Skip to main content

Reflection on Matthew 16:24



In the previous verses of Matthew chapter 16 specifically verses 21 to 23, the LORD JESUS predicted that He must be killed and on the third day He will rise again but one of His disciples named Peter rebuked Him and told Him it will not happen to Him. So JESUS reprimanded Peter in verse 23 saying that he is a stumbling block to Him because his concerns are not of GOD but of humans. That is why in verse 24, the LORD JESUS said this to His disciples: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” What does the LORD JESUS mean when He said this?

First, He said that whoever wants to be His disciple must deny themselves. Denying oneself means rejecting your sinful evil desires. We should not give these sinful desires space in our hearts and place in our minds we should ignore and control them because these desires will lead us to sin. Denying oneself also means that we should die to the delights and pleasures of this world by just being content having just food and clothing. Let us check 1 Timothy 6:8-11 which say, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” Therefore, in every move we make we should check if it is in accordance to GOD's will for us not to sin.

Denying oneself also means dying to the desires of pleasing others but pleasing GOD instead and not denying Him. If we share the good news to others, we should never be afraid of what others will say against us. We should not try to save our lives from persecutions and humiliations because if we do, instead of saving our lives we lose it. We just have to ignore what others think of us and not be afraid of their reaction because we are serving the Most High GOD who holds our lives in His hands. So we have no one and nothing to be afraid of. Denying oneself also means dying to self trust and trusting on the LORD JESUS instead because He knows better than us and His plans are always for the best.

The LORD JESUS also said that we should take up our cross. Taking up our cross means accepting with a humble heart whatever challenges and trials we face at the moment. We should accept it with total reliance and full trust in JESUS, our good and loving GOD. Let us consider these verses found in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 which say, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” We rely and trust with a hope that He will help us overcome the challenges, help us solve our problems and give us peace and joy in spite of our sufferings. Having a humble and thankful heart and obedient spirit, we should yield and give our full trust in JESUS knowing that He is compassionate and will never leave us nor forsake us. Let us meditate on this verse in Isaiah 30:20 which say, “The LORD will make you go through hard times, but He himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for Him anymore.”

Lastly, the LORD JESUS also said that we should follow Him. It means we should obey His commands in the Bible that is to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). To follow CHRIST means to humbly accept the responsibility He gave us that is to love Him and others as well. It also means that we should imitate how JESUS reacts to every situation. For example being obedient and humble enough to submit to the Father's will that He must die and rise from the dead so that the creation will be saved from sin and hell. That is why it is very important that we read our Bible day and night (Joshua 1:8) so we will know how to react morally in every situation to maintain peace within ourselves and with others and also to please CHRIST with our moral deeds. 

If you want to start your journey with CHRIST today, please humbly pray this prayer:
  • LORD JESUS, I believe that You are the One True Living GOD, my very intelligent Creator, and my very loving Savior. Thank You for creating me and saving me LORD. Thank you for dying on the cross to save me from sin and hell. Please forgive me from all my sins and cleanse me from all my unrighteousness. i repented my sins, please come into my heart and be my LORD and SAVIOR. I want to know You more LORD, please reveal yourself to me. I want to follow and obey You LORD. Please help me do Your will and please You. I love You LORD JESUS. Amen.
If you have prayed the prayer above wholeheartedly, I suggest that you attend service in a Bible-based church and read your Bible day and night and live by it. Thank you so much, my dear reader, for reading this article. I hope and pray that you will be enlightened and guided by the Holy Spirit in your Christian journey. And, I hope that you will be prepared for JESUS' second coming and focus on your salvation. To sum it up, always remember to reject your sinful desires, humbly accept whatever life throws at you trusting that JESUS will help you get through it, and follow Him. I love you with the love of JESUS. Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is JESUS our GOD?

Have you ever asked yourself who JESUS is? And, have you ever wondered if He is our GOD?  If your answer is yes, then this article is for you. By the way, I used to believe that the LORD JESUS is just the Son of GOD and not GOD Himself. But, after attending some church services in a Christian Pentecostal church in college, I started to question who the real GOD is and what is His Name. Fortunately, last night that question was answered and revealed to me by the LORD JESUS. As I was reading an article about baby JESUS on the Bible app for kids which is called Superbook, I ran across a verse found in 1 Corinthians 12:3 which says tbis, "So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse JESUS, and no one can say JESUS is LORD, except by the HOLY SPIRIT." We can learn from this Bible verse that JESUS is our One and Only True Living GOD. And, no one can confess that He is GOD except when the person is guided by the Holy Spirit. On the other han...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Gift of Salvation: The True Meaning of Christmas

Christmas is fast approaching and some people think Christmas is about receiving gifts. They think about the presents, the decorations, and the parties. They are missing out on what Christmas is really about. The true meaning of Christmas is the gift of salvation. It's about knowing that the world is full of despair and knowing that there is someone out there waiting to save you. It's about not being alone. It's about waiting for someone to come and show you the true meaning of Christmas. And only JESUS has made the biggest move to save us from all the troubles that we experience everyday. The true meaning of Christmas is the gift of salvation. This is the reason why the Christmas tree is decorated with evergreen and holly, because these plants represent eternal life. The Christmas tree is also decorated with other greenery because it represents the nature of the world. The Christmas tree is decorated with lights and ornaments, because they represent the light o...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is JESUS’ will for us?

I spent my life looking for answers on what is JESUS’ will for me and what should I do with my life. I yearn for a happy, content and fulfilled life and I have this deep longing inside me for a better purpose. Until one night, while I was praying JESUS revealed to me His will. He told me that His will is to save us because He loves us so much. Check this verse in  1 Timothy 2:3-4 which say, “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Since JESUS’ ultimate will is to save us, He wants us to receive His gift of salvation. We first have to believe that He died on the cross to save us from hell and sin. We should as well make a firm decision to turn away from sin and obey Him. Then we should establish a loving and faithful relationship with Him above others. Take note of this verse in Matthew 22:37-38 which say, “ And he said to him,   “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with a...
Post a Comment
Read more