Wholly Holy: Take Up Your Cross

Sep 17, 2024 | by Lt. Colonel Allen Satterlee

Wholly Holy: Take Up Your Cross

Scripture: Luke 14:25-33

Lt. Colonel Allen Satterlee

Spiritual Life Officer

USA Southern Territory

               What does it cost to follow Jesus wholeheartedly?

            Jesus Himself gave a clear picture of what it meant. “If you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27). As Dietrich Bonhoeffer succinctly put it, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” What did this challenge sound like to those who first heard Jesus say it?

Death a Thousand Ways

            There were a number of different methods of execution in Jesus’ day. The most humane was to force the condemned to drink hemlock. Used for the Greek philosopher Socrates, the prisoner felt tingling in his extremities, with a gradual and painless paralysis until he simply slipped away.

           For the military man, a preferred method was to be shot through with arrows by a squad of archers. A man of war dying by an instrument of war. Sort of poetic.

           If one had to die, another preferred method was beheading. Although gruesome to those watching it, because it was quick it was considered merciful. The Apostle Paul died in this manner.

           For those for whom they wanted to make an example, another means was to place the condemned person’s head in the hole of a millstone, row out to the middle of a river or lake and push him overboard. Jesus referred to this method when He said it was better to die that way than to offend a child (Matthew 17:2).

Crucifixion

            Instead of these Jesus chose to speak of the cost of discipleship by employing the picture of crucifixion. Originating with the Persians who passed it on to the Carthaginians, it was the Romans who perfected crucifixion so that the most pain was exacted while using the body’s endurance to prolong the punishment. It was always used to make a public example of a criminal, a spectacle of death throes and moans to enforce the importance of obeying Roman authorities.

            Those sentenced to crucifixion first were severely beaten – some dying before they could be crucified. Crosses could weigh up to 300 pounds and dragged by the condemned through a circuitous route through the city. Crowds lined the way to jeer and punch the criminal, adding to the misery experienced that terminated at the place of execution. Once there, the prisoner was stripped of his clothing adding humiliation heaped on the physical suffering. Arms and legs were tied to the beams of the cross to keep them from moving as spikes were driven into soft flesh. A peg was in the center of the cross that forced the person to straddle it. A shot of agonizing pain shot through the person’s entire system as the cross was tipped up and then slid into a hole to hold it in place.

            Now the real torture began. The strain of the arms being extended along the weight of the prisoner’s body gave a constant feeling of suffocation. When he pulled himself up, pain shot through his arms and legs as they pulled against the spikes. Meanwhile, wild dogs began nipping at the toes and licking up the blood that gathered in pools. Crows and vultures landed on the cross beam, as they pecked on the body, going for the eyes first so that many of the crucified died blind. It often took days to die, the victim tormented by hunger and thirst. Most often bodies were left on the cross even after the person died until they decayed, the bones falling to the ground.

Carry Your Cross

            Now listen again to what Jesus said: If you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).

            How does that apply to us?

            While we might agree that the Christian life involves sacrifice, we too often choose to define what that means, or want a designer cross instead of a splintered one. Consider what kind of cross would that be.

• Ornament. Small, smooth, made of precious metal, this kind of cross is easily taken off or hidden away. Not that there is anything wrong with cross jewelry but if it is our picture of the cross, it is far different than what Jesus meant.
• Good luck charm. A few years ago, it was popular to carry a cross in our pockets, akin to a rabbit’s foot or four-leaf clover. Brought out when needed but put away out of sight otherwise. This reminds us of those whose religion is restricted to funerals or disasters.
• Façade. A cross can be fashioned from poster board to be the exact height and width of a real cross, painted to look realistic. It can have the dimensions, but it wouldn’t have the weight. These are the ones who want to appear to be Christian but without the depth of commitment. But the real crucifixion is not a part way or halfway affair nor does it involve featherweight commitment.

We need to be equally careful about misapplying what Jesus said. Someone may speak about a particular difficulty and say, “It is my cross to bear.” While it may be true that something is difficult, Jesus was not referring to the normal problems of life being the cross we are asked to take up.

We look to Jesus to understand what He meant. Why did He take up His cross and die upon it? It was not for Himself, nor for Heaven. It was for others. For us.

Only when we take up our cross because we are followers of Him, and sacrifice our dreams, our time, our opportunities for others can we say we do it in the spirit of Christ. Like Jesus, it is our supreme love for Him that makes the cross anything we can even think about.

Take up your cross, and follow Him.

Our Corporate Prayer

Dear Lord, help us to remember that when You bore the cross for our salvation, You were also setting us an example of our discipleship. You told us the cost would include our own cross. Help us not to shy away, to try to pick and choose, to complain when we feel the pain of our service for You and others. But we also pray that You will strengthen us because we know our weakness and our frailty. We cannot do this without You. We give ourselves to You fully but seek You fully in return. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Our Worldwide Prayer Meeting
Finland and Estonia Territory

Thinking It Through

If Jesus has a cross for each of us, what happens if we refuse to take it and follow Him? Who is harmed more? The cause of Christ? Ourselves? Others?

Notable Quotables

There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have enough—a cheap Christianity which offends nobody, and requires no sacrifice—which costs nothing, and is worth nothing. - J.C. Ryle

We would appreciate any feedback and/or suggestions on how to improve these devotionals. Please email comments to: SpiritualLifeDevelopment@uss.salvationarmy.org or by going to our website: https://southernusa.salvationarmy.org/uss/spiritual-life-development.
We would love to hear from you.

Lt. Colonel Allen Satterlee
Territorial Spiritual Life Development Officer/THQ Chaplain
USA Southern Territory