‘Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”’ (Mark 8:34)
Mark normally uses the term ‘crowd’ or ‘oklos’ for a specific gathering around Jesus, he also makes use of this term in a broader sense to refer to the people around Jesus. At the same time it is also used to refer to people in general or to the masses of humanity other than the disciples and opponents of Jesus. Here in this passage after talking privately with his disciples concerning his identity and destiny, Jesus called the crowd, i.e. people other than his disciples.
Jesus does not simply address his words to the disciples (Mark 8:34) but to a broader audience. Consequently, these expectations extend beyond the disciples to the members of the crowd, even to those whom Jesus calls ‘anyone’ or ‘whoever’, which might also include the reader. What does it mean to deny one self? Denying self means turning from self–will, renouncing living for self. In other words, it means to eliminate “the self” as the dominant principle of life, and to make God the ruling principle – the ruling passion of life. Self-denial is a new model of living that Jesus had presented the world. For some people the idea of denying self is absurd for it demands high price.
And they are not willing to pay the price by denying themselves as a requirement for helping people. But Jesus showed us that love is painful and costly, yet he paid the price. His service on our behalf certainly was not cheap. Therefore, our service to Christ for others must cost us something. Genuine caring requires a great investment on our part. Self-denial is Costly. The process of self-denial begins in the mind.
We cannot serve others until our minds are freed from the world’s mold and then transformed by the Lord’s power. It is an invitation to follow Jesus to the death of self, and through that process, to be used by God for the sake of others. How can we deny ourselves? In Christ we have the freedom to surrender – to lay down the burden of self-will. This is what the apostle Paul means when he says, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20, NRSV).
We need to be crucified—purged of everything that cannot be used by God’s purpose in the world. God’s attachment to the world is seen through the crucified saviour and in the saviour’s followers. We might have heard phrases like “a beautiful mind, an intelligent mind” and so on, but what is a crucified mind? A crucified mind is something that is not neurotic, not morbid, complex or something that is abstract, but rather it is something that is positive and healthy.
The crucified mind is the mind that crucifies the self for the sake of building a community and edifying it, which is inclusive and accommodative. Self-denial requires a Crucified Mind. How do we carry our cross and follow Jesus? The Romans had made crucifixion a public spectacle in all their colonized provinces, and Palestine was no exception. Every rebel condemned to crucifixion was compelled to carry his/her cross, or at least the cross beam, to the scene of his/her execution. To take up our cross and follow Jesus is to put oneself into the position of a condemned person on our way to execution.
The tense of the verb ‘follow’ indicates to continually follow. This is not the decision that is momentary, but a process that lasts a lifetime, which is to be renewed again and again. This is what it means to be a disciple – to deny oneself and follow Jesus. Discipleship is denying our rights to ourselves, welcoming and accepting incidents and circumstances that expose our pride and conceit, taking up the cross, and then following him, doing what he says to do.
Our neighbours can easily explain the passage, “those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20, NRSV), because they know everything about us. Jesus faced the reality of his neighbour’s needs. Our attitude towards our neighbours, modelled after the likeness of Jesus, carries with it a unique responsibility of praxis and obedience to Jesus. The only way we can be genuine in our life and lifestyle is by imitating Christ in our personal relationships.
We live in a world where the colour of money determines everything; does a true heart that is after Christ makes a difference in this world? We have to allow the Cross to shape our lives and our way of thinking. A crucified mind denies the self and is open to give itself happily for the benefit of others. It is the mind that does not seek its own profit. It is the mind of Christ. It is a mind of self-denial based on Christ’s self-denial. Christ could give himself fully without holding back anything for us, because he loved us, but do we do things with the mind of Christ or do we do things that seem to keep us safe in our comfort zones? A crucified mind demands us to come out of our comfort zones and identify with the people regardless of who they are, as Christ did. It is one thing to preach, my friends but it is the practice that counts. Christ did not end his sermon saying all the nice things people wanted to hear, but he went one step further and put it to practice, that is the mind we need to have, one that does not hesitate, inhibit, or suppress, but one that is driven by the act of love on the cross. Now the choice is ours, we can either choose the self-centred way of life or embrace the cross-bearing way of life that Jesus preached and practice
Author: Mr. Thomas Cherian is a ministerial candidate from Kerala
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