It is passion week, the week in the life of Jesus where we see humanities failure and Christ’s triumph most clearly. It begins with crowds of people cheering him as king, and ends with those same crowds screaming for his execution. And through it all we see Jesus resolute and unmoved from his love of humanity or his mission to save us. So this week I want to look at the way of the cross, what it meant to Jesus and what it means to us today.

Let’s begin with this passage from Matthew, it follows the exchange between Peter and Jesus where Peter tells Jesus he must not talk of his death. Jesus in turn tells Peter that he is functioning as Satan and is not thinking the thoughts of God but of man. Jesus then told his disciples:

“If anyone would come after me,

Let’s try to look at this statement from the perspective of Jesus first. Jesus has just explained to his disciples that he was going to die and rise again. Peter is rebuked for trying to talk him out of it. Now, he not only explains that he must walk the path of the cross, he extends that requirement to anyone that would follow him. He explains the economics of this “way of the cross” by contrasting the fleeting gains of this life with the eternal value of our soul. And he ends with a promise of reward to each person when he returns in glory to judge the earth.

Must we all die as martyrs?

After hearing this we must all ask, is Jesus saying that every Christian should die a martyrs death on the cross? That does not seem possible or likely given the rest of his teachings and actions. Jesus never makes martyrdom a requirement for salvation. History does however show us that martyrdom is required at times, but it is clearly not the only way of salvation nor is martyrdom the definition of obedience.

Then what is Jesus trying to say with this? And what does this “way of the cross” look like on an average weekday for a follower of the way? Every serious Christian needs to think about this question often because it is clearly very important to Jesus.

Jesus as always is our perfect example. In the next passage from Philippians Paul uses the example of Jesus to inspire his readers at Philippi to walk in true love for one another by following the way of Jesus - the way of the cross.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ,

In this short passage we are reminded of how Jesus sacrificed his position in glory and ultimately his life for our benefit. Paul gives the church a path to follow the “way of the the cross”, a path that abandons self interest in order to truly love one another. He is not telling them they all need to go out and die physically, but rather that they should all do as Jesus did. Which is to set aside their personal gain and invest their short lives on earth into others. This way has an eternal reward for the Philippian church, and hopefully also for those they help.

Walking the “way” today

A good working definition of Christian love is, “Benefiting others, at my expense”. This is what Paul is describing in Philippians and I think this is what Jesus is asking of his disciples. It is what Jesus did for us, and we must do no less - if we are truly following Jesus in obedience along the “way of the cross”.

Christian love cannot be separated from service and self-sacrifice. Christian love is far more than a desire or a feeling. It is an action taken for the benefit of others. It is something that can be done for friends and enemies alike, regardless of our feelings.

This week I want to look at my life as a gift. A gift that was given to me by God first, then after I squandered it with sin, given to me again by the sacrifice of Jesus. This gift requires a response. I want to respond, not in my own hollow self-interest, but with the selfless love of Jesus that he has given to me.

May God bless you as you bless others this week!