To pick up your cross

[Jona_is_a_true_believer]

What does it mean 'to pick up your cross'.

I`m curious to know your view upon this.

[Not me]

1 hour ago, Jona_is_a_true_believer said:

What does it mean 'to pick up your cross'.

I`m curious to know your view upon this.

Hi, I believe it goes to the heart of our salvation in Christ. 

That when Jesus died on the cross He took us to death with Him. It is picking up our crosses and denying ourselves, (denying our wills, exchanging His will to righteousness in place of our wills to unrighteousness) that is to be our walk before Him. This is done by the faith of the heart reckoning ourselves dead unto sin and alive unto a God. 

For our salvation is a free gift from God. It is all accessed by the faith of the heart turned to Him.

Feeding one’s personal relationship with Christ will make these truths real and alive in you. Whereby a smile and the joy of the Lord might be known and felt in such a way that you might know of a truth all things have become new.  That henceforth walking in newness of life might be known by experience. 

May God fill your heart with His love so your heart might overflow. 

Blessings in Christ, Not me 

[johnthebaptist]

3 hours ago, Jona_is_a_true_believer said:

What does it mean 'to pick up your cross'.

I`m curious to know your view upon this.

Subject ourselves to the Lord's authority.

[Jona_is_a_true_believer]

30 minutes ago, johnthebaptist said:

Subject ourselves to the Lord's authority.

Forgive me for asking, but I really want to know.

Why is to subject ourselves to the Lord's authority like picking up a cross. Do you think its like a heavy way to death to subject yourself to the Lord's authority like picking up a cross?

[johnthebaptist]

1 minute ago, Jona_is_a_true_believer said:

Forgive me for asking, but I really want to know.

Why is to subject ourselves to the Lord's authority like picking up a cross. Do you think its like a heavy way to death to subject yourself to the Lord's authority like picking up a cross?

Well, we do have to subject ourselves to the Lord's authority. That is because the Lord knows what is best for us. It isn't always what we want to do.

[missmuffet]

5 hours ago, Jona_is_a_true_believer said:

What does it mean 'to pick up your cross'.

I`m curious to know your view upon this.

When Jesus carried His cross up Golgotha to be crucified, no one was thinking of the cross as symbolic of a burden to carry. To a person in the first-century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by the most painful and humiliating means human beings could develop.

Two thousand years later, Christians view the cross as a cherished symbol of atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love. But in Jesus’ day, the cross represented nothing but torturous death. Because the Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion, bearing a cross meant carrying their own execution device while facing ridicule along the way to death.

Therefore, “Take up your cross and follow Me” means being willing to die in order to follow Jesus. This is called “dying to self.” It’s a call to absolute surrender. After each time Jesus commanded cross bearing, He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25). Although the call is tough, the reward is matchless.

Wherever Jesus went, He drew crowds. Although these multitudes often followed Him as Messiah, their view of who the Messiah really was—and what He would do—was distorted. They thought the Christ would usher in the restored kingdom. They believed He would free them from the oppressive rule of their Roman occupiers. Even Christ’s own inner circle of disciples thought the kingdom was coming soon (Luke 19:11). When Jesus began teaching that He was going to die at the hands of the Jewish leaders and their Gentile overlords (Luke 9:22), His popularity sank. Many of the shocked followers rejected Him. Truly, they were not able to put to death their own ideas, plans, and desires, and exchange them for His.

Following Jesus is easy when life runs smoothly; our true commitment to Him is revealed during trials. Jesus assured us that trials will come to His followers (John 16:33). Discipleship demands sacrifice, and Jesus never hid that cost.

In Luke 9:57-62, three people seemed willing to follow Jesus. When Jesus questioned them further, their commitment was half-hearted at best. They failed to count the cost of following Him. None was willing to take up his cross and crucify upon it his own interests.

Therefore, Jesus appeared to dissuade them. How different from the typical Gospel presentation! How many people would respond to an altar call that went, “Come follow Jesus, and you may face the loss of friends, family, reputation, career, and possibly even your life”? The number of false converts would likely decrease! Such a call is what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

If you wonder if you are ready to take up your cross, consider these questions:
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing some of your closest friends?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means alienation from your family?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means the loss of your reputation?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your job?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your life?

In some places of the world, these consequences are reality. But notice the questions are phrased, “Are you willing?” Following Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean all these things will happen to you, but are you willing to take up your cross? If there comes a point in your life where you are faced with a choice—Jesus or the comforts of this life—which will you choose?

Commitment to Christ means taking up your cross daily, giving up your hopes, dreams, possessions, even your very life if need be for the cause of Christ. Only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called His disciple (Luke 14:27). The reward is worth the price. Jesus followed His call of death to self (“Take up your cross and follow Me”) with the gift of life in Christ: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25-26).

https://www.gotquestions.org/take-up-your-cross.html

Edited August 6, 2019 by missmuffet

[Jayne]

You've asked a great question.  It should be noted that the Bible records Jesus saying that five times in three different situations. 

[I just learned that myself when I Googled "take up your cross" to find the Bible reference because I was to lazy to look it up myself - and lo and behold five references and  in reading them all, three situations.]

[1] In preparing the 12 disciples to go out:

•  Matthew 10:38 - "And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."

[2] After the 12 came back and after telling Peter, "Get thee behind me Satan" and after drawing a crowd to hear him.

• Luke 9:23 - " And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
•  Matthew 16:24 - "Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." 
•  Mark 8:34 - "And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

[3] And one context that I couldn't quite place.  But it was to crowds following him and in the middle of some parables.

• Luke 14:27 - "And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."

That's just interesting to me and encourages me to study those five passages more.

[Jayne]

OH!  What does it mean?

I was taught when I was younger that it meant we all have burdens to bear.  I would hear, "Well, that's her cross to bear" or "Oh my, what a cross that family has to bear!"

I said to that long ago - Ppshaw!!! 

People in the Bible met with their cross ONE time.  And the purpose was to be executed and die.

The cross mean to die.  Not literally - Jesus did not ask us to die on a cross.

We are to die to self daily.  Jesus only had to bear the cross once as our example on how WE are to live every single day.  [Note Luke 9:23 has the descriptor "daily".]

We live in the flesh and when waking up each morning, it's our task as Christians is to consider ourselves dead to sin, dead to the world's ways, and dead to selfishness that interferes with being a servant of God.

If you take all the descriptors in all five of those above verses, it would say -

"If anyone would come after Jesus Christ, he/she should:

•  deny him/herself daily
•  take up his/her cross daily
•  follow Jesus Christ daily [whew!  there's a 3-step progression there I think!!]

and if these things aren't done, then he/she is not worthy of Jesus Christ and CANNOT be his disciple."

Rather a serious teaching Jesus gave there I think.

[Jostler]

4 hours ago, Jona_is_a_true_believer said:

Forgive me for asking, but I really want to know.

Why is to subject ourselves to the Lord's authority like picking up a cross. Do you think its like a heavy way to death to subject yourself to the Lord's authority like picking up a cross?

 

The Lord Jesus was appointed to be God's High Priest forever.....the High Priest of a New Covenant, from a tribe (Judah) that had never before ministered before His altar.  He was appointed by an oath from God, unlike Aaron  and  his descendants, of the tribe of Levi,  who were alone appointed to officiate at the altar under  the Old Covenant.

Quote

Psa 110:4

¶

The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

 

 

 

 

Heb 6:16-20

For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.  In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,  where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

This is not a subject that yields to casual reading.   It  requires some study but it truly is fundamental to understanding the  answer to your question.  One of the very basic, fundamental reasons God determined there must be a new Priesthood to administer the  New  Covenant involves this question of cross bearing.

The book of Hebrews opens up a lot of this, but understanding what Paul said about  it in Hebrews  does require  some background understanding  of the  old Levitical/Aaronic Priesthood under the  Old Covenant.

But ask Yourself this question.  If WE have been made a kingdom of  PRIESTS....and Jesus  is  our High Priest,  what "order" of priesthood is our own priestly  "appointment" in accordance with?   Levi or Melchizedek?

Quote

1Pe 2:9

¶

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

 

Under the Old Covenant, the offices  of King and Priest were strictly separated, with Levi and sons of Levi alone occupying  the priesthood  and Judah and his sons appointed to hold the office of King.   A son of Levi, or  any other tribe other than Judah were not allowed  to occupy the  place of governmental authority.  No King was given authority to offer sacrifices at the altar in  behalf of the people.

In Jesus Christ God united the two offices....so  there  had  to be a change in the  Law....a New Covenant.   What was once separated and that separation guarded by the Law, is now united  and "peace" is  established between  the  two  offices.  What was lacking in the  old Law  had to be "filled up" and superseded  by a new Law.

Quote

Zec 6:13

“Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”'

 

In the Old Testament, the priest's job  was to  minister  to God on behalf of the people...representing the people before the presence of God.  The King's job was  to  minister the things of God to the people, representing God in  the eyes of the people.   IN Jesus, the  two  roles were  united that there  might be ONE intercessor, ONE mediator  between God and man.   One eternal sacrifice  to replace  the insufficient "shadow" that pointed to  the  reality of  Jesus to come.

So what is it that  makes the Priesthood after the  order  of  Melchizedek different than the priesthood after  the order of  Levi?  Hebrews 6 and 7 begin to reveal that:

Quote

Heb 7:27-28

who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.  For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.

 

The PRIMARY distinction between the ministry  of the  Levitical priesthood and the Priesthood of Melchizedek is  that  Levitical priests were required  to offer  the blood  of sheep, goats  and  bulls,  continuously, repeatedly - only "covering" sin, but incapable of removing it. 

The Levitical priest offered the blood  of animals and the priest after the order of Melchizedek first offers HIMSELF.  Only Jesus  the High Priest, had  pure blood to offer, one time, for the sake  of ALL...a permanent sacrifice  of HIMSELF,  never  to  be  repeated and all sufficient....never  NEEDING to be repeated, having satisfied the Justice of God, filling up the  payment required by Justice for all  sin.....death.  Now, having purified us we are appointed to serve as priests in His Temple, appointed to perform the  work  of  the Temple with  the  one exception of entering the  Holy of Holies to  sprinkle the evidence of satisfied Justice on the Heavenly mercy seat,  once for all...which  only our High Priest could have done.  In Him, once for all Mercy  has triumphed over Justice.

He ministered this for our sake by taking up a literal, physical cross, and dying a literal physical  death.  But now  we, to fulfill our  priestly office under our  great High Priest, must begin our ministry as He began His.....by FIRST sacrificing ourselves.  NOW....IN  HIM,  we too have  been provided  access behind  the veil....as  priests after the order of Melchizedek.

Quote

Jhn 20:23

“If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

 

"Take up your  cross....."  the first act of  the Melchizedek priesthood....modeled  for us  by the  High Priest.

I  pray  that this might be a beginning....and He will guide the study  of those who desire to understand the responsibilities of and the power and authority He has made available  to those who have been made priests after the order of Melchizedek.

Exactly how we take up our own crosses, is quite simple, but difficult to explain.  But  in short  His literal  physical death WAS our own  death  to  the flesh and "reckoning" ourselves dead  in line with that reality is what overcomes  sin  in our lives.   Taking up our  own cross is not "dying  to self"...it is recognizing we ARE dead.....and  walking "reckoning" that  truth a reality...already....an accomplished fact.

Edited August 7, 2019 by Jostler

[Jostler]

15 minutes ago, pinacled said:

A very well thought out summary.

The issue I have with such an exegetical approach is the use of an English word of old and new . In Hebrew the word for covenant is Brit. And Brit Hadassah is what is freely offered by our Lord Yeshua.

Authority is and has always been from the Lord of Lights. Even Yeshua spoke of this concerning the temporal authority of levite priest. Only yochanon the levite recognized who was and is given authority as King of kings.

Also, the comment you made concerning sacrife only offered by levite priest was a mistake. 

If I recall correctly Ole shlomo(Solomon offered a certain number of cattle with an oath.

Which is a subject of discussion concerning gate(s) that I believe is very important while teaching.

Blessings Always

 

I happen to speak English...so I use English words that those I hope to communicate with  will understand.

 

Quote

2Co 3:14

But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.

 

 

 

Heb 8:13

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

 

I am bound by the Words of God, not by the unbelief and confusion  others like to introduce.   There are a number  of "exceptions" to Levitical  Law where Kings (David AND Solomon) appeared to take  up the office  of  priest and there are precious types embodied  in those exceptions.  It would be better  to enlighten people on why  those  were allowed than simply dismiss them by  reference  to your own  thinking and no  Word at all.  If  you  can.

Edited August 7, 2019 by Jostler