Regarding\u00a0Matthew 10:38: What is it to take a cross and follow Christ today?<\/p>\n\t
We see the cross today as the jagged, wooden instrument used in putting to death Jesus Christ our Savior. Yet before His followers had even a slight idea that Jesus would die by that manner, Jesus spoke of the cross. As He stood near the Sea of Galilee, He prepared the disciples to teach “the lost sheep of the house of Israel<\/em>” (Matthew 10:6). Jesus told them, “He who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me<\/em>” (Matthew 10:38).<\/p>\n These men did not connect the cross with Jesus’ approaching death, but they did know what a cross signified. Crucifixions were a common method of execution. The disciples had a vivid picture of the agony, punishment, and misery that death by crucifixion represented. Taking up a cross meant walking and enduring life’s toughest road, especially the road of living the Christian life in such an ungodly world.<\/p>\n So why was Jesus promoting cross-bearing? Because He wanted disciples who were willing to face the difficulties it would take to serve His cause. It would not be long before Jesus would be killed and His disciples would have to carry on His message. To stand against the forces that would seek to put an end to the gospel would take total commitment.<\/p>\n Is not that still our challenge today? Are we willing to take up the cross and serve Christ our Savior in total commitment? The mission is great, but it is everlastingly rewarding.<\/p>\nby Shane Williams\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Regarding\u00a0Matthew 10:38: What is it to take a cross and follow Christ today? Answer: We see the cross today as the jagged, wooden instrument used in putting to death Jesus Christ our Savior. Yet before His followers had even a slight idea that Jesus would die by that manner, Jesus spoke of the cross.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[642,182,188],"class_list":["post-3699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-christianity","tag-suffering","tag-trials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53607,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/take-up-your-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":0},"title":"Take Up Your Cross","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 14:25-32 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many people see religion as something done out of convenience. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They attend when there isn\u2019t something important going on \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They select a church to attend because it is close, or because of the events going on, or if there are kids for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20659,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-did-jesus-mean-when-he-said-to-take-up-his-cross-daily-and-follow-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":1},"title":"What did Jesus mean when he said to take up his cross daily and follow him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What did Jesus mean when he said to take up his cross daily and follow him?\u00a0 I know that in Luke 9:23 it also says to deny himself. Answer: There are a number of similar passages: \"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32496,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-song-follow-me-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":2},"title":"Is the song “Follow Me” wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would it be considered false teaching to sing \"Follow Me\" in worship? I always thought that Simon carried the cross for Jesus because of this song. While reading the article \"Where did Jesus carry his own cross?\" it was brought to my attention that the Bible doesn't say why\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35716,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-was-a-cross-chosen-for-christ-to-die-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":3},"title":"Why was a cross chosen for Christ to die on?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why was a cross chosen for Christ to die on? Answer: Jesus stated, \"When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me\" (John 8:28).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":511,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-about-the-thief-on-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":4},"title":"What about the thief on the cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 14, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am still a little confused about what I need to actually do. I heard about baptism, but they say that the thief on the cross wasn\u2019t baptized. Isn\u2019t he in heaven? Answer: I appreciate the time taken to ask questions concerning your salvation. Personally, I don\u2019t believe the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49192,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-expect-us-to-do-our-part\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":5},"title":"Does God expect us to do our part?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When Simon helps carries Jesus' cross in Mark 15:21, does it have any special meaning? I remember a pastor talking about how Jesus told Christians to deny ourselves and take up our own cross (such as in Luke 9:23), but He could not carry His own cross. Simon had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}