The world is absolutely full of ideas on how to improve life and to make our daily lives better. All kinds of advice on every topic, covering every area of our lives both personal and professional. “Your life will be better once you have [blank].” is a common trap that many people fall into.
The Bible has a different idea when it comes to having a fulfilling life, and this well-known advice from Jesus has been a verse that many people prefer to skip-over in their Bible reading because of the unpopular language used. However we should never be afraid to study scripture, and I believe as we see the truth which Jesus is sharing in these verses that many people will be able to have truly fulfilling lives as a result of seeing more of Him.
Our infamous text today is going to be Matthew 16:24-27, let’s not waste any time and jump right into the Word:
“Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
Now in order to understand what Jesus is truly saying here, we must read in the original Greek language (the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, while the New Testament was originally written in Greek). In verse 24, we see the word “deny” which in the Greek language actually means to disown; to refuse to acknowledge ownership of.
We also see the words “take up”, which in the Greek text read as lift up or keep. What we can learn from this is that to truly seek and follow Jesus with honesty, a necessary step is to disown ourselves, refuse to acknowledge ownership of ourselves and to lift up our cross and follow Jesus.
It is interesting to note that Jesus says we are to take up our cross. Many have interpreted this in a negative way with the connotation of horrible suffering and persecution, but that is not what Jesus is inferring here. Please don’t misunderstand me on this… true believers will inevitably suffer persecutions by those who do not know Christ and are hostile towards God, but this is not what Jesus is stating in these verses. What He is speaking of here is our personal sacrifices and commitment to Christ. You see, it is the destiny of each and every believer to be perfected in the very image of Jesus Christ Himself (Romans 8:29). This is a magnificent promise and process that involves our mind and beliefs being changed to agree with the truth of God’s Word rather than our own man-made false ideas and feelings (Romans 12:2). This is made even more clear with the final words of Jesus’ statement in verse 24 of or scripture: follow me.
The original Greek word for “follow” in this verse means to “be on the same path with”. So when we combine everything that we have learned thus-far, we can see clearly what Jesus was saying here in verse 24, is that if anyone is to truly follow Jesus, they will relinquish ownership of themselves, and will exalt Christ by submitting to His authority and leadership above our own ideas and desires, because He is our Lord.
Now you might say that is rather obvious, but you would be surprised how few believers actually do that. There are many who want to use God to be saved, but don’t really want Him to be their Leader. They say things such as. “I know the Bible says this, but I want that. And if God really loves me, then He will give me what I want!”
No, my friend, it is precisely because God loves you that He wants to lead you out of the garbage heap and into the promised land. This is stated quite plainly by Jesus in verse 25: For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
So let’s explore this in detail. The word “save” in the context of this verse when read in the Greek text, means “to protect or preserve”. There are many people (including believers) today who are still trying to protect and preserve a certain area or areas of their lives today. Maybe it’s a favorite indulgence that they know is less than holy. Or it’s a desire that does not line up with the Word of God that they are clinging to. Perhaps they have bought into a lie of the world or the enemy, and now they have a wrong belief that is holding them in bondage… whatever it may be, when we acknowledge Christ as our Lord, and we take His name, we should no longer cling to our old self, nor does He want us to. Why not? Because He is mean? Because He is demanding? No. The reason is right in this verse… Because He knows that whoever tries to cling to their old self, is doomed to death – because that’s all that our self ever leads to!
Yet the verse doesn’t end there. Notice the second part: whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. You see that word “lose” there doesn’t do the original Greek word justice; because the word actually means to destroy.
In plain and simple language, Jesus is saying: If you try to hang on to your old life at all… even just a little bit, all of it and you will be utterly destroyed in the end. Even one teeny-tiny speck of self is enough to condemn the whole heap. But if you agree with Me that you are a new creation and born again as a new being in Me (that’s the “for my sake” part) then you will receive true life.
You see my friends, a true life in Christ is not centered around fulfilling all of our own desires and wants. Yes absolutely God is generous, and yes absolutely He gives us good gifts because He is a good Father. But as a Father, His first priority is getting rid of our dirt and filth, but He can only do that when we release our grip to Him. We need to lose our self for His sake.
This brings us to the next verse, number 26. Here Jesus uses plain and simple logic to drive His point home. Over the course of my past before I knew Jesus Christ, I had several addictions throughout the years, and I deeply loved, cherished and desired each and every one of them. Even to the extent where I would become enraged and fiercely defend my addictions against anyone who would try to help me see the truth. I held onto them with all of my might for several reasons: I liked them, they gave me pleasure, I felt cool, special and a part of the “in-crowd” because of them, and I felt like I needed them. But I didn’t realize that they were killing me – both physically and spiritually.
Proverbs 14:12 tells us that there is a way which seems to be good and right, but in the end it leads to death. There is a way which seems to satisfy and fulfill, but brings only destruction. Additionally Isaiah 47:8-11 goes into great detail regarding a person who lives for experience and pleasure, and what the end result is.
Lastly, in verse 27, we see the reward for everyone that knows Jesus as their Lord and Savior. However if we simply read in the English we will miss a vital detail. That word “works” there in the original Greek is not a verb, but a noun! It is not the action itself, but the place from which the action is performed!
You see, all these things that we have been studying today about disowning self and exalting Christ, come only after we truly accept Jesus and receive His unconditional love into our lives. It is only when we let Him change our position, our place from sin to righteousness, that He gives us His Holy Spirit which causes the changes in our life.
The end of my addictions came not through sheer will-power or trying harder, but by the Holy Spirit which came when I accepted Jesus Christ. Once I experienced the Divine love of God, I realized that no other thing or person could ever give me anything that even comes close to God alone. From that moment on. Living for Him was not a chore, but a joy. Each change was effortless, and it was welcomed, knowing that God was lifting me further out of the garbage dump for my benefit. And this is exactly what He does for each and every person who truly accepts Him.
My dear friends, taking up our cross is not a terrible thing, it is the fulfillment of the wonderful promise of God to lift us out of the pit and causing us to shine with the very light of Jesus Himself. I encourage you today to not spend another second clinging to self. Let it go, and you will find your real life, the life of Jesus.