Apr 4 - The Hard Truth

Read Luke 9:22-27

Context: Jesus had recently fed over five thousand people with a small boys' lunch. Later, when he was praying in private with his disciples, he asked them who the crowds thought he was. When asked who they (the disciples) thought he was, Peter answered, "the Christ of God." Jesus warned them not to tell this to anyone...the text continues below.

Text:
22And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

(In other books of the Gospel, this is where Peter jumps up and tells Jesus his death must never happen.)

I wonder what the disciples were thinking about as the result of Christ's statements. I know they were horrified by the thought that he was going to be killed. They had seen the animosity of the Pharisees, but the crowds loved Jesus and the disciples couldn't imagine the Pharisees going so far as to kill someone.

Then there was that statement about them having to 'take up their cross daily' and follow him. They knew what a cross was, but I don't know that it was a topic of regular discussion. If Jesus was our daily teacher, it would be like him saying that for us to follow him we have to sit in the electric chair daily. It wouldn't make any sense.

Yet that IS what he is telling us to do...I struggle with how to apply that in my own life. I can imagine Nicodemus asking Jesus this question, too, "In addition to being born again, how do I die daily?"