Mark 8:34 Commentary and Bible Study

Christ is at Caesarea Philippi. The people have gathered from all over the region, and followed him all the way from Bethsaida and the cities around the north of the lake. He has got his disciples with him, but the crowds were also there, they were waiting with anticipation. Were they going to see a miracle? Were they going to hear a wonderful parable? Christ was teaching the little huddle of his disciples, but now he beckons the crowd and they swarm round, no doubt a huge crowd, so these words are spoken generally, not exclusively to the disciples. ‘Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ What exactly does that mean? Are these all conditions, of salvation? We know you must repent of your sin and you must believe in Christ, and particularly in Calvary's cross and the atonement, in order to be saved. We know that you must yield yourself to him. Are there other conditions of salvation, other things which must be in place before you could be said to be saved? These are very strong words: They look like additional conditions. Should we resist the idea that they are conditions? Because if they are conditions of salvation, they look terribly like works, and salvation would surely no longer be by faith alone. Christ is using words within the imagery of discipleship. In those days, and especially among the Greeks, but also among the Jews, people followed mentors, particular teachers. And they would attach themselves to those teachers. To follow implied a number of things. It implied being a learner obviously. It implied being a supporter and, in some measure, a servant of that person. You would do his bidding; you would go where he went. It implied being a promoter of his school of thought, of his policy for life, of his general teaching. You were identified by his name, the name of your great teacher. A disciple was all those things. The Lord Jesus Christ happily identifies with that general cultural picture for the purposes of defining a disciple. But are these things, also conditions for salvation? Should they be added to repentance and faith, and yieldedness? What does it mean to deny yourself? It doesn’t mean what the Church of Rome, and many Anglicans, and other religions often take it to mean: that by fastings, and religious observances or ceremonies, by carrying out certain duties, you become a follower of Christ. In other words, that salvation is by works. Being a follower of Christ may lead you not to do certain things, but it's certainly not a condition of salvation that you live in a particular manner. It means let that person, literally, object to himself, put himself out of the picture, disavow all confidence in himself. It means this: I cannot earn my salvation. I deny that I can pay for my salvation, that I can deserve it. I deny that I am good enough for God, even partially. I disavow all confidence in myself and my works and my goodness. I need the grace of Christ and free forgiveness. I need his atoning death to completely answer for me and my sin, to take the burden and the guilt away. It also means, ‘Let him deny’ that there is satisfaction and fulfilment and happiness apart from God in this world. I am not going to succeed in this life, and become a better person, and be acceptable to God, and go to heaven, by the things I can have here. They cannot secure for me anything spiritual. I deny myself addiction to my ambitions, to my longings and desires and fancies. I deny myself moral liberty to live as I like. I deny myself my own opinions in everything. To be a disciple of Christ, I deny myself and listen to him, and obey and honour him. And yes, that is a condition of salvation. Do I repent of my sin? Well, it means I deny that I am good enough for God, and that I am acceptable. Do I turn to Christ and trust him for salvation? I must look for that in Christ alone: forgiveness and life and understanding. Yes, self-denial in that sense is part of salvation. Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross.’ Christ has just been speaking about his death: that he would suffer many things of the chief priests, and the people, of everyone, and be killed, and rise again the third day, but he didn't mention a cross. But now he hints that he is going to die by crucifixion. He doesn't spell that out, but it is very significant that he should use this phrase within a few sentences of the other. He is referring to a Roman execution. When somebody was executed by the Romans by crucifixion, they carried the crossmember of the cross to the point of execution. The archaeologists seem to think that it was not the custom to carry the whole cross, because the upright stake would remain in the ground from one execution to another. But the crossmember to which you would be tied – and all the evidence of crucifixions shows that the crucified person was normally tied at the arms, and that it was pretty exclusive to Christ our Saviour that he was nailed through the hands and feet. Nailing through the ankles was carried out, but there are no signs of nail marks in the bones of crucified people that have been examined. But that crossmember would be dragged to the point of execution, so the Lord Jesus is saying, ‘To be mine is going to involve suffering. You are going to be rejected by people. You may not be in a time or place of physical persecution, but you will still be rejected. Society generally perhaps will look askance at you, and despise you, or scorn you. It is not a condition for salvation, but it is the fruit of salvation. It inevitably follows. Sometimes straightaway by the grace of God we get it all in one bound, and someone trusts Christ and is saved and takes a tremendous stand from day one. For most people there might just be a little while, a day, a week, rarely sometime more, but it will come, and if it never comes you are a nominal Christian. You were never yet truly saved, and you should go to Calvary with all your heart.