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. Matthew 16:24
Jesus said to his disciples then, and apparently to his disciples now that if any wanted to come after him, he should deny himself, take up his cross and follow him. There was a certain man who came to Jesus and said,”I’ll follow you.” And Jesus said to him, “foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head.” To another Jesus said, “follow me”, and the young man said,” Suffer me first to go and bury my dad.” But Jesus said, ” let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom”. When the gospel is preached a lot of persons would want to follow Jesus. But this is what Jesus is saying: anyone who wants to be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. He was trying to let them know that there was a cost to being a follower of the master. He healed the sick, raised the dead, cleansed the leper, had the good news preached to the poor and they liked it and wanted to follow him and be his disciple, but he had to let them know the demand, as no one who puts his hands on the plough and looks back is worthy of him. He that must be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. That is the demand. It is the call. Jesus stated it very clearly: he that must be my disciple must deny self and take up cross. Christianity is too serious for anyone to fake it.
Have you made up your mind to genuinely follow Jesus? Then go for the real Jesus and nothing else: settle for the cost! Go for the cost of following this Christ who died for your sins and saved you from the power of hell, and will lead you to eternal life.
Royal Flock of Christ Church 