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Luke 9:23–27
“[Jesus] said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it’ ” (vv. 23–24).
Continuing the theme of suffering as the means through which the abundance of the kingdom of God is made manifest, Jesus makes it plain that not only He but also His servants will endure suffering as the kingdom grows in the world. As we see in Luke 9:23, Jesus teaches that anyone who is His disciple must “deny himself” and “take up his cross daily” in following Him (see Luke 9:18–22).
The image of taking up the cross comes from the Roman practice of crucifixion, wherein the individual condemned to death carried his own cross to the place of execution. Jesus carried His cross, though the Romans enlisted Simon of Cyrene to help Him with the task (Luke 23:26). Our Savior, of course, speaks metaphorically of our willingness to suffer for Him in general and is not making a claim that all who follow Him must literally endure crucifixion. As Jesus said on another occasion, a disciple is not above his master (Matt. 10:24–25), so the disciples of Jesus cannot expect to escape all suffering if the Master Himself suffered. There is no true discipleship without suffering, though not all followers of Christ experience the same degree of suffering.
The willingness to suffer for Jesus is an outward fruit of saving faith and repentance. In faith and repentance, we turn away from ourselves, taking the focus off ourselves and putting it on Jesus no matter the cost. To look inward and to rely on ourselves for redemption will lead to our seeking to do anything to preserve our own lives, for we endeavor to protect ourselves at all costs if our ultimate hope is in ourselves. Thus, Jesus says that one mark of true discipleship is the willingness to lose our lives for His sake, the aim of refusing to deny His lordship even if such a refusal will bring us suffering and death (Luke 9:24). Jesus will not be ashamed of those who are willing to lose their lives for His name (Luke 9:25–26)—He will claim them as His own, and they will therefore inherit the fullness of eternal life. This will not be because their willingness to die for Him merits heaven but because their willingness reveals the faith that unites them to Christ and through which they receive salvation (see Eph. 2:8–9; Rev. 12:11).
Today’s passage concludes with Jesus’ saying that some who heard Him in the first century would not die before they saw God’s kingdom (Luke 9:27). This refers not to the second coming of Jesus to consummate His kingdom but to the transfiguration, Jesus’ resurrection, or the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Each of these, we will see in the weeks ahead, was a special manifestation of the kingdom.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Bearing one’s cross is a fruit of saving faith, so it is not optional for the Christian. This does not mean that we will suffer every moment of our lives or that the degree of suffering will be the same for every believer. It does mean, however, that suffering will be a part of the Christian life and that we should not be taken completely off guard when we encounter it.
for further study
- Psalm 116
- Matthew 16:24–28
- Romans 8:12–17
- 2 Thessalonians 1:5–12
the bible in a year
- 1 Kings 8–9
- Luke 23:44–56