Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus began, “to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from you, Lord: this shall not be unto you. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: you are an offense unto me: for you savor not the things that be of God, but those that be of men”, and in chapter sixteen and verse twenty-four of his book, Matthew shares how Jesus declared a person must, “deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” if they are to “come after” Him where we read:
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.
The verse reads, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, ...”. Matthew began with the word, “then” or “at that time and moment” “said” which means “uttered, declared and proclaimed” “Jesus” whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “unto his disciples” which refers to “Jesus' students, pupils and attendants”, “if any man” which means “whether any human male or female” “will come after me” or “come forth, make appearance, find place and follow Jesus”. Matthew shared how Jesus began to tell His disciples what is necessary if a person wants to “come after” Him.
The verse continues, “... let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matthew added the words, “let him deny himself” which means “allow and permit that person to affirm that they have no acquaintance or connection with themselves and their personal interests”, “and take up his cross” or “and raise, elevate and lift up their well known instrument of most cruel and ignominious punishment which was borrowed by the Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians”, “and follow me” or “and accompany, join to and side with Jesus as his attendant”. Matthew shared three things that Jesus said must be done to “come after” Him- “deny” oneself, “take up” one's “cross” and “follow” Him.
When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see the requirements to “come after” Jesus. First, a person must “deny” themselves. This is often the greatest barrier because removing “self” and replacing it with Jesus is a challenge to anyone's existence particularly in this day. Secondly, a person must “take up his or her cross” which is a place of submission which may include suffering, and thirdly, a person must “follow” Jesus which implies His constant leading and obedience to His path. These are God's requirements for receiving the loving relationship He desires to have with every person, and when a person yields their life to Jesus Christ and obeys His directives, they shall receive the blessing of His presence and “everlasting life”.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus says, “whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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