THEN SHALL YOU KNOW

"Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as my Father hath taught Me, I speak these things." (John 8:28).

 

There is an old hymn that we sing that says:

 

Must Jesus bear the cross alone

And all the world go free?

No, there's a cross for everyone,

And there's a cross for me.

 

Unfortunately, these words are lost on many Christians today.  It's easy to understand and believe that Jesus carried a cross to Calvary, and died there for our sins; but it’s much more difficult to grasp the idea of bearing crosses in our lives. 

 

The whole idea of resurrection power working in us to make us more Christ-like is based on the concept of life from death.  Jesus' illustration of the kernel of wheat being buried in the ground and dying before it can sprout and grow is the perfect picture of what our spiritual life must be.  It is a continual process of dying to self so that the life of Christ can be manifested in us.  The Apostle Paul reminds us, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.  For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." (2 Corinthians 4:8-11).  He couldn’t have made that more clear.

 

Jesus said that when He was lifted up on the cross, THEN they would know that He was Who He said He was.  It is the resurrection of Christ that sets Him above every other prophet or holy man that has ever come before or after Him.  His resurrection closes the book on the argument of whether He was truly the Son of God or not.  The tomb of every other prophet is still occupied, but Jesus' grave is empty.  When the world sees the life of Jesus rising up in us, then they will believe the words that we speak; and we must take up our crosses and die to our selfish, carnal nature before that can occur.

 

The whole concept behind water baptism is about death and resurrection.  We are buried with Christ in a watery grave, and raised back up to a life of power and victory.  "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?  Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." (Romans 6:3-6).  The question of our death shouldn't even be one that is open for discussion.  As Christians, it should have been settled the day we were baptized.  It is more a question of, "Will I allow my old nature to rise again, or will I choose to believe that it is now dead and the life of Jesus has replaced it?"   Will I give in to my carnal temperament when I am tempted to get angry, or will I by faith accept that I am dead to that type of reaction?  Will I be enticed by the lusts of my flesh and give in to hurtful sins, or will I reckon myself to be dead and believe that the life of Christ has set me free from the chains that once may have held me captive.  The secret is that we must renounce all carnal behaviors, surrender our will to what God wants us to be, and yield our members as instruments of righteousness rather than instruments of sin.

 

Jesus said, "Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again.  No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This commandment have I received of My Father." (John 10:17, 18).  They didn't overpower Jesus when they came and took Him to be crucified.  He gave Himself willingly.  He made it clear that He could have called 10,000 angels to defend Himself if He had wished, but that would not have fulfilled what God had ordained Him to do.  Instead, He made the decision from the beginning that He would lay down His life as the Sacrificial Lamb Who would remove the sins of the whole world.  Although His soul was troubled by the prospect of the suffering of His flesh, yet He said, "Nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done." (Luke 22:42).

 

In the same way, we must choose to bear our cross before the Lord.  No man can force us into it, and God will not violate our free will to make us do it.  Every day, however, He presents us with choices to live for ourselves, or to reckon ourselves dead indeed to the flesh.  He said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26).

 

Make no mistake, a cross always requires a choice.  A cross is not having a flat tire on the way to work, and it certainly isn't being born with a stutter!  A cross is being faced with the opportunity to live for yourself, but choosing, instead, to deny your natural impulses and accept God's will over your own.  A cross is a divine appointment that our Father provides for us in order to grow in Christ.  It’s a circumstance that we prefer to avoid, but that we choose by faith to accept.

 

Let's honor our Lord in the one way that will really bring glory to His name: let's take up our cross daily and trust His grace to make His righteousness manifest in our lives.  Let's show the world that we believe the things that we proclaim.  Then shall they know!

 

The Psalmist asked the question, “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?”  How can we repay the LORD for all that He has done for us?  What is the one thing that He requires of us?  The Psalmist answers his own question saying, “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:12, 13).  It is as simple as that.  We must choose to drink from the cup of salvation – the path of righteousness – that He has called us to.  God is not our co-pilot, He wants to pilot our ship altogether.  Will you yield your body as a living sacrifice to the God Who loves you and died for you?

 

"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple."  (Luke 14:27).