Take up your cross [Luke 9:23]

Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

This is the first mention of the word “cross” that Jesus speaks to His disciples. What did the cross represent to them? It was a violent torture device used by the Romans for execution. It caused excruciating pain in the hands and feet. The nerve endings in both we overloaded by the bodies weight on the nails; the signals sent to the brain would be unbearable and cause one to wish for death. The diaphragm was stretched out, making breathing nearly impossible. The only hope for a breath was to push up on the nails in the feet. It was a sign of a violent death. A degrading death. A death that no one would want to experience.

What was Jesus asking of His disciples? Total commitment. Jesus wanted a willingness from them to die for Him. Total commitment.

Did we see that from them? There were areas in their walks where they stumbled, but got back up. As we look at church history, we see that the only one of the disciples that did not die a martyrs death was John, but he was willing to give his life by following Jesus all the way to the cross. All the others were crucified (some upside down), beheaded, or skinned alive. Total commitment was not just a word for them, it was their life.

Are we willing to give that type of devotion to Jesus? I don’t believe that this is a “when I get to that point in my walk with Christ, then I commit to that” type of promise. Jesus does not say “when you ready to do this let me know.” His command is, “if you want to follow me, you give me total commitment.” Anything less is not enough.

Total commitment. Are you willing?