083108 “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow after me.” (Matthew 16: 24)

            “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his burden (his cross) and follow after me.”  These are the words we find attributed to Jesus in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew’s gospel.  Now the Gospel of Matthew was not written right after the resurrection of Jesus.  As a matter of fact the first writings in the time of the New Testament were actually the letters of Saint Paul to the various churches he founded.  Only after about thirty years and with the death of more and more of the apostles is there an effort to get testimony from surviving eye witnesses and put in writing the deeds of the Lord.
            Matthew’s gospel may actually have been written 50 years after the death of our Lord.  These evangelists were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and so the words convey the truth of what God desires to be communicated for our salvation.  The quote at the top of the page may be exactly what Jesus said or it may be a slight paraphrase.  For example, before Jesus died on the cross were there any people or many people who thought that this was even a remote possibility that he would die by crucifixion?  Jesus knew but did anyone else think that? 
            Peter tries to talk him out of any suffering in the passage read today.  If Jesus had said that a disciple had to take up his cross and follow him would that have even made sense?  But if the Lord said that a disciple of his must “take up his responsibilities, his duties, his obligations, his burdens and be willing to carry them,” well, then, it would make a lot more sense to the person listening.  If after the resurrection, when collecting statements such as these, the evangelist further identified for his readers precisely what this burden and what this responsibility was, he could easily insert the word “cross” and people would  now know that that is precisely what Jesus himself did.  It is also what God means for us to understand.  There is a spiritual sense in which we must each pick up our own cross and bear it to our own Calvary if we would be his disciples.  Do you hear him calling you to do so today?  That is the question of the week.