriptures?
“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mark 8:34)
Anyone who looses his life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it (mk8:35).
The one who makes himself as a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Mt 18: 14)
Blessed are the poor in spirit…who hunger and thirst for rightiousnees…who are peace maker…who are persecuted (Matthew 3-10)
What do you think? Share your thoughts by posting your comments.
Its interesting that you ask this question "Did Jesus intend for us to take him seriously on the following scriptures?" he said that he has given us an example that we should follow and Paul did write somewhere that be imitators of me as I am of Christ and that he did 'monitor' himself lest he preach to others and they enter the kingdom and he falls by the wayside.
ReplyDeleteAs for this statement “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Jesus did
tell us that when you are invited to a feast you go to the least place lest you go to a high place lest there be one more honored than you are who is told to come and seat on your seat and you are given a lower one. Remember at the wedding Jesus was with the servants and where were the pharisees and Sadducee's probably sitting on the best seats waiting for the wine to come.
As for this 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mark 8:34)
Anyone who looses his life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it (mk8:35).
The one who makes himself as a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Mt 18: 14)'
Its very had to deny one self, because one thinks they know what is best for them, and humility is not an easy thing to come by in the book of 'Hebrew I think the bible says that Jesus humbled himself and waited for God to say this is my Son with whom I am well pleased with. And you can imagine his father is God who lives forever, and Jesus didn't boast about it, but us here we are busy boasting with questions of do you know who I am? or whose I am? All because of the positions earthly fathers, who are here today and gone tomorrow and with that scenario thats why their end is different, For Jesus due to his humility he is exalted above all things and those who boasted their end is sad since the best was when they lived just as the bible says that pride comes before a fall. There is someone in the old testament who said i nearly faltered when i saw the prosperity of the wicked until I saw their end.
In the book of acts there is a king who died because he said that this is the voice of a god ... and well Nebuchadnezzar did feast on "green grass" for some time because of pride.
I am still trying to learn to be humble myself, but its acknowledging that God knows best whether its good or evil,the bible tells us that everything works for good to those who love God and are called to his purpose. We see in the case of Joseph in the Old Testament when he told his brothers that you meant for evil but God sent me here to save lives.
In the new testament its probably the same thing Jesus could say that in crucifying him we meant it for evil, but God has turned it for our good, for in him the gentiles hope and because he loved God, God would not let his holy one see corruption.
Which in the end is what our salvation is all about, that what the devil meant for evil God has turned for our good. And well its so good that angels long to look into these things.
I could go on and on but let me stop.
F.O
F.O. Wow. Thank you so much for this wonderful comment, for giving us more scriptures to think about on this matter.
ReplyDeleteI do have a question-if we know that Jesus meant for us to take him seriously, why do we struggle to live up to his instructions?
I saw your question and it’s pretty loaded but since you asked I will attempt to answer
ReplyDeleteQuestion: if we know that Jesus meant for us to take him seriously, why do we struggle to live up to his instructions?
The bible tells us that all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Adam and Jesus were both tempted Adam disobeyed God and the whole creation has been groaning ever since, Jesus withstood temptation, and he is sited on the right hand of the God and has been exalted above all things.
We struggle because;
We are stubborn
Like Adam we are seeking our own way out, Jesus asked what does it profit a man to gain the world but forfeit his soul, Adam and Eve sought wisdom that doesn’t come from God and while they had the world to themselves, they died, and today we still face the consequences of their sin thousands of years later. We may think that it was confined to Adam, but today we see the same thing, being repeated, the devil used a serpent to deceive Eve today its not strange to see witchdoctors with big snakes and other paraphernalia offering divination services. No wonder it’s written somewhere that people forsook God and worshipped the creation instead of God who created the snake.
In the Old Testament, Saul was told to go and kill all the people of Amalek and all they have but instead he spared the Amalekites king Agag and spared the best of the livestock, and when he was asked by Samuel he said that he wanted to sacrifice the livestock to God. Due to his stubbornness God rejected Saul, stubbornness we are told is as iniquity and idolatry, the same case applies to the Israelites when they were brought out of Egypt, it did not matter what signs God did through Moses they always found something to complain about, until in the end God had enough and said they will not enter the promised land. In the story of the (Luke 16:19-30) rich man and Lazarus despite the rich man’s wish that if someone goes to his brothers from the dead they will repent; being fulfilled. When God sent his only Son Jesus to die for our sins and raised him from the dead; people still do not repent.
In proverbs 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child but the rod of discipline drives it far from him and in Deuteronomy 21:18 they had a way of dealing with a stubborn son, they stoned him to death. In our traditional communities such a son would ostracized and sent away from the community, today we see mob justice and the like. For most of us probably we didn't reach to such extremes because the spanking or let me say the beating we got from our parents made sure that we learnt the lesson, however we may have obeyed though in our hearts we were probably doing the opposite. And while we may have gotten away with it because our parents could not see our hearts, the bible says that “ Sheol lays bare before God how much more are our hearts bare before God” its written the heart is deceitfully wicked who can understand it’, and I would say God who created it and his word is able to reveal the motives of the heart; I might want to think I am perfect but wait till I pray and ask God to search my heart and see if there is any wicked way in me, and for sure He will unearth something some of those attitudes or habits that I once thought I was getting away with, things that I have long forgotten the good thing of course is that when I repent the burden of guilt is lifted. Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees to first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate then the outside may be clean. (Mt 23:26)
We don’t seek after God
When God rejected Saul he sent Samuel to anoint David who God said was a man after God’s heart. We will probably do well by following God with the same passion that David had. Jesus said that he does as the Father has commanded so that the world may know the he loves the Father (Jn14:31), we can understand why when Jesus was praying he would ask for God’s will and not his will to be done Being human we tend to feel we have lost something when we don’t get our own way, even something as little as loosing an argument, we would be better off in letting God’s will be done.
Jesus told us that he has given us an example that we should follow after him. If we want to conquer the things of this world we must first ask how Jesus was able to overcome the world. Before Jesus was crucified, some things were hidden from the disciples but when Jesus rose from the dead, we are told that he opened the minds of the disciples to understand the scriptures, likewise we would be wise to ask God to open our minds to understand the scriptures, as the things of the Spirit can only be discerned through the Spirit, God is Spirit, we can ask him to reveal his word to us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the he will send us the Spirit of truth who will guide us into all the truth, and when we know the truth, the truth shall set us free, and it will be hard for us to be deceived.
The bible says that my people perish because of lack of knowledge, Solomon wrote if you cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God (Prov 2:3-6). We are being perfected every day as we continue in the knowledge of God, and as we are being perfected we will struggle, Paul at one time said that I do not do the good I want to do but the evil I do not want is what I do. (Rom 7:19, 25)... But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, he is able help us when we are being tempted as he himself suffered and was tempted. (Heb 2:18)
We underestimate sin and its consequences
There is a certain casualness we seem to take God mostly because he is patient; we seem to revel in getting away with sin, you just need to look at the our roads or probably see that no matter how new a law is there will always be a loophole somewhere so that it cannot be followed. We take this same attitude with God and with his laws. God being patient we assume he doesn’t see and that we are getting away with sin, we forget that God’s patience is to give us ample time to repent, if we don’t we reap the wages of sin which is death. In relationships, there is a common question that always seems to crop up, how far is to far, in essence we seem to be preoccupied with the extent we can go to before we call it sin, and I have always wondered, what would Job tell us today, when he said that I have made a covenant with mine yes not to look at a maiden lustfully, or Joseph who fled when Potiphar’s wife wanted to lie with him, he didn’t start asking how far is to far. We take for granted verses like there shouldn’t be a hint of immorality.
As a young Christian there was always this thought that I can sin and repent later until I was convicted that those who sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin, (Heb: 10:26), in (2 peter 2:22) that it’s like a dog going back to its vomit and the sow that is washed only to go back to wallow in the mire.
Jesus told us that the devil comes to steal. kill and destroy, we see this in the story of Job of how the devil went to God three times to be allowed to tempt Job, and the viciousness of the tragedies that Job were so grave that when his three friends came to see him and saw his troubles it took them seven days to say a word, his wife just told him to curse God and die but Job remained steadfast and would not curse God. Jesus asked which one of us if the son asks for bread will give him a stone?... and he said that if we being evil know how to give good things to our children how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him? When Jesus was in the wilderness and hungry after fasting for forty days being tempted at the devil showed him stones to turn to bread, unfortunately for us we seem to fall for the stones.
David wrote that man is created a little lower than the angels, the devil was able to deceive a third of them which we call demons, today we probably have heard or seen how demons torment people, we are told of a man with a legion of them who no one could bind, and a child with one that even threw him to the fire, one can only imagine the torment, those who end up with the demons in hell will face, if one causes so much trouble, how about when they are legions and legions them, and you are going to be in their company for eternity, days without end, with no reprieve and we would think twice..
We haven’t crucified the flesh,
David wrote “you lifted me from the miry clay” when we became saved we were all in some form of miry clay that God has had to lift us out from whether its addictions, habits, thoughts and attitudes and this are not easy to get rid off because some of them run through families, and so we are comfortable with them its only when we go outside our families that we discover we have a weakness. Once in a while my mother tongue remind me of the tribe I come from simply by the way I will pronounce or have a hard time pronouncing some words, in my community I may not have a problem but wait I go to another community, they will find it hard to understand my accent.
For a long time I struggled with forgiveness and it was such a far option in my mind that I was shocked when a counselor once suggested it, but well she was right and I finally did it and was so relieved, but today I still struggle with it because, when we are wronged the last thing in our minds is forgiveness, the first thing one wants to do is to give a piece of our mind or fist to the offending person, The story of Joseph is one that continuously challenges me to forgive when an issue comes up, Jesus urges us not only to love our enemies, we are also told to pray for them (Mt: 5:44) Paul tells us that if our enemy is hungry we give them food (that is not laced with poison) if he is thirsty we give a drink. (Rom 12:20) No wonder God said that his thoughts are as different from ours as the earth is from heaven.
Conclusion
Jesus said if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mark 8:34) and as I had said that its very hard to deny one self, because one thinks they know what is best for them’ and considering the purpose of growing up is to be independent its pretty hard to humble ourselves as a child, humility is something that can benefit us since it can help us to take seriously the warnings in the bible like when the bible tells us that when we are correcting someone we watch out lest the sin overtake us.
Sometime back after seeing some topic on TV, and I thought I could check it out, I had dealt with it, pretty confidently thinking I was the exception, until I decided to check it out and before long I was hooked and coming out of it was another struggle I still get the shivers when I remember that time. The bible tells us who is blind like my servant or deaf as my messenger whom I send he sees many things but does not observe them, his ears are open but he does not hear (Is 42:20), and well if at the time I had learnt to deny myself I would have ignored that topic on TV and not suffered as I did. Today, I have learnt to test whether something is sound not on my own terms but by checking it against the word of God.
One thing that continuously helps me to accept Gods will is the realization that He is perfect and his word is perfect. Solomon asked who can make straight what God has made crooked? (Ecc7:13). If today for example I was told to make a butterfly more perfect, I couldn’t because its perfect, however though I may be tempted to think I am perfect, God knows I am not and its only prudent for me to allow him to mould me to what he want me to be, since as his word says that he is able to do much more than we think or imagine. So if God said we stick to one wife or husband, we do that, if he said we don’t steal we do just that, and when we feel we are loosing out because we don’t have a ‘mpango wa kando’ (Plan b), or that we could be richer by taking a bribe, we ask him to help us to delight in observing his laws. That way we will be able to with stand the temptation that are in this world, the lust of the flesh, and, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
F.O