And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. ~ Mark 8:31-38

From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. ~ Matthew 16:21-28

The references above give us the record of Jesus’ introduction of the cross to his disciples. Matthew tells us that Jesus began to show his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things which would result in his death and resurrection. Mark, on the other hand, says “he began to teach them”. 

When we examine the context to Jesus’s introduction of the cross to his disciples, we see that there is no mention of atonement, although we know that Jesus’s death did indeed make atonement for our sins.

What we find however, is a truth that should help shape our understanding of Christ’s death on the cross and the resurrection that followed. Buried within the context of this introduction to the cross, is the denial of self. Notice that Peter’s response to Jesus was rebuked by Jesus, because Peter’s response came from a place of self preservation – Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Jesus not only rebuked Peter because he was speaking in this manner about Jesus, but Jesus takes it a step further and says, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. This first lesson of the cross was not about what Jesus would do for for us, only. It was also about our calling as followers of Jesus. At the very foundation of the cross of Christ was his denial of himself (his own will), and the message is for us to do the same.

Recently, I have been struck by the thought of how often Jesus would mention the necessity of fulfilling the scriptures within the context of his death. Consider the following:

And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. ~ Mark 9:12

Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. ~ Luke 18:31

The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. ~ Matthew 26:24

Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. ~ Matthew 26:31

For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. ~ Luke 22:37 

Then said Jesus unto him (Peter), Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. ~ Matthew: 26:52-57

Jesus obeyed God fully on a personal, relational level. Yet his obedience to the will of God was very much tied to his surrender to what the scriptures had foretold concerning the Messiah. Even though the scriptures had spoken of his death at the hands of men, Jesus seems to imply that he could have have been delivered from the hour of his passion when he says, Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

The scriptures had foretold that the Messiah would be rejected by the people, and exalted by God. Jesus had to lay down his life and rise again for the Word of God to be fulfilled. This is why Peter’s assertion of self preservation was so offensive to Jesus. The first lesson of the cross by Jesus to his disciples was that of denying yourself. This is what Jesus did when he went to the cross and fulfilled the scriptures, he denied himself, and in doing so he led the way that we might do the same.

May God open to us the rich treasures of the power of the cross.