Carrying Crosses Matthew 16:21-28

The cross was the meeting point for everything in Jesus life. Everything he'd said and done pointed him to a particular moment in time where earth and eternity met. The cross was his moment.

Matthew tells us that Jesus was trying to tell his friends that he was headed toward the cross. They heard him talk about the suffering and struggles that he would face and they said no. He was looking ahead to the day when he would carry his cross and finally die on it. His friends heard him speak but they cringed at the idea. "No" Peter said, "God forbid..." Jesus looked Peter in the eye and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Jesus knew the cross was coming. He was heading toward Jerusalem telling his friends to pick up their crosses and follow. They heard him; but they didn't understand. It was to great a thought to even consider. Jesus knew it was coming. They might fight it or hide from it; but he knew it was coming for him and he knew that each of them and each of us would face a cross too.

The hard part about crosses is that we don't pick them. We don't pick which temptations, sufferings, or which struggles will stand between us and God. We don't need to choose a cross our crosses find us. What Jesus instructs us to do is pick that cross up and start walking with him. This is not an invitation to earthly glory. Its an invitation into a life on this earth rooted in faith and hope that counts on God even in the struggles.