Our Way or His Cross

Following Jesus means a life of self-denial and service, and a willingness to suffer persecution and loss for his sake.

Rage and retaliation are inappropriate reactions to hostility by disciples of Jesus. His instructions about this certainly are contrary to the “wisdom of this age” and human experience. Nevertheless, responding in anger to violations of our political, civil, and individual “rights” only demonstrates how far we have strayed from his teachings and examples, especially his sacrificial death on the Cross for friend and foe alike.

The issue is not whether we have individual rights under man’s laws, or whether democracy, autocracy, or monarchy is the best form of government. For those who would follow Jesus, the question is, How are we to conduct ourselves under the political and societal structures of this world?

[Dangerous road - Photo by NOAA on Unsplash]

Every disciple is summoned to a life of obedience and self-sacrifice, though that life orientation is incompatible with one that prioritizes individual rights and personal desires. We each must choose which way we will follow.

Consider persecution. If we become angry over mere verbal insults to our religious faith, how will we respond to actual persecution when it comes? Would we take to the streets in protest or riot against our critics and oppressors? Would we resort to violence “to defend our rights”?

Jesus instructed his disciples to “rejoice and leap for joy” whenever “men hate you and ostracize you, and profane you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man <…> for great is your reward in Heaven.” Christ-like responses to hostility are the complete opposite of lashing out over every insult or perceived infringement of our civil rights - (Matthew 5:10-12).

Jesus gave us a real-world example of how to show mercy, especially to our enemies. In Gethsemane, an armed mob approached him, determined to arrest and haul him before the High Priest for prosecution. Peter reacted by cutting off the ear of the High Priest’s servant.

If ever there was a man innocent of all charges, it was Jesus of Nazareth. Was this not an incident that justified violent acts of self-defense? Did not the mob come to arrest the royal Messiah of Israel on trumped-up charges?

Jesus did the unexpected. He healed the man’s ear even though he was under no illusions about what was coming. Not many days before this incident, he warned his disciples:

• “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles, and they will mock him and spit upon him and scourge him, and they will kill him. And after three days he will rise again” – (Mark 10:33-34).

SUFFERING FOR HIM

The disciples took Christ’s teachings to heart, but only after his Death and Resurrection. When Peter and the Apostles were hauled before the Sanhedrin, beaten, and ordered to cease preaching in the name of Jesus, they went their way “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” - (Acts 5:41).

Jesus exhorted us to “love our enemies, to pray for them who persecute us,” and to extend mercy to every “enemy” who abuses us. Mercy shown to enemies is how we emulate God and become “perfect” as He is - (Matthew 5:38-48).

The Nazarene was the only righteous man ever to live. If anyone deserved respect for his civil and political “rights,” Jesus did. Yet rather than be served, he came to serve the needs of men and women, and he did so by enduring an unjust death for others. Conforming our lives to his example is how we advance his Kingdom - (Romans 5:10).

• “You know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles dominate them, and their great ones tyrannize them. But it is not to be so among you. Whoever would become great among you, he will be your servant. And whoever would be first among you, he will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” – (Mark 10:42-45).

• “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus <…> who, being in the image of God, considered being like God not a thing to be seized. Instead, he poured himself out, taking the form of a slave, <…> and being found in fashion as man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave him the name which is above every name” – (Philippians 2:4-9).

When beaten and reviled before the High Priest, Jesus reviled not in return. While suffering on the Roman cross, he prayed that his Father would “forgive them, for they know not what they do” - (Matthew 27:39, Mark 15:32, Luke 23:34).

Scripture portrays persecution for Christ’s sake as something disciples should expect and endure. Suffering for Jesus is a great privilege and honor for any disciple, and therefore, a matter of great rejoicing, as astonishing as that idea sounds.

The idea of inviolate civil “rights” that must be defended at all costs is incompatible with New Testament teachings on discipleship, mercy, humility, and suffering for the Gospel. To become  great in the Kingdom of God, we must become “the slave and servant of all.”

The Apostle Paul willingly surrendered his right to take a wife for the sake of the ministry. Likewise, he had the right to expect financial support from his churches, but he often abstained from doing so and supported himself through manual labor for the sake of the Gospel - (Acts 18:3, 1 Corinthians 4:11-12, 9:1-14).

In contrast to this world and its political ideologies, we are offered the privilege of serving God’s Kingdom, and the great honor of enduring insults, hatred, rejection, and even death for the sake of its King, along with everlasting rewards that will far outweigh any losses we may suffer in this life while we wait patiently for his return.

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SEE ALSO:

• To Follow Jesus - (Jesus submitted to a shameful death on the Cross, and he summons us to follow his example and path)

• Power and Wisdom - (The power and wisdom of God are revealed in the proclamation of the Messiah who was crucified by the Roman Empire)

• The Imperative of the Cross - (Christ crucified is the pattern disciples of Jesus are summoned to follow and emulate, and the test of the genuine apostolic faith)

• Siguiendo a Jesús - (Jesús se sometió a una muerte vergonzosa en la Cruz, y nos convoca a seguir su ejemplo y camino)