Luke 9:23-27
What did Jesus mean when He said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”? There is a school of thought that says that Jesus was telling us to die out to our old man every day, but Paul said, “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him…For in that He died, He died unto sin once…” (Romans 6:8, 10). The Apostle makes it clear that when we became believers, we were baptized into the death of Christ, dying with Him to sin; and that Jesus died but once. How could Jesus die to sin only once and then require that we die to sin over and over again?
The answer to the last question is, “He doesn’t require us to die out to sin on a day to day basis”. Paul said that Jesus died once and that we should “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin” (Romans 6:11). I should “reckon” or consider myself dead to sin, just as Christ is dead to sin. Because of His finished work there is no need for me to die again every day, nor is there a need for me to re-crucify myself every day. This doctrine is very subtly teaching believers that their salvation is only as good as the day is long and that every new day requires a new death to the old man. This insults the finished work, for it claims that the finished work is only finished today, but needs refinished tomorrow.
Jesus’ statement in Luke 9:23 is two-fold: one is spiritual while the other is physical. When He made this statement, the cross had not yet happened, so no one standing there would have assumed that dying on a cross was anything more than a physical death. His statement to the disciples was the equivalent of someone today saying, “Deny yourself and be ready to die in the electric chair”. We would understand that He meant for us to deny our own selfish desires and be ready to die a martyr’s death.
The spiritual aspect is the denial of self, which every believer must perform. We all sacrifice some of the things that we always wanted to accomplish; or that we wanted to become in order to do and to be all that God wills for us. The physical side of the statement is the willingness to lay down our lives on a daily basis for the cause of Christ. Paul said as much when he said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). He wasn’t speaking of spiritual death, for the preceding verse said that he was in jeopardy every hour (verse 30) and the following verse says that he has fought with beasts at Ephesus (verse 32).
We can be sure that this is what Jesus meant because as we read further, we find this important statement in verse 27, “But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:27). If Jesus were talking about spiritual death when He said, “take up the cross daily”, why would He now speak of physical death in the same paragraph? “Take up the cross daily” was the willingness to lay down one’s life for Christ’s sake, which He then says, “some standing here shall not taste of death”. He is referring to the Mount of Transfiguration which takes place in the next few verses, allowing Peter, James and John to see the kingdom before they die a martyr’s death.
You died to sin the moment that you were saved, so how shall we “live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2). You need not die again every day; you simply need to trust your Jesus that He is living His life through you. The attempt to die spiritually every day will slowly lead you back into works where you will fear constantly that you are not “keeping your eyes on the cross” or that you haven’t properly crucified yourself. Relax and let the finished work do its work. Trust me; it works better than we can!
What did Jesus mean when He said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”? There is a school of thought that says that Jesus was telling us to die out to our old man every day, but Paul said, “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him…For in that He died, He died unto sin once…” (Romans 6:8, 10). The Apostle makes it clear that when we became believers, we were baptized into the death of Christ, dying with Him to sin; and that Jesus died but once. How could Jesus die to sin only once and then require that we die to sin over and over again?
The answer to the last question is, “He doesn’t require us to die out to sin on a day to day basis”. Paul said that Jesus died once and that we should “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin” (Romans 6:11). I should “reckon” or consider myself dead to sin, just as Christ is dead to sin. Because of His finished work there is no need for me to die again every day, nor is there a need for me to re-crucify myself every day. This doctrine is very subtly teaching believers that their salvation is only as good as the day is long and that every new day requires a new death to the old man. This insults the finished work, for it claims that the finished work is only finished today, but needs refinished tomorrow.
Jesus’ statement in Luke 9:23 is two-fold: one is spiritual while the other is physical. When He made this statement, the cross had not yet happened, so no one standing there would have assumed that dying on a cross was anything more than a physical death. His statement to the disciples was the equivalent of someone today saying, “Deny yourself and be ready to die in the electric chair”. We would understand that He meant for us to deny our own selfish desires and be ready to die a martyr’s death.
The spiritual aspect is the denial of self, which every believer must perform. We all sacrifice some of the things that we always wanted to accomplish; or that we wanted to become in order to do and to be all that God wills for us. The physical side of the statement is the willingness to lay down our lives on a daily basis for the cause of Christ. Paul said as much when he said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). He wasn’t speaking of spiritual death, for the preceding verse said that he was in jeopardy every hour (verse 30) and the following verse says that he has fought with beasts at Ephesus (verse 32).
We can be sure that this is what Jesus meant because as we read further, we find this important statement in verse 27, “But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:27). If Jesus were talking about spiritual death when He said, “take up the cross daily”, why would He now speak of physical death in the same paragraph? “Take up the cross daily” was the willingness to lay down one’s life for Christ’s sake, which He then says, “some standing here shall not taste of death”. He is referring to the Mount of Transfiguration which takes place in the next few verses, allowing Peter, James and John to see the kingdom before they die a martyr’s death.
You died to sin the moment that you were saved, so how shall we “live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2). You need not die again every day; you simply need to trust your Jesus that He is living His life through you. The attempt to die spiritually every day will slowly lead you back into works where you will fear constantly that you are not “keeping your eyes on the cross” or that you haven’t properly crucified yourself. Relax and let the finished work do its work. Trust me; it works better than we can!
