A Note from the Pastor: June 2nd, 2025

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” – Mark 8:34

Yesterday, we looked at Jesus’s call to discipleship. These are challenging words because they include self-denial, taking up the cross, and following after Jesus. We shouldn’t think of these as conditions to earn salvation or actions that make us worthy of salvation. Rather, we should think of them as the fruit of one who already is saved. They are the evidence that one belongs to Christ. Salvation is a free gift of God received by faith in Christ alone (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8–9). However, those who are in Christ will evidence that saving faith by following him in his manner of life.

And yet, as we know from experience, we still sin and fall short of this standard. Even though we are called to take up the cross, we often fail to do so. All too often, our lives do not resemble the life of Jesus. I mentioned during the Lord’s Supper how I felt my own sin and shortcomings in studying this passage. It challenged me to ask myself where I am opposing Christ and unwilling to take up my own cross. What have I suffered for the sake of Christ? As I asked myself these questions, I felt discouraged and unworthy to bring a message that calls for such a commitment. But as I continued to reflect on the passage, I realized that I was doing the exact thing Jesus tells us not to do—looking inward at myself instead of looking to him.

There is a kind of self-denial that looks good from the outside but is actually self-centered and egocentric. David Garland writes this about self-denial:

“Self-denial is not to become an end in itself. The goal is to serve God obediently, which requires surrendering the direction of one’s life to God. Those who have denied themselves have learned to say, “Not my will but thine be done.” It keeps in check the human proclivity to put self at the center of the universe, which expresses itself in self-absorption, self-admiration, self-pity, self-indulgence, self-reliance, self-seeking, self-assertion, and selfishness.”

In other words, there is a kind of self-denial that is so focused on the self that it is not self-denial at all. The goal, as Garland points out, is to surrender one’s life to God—not to engage in morbid introspection. The point of Mark 8:34–38 is that we would look away from ourselves and look unto Christ to lead and guide us in the Christian life. However, if we are overly focused on our failures and disappointments, then we are doing the very thing that Christ commands us not to do. This is not to say that we shouldn’t learn from our failures and seek to mortify sin in our lives, but it does mean that we should look to Christ more than to ourselves. In the words of the nineteenth-century Scottish Presbyterian pastor Robert Murray M’Cheyne, “For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.” In other words, look more to the loveliness and grace of Christ than to the sin in yourself!

We can also gain some encouragement from the transformation in the life of Peter. While Mark does not record Peter’s response to Jesus’s call, I imagine it did not sit well with him. If Peter did not want to hear a message about how the Messiah must suffer, how much more did he resist a message about how disciples must suffer? In the previous verses (8:31–33), Jesus rebuked Peter for standing in his way from going to the cross. At that moment, Peter was doing the work of the adversary—he wanted Jesus to have a kingdom without a cross. Peter had a man-centered, worldly view of the kingdom of God. He was still growing and learning how to be a disciple of Jesus!

Not only did he fail when he opposed Jesus, but he would go on to deny Jesus three times on the night when Jesus was arrested. Interestingly, “to deny” means “to no longer associate with someone.” In the case of disciples, we are no longer to associate with ourselves in order to associate with Christ. In this situation, Peter did the exact opposite of what a disciple should do.

Despite his failures, Peter evidenced a remarkable transformation throughout his life. According to church tradition, at the end of his life, when he was set to be executed by the Roman authorities, he requested to be crucified upside down because he viewed himself unworthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.

Here is how Foxe’s Book of Martyrs describes it:

“Among many other saints, the blessed apostle Peter was condemned to death, and crucified, as some do write, at Rome; albeit some others, and not without cause, do doubt thereof. Hegesippus saith that Nero sought matter against Peter to put him to death; which, when the people perceived, they entreated Peter with much ado that he would fly the city. Peter, through their importunity at length persuaded, prepared himself to avoid. But, coming to the gate, he saw the Lord Christ come to meet him, to whom he, worshipping, said, “Lord, whither dost Thou go?” To whom He answered and said, “I am come again to be crucified.” By this, Peter, perceiving his suffering to be understood, returned into the city. Jerome saith that he was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same form and manner as the Lord was.”

Whether you embrace the historicity of the account, it was credible enough for the early church to believe it.

How did Peter go from adversary to denier to being willing to be crucified upside down? The answer is rooted in God’s faithfulness to finish the good work that he began in him (Phil. 1:6). It was God’s grace at work in him slowly transforming him that resulted in this great change.

When Jesus issued this call to discipleship, he knew Peter was not ready. He knew he would fail—and fail miserably. And yet, he didn’t water down the message or hide the truth. Instead, he taught him and the other disciples the true nature of discipleship. He upheld the standard but was there to pick him up when he failed. That is the patience and grace of our great God! He calls us to follow him, and when we stumble and fall, he is there to help us back up and strengthen us to carry on.

Peter’s life should be an encouragement to us. We are going to stumble, sin, and fall in our walk with Christ. However, he will not let us go. His grace continues to operate even in our failures – even when we don’t perceive it. Discipleship is slow and takes time. It involves many ups and downs, victories and failures. The cross is heavy, but Christ is with us each step of the way.

Let’s continue to look unto him!