A Procession of Cross-bearers

A Procession of Cross-bearers

(No. 2946)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1905.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, MAY
2, 1875.

"Take up the cross, and follow Me." Mark 10:21.

YOUR mind's eye can see that procession yonder. Notice it carefully. At
the head of it there walks One whom we rightly call Master and Lord.
You may know Him by the prints of the nails in His hands and feet. I
observe that He carries a Cross and that it is a very heavy one. Do you
see the long line following Him? They are all those of whom the world
was not worthy. That line has been continued even to this day and will
be continued until the present dispensation shall close. As you watch
these different followers of Christ in the procession, one thing will
strike you–however much they differ in some respects, they are all
alike in one thing–every one of them carries a cross. There is no
exception to this rule! From the Master down to the last disciple, it
is a procession of cross-bearers. The day will come when there will be
a transformation scene and you will see all these cross-bearers
transformed into crown-wearers! But, rest assured that the old motto,
"No cross, no crown," is certainly true and those who refuse to carry
the cross after Christ on earth shall never be permitted to wear the
crown with Christ in the land that is beyond the stars.

The chief business of a Christian is to follow Christ. You may sum up
all his life in that expression. He has Christ in him, Christ gives him
new life from day to day and the very way in which that life expends
its force is in the following of Christ. I would, dear Friends, that
you and I would aim at so following Him as to gain a distinction for
the closeness of our walk–for there are some in Heaven of whom it is
written, "These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes." There
are some who seem to follow Him but partially. There are many
wanderings and many inconsistencies in their life, but thrice blessed
shall he be who, like Caleb, follows the Lord fully and with purpose of
heart puts his foot down in the very footprints of his crucified Lord!
If you are a disciple of Jesus, your chief business is to follow Jesus.
But there are difficulties in the way and these difficulties are what
is meant by "the cross." There are difficulties in the way of making a
profession of faith in Jesus and of walking worthy of it. And these
difficulties are a burden too heavy for flesh and blood to carry. Only
Divine Grace can enable us to take it up–and when we do take it up, we
are fulfilling the words of the text, "Take up the cross, and follow
Me."

I am going to urge you to ask yourselves, each one, first, " What is my
cross?" Secondly, " What shall I do with it?" And, thirdly, " What
should encourage me to do so?"

I. First, then, WHAT IS MY CROSS?

I have said that the meaning of the cross is, principally, that which
is involved by difficulties in following Christ. To some, the cross
they will have to carry, if they become Christians, is that of reproach
and rebuke for Christ's sake. Perhaps they have relatives who hate all
true religion so that if they should profess to be converted, they
would be sneered at, ridiculed and misrepresented. All their action
would be twisted to mischievous ends and motives would be imputed to
them which they, themselves, abhor. It is very hard for young people,
especially in ungodly families, to dare to call themselves followers of
the Crucified! Nor is it easy for a working man, in the workshop, to
bear that perpetual "chaffing," as his companions call it, which they
delight to inflict on those who are better than themselves. The same
kind of thing takes place in other classes of society, though it is not
generally done quite so overtly. There is the cold shoulder, there are
suggestive hints and innuendoes and there are avoidances of the company
of those who come out decidedly on the Lord's side. Some of you do not
know much about this style of treatment. You were dandled on the lap of
ease in this respect, for your parents rejoiced over you when you were
converted and all your Christian acquaintances

kept high holiday, as it were, when they heard that you had decided to
be a follower of Jesus! I wonder whether you would have been quite as
firm as we might have wished if your first speech upon religious
matters had been met with an oath, or if some brutal father had
proceeded yet further and uttered horrible threats against you? There
is many a child who has had to bear all that. Or if you had had a
coarse, drunken husband who hated the very name of Jesus, I wonder
whether you would have been able to bear it, as I have known some good
women do from year to year, enduring a lifelong martyrdom for the sake
of Jesus Christ? Now, dear Friend, whoever you may be, if anybody will
sneer at you, or think the less of you, or say hard things about you
because you become a Christian, that is your cross, and Christ says to
you, in our text, "Take up the cross, and follow Me."

Sometimes the cross comes in another shape. A man is converted to God
and he then discovers that his position in life is not one which a
Christian ought to hold–certainly not one in which piety is likely to
flourish. This case often comes under my notice. A man often comes to
me and he says, "Sir, I trust I love the Lord. I am at the Tabernacle
as often as possible, but I am sorry to say that I have half a dozen
girls behind the bar serving drinks to people and I cannot bear the
thought of it. It is a trade that I cannot now endure and I must get
out of it." Often has this difficulty come before me and I have been
gratified when I have seen men who have loved the Lord so much that
they have said, "This business must no longer be carried on by me. I
love my Lord too much for that. How can I bow my knee to Him and ask
His blessing on such a business as this?" And they have escaped from it
as fast as they possibly could! And there are many positions into which
a man may get in trade in which he becomes entangled in evil. If he
were quite free, he could do the right and straightforward thing, but
his partner, perhaps, will do the opposite and he knows that it will
not do for him to be always throwing the blame of doing a wrong thing
upon another man. And then pocketing his half of the profits, he says,
"Come what may, I must get out of this business, for it would be better
for me to enter into life as poor as the poorest beggar than, having a
prosperous but sinful business, to be cast into Hell."

And many, too, suffer losses in business, because, as soon as they
become Christians, they have to make a great many alterations. "Sunday
is our best day for business," says somebody. Well, then, so much more
opportunity is there for you to make a greater sacrifice to prove your
love to Jesus! Up with the shutters and mind that you do it at once. If
you have to lose anything, in any way for Christ's sake, in order to be
His conscientious disciple, that is your cross–and He says to you,
"Take up the cross, and follow Me."

Sometimes, however, the cross may be of a somewhat different kind. It
may be the giving up of some pleasure, or habit which has been
peculiarly gratifying to you. The Christian man discovers that although
this habit may be allowable for others, it is not so for him–it would
injure him. It would ruin him. He cannot pray, he cannot think of
Divine things as long as he clings to this habit. It is his duty, if
there is anything that hinders the growth of his soul, or his
fellowship with Christ, to shake it off at once as Paul shook off the
viper into the fire! But some have found it difficult to do this. Dear
Friend, if that is your case, pluck out your right eye, cut off your
right hand rather than keep them and perish in your sin! Better to lose
everything else than lose your soul! Better to give up everything else
than give up the hope of eternal life!

With some, however, the cross does not assume that shape. If we are to
be Christ's disciples at all, He demands of us that we give up
ourselves wholly and unreservedly to Him. Jesus Christ will not have
half of a man! He will have the whole of him–body, soul and spirit!
You cannot be Christi's disciple unless you are prepared to renounce
everything you have at His bidding. For instance, if it should come to
pass that to be a Christian required your imprisonment for Christ's
sake, you must be willing to lie in prison and to die for Him. If it
were required, as once it was, that you should be dragged into the
amphitheatre to be slain by wild beasts, you must be willing to do as
the Christians did then–to die such a death, if necessary, for Christ.
My Lord and Master will not be content with the shell of a man–He must
have his heart and soul, his entire being–and he who will not thus
give himself up to Christ cannot be His disciple. This is a cross to
many who want to make some little reserve, or some provision for the
flesh. If this is your cross, I pray you to take it up and follow
Christ.

We must not forget that the Cross, as far as Christwas concerned, was
not merely a matter of shame and reproach. It was that towards men,
but, before God, when Jesus carried His Cross, He was bearing a burden
which it pleased the Father to lay upon Him. So, to some, the cross is
poverty. They strive hard but they can never rise above grinding
poverty. To others, it is a body which from their earliest childhood
has been weak and feeble. To some, the cross is a

proneness to disease and pain. To others, a wearing sickness which
scarcely permits them to leave their bed. To others, an affliction
which, while it allows them a considerable measure of bodily vigor,
yet, nevertheless, frequently gnaws at their very heart and they feel
as if they could die from the weariness of a long life of pain. Oh, how
many of God's children have to carry this cross! Or if it is not that,
perhaps the cross takes the form of an ungodly husband or an ungrateful
child. But I need not try to make a list of your crosses. We have a
saying that there is a skeleton in every closet and, certainly, there
is a cross in every lot–

"Shall Simon bear his cross alone, And all the rest go free? No,
there's a cross for everyone And there's a cross for me."

We all know what our own cross is. And if our Heavenly Father has
appointed it for us, we must take it up and follow

Christ!

II. Now, secondly, WHAT AM I TO DO WITH THE CROSS?

Well, first, let me never try to make a cross of my own. I know some
people who do that. They have pretty nearly everything that heart could
wish for, yet they are dissatisfied. They are of a fretful,
discontented disposition and they can always see something to trouble
them even when nobody else can see it. I charge you, Friends, to watch
against that state of heart which leads a man, when he looks up to the
sun, to say, "Ah, it has spots on its surface." And when he observes
the beauty of the moonlight, to draw only this reflection, "This light
of the moon is very cold." If he were to look at the greenest landscape
in the world, he would say that he believed there was an extinct
volcano somewhere underneath it and, perhaps, it might not be quite
extinct and might erupt again. Whenever he reads the Bible, he always
likes to read about the pouring out of the vials and he is particularly
fond of the star called Wormwood. And he almost hopes to see the day
when there shall be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes in divers
places, and I know not what besides! Some people seem to have a little
trouble factory at the back of their houses. They appear to be always
engaged in making new crosses! I have often said that homemade troubles
are like homemade clothes–they seldom fit, and they are likely to last
a very long while! O child of God, do not make your life one continual
groan! Far better to make it one happy song of praise, one joyful Psalm
of thanksgiving to the Most High! Do not make a cross for yourself.

And, next, do not try to choose your cross. Of course you cannot do it,
but there are many people who wish they had So-and-So's lot. Ah, you do
not know how heavy his cross is! Have you never heard the fable that
once upon a time all the cross-bearers were invited to come and bring
their crosses and put them in one heap and each man might take up the
cross that he liked best? So, of course, nobody took the one that he
had brought, but each one went away with his neighbor's cross on his
back. But, before many hours, they were all back again, asking to have
their old crosses, for they found that the cross they had carried
before had so worn their shoulders that they had become used to that
particular burden, but the new cross was galling them in fresh places,
so they were glad, each one, to put his neighbor's cross down and go
away with his own. On the whole, my Brothers and Sisters, you have the
best lot that you could have, for if you had a better one in some
respects, it would be worse for you in other respects. Be satisfied as
you are and do not wish to choose another man's cross. Christ says,
"Take up the cross, and follow Me." He does not say, "Desire to have
another man's cross."

Observe, too, that Christ does not say, "Murmur at your cross."That is
the very reverse of taking it up! As long as a man is alive and out of
Hell, he cannot have any cause to complain! Be he where he may–be he
placed in the most abject position conceivable–the man is better off
than he deserves to be. Let not a single murmur, then, ever escape our
lips. Blessed is the Grace of patience, but it is difficult to be
acquired. May the Lord, of His Infinite Mercy, teach us to bear all His
holy will and bear it cheerfully–and so to take up our cross for Jesus
sake!

Christ does not tell us to run away from our cross. There are some who
try to do that. I have often observed that when people change their
position in order to escape from trial, the old saying has been
fulfilled to them, for they have leaped out of the frying pan into the
fire. I have known some of them emigrate because of the difficulties of
living in this country and, in about six months, they have thought that
this old country is about the best under Heaven, as I reckon it is,
after all! And glad would they have been if they could only have gone
back to the place whence they came out. If you expect to go to a land
where you will have no trials to bear, there is but one such place that
I know of, except Heaven,

and that is the fool's paradise–and I would not advise you to attempt
to enter that! Oh, no, we were born into this world that in the sweat
of our brow we might eat bread–and the sweat must be on our brow in
some form or other, and the burden must be on our back. If thorns and
thistles grow in your garden, it is no use for you to move to the next
street, for they will grow there, also. And it is no use moving to
another country, for you will have thorns growing in France as well as
in England–in Australia as well as in the British Islands–it is no
use to try to run away from your cross and it is also cowardly. Do as
Christ bids you, "Take up the cross, and follow Me."

And, dear Friends, there is another thing which we are rather apt to do
and that is, to faint under our cross, or to feel that it is too heavy
for us to carry. Do I address anyone in such a condition? Dear Brother,
dear Sister, there are many promises suited to your case. "Underneath
are the everlasting arms." "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall
run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." "God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are
able; but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that
you may be able to bear it." "I will never leave you, nor forsake you."
"Your shoes shall be iron and brass; and as your days, so shall your
strength be." Let these texts be like a cordial to your spirit, and
say, "I will not faint, after all. There is hope for me that I shall
yet be revived." How can a man despair who can lift up his eyes to
Heaven and call God his Father?

What, then, is meant by taking up the cross, but this? First, dear
brethren, if following Christ will involve you in any scoffing and
shame, bear it and be glad to bear it. If it will cause you any loss,
say with Paul, "Yes, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may
win Christ and be found in Him." Does anyone drop your acquaintance
because you belong to Christ? O my dear Friend, will you go to Hell for
the sake of an earthly acquaintance? I hope not! Let the acquaintance
be dropped, rather than drop your acquaintance with Christ! Will
worldlings scowl at you? Let them scowl, as long as Jesus smiles. Will
men put you out of their synagogue because you are a Christian? Let
them put you out, for Christ will find you and if He shall welcome you,
it will not matter who casts you away. Therefore, for Christ's sake,
boldly bear whatever has to be borne and be faithful in your following
of Him even unto death.

Taking up the cross means, next, be resigned to those afflictions which
come to you from God your Father. It is easier to say this, my dear
Friends, than to do it, as you will find. But, still, there is the cup
which our Heavenly Father has filled for us, so shall we not drink it?
He has made that cross for us to carry, so dare we say, "We will not
carry it"? You will find that a disobedient spirit will be sure to
bring upon you a dreadful chastisement. But the kindly yielding spirit
of an obedient child will make the cross lighter than it would
otherwise have been. May God grant us that yielding spirit! I love to
see it and how often one does see it in God's poor, sick children! We
pity them, for their pain is great and they can scarcely bear it–but
when we speak to them about their Heavenly Father, they have not a word
to say against Him–but they have a thousand words to say for Him! They
tell us how He sustains them–how, in the dreary night, their heart is
gladdened by the Presence of Jesus–how, when it seems as if they could
not suffer any longer the pain which has become so intense, the
Presence of Jesus has flooded their souls with delight! It is a blessed
thing to see Christians take up their cross resignedly, accepting the
will of their Father in Heaven–and this is exactly what we are called
upon to do! I trust that in both senses, namely, in a bold willingness
to suffer for Christ's sake and for the Truth of God's sake–and in a
patient willingness to accept the Divine will, whatever it may be–we
may take up our cross and follow Christ.

But this is the great point, in carrying our cross–we are to follow
Christ We must keep on doing that. Through floods or flames we must
follow Him. In life or in death we must follow Him and never, never
step aside. And what an honor it is for us to be allowed to follow such
a Lord! I was thinking, just now, that if the glorified spirits in
Heaven, for whom Jesus shed His precious blood, had all gone there
along a smooth pathway, without a tear or a sigh–if they had never
suffered anything for His sake–I can almost picture them gathering
round their Lord in Heaven and saying, "Dear Master, is it not possible
for us to have the opportunity of suffering somewhat for You? We were
allowed to do something for You on earth–we preached and we
prayed–but we never suffered."

And the devil might whisper from his infernal den, "Had these men been
tried–if God had put forth His hand and touched their bone and their
flesh–they would have cursed Him to His face!" But, dear Friends, the
devil can never say

that, for they have beentouched in their bone and in their flesh. Take
down Foxe's Book of Martyrswhen you are at home–I hope you all have
it, for that book ought to be kept in every Christian's house, to the
everlasting shame of the Church of Rome–take it down and look at the
long list of martyrs who counted not their lives dear unto them! It was
one of the noblest sights upon which the eyes of Jesus ever rested when
He could look upon them and see them gladly die for His dear sake! I
think the angels must have crowded the battlements of Heaven and looked
down and said, "See how they love their Lord! See how bravely they die
for Him! See how the timid, trembling women come forward and are
stretched upon the rack without a groan, and then are fastened to the
stake and burnt there, smiling as they die, and saying, 'None but
Jesus! None but Jesus!'" I do not think that all the cherubim and
seraphim in Heaven ever praised God as they have done who have died in
prison for Jesus' sake, or at the stake have poured forth their blood
rather than deny Him. Be glad that you may prove your love by suffering
for Christ! The ruby crown of martyrdom is not within your reach today,
but be thankful if some jewels of suffering may be yours. And count it
all joy when you can endure this cross for the name of Jesus Christ.

III. Now, for a few minutes I want to answer the last question. WHAT
SHOULD ENCOURAGE US TO TAKE UP OUR CROSS AND FOLLOW CHRIST?

First, I cannot be Christ's disciple unless I do this and, oh, I must
be His disciple! He is such a Master that I must follow Him! He is such
a Lord that I cannot but serve Him! And if service should involve the
carrying of the cross, I say, "Welcome cross! Lord, put it on my back!"
I would gladly bear the burden which goes with His service.

Let each one of us encourage himself with the next reflection, " Better
people than I am have carried a heavier cross than I have to carry." I
know, dear Sister, that your cup is one of peculiar bitterness, but
there are some who have drunk a far bitterer cup than yours, and they
were better people than you are. Think of them–I have alluded to them
already–the noble army of martyrs and sufferers for Christ's sake!
Will you refuse the cup which is not, after all, so filled with gall as
theirs was? Think, too, how much more severe were the trials of your
Lord and Master. What are all our griefs compared with His? If we were
to heap up the whole mass of human woe, it would be a molehill compared
with the great Alpine peaks of His griefs and woes–

"His way was much rougher and darker than mine; Did Christ my Lord,
suffer, and shall I repine?"

They say that when the Greeks marched into Persia and the soldiers grew
thirsty and weary with the long march, Alexander did not ride on
horseback and he did not drink. Although there was always water for the
great king, he refused to drink till his soldiers did. And when they
saw him, hot and weary, marching side by side with them, every man
said, "I must not complain, for the king is suffering as much as I am.
I must bear it if he does." So, sufferers, behold your King! In all
your afflictions He was afflicted. He was tempted in all points as you
are, so be not ashamed of that cross which once your Savior's shoulders
bore!

Furthermore, we may well take up the cross because Grace will be given
to us to bear it. You say that you cannot bear the cross which is
coming upon you, but you shall have more Grace when you get it on your
back! God never gives His children any Grace to throw away. He gives
them strengths according to their day and if their burden becomes
heavier, their shoulders become stronger. In order to get more Grace,
one might be quite willing to carry a heavier cross.

Remember, too, that the cross will be blest to you. A thousand good
things come to us by the way of suffering and reproach. I think the
sweetest letters which God ever sends to His children are done up in
black-edged envelopes. You will find in many of those bright envelopes
of His, some choice silver mercies, but if you want a great banknote of
Grace, it must came to you in the mourning envelope. It is when the
Lord covers the Heavens with clouds that He sends the showers of
blessing upon the earth. Be glad of the clouds for the sake of the
rain.

This thought, too, should help you to carry your cross–that Jesus will
be honored by it. Yes, poor woman, I know that I am talking to you.
Very seldom do you get a bright hour by yourself. Your lot is a very
hard one, but if you bear it as a Christian should, Christ is honored
through you. He looks down from Heaven and He says, "Look how she loves
Me that, for My sake she is willing to bear all this." Yes, young man,
I know you are harshly pressed but you have stood well and your Master
has marked your brave conduct. He lets you go on being tried as our
English king did with his son when he was fighting the French–he did
not send relief to him because he did not wish to diminish the glory of
his victory. So Christ often leaves His people, supported only by His
Grace, to let the world see what a Christian really can do! That was

a notable duel between Job and the devil. Satan said, "Only give me the
opportunity to take away his riches and to kill his children, and he
will curse God to His face." But after Satan had done all that, Job
still said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the
name of the Lord." Then the devil was permitted by God to cover poor
Job with boils from the crown of his head to the heels of his feet. He
who has ever had one boil of that kind knows how painful it is, but to
be covered from head to foot with such boils–to have to scrape
yourself with a potsherd and to have a foolish wife urging you to curse
God and die–and so-called "friends" standing around you and
aggravating your woe, is a very terrible trial. Yet Job survived it and
I do not think that the devil ever meddled with him again! He found
that he could not manage him at all, so, at last, he went away! He was
probably never so beaten by anyone until he met Job's Lord and Master
in the wilderness and He beat him still more effectually!

I believe that the Lord takes delight in the prowess of His suffering
saints. "There," He seems to say to the Prince of darkness, "I let you
have your will with Job, but what have you made of him? Is he not still
a perfect and upright man, and more than a match for you?" Well, if God
might so be glorified by us, you and I might be willing to be tried as
Job was! The time will come, dear Friends, when you will be pleased
with the cross. If God will give you sufficient Grace, you will come to
be satisfied and even pleased to suffer for Christ's sake. Rutherford
used to say that the cross he carried for Christ had become so sweet to
him that he was sometimes afraid that he might love the cross better
than he loved Christ, Himself! That shows the heights to which a
gracious soul may attain.

Lastly, in a very short time, the cross will be exchanged for the
crown. It is said that when Princess Elizabeth carried the royal crown
in some procession during the reign of her sister, she complained that
it was very heavy and someone said that she would find it much lighter
when she had it on her own head. So, some of us are carrying a great
cross, here, and we find it very heavy–but we shall be well repaid
when we receive our crown!

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: MARK 10:17-45.

Verses 17, 18. And when He was going out on the road, there came one
running and kneeled before Him, and asked Him, Good Master, what shall
I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why call
you Me good? There is none good but One, that is God. This was a hint
that Christ was more than Man. If He was really worthy of the title
that the enquirer gave Him, He was God as well as Man, for "there is
none good but One, that is God."

19, 20. You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill,
Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor your father
and mother And he answered and said unto Him, Master, all these have I
observed from my youth Possibly, in the ordinary sense of the words, he
had observed these commandments, but Christ tested the reality of his
declaration.

21, 22. Then Jesus looking at him, loved him, and said unto him, One
thing you lack: go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the
poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven: and come, take up the
cross, and follow Me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away
grieved: for he had great possessions. Thus he proved that he had not
kept either table of the Law perfectly, for he did not love the Lord
with all his heart, nor did he love his neighbor as himself.

23-27. And Jesus looked around and said unto His disciples, How hard it
is for those that have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! And the
disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and
said unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches
to enter into the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the
Kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among
themselves, Who, then, can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them said,
With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things
are possible. It is impossible for man, unaided by the Spirit of God,
to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but that which is impossible to man by
Himself, is made possible by the Grace and power of God!

28. Then Peter began to say unto Him, Lo, we have left all, and have
followed You. He spoke as if they had done what the rich man had failed
to do, and evidently he thought they should be rewarded, for, according
to Matthew, he added, "What shall we have, therefore?"

29-31. And Jesus answered and said, Verily, I say unto you, There is no
man that has left house, or brothers, or sisters or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or lands for My sake, and the Gospel's, but he
shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brothers,
and sisters and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions,
and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be
last; and the last first. In the final account, it shall be found that
no man has been a loser through giving up anything for the Lord Jesus
Christ though He has His own method of deciding who are to be first and
who are to be last.

32. And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem. I t was well known
to them all that the crisis of our Savior's history was close at hand
and a sort of indefinable dread was upon them all. The bravest spirit
in the whole company was their blessed Lord and Master. He knew that He
was going up to Jerusalem to die, so you may view Him as the Sacrifice
going to the altar, or as the Hero going to the conflict in which He
would die and yet conquer. They were on the road going up to
Jerusalem–

32. And Jesus went before them. The disciples might well have been
filled with holy courage as their Leader was in the van. This is true
concerning the whole life of all the saints–"Jesus went before them."
What if trials lie beyond and the dark river, itself, is in front of
them, yet Jesus goes before them so they need not fear to follow!

32. And they were amazed. And as they followed, they were afraid. They
did not know much about what was to happen, but a great depression was
upon their spirits. They must have wondered at the cheerful bravery of
their Master when all of them were ready to turn back from this
mournful march.

32-34. And He took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things
should happen unto Him, Saying, Behold we go up to Jerusalem; and the
Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the
scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to
the Gentiles: and they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall
spit upon Him, and shall kill Him, and the third day He shall rise
again. He thought it right that the twelve, who led the way, should be
better acquainted than the rest with the sad history that was so soon
to be enacted. So He tells them about it in private–and I want you to
notice how He dwells in detail upon His sufferings. He does not
describe them in general terms, but He brings out into strong relief
each separate set of infamy–"they shall mock Him, and shall scourge
Him, and shall spit upon Him and shall kill Him"–from which we learn
that our Savior knew all that He had to endure, yet He went bravely
forward to bear it for our sakes. For this reason we should admire His
Divine courage and complete Self-sacrifice. Mere men may promise to do
a certain thing without knowing what it will involve, but–

"This was compassion like a God, That when the Savior knew The price of
pardon was His blood, His pity never withdrew."

I think, too, that as our Lord thus dwells upon each point, He means us
also to dwell upon the details of His redeeming griefs. We should not
be strangers at the foot of the Cross, nor in Gethsemane, but should
hear each one of these notes ring out its sorrowful yet joyful
music–"They shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon
Him, and shall kill Him." But what a glad note that concluding one
is–"and the third day He shall rise again." Death cannot hold Him in
her bands, the sepulcher cannot continue to enclose Him in her gloomy
prison! This is the glory and boast of our Christianity, our hope and
our joy, for–

"As the Lord our Savor rose, So all His followers must."

35, 36. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto Him saying,
Master, we would that you should do for us whatever we shall desire.
And He said unto them, What would you, that I should do for you? Our
Savior's question suggests to us the prudent lesson to never promise in
the dark. If anyone shall say to you, "Promise that you will do
whatever I ask," follow the example of Christ and first ask, "What
would you, that I should do for you?" Otherwise, you may entangle
yourself with your own words. These young men evidently needed to have
this question put to them, for they had not themselves thoroughly
considered what they were asking their Lord to do for them.

37. They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one at Your
right hand, and the other at Your left hand, in Your Glory. There was,
undoubtedly, much that was wrong about this request and you have often
heard that view of the matter dwelt upon, so I will call your attention
to that which was rightabout it. These disciples showed their faith
that

this same Jesus who was to be mocked, scourged, spit upon and killed,
would yet reign! And I think it was wonderful faith that, after they
had heard from His own lips, in sorrowful detail, the description of
how He should die, yet nevertheless they so fully believed in His
Kingdom that they asked to have a share in its honors. It is true that
they were ambitious, but their ambition was to be near the Savior. It
would be well if all those who ask for right hand and left hand places,
wanted them at the right hand and the left hand of the Savior!

38. But Jesus said unto them, You know not what you ask. Has the Lord
ever said to us, when we have been praying, "You know not what you
ask"? I suppose that is usually true in a certain sense–we do not
fully understand the compass of the most of our prayers and sometimes
we ask so unadvisedly that we prove that we know not what we are
asking.

38. Can you drink of the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the
baptism that I am baptized with? "Can you share My drinking in
Gethsemane and My sinking on Golgotha?"

39. And they said unto Him, We can. They knew not what they said, but
they felt that such was the strength of their love that they could
share anything that had to do with Christ! His Throne? Yes, they would
like to sit at the right hand of it. His cup? Yes, they can drink of
it. Immersion into His suffering? Yes, they can endure that baptism.

39. And Jesus said unto them, You shall indeed drink of the cup that I
drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized with shall you be
baptized. And so they were, for James was soon put to death and John
lived, the last and longest of the Apostles, a life-long martyrdom for
the Master's sake.

40, 41. But to sit at My right hand and at My left hand is not Mine to
give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. And when
the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.
Why were they displeased? Because they were of the same spirit as James
and John! As they were displeased with James and John, it is evident
that they wanted those places themselves–and many a man is thus
displeased with his own faults. Did you ever see a dog bark at himself
in a mirror? You and I have often done that–we have even grown very
angry with what was, after all, only our own image!

42-46. But Jesus called them to Him, and said unto them, You know that
they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship
over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so
shall it not be among you: but whoever will be great among you, shall
be your minister: and whoever of you will be the chief, shall be
servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. Christ
instituted bishops, that is, overseers, but never prelates! He never
had any idea of setting some men in His Church over the heads of
others, but He put all His servants upon an equality. They are to
exercise no lordship, the one over the other, nor to seek it, for the
truest honor in the Church of God is found in service. He that serves
most is the greatest! He that will occupy the lowest office, he that
will bear patiently to be the most put upon, he that is readiest to be
despised, and to be the servant of all, shall be the chief of all! The
way to rise in the Kingdom of Heaven is to descend, for even so was it
with our Lord, Himself! God give to all of us the humble and lowly
spirit that will make us willing to be the least

of all!