YOU CAN'T CRUCIFY YOURSELF
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Matt. 10:39.
Whenever Jesus spoke of the cross, He always referred to it as our cross, never as His. "He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:38). "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). It was on our cross, in our place, that Jesus suffered and died.
If you were to decide to take your own life, there would be many routes available. You could put a pistol to your head and pull the trigger. You could take an overdose of any number of drugs. You could jump off a high bridge or building. But there is one thing you can never do. You cannot crucify yourself! If you are going to be crucified, someone else must do it for you.
"The yoke and the cross are symbols representing the same thing--the giving up of the will to God"--The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, on Matt. 11:28-30, p. 1090. The very symbol used by Christ to represent complete surrender demands that the thing be accomplished by someone other than ourselves. No matter how hard we might try to crucify ourselves, we simply cannot do it. No matter how hard we might try to surrender ourselves, we can't do that, either. We can only consent for Someone to do the work for us.
If we cannot crucify ourselves, if we cannot surrender ourselves, then it is inevitable that we cannot set up the timing, either. Every event in Christ's life moved according to God's timetable. Christ did nothing to hasten or delay the crisis, nor did He attempt to escape when the crisis came. He accepted God's plan for His life on a daily basis, and did not try to work out His own plan.
So it must be with us. Jesus Himself allowed room for growth. "First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear" (Mark 4:28). Our effort toward hastening either growth or surrender is fruitless. We can only seek to know Jesus, seek personal fellowship with Him, and trust Him to finish the work He has begun in our lives. He will lead us on to complete surrender to Him.
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Matt. 10:39.
Whenever Jesus spoke of the cross, He always referred to it as our cross, never as His. "He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:38). "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). It was on our cross, in our place, that Jesus suffered and died.
If you were to decide to take your own life, there would be many routes available. You could put a pistol to your head and pull the trigger. You could take an overdose of any number of drugs. You could jump off a high bridge or building. But there is one thing you can never do. You cannot crucify yourself! If you are going to be crucified, someone else must do it for you.
"The yoke and the cross are symbols representing the same thing--the giving up of the will to God"--The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, on Matt. 11:28-30, p. 1090. The very symbol used by Christ to represent complete surrender demands that the thing be accomplished by someone other than ourselves. No matter how hard we might try to crucify ourselves, we simply cannot do it. No matter how hard we might try to surrender ourselves, we can't do that, either. We can only consent for Someone to do the work for us.
If we cannot crucify ourselves, if we cannot surrender ourselves, then it is inevitable that we cannot set up the timing, either. Every event in Christ's life moved according to God's timetable. Christ did nothing to hasten or delay the crisis, nor did He attempt to escape when the crisis came. He accepted God's plan for His life on a daily basis, and did not try to work out His own plan.
So it must be with us. Jesus Himself allowed room for growth. "First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear" (Mark 4:28). Our effort toward hastening either growth or surrender is fruitless. We can only seek to know Jesus, seek personal fellowship with Him, and trust Him to finish the work He has begun in our lives. He will lead us on to complete surrender to Him.
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