Focus: The Passion Week Of Christ (Pt.5)

Text: Jh.19:16

"And he BEARING HIS CROSS went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha."

The emphasis of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke is on what Jesus said. The emphasis of Mark's Gospel is on what Jesus did, and the emphasis of John's Gospel is on who Jesus is. In Jh.12:15, John writes, quoting an Old Testament scripture, "Behold, thy king cometh…" In Jh.19:14, Pilate says, "Behold your king!" In Jh.19:5, Pilate says, "Behold THE MAN!" Jesus is the king and the man. In Rev.19:16, His name is, "King of kings." So He is not just a man, but the man. Paul calls Him, "The man Christ Jesus" (1Tim.2:5). He is not just a king, but the King of kings. In Jh.1:29,36, John the Baptist declares, "Behold the Lamb of God" - our sin-bearer. In Jh.19:4, Pilate says, "Behold… I find no fault in him" - our sinless Savior. In Jh.20:27, the resurrected Christ says, "Behold my hands" - our victorious Savior.

On the cross we behold the man Christ Jesus, the King of Israel and of the Church, the sinless Savior, and the Sin-bearer.

Today He goes to Golgotha bearing HIS cross. He embraces OUR cross as His very own. In Jh.19:25, it's called "the cross of Jesus." Jesus bears our cross as His. The cross was His mission. It is the cross of divine destiny. The cross is critical. It speaks of His unique suffering and sacrifice for our sake. He suffers for doing His Father's will, not for being stupid, selfish, or sinful. He suffers injustice in the hands of unjust men who claim to be religious. In a bad world as ours, the good is ever at the mercy of evil, and good men suffer in the hands of evil men.

For followers of Christ, the cross is now the way to go. Jesus says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up HIS CROSS DAILY, and follow me" (Lk.9:23). Cross-bearing, for the Christian, is a daily affair. Paul says, "I die daily" (1Cor.15:31). It means daily dying to self and living for others. 

The follower of Christ has his own cross to bear. On Christ's cross, He died FOR sin. On our own cross, we die TO sin and self.

The cross as the principle of our faith is so crucial that if we minus it, our faith is a sham. Jesus emphatically states, "And whosoever doth not BEAR HIS CROSS, and COME AFTER ME, CANNOT be my disciple" (Lk.14:27). Cross-bearing is both the cost and the mark of discipleship. In Mk.10:21, Jesus says to the rich young ruler, "Come, take up THE CROSS, and follow me." It is both THE cross and OUR cross. Jesus has introduced the cross into our lives as the central and vital principle of the Christian faith. There is nothing as a cross-less faith in Christianity. Christ comes into our lives with the cross. The cross is our reality for time and eternity. For the disciple of Christ, the cross is inescapable. Cross-less life is a Christ-less life. We cannot choose between Christ and His cross. They are forever inseparable.

The cross is our only ground for boasting. The cross was a thing of shame and scandal, but Paul says, "I…glory… in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…" (Gal.6:14). Paul glories in what appears to be shameful for Christ's sake. The real shame, for the Christian, is having Christ without His cross in his life.

Follower of Christ, let us go the Calvary Road with Jesus. It is the way to go. It is the road less traveled. It is the narrow way. It has serious implications.

Paul says, "I press." It's a lot of pressure and persecution taking that route, but it's the only way to get to our destination. We only get to the crown by way of the cross. No one wears the crown tomorrow who bypasses the cross today. The broad way leads to destruction. It's a no-go path. Let's hit the Calvary Road. Christ is with us. The Spirit strengthens and sustains us. The supply of the Spirit is inexhaustible, and it covers every aspect of the journey, and continues until destination is reached. Glory!!!

O how sweet it is to know that the God of infinite power turned a Black Friday into the Good Friday. It is a day in which we do not only mourn for our sin, but we also magnify our God for His saving and pardoning grace. Our God turned the curse-labeled cross into a blessing. Today we wear the cross without the shame once associated with it. God turned a thing so ugly into a thing so beautiful. The cross is now a thing of pride and beauty. Thank you Jesus!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter