Witness SURRENDERED FOR SERVICE
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matt. 24, 25.
Earlier in this passage, Jesus had asked His disciples whom they said that He was. And Peter had said, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus commended him for his response. Then Jesus began to talk about going to Jerusalem, where He would be delivered into the hands of evil men, and crucified, and buried, and rise again the third day. Peter, I suppose still riding high on his recent achievement, thought he would come through again with the right answer. And he began to rebuke Jesus, saying, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee." You recall what happened next, verse 23. Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me."
Then Jesus proceeded to try and straighten out their thinking. He said, "Look, I'm going to Jerusalem and the cross. And if you will come after Me, then deny yourself and take up your cross, and follow Me. There's a cross for you, too."
What is our cross? It is submitting ourselves to Jesus. It is submitting our wills to Christ. It has to do with surrender, and giving up on ourselves. It has to do with living for Christ rather than living for self. The cross, the yoke, and the surrender of our will are all the same. And the yoke is placed upon the oxen for the purpose of service.
Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." So step one is to surrender our lives totally to Jesus, and step two is to become involved in cooperation, through a life of service for Him.
What does Jesus mean when He invites us to follow Him? He is inviting us to a life of outreach and witness. "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." When we stop trying to save our lives, and begin to seek first the kingdom of God, we will become involved in service to others, and will be following Jesus, who lived His entire life for the purpose of blessing and helping others.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matt. 24, 25.
Earlier in this passage, Jesus had asked His disciples whom they said that He was. And Peter had said, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus commended him for his response. Then Jesus began to talk about going to Jerusalem, where He would be delivered into the hands of evil men, and crucified, and buried, and rise again the third day. Peter, I suppose still riding high on his recent achievement, thought he would come through again with the right answer. And he began to rebuke Jesus, saying, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee." You recall what happened next, verse 23. Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me."
Then Jesus proceeded to try and straighten out their thinking. He said, "Look, I'm going to Jerusalem and the cross. And if you will come after Me, then deny yourself and take up your cross, and follow Me. There's a cross for you, too."
What is our cross? It is submitting ourselves to Jesus. It is submitting our wills to Christ. It has to do with surrender, and giving up on ourselves. It has to do with living for Christ rather than living for self. The cross, the yoke, and the surrender of our will are all the same. And the yoke is placed upon the oxen for the purpose of service.
Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." So step one is to surrender our lives totally to Jesus, and step two is to become involved in cooperation, through a life of service for Him.
What does Jesus mean when He invites us to follow Him? He is inviting us to a life of outreach and witness. "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." When we stop trying to save our lives, and begin to seek first the kingdom of God, we will become involved in service to others, and will be following Jesus, who lived His entire life for the purpose of blessing and helping others.
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