The Way of The Cross
1. Facing Temptation
So far in our Lent series, we have learned that true worship involves living the kingdom life and that we are ambassadors of Christ, servants of God, co-workers of God in His kingdom. We have seen also that this is no easy calling and task. We face many challenges. One challenge we face in living the kingdom life is temptation — the temptation to follow our own ways and not God’s ways; the temptation to pursue our own purposes and not God’s kingdom purposes; the temptation to disobey our Lord, give in to our own desires, sin, and follow the ways of this world and not the kingdom way.
Lent is a time for us to examine ourselves and identify the temptations in our lives. How are we drawn, either subtly or blatantly, to put ourselves first over against choosing God's way? What idols are trying to rule our lives? What idols have taken the place of Jesus in our hearts and lives?
Since that first temptation and the fall, we have been facing temptation. Since that time, Satan, the world, and self, our ego, have been trying to edge God out of our lives. Let’s go back to that first temptation.
Gen. 3:1-8 — The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat the fruit of any tree that is in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We can eat the fruit of the trees that are in the garden. But God did say, ‘You must not eat the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it. If you do, you will die.’” “You can be sure that you won’t die,” the serpent said to the woman. “God knows that when you eat the fruit of that tree, you will know things you have never known before. You will be able to tell the difference between good and evil. You will be like God.” The woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good to eat. It was also pleasing to look at. And it would make a person wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. And he ate it. Then both of them knew things they had never known before. They realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made clothes for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking in the garden. It was the coolest time of the day. They hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Evil entered creation. Satan through the snake tempted Adam and Eve. He did not directly lie or contradict God’s Word but twisted it enough to call God’s truth into question. He caused them to doubt that God is actually good and that God is for them. “You will be like God.” What a temptation. But they forgot that they were already like God, created in the image of God. They were appointed rulers of God’s creation representing God. In and through His perfectly good creation God provided and blessed them with everything they would ever need. But Satan caused them to doubt God’s Word and goodness, “God is holding out on you. There is something better for you.” And they fell for it. They disobeyed God.
Today, Satan still tempts us in the same way. He causes us to doubt, and then to disregard God’s plans, provisions, and ideals for us. He causes us to doubt that God is good, that God knows what is best for us. See how temptation subtly discredits the trustworthiness of God, how it entices us to satisfy our appetite not just for food and pleasure but for godlike knowledge. It gets us to disregard God's presence and provision and to act with arrogant autonomy pursuing our own selfish desires.
Since that time sin has been lurking at the door waiting to attack as God warned Cain. ‘Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it”’ (Gen 4:6-7). Cain gave in to temptation and killed his brother.
Throughout history, God’s people have a choice between two ways in life—God’s ways or the ways of the world. Psalm 1 describes these as the way of the righteous and the way of sinners and wicked. Jesus describes the way of the world as the wide gate and road that leads to destruction, and God’s way as the small gate and narrow road that leads to life (Mt 7:13-14). Paul talks about conformity to the world versus transformation by God's Word and living according to His will (Rom 12:1-2).
However, we see also how God’s people, including us today, repeatedly fail to choose the right way, the path of obedience, and living according to God’s ways. It became clear that we cannot save ourselves. On our own, we cannot overcome temptation, obey our Lord, and walk in his ways. There is only one way for the world, for us, to be saved, only one way by which temptation, sin, and disobedience can be overcome. That is the way of the cross. And only One who can do it, and did it, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man.
2. Jesus Faced Temptation on Our Behalf
Jesus faced temptation. Satan tempted Him in the wilderness — Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. The temptations of Jesus were for our sake. He overcame these not only to prove that as the Son of God He is the sinless, righteous Savior of the world but also to show that as the Son of Man He is fully human. Hebrews 2:17-18 — “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” And again Hebrews 4:15-16 — “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
This was not Jesus’ last temptation. Luke says that the devil “left him until an opportune time” (Lk 4:13). The devil did not give up until the very end. Throughout his life and ministry, until that night in the garden and even on the cross, Jesus was tempted by the crowds, the religious leaders, and even his disciples to stray from his path, his mission, and to take things into his own hands.
3. The Way of the Cross
But, praise the Lord, throughout it all, Jesus said no to the temptations, and yes to God the Father. He overcame. He followed the way of the cross and there at the cross and through His resurrection He overcame evil, sin, and the world. He made it possible for us to face temptation and overcome self and sin so that we can live for Him. Let’s read Mark 8:31-33:
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Jesus explained the way of the cross but Peter, and most likely the other disciples as well did not like what Jesus was telling them. It did not fit their views, beliefs, and expectations of Jesus. He did not fit into their box. A Messiah, who must suffer, be rejected by the leaders of Israel, and be killed. That is scandalous! They were ashamed of Jesus for talking like that. Peter wanted to set this guy right. So, he rebuked Jesus, tempted Him to give up the way of the cross.
But Jesus ‘called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”’ (Mk 8:34-38)
Satan and the world tempt us with their lies but in the end, it is we who say yes or no to temptation. James 1:13-15—When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Self, I, me, our ego, that is where the buck stops; that is where the problem is. Our old sinful self wants to satisfy its own selfish desires, wants to be in control, wants to be its own god. This self must die so that the new self in Christ can be reborn. That’s why Jesus said that if we want to follow after Him if we want to be his disciples, we must deny self, take up our crosses, and follow Him. We must follow the way of the cross like He did.
We cannot save ourselves — “whoever wants to save their life will lose it.”Nothing and no one in the world can save us — “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul (or life)?“ There is nothing in and of this world that we can give in exchange for our lives. Psalm 49:5–10 — “Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me— those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them— the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough— so that they should live on forever and not see decay.” Only Jesus and his way of the cross saves us.
Jesus went the way of the cross. He gave Himself for us. He conquered Satan, evil, sin, and temptation. He saved us from the bonds of sin. He overcame, and now in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can resist temptation and overcome sin and the world. By the way of the cross, Jesus gave us new life. He died. He was resurrected. By the way of the cross, we crucify ourselves with Christ. In Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are resurrected, reborn, to the new, eternal kingdom life. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)
The way of the cross—that is how we live the kingdom life. That is how we face temptation and overcome sin. Take Up Your Cross (T.U.Y.C.) daily — last year our Lent series focused on taking up our crosses. Let me just summarize what this means. It means repentance, turning away from our old self and the ways of the world to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We bring all of our life and everything in our lives under the Lordship and rule of Jesus. He now rules, controls, and directs our lives through the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. We love God with our whole heart. We love others, including our enemies, as we love ourselves. We worship and glorify God only in all we do. We set our minds on the things of God. We place God’s Kingdom, God’s will, God’s righteousness before anything else. We sacrifice and deny self to serve God and others in all we do. We are not ashamed of Jesus’ words. We obey Him. We put His words into practice and we live the kingdom life according to His words.
Are you facing temptation? Follow the way of the cross. Deny self, take up your cross, and with self out of the way crucified at the cross, we overcome, because Jesus overcame at the cross.