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.
There are a lot of people – and they say they believe in Christ and Calvary and that they are saved – who cannot bear the idea of carrying their cross. So if somebody says, ‘Come to my party, join my band, enjoy my worldly music, come to my worldly entertainment, follow worldly fashions and dress’, they immediately buckle and say, ‘Yes, yes, I’ll do that; I’ll comply.’ Then they make a virtue of it: ‘Oh we have to be contemporary to win the world. We have to be like the world.’ But what are the words of Christ? You have to be ready to bear your cross and to accept the offence of the cross, and to be separate from the world.
‘Whosoever’ – this is one of the great ‘whosoevers’ of the Gospels. Whosoever – rich or poor, learned or ignorant; however great a sinner, however far gone, whoever wishes to follow Christ. There are no restrictions put on this invitation. If Christ does not disqualify us, we should not disqualify ourselves. There is a way to God, there is a possibility of reconciliation; the way is open.