In this piece, we will be looking at a conversation in Matthew chapter 16:24 that says; Pick up Your Cross and Follow Me. This conversation was what Jesus had with His disciples in Matthew chapter 16:24. It says; “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his Cross, and follow Me.”
Then Jesus said to His disciples; He did not speak to the multitudes; His focus was His disciples. So, you would wonder that; why did Jesus start conversation with His disciples with a desire. We should assume that if they were disciples of Jesus, then they had desire. But Jesus was making an emphatic statement here: when He said, if; it is conditional: if anyone desires to come after Me. You could be My disciple, and not have a desire to come after Me. You could have been born again for so long, and you don't have a desire to come after Jesus; yours is a social gathering: you want to go to church, meet with people; go to a fellowship, meet with people, talk to them, and have friends, that’s your desire.
Meaning that, there are many people that are acclaimed disciples of Jesus, that their desire is different from the real desire. How many of us have been born again for so long and we cannot still see the life of Jesus at work in us? The reason is because; our desire is not a desire to come after Him.
Jesus said to His disciples, as Jesus is saying to the body of Christ all over the world: if anyone desires to come after Me. He said in the last days, many will cry out; Lord! Lord! We did miracles in Your name. We did signs and wonders in Your name. The Bible says, and He will say to them, depart from Me because you did not come after Me. What you were looking for, what your desires were; were different from what I have commanded.
How many of us have desire for Jesus? Have you come to Jesus to solve your problems? Did you come to Jesus because you were sick? Did you come to Jesus because you were in lack? Did you come to Jesus because you needed His miracle power? You can come to Jesus like that but you can’t stay like that. The real pursuit of following Jesus is not for silver and gold, it is not for looking for money; because Jesus knows after you have gotten those things, you will still not be fulfilled. He said, if any one desires to come after Me: this must be the desire of everyone in Kingdom pursuit. If you are pursuing Kingdom, Jesus said, this must be your desire; to come after Me.
Why is it Jesus we're coming after? It is because He's the firstborn among many brethren because we have been created in Him. The Bible says we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. So, outside Christ Jesus, you cannot fulfill the reason you are created. So, He said, if anyone deserves to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his Cross and follow Me.
Matthew 16:24 in Amplified classic translation; “Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his Cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].”
Then Jesus said to His disciples, if anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself (disregard yourself: you should not matter, you should not be important, lose sight of yourself, don't focus on your selfish interests: what I want to get out of Jesus, what I need in Jesus, He said and forget himself and his own interests); that's the meaning of deny himself.
Matthew 16:24 in Message translation; “Anyone who intends to come with Me has to let Me lead. Anyone who desires, who intends to start a Kingdom journey; He said, will have to let Me lead. Let Christ lead, don’t lead yourself. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. It is Jesus that must be in the driver’s seat, so you don’t dictate the direction, you don’t dictate the acceleration, you don’t dictate when the break is been pressed; He is in the driver’s seat. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. When you follow Me, I will show you how.
As children of God, it is important we understand the principles of the kingdom that we have enrolled in. Haven, come to Christ; have we come to Christ for bread and fish? Have we come to Christ for just miracles and signs? There is more that we must desire in Him and that's why He was saying in Matthew 16:24, that you must deny yourself in following Jesus. You must deny yourself as you let go of your own interests, surrender your ways; be willing to share the Cross and experience the Cross as if it is your own.
I want to show us a Scripture in Galatians 2:20, a man that had an understanding of Matthew 16:24. See how Apostle Paul puts it in Galatians chapter 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
I have been crucified with Christ. If anyone desires to come after Me; let him deny himself, let him embrace suffering. I have been crucified with Christ: been crucified is not a joke. And this crucifixion takes place on a Cross; for the word crucified to be used, it means he has Cross linked to it. I have been crucified with Christ; that is how I take up my Cross. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
Matthew 16:24 in practical terms; is life application for Apostle Paul. I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; He is the One on the driver's seat. I've been crucified; I'm no longer in charge, I have let go and I have let Him. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
What is the Apostle Paul saying in Galatians 2:20? He says, I have picked up my Cross and followed Him. So, if we as disciples of Jesus, and we are disciples indeed, the word of Jesus to us in Matthew 16:24 is that, if you desire to come after Me, like Apostle Paul desired, you must deny yourself. How do you deny yourself? Apostle Paul said I have been crucified with Christ; I no longer live. Denying yourself is; you are no longer living.
So, the question is, are you living or you are dead? He said the life I now live, I live it by faith. I live it taking up my Cross and following Him. I want us to see Galatians 6:14, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” That means, I can’t boast in any other thing.
The conversation is about us listening to Jesus as His disciples. This is the words of Jesus to us: Are you coming after Me? How are you coming after Me? Are you coming after Me in your own ways or in My way?
The Cross is an example of how we must follow Jesus. The Cross is a model of following Jesus. You can't follow Jesus without the Cross; that's what Apostle Paul is saying in Galatians chapter 6:14; you cannot follow Jesus without the Cross. And Jesus emphasized it in Matthew 16:24; if anyone desires to come after Me; you can't do it without the Cross. The Cross is the example; it is the model of how to follow Jesus.
I want to show us a Scripture in Mark chapter 10:38, “But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
This is the story of when the mother of James and John came to Jesus and said, Jesus, I want You to do something for me. You see these two sons of mine that have been following You, I want one to sit on Your left and another on Your right and Jesus said, what you are asking, it is not as if it's a difficult thing; but there is a way. There is a way to get anything in this Kingdom, things of this Kingdom does not just drop on the laps of people, there is a way; there is a model, there is how to do it. And that's what Jesus was exposing them to in verse 38. He said, but Jesus said to them, you do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? So, what cup was Jesus referring to here? Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? That was the question Jesus asked them; because the Way is to drink the cup, the Way is to be baptized in the same baptism: that is how to come after Him.
In the world, when they say somebody is your master, and you are the person’s servant; is it not in following your master that you become a good servant? That's the way it is in the Kingdom; Jesus is our Master; we are His servant in this Kingdom. Jesus said, when a disciple; a servant is perfect; he will be just like his Master. The essence of coming after Jesus is so that you and I will be like Him.
In Ephesians, Apostle Paul was saying, that we might grow up into the fullness of the stature of Christ; that is the ultimate, that's the goal. The goal of following Jesus and giving your life to Him is not just for Him to heal you: those are bread!!!
Is life all about bread? There is more to life than bread. Healing is the children's bread. Silver and gold are Mine, says the Lord. The cattle upon a thousand hills are Mine. It cost God nothing to make Job, the greatest man in the east. When God was going to restore Job, God restored him seven-fold. So, you will see that God does not have a challenge blessing us, but necessity is laid on us. And that is the hand that we put on the plough, that we must not look back: it is following Jesus and becoming like Him; that's the real deal. That is why Jesus died; Jesus did not die so that you will be healed alone. Jesus did not die so that you will have money alone: Jesus died to reconnect you and I back to God; so that as He is, so you will be in this world. He said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me; that's the essence.
Jesus showed up on the earth, and the Bible says, the people marveled because He spoke as one that has authority. Jesus walked on water. Jesus calmed the storm. Jesus cast out legions of demons out of people. What was Jesus doing? He was exercising dominion; what we lost.
So, until you and I become like Him, we have not maximize the reason why He came. ‘I had fibroid and I went to pray and as I prayed, the fibroid left’; that is not all, the real testimony is that; I am found in Christ and He is found in me: that is the ultimate testimony of every believer. If you have not said that testimony, you are still a work in progress. And that is why this message is coming; if anyone desires to come after Me, you must deny yourself, and take up your Cross and follow Me.
So, Jesus was speaking here, to the mother of the sons of Zebedee; you don't know what you ask. Are you able? So, what is the cup? Luke chapter 22:41-42, “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
There is nothing Jesus is asking us to do, that He has not set precedence. When Jesus is on the driver's seat of your life, and He is accelerating your life in a direction, and it looks like suffering; remember that God also accelerated His life to the direction of suffering. And while God was accelerating on the driver's seat, Jesus prayed this prayer; Father, if it is Your will, (Father, can You just remove Your leg from the accelerator and take this cup from Me; Let’s change course, Let’s change direction). He said, nevertheless, You are on the driver's seat; I surrender, I allow You to lead.
Jesus trusted the Father to lead; as those that come after Him, we must trust Him to lead. There was no time that Jesus would stop the authority of the Father. He said, as I hear My Father say, I say. As I see My Father do, I do. If Jesus had to stop the authority of the Father; when Lazarus was sick, He would have disobeyed the Father and go there. And maybe says God, you don't have human feelings. Lazarus and his sisters are My friends, and they said he is sick. I don't even know the gravity of the sickness, but for them to send people down, the sickness is must be grievous; Father, I'm going; please just give Me Your approval. Is that what He did? No! He stayed and told them what the Father said, this sickness is not unto death.
Is that how we come after Him? The word of the Lord is for us to evaluate our walk with the Lord. Are we negotiating our stance with Him or we are following after Him? We are denying ourselves, taking up our Cross and following Him. John chapter 18:11, So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
Peter, I know you love Me; just like many of our family members love us, they don't want us to suffer. But, is that what Jesus is asking you to do? Is that the direction Jesus is pressing the accelerator of your life in? Peter loved Jesus; Peter was one of the closest disciples to Jesus. When they came to take Jesus, Peter chopped off the right ear of one of them; passion! How can you come and bundle this Guy? We have seen terrible people in our community and you did not come and bundle them, and then you came to carry this good Person; you must be wicked, receive your judgment. And Jesus had to place the ear back and He said this to Peter; put your sword into your sheath, shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?
So, the question is, shall you and I not drink the cup that Jesus has given us? Following His example, coming after Him is; doing the things that He did, living the life that He lived. Shall I not drink? Shall I not go to the Cross that My Father has said that I should go? Shall I not go on that missionary journey that I've been instructed to go? Shall I not preach that good news that I've been instructed to preach? Shall I not start that orphanage that I've been instructed to start? Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?
Luke chapter 14:27, So Jesus saying, “And whoever does not bear his Cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” It is non-negotiable. If Jesus did not drink the cup that the Father asked Him to drink, He will not be sitting at the right hand of the Father today.
I don't know how many years you have been calling the name of Jesus. Jesus said, whoever does not bear; carry, pick up, take his Cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple: you can't be listed among My disciples.
So, the question is, are we truly coming after Him? The cup He has given us to drink; are we drinking it with joy? Apostle Paul made us understand; he said I will rather boast, i.e. I will boast in nothing else except that Cross of Christ Jesus. I will not boast in my life that I was able to do anything.
Do you know that you can go to school and have a degree, have masters, have PhD; if that is not the cup the Lord Jesus is asking you to drink, there is nothing to boast about. You might build a twenty-seven storey building, let it be the tallest in your village; if that is not the cup that Jesus is giving you to drink, it is a successful waste of resources. Everything Jesus did on the earth, if He had not gone to the Cross, it would have been an effort in futility. All the people that Jesus raised from the dead, all the messages that Jesus preached, all the people that Jesus healed; if He had not gone to the Cross, it would have been mission abolished or mission aborted.
So that my life and your life will not be a mission aborted, we need to take and drink the cup that Jesus has handed to us: that is how to come after Him and truly be His disciple. 2 Corinthians chapter 5:15, “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” And He died for all, but is it all that is coming after Him? No! He died to the end that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and arose again: this is how we should live, not for ourselves; but for Christ.
Jesus lived for the Father; we must live for Him. The Holy Spirit is here because of Him; He is in us because of Him: so that we are not ourselves any longer; we belong to Him. The Bible says, how do we know that we belong to God? By the Holy Spirit; the seal of the Holy Spirit of promise is upon us; He is the Guarantee. That is why the Bible says that as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
So, if you are led by the Spirit of God, you are no longer of your own. You are no longer living your life; you are living as Jesus is asking us to live. Philippians chapter 2:5-6, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.”
Jesus is God; God the Son and God is God the Father, they belong to the same Godhead. Do you know Jesus prides Himself in being called the Son of Man? He will say, I did this as the Son of Man. The Son of Man has come. Now, why is He doing that? The reason is, so that He can be identified with us.
In Jesus identifying with us, He is saying that I'm a Man just like you. Then, how many of us can hand over the authority of our lives to another man. And say, Sir, whatever you ask me to do, how easy is it? It takes a lot of humility. ‘Sir, Ma, whatever you ask me to do’: that's how the Bible say Jesus lived.
He did not consider it robbery. How many of us consider it robbery that Jesus is leading us? Someone can say, Ma, you're not coming? And you respond that you are not led to, and some people will look at you and say; so, you don't have your own brain. You can't decide where and where not you want to go; you have to be led? Please believers; children of God, don't count it robbery.
Many men count it robbery. After all, that's why God gave me a brain. The reason many people are not led by the Holy Spirit is because they count it robbery. After all, that's why I have a will; I can do whatever I like to do, it is my life; I can live it the way I want. The Bible says Jesus did not count it robbery to be equal with God. So, when you start leading yourself, you are equal with God. The Bible says that the heart of kings is in the hands of the Lord, like the river of water he directs. Is your life in the hands of God? Is He directing as He wills? The Father directed Jesus as He wills; Jesus must direct you and I as He wills.
He did not count it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation. This is how we come after Him, we must make ourselves of no reputation; deny yourself, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
Philippians 1:1, “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ.” What an introduction: when do we get to that point where we are pleased to be introduced like that? Not PhD, MSc, BSc etc. and for some people, if you don’t put it; they will be angry. At what point will we be pleased to be identified with Him and we will not count it robbery?
Many of us have made ourselves of so many reputations and if they don't put it, you will be angry. When blind Bartimaeus was crying to Jesus; what did he call Him? Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Did He turn and say what an insult; you did not put Lord of lords, King of Kings, Almighty Father, Wonderful, Counsel etc.? Is that what Jesus did? No!
He made Himself of no reputation; taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the Cross. So every time you find Him, He is in the appearance of man; He is not alternating: Man, or God; so when you come you are not confused.
He became obedient to the Father; to the point of death. Can we come after Him and be obedient to the point of fulfilling our purpose? Can we come to that point where we will be just like Him? Become obedient to the point where we drink of that cup; we take our Cross, and we come after Him. “Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
When we drink the cup that God is asking us to drink, when we deny ourselves and take up the Cross and follow after Jesus; there is a reward. Jesus was saying in Matthew 24, that in the last day, when the end-time will come, He said, He will turn to those on the right. And say, when I was hungry, you fed Me. Some of them, like the widow of Zarephath were making their last meal, and they still fed Him.
How they fed Him irrespective, they fed Him. I was naked, and you clothed Me. I was thirsty, you get Me to drink, I was in prison, and you visited Me. He said, and they will be rewarded. He'll say, go into the joy of your Lord.
Following Jesus is to an end. That’s why Apostle Paul said, and when He is revealed; when Christ our life is revealed, we will be like Him. When He is glorified, we will be glorified with Him. That's why Jesus was bold to tell the Father: Father, I have done the assignment that You have given Me, glorify Me with the same glory.
How many of us can be bold to approach Jesus and say, Jesus, I've drank the cup You gave me to drink. I have done Your will here on earth, glorify me with that promised glory. If you have not done the work, you can't get the reward. Many of us are struggling because we have not actually denied ourselves. Our interest is coming first. We are pushing back the interest of Jesus and bringing ourselves to the front burner. And if we continue to do that, we will not enjoy the things that Christ has made ready for us.
Romans chapter 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “for Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Nothing should be able to separate us from the love of Christ. That's why in Romans 12:1-2, Apostle Paul said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies (presenting your bodies is denying yourself) as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto Him; he said, this is your reasonable service.”
Every other thing should give way for your reasonable service. Every other thing should take the backseat for your reasonable service. The Bible made us to understand that in that last day, there won't be excuses. I remember when the Holy Spirit was saying to me, He said, when you come before Me, I will not hear about the number of children you had; how they did not allow you to pray, I won't hear about your mother, or your brothers.
That's why when they said to Jesus, your mother, and your brothers are looking for you and Jesus said, who is My mother? Who are My brothers, He said, it is those that are helping Me to fulfill this assignment, those that I am channeling this assignment to; they are My mother and My brothers.
That's why the rich young ruler came to Jesus. Jesus said, go and sell all you have, give it to the poor and follow Me; and the man became sorrowful because he had great possessions. There was no record in the Bible that the man followed Jesus; he turned back sorrowful.
How many of us have turned back sorrowful; and Jesus is saying there is no other way. There is no other way to come after Him than to deny yourself and take up your Cross. If you have turned away sorrowfully, this is the time to turn back. That's why the word repent is very important; rethink, turn around, make a 360-degree turn. All the things that you are doing, they are not worth it; focus on following Him.
