The Cross: Choosing to Lose

February 18, 2024

We’re starting a new Sermon series for five Sundays on the surprising power of the cross! The cross is a central part of our faith. We have crosses in church, on jewelry, in our homes, in cemeteries. The cross is not just a logo. It’s how Jesus died for us: on the cross. But even long before Jesus died, he taught that you have to take up your cross. You have to deny yourself. In Matthew 16:24 he said, “Whoever would be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross every day, and follow me.” Cross is about sacrifice.

Taking up our cross goes against human nature. We don’t want to lose! When we’re disappointed, we don’t want to stay there. We look for something to make us happy. We might buy or eat something. Have you ever been tempted to fix disappointment with something fattening or expensive? If we feel we don’t have what we want in life, we look for a way to get it. We look around us, see what other people have, and we compare it to what we have.  We think, if only I had that, I would be happy. We want more of the good stuff. Sometimes we think we’re in competition with others to get more. It goes against human nature to think according to the cross, maybe it’s best if I don’t get what I want.

But sometimes, it does turn out to be best if I don’t get what I want. You might think about a former girlfriend or boyfriend. It was painful losing them. But maybe now you say, “I dodged a bullet! Good thing I lost them!” Sometimes losing makes life better.

Today, we’ll talk about following Jesus, choosing to lose. If you’re not a Christian, this doesn’t apply to you. You don’t have to lose. But if you’re a Jesus follower, you have to take up that cross.

When Jesus began his ministry, he went out to the desert and was tempted by the devil. Jesus fasted 40 days, had no food and was hungry! Talk about choosing to lose! The devil tempted Jesus, saying, make these stones into bread! Jesus knew that wasn’t what God wanted. He told the devil no.

Next the devil put Jesus on the highest point of the temple and said, throw yourself off! Then watch the angels catch you! Jesus said no again.

Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. He wanted Jesus to feast his eyes on them: Jesus could be king of the world! Imagine if you were so wealthy and powerful you could do whatever you like! Buy the most expensive cars, the biggest trucks, a mansion, or many mansions! You could hire a maid and a cook!

Who wouldn’t want more? We all strive to do better. When you get offered a raise at work, do you turn it down? No. If you get offered a better job, better opportunities, you go for it. The devil offered Jesus the opportunity of a lifetime, to be king of the world!

It’s a good thing that we strive to do better. It means we work hard, we get training, and we go to school to get ahead. It’s good that we want to succeed. If you don’t want to work, you don’t try to be successful, and you have no ambition, there is something wrong.

The devil says to Jesus, “I will make you king of the world. You only have to bow down and worship me.”

Jesus says to him in Matthew 4:10, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord you God and serve him only.’”

When we’re tempted by the world’s way, instead of Jesus’ way, we can repeat his words: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”

Ambition is good. But Jesus didn’t come to serve himself. He came to worship God and serve him. Jesus had a whole different ambition than the world offers. Jesus didn’t come wanting to be king, to rule with might makes right, to be the winner while others lose, or to decide who is good, who is bad, and destroy the bad guys. Jesus didn’t come to be #1. Instead, he said, “I am among you as one who serves.”

Jesus showed us God’s way. To choose to lose. It’s so different than the way the world works. But when you choose to lose, you gain a better life!

Jesus went around, showing compassion to people who were sick, and healing them. He cared about outcasts, lepers, tax collectors, and beggars. He taught “blessed are the poor,” “blessed are those who mourn,” “blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

Even Jesus’ closest followers, who saw him serve God and heard him teach many times, even they were tempted and ran away when he went to the cross. They hoped following Jesus would lead to the glory and power they wanted in life. They were afraid to travel with him to the cross. So, they ran! Three days later they realized Jesus really was a king! He was a very different kind of king, but the king they wanted to follow. And they started the Christian church and took the cross into the world!

A while later, the apostle Paul made a dramatic conversion from the world’s way to the way of the cross. At first, Paul, a Pharisee, believed in a world of violence, you’ve got to win. He decided Christians were the bad people. He found them and arrested them, so they could be killed.

But then he was struck down by the Lord on the road to Damascus. He met Jesus and changed his life! He left the world’s way. He followed Jesus, taking up his cross although the result was that five times he received 40 lashings, he was beaten, shipwrecked, robbed, hungry, thirsty, chased by a mob, arrested, in prison, and on trial. Then there were the worries of caring for many churches. But Paul says, “If I am going to boast, I will boast in my weaknesses. For when I am weak, I am strong.” Paul chose to lose. He made a huge impact on Christianity. He wrote scriptures like Romans, Corinthians, and Philippians, through which he has encouraged Christians and encourages us today to follow the cross. The cross meant the world to him!

When you see someone choose to lose, they are so different; their behavior is amazing! This week Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison. He was someone who could boast so many punishments, like Paul did. Multiple times he was in prison. Navalny was also poisoned with a nerve agent by Russia and came close to dying. After several months recovering in the hospital, he said he was going back to Russia. Even though Russia informed him they would put him in prison. Navalny said I was always going back to Russia. Navalny was the biggest critic of Putin, and that’s why he was so persecuted. Two months ago, Navalny was sent to a penal colony in the arctic circle, where it was extremely cold. Newspapers were his blankets. Navalny had been an atheist, raised in Soviet Russia. But he became a Christian, a Russian Orthodox. He said he became a Christian because it was good to be part of something larger. He died this week. We are called to take up our cross. Our crosses are smaller than his! But when we take up our cross, we are part of something larger, so many other people doing the same.

Your homework this week is if you find yourself in disagreement or conflict with someone, ask yourself, what could choosing to lose be like? How do I put the other person first? This is not about putting up with abuse. But if you are in an argument with someone, can you say, “I could be wrong?” If someone is on your nerves, can you just let it go? How could you choose to lose?

The cross is a symbol of suffering and shame. To take up your cross is to turn your life in a whole different direction! God can give us the power to take up our cross, make a difference for good, so we find abundant life in Jesus Christ! Amen.