Scandalous.. The Cross?

Have you ever wondered why at times the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ doesnt sound so good? I believe that in these cases the message is not being told correctly or atleast incomplete.

For example…

Why is Christianity so hard, especially when it seems we have so many rules to obey?

Well, my friends, I don't believe it is hard. Rather, I believe it is easy. There are three reasons Christianity is easy, and these three concepts should never be taken lightly. They are three simple words that transform your life: faith, hope, and love. Faith in Jesus, hope that God is always there and has a better plan, and a kind of love that reorients your entire outlook towards God, yourself, and others. These three concepts await to transform every aspect of your life.

What is unique about Christianity is that in many ways, it is deeply misunderstood. You can find joy in this life and the next, and you need not strive beyond your means to accomplish it. To explain further, let's talk about two concepts: self-denial, and the scandal of the cross that changed it all.

The Overwhelming Call of Self-Denial

Everyone knows of the self-denial verses in the Bible. They stick and sting us, seemingly commanding us to an impossible task. The passages are many (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, Luke 14:33, Romans 6:6, Romans 8:13, Romans 12:1, Romans 13:14, Romans 14:21, 1 Corinthians 9:27, 1 Corinthians 10:24, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:24, Philippians 2:3-4, Philippians 3:7-8, Colossians 3:5, Titus 2:11-12, and 1 Peter 2:11).

These passages tell us much. Christian discipleship fundamentally requires a radical reorientation of identity and allegiance, turning away from self-interest and toward Christ and his kingdom. Jesus calls followers to deny themselves and take up their cross (Matthew 16:24:26; Mark 8:34:38). This involves far more than ascetic practices or renouncing particular comforts it demands that believers consider their old self crucified so that sin’s dominion is broken (Romans 6:6:11), allowing Christ to live through them rather than living for themselves (Galatians 2:20).

This death to self operates across multiple dimensions: believers must put to death the deeds of the body through the Spirit (Romans 8:13), renounce all possessions that become idols (Luke 14:33), and regard others as superior to themselves while prioritizing the interests of others over their own (Philippians 2:3:4). The paradox underlying this calling is that those who lose their life for Christ’s sake will save it, while gaining the whole world and forfeiting one’s life profits nothing (Mark 8:34:38). Ultimately, believers present their bodies as living sacrifices to God (Romans 12:12), and those who live do so no longer for themselves, but for Christ who died and rose for them (2 Corinthians 5:15) a transformation that occurs through renewing the mind and conforming to God’s will rather than to worldly patterns.

Breaking News! Lets pause for a moment. That is certainly a lot to take in, isn't it? If we stop here that is only part of the story! We cant forget grace! So take heart! God has a plan. His plan was the most scandalous plan of all time, and it is the very thing we need to accomplish what is means to be a Christian.

The Scandal of the Cross

Scandalous (derived from the biblical Greek word skandalon): An offense, a stumbling block, or a profound absurdity that shatters conventional human wisdom and expectations. In the context of the cross, it represents the shocking, counter-cultural paradox that God would choose to save the world and reveal His ultimate glory through the shameful, agonizing execution of His Messiah.

We talk about three ways the cross was scandalous:

1. The Subversion of Expectations: The cross was scandalous because Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, King of kings, and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16), but he was a stumbling block for the Jews and Gentiles enough that they could not see him for who he really was. They were expecting him to command armies and force people into submission for God's cause (John 6:15; Luke 24:21). Instead, he broke traditions and customs, and rode on a donkey. If that was not enough he ate with sinners, healed them, and forgave them too! Lets not forget, he claimed he was God! (John 10:30). As a result they accused him of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65; Mark 14:64); they mocked, tortured, killed, and buried him. He is still a stumbling block today for those who refuse to believe in him.

2. The Paradox of Divine Suffering: God is a paradox to the human mind. We struggle to understand his choices and the significance of suffering. Sovereign according to his own plan, he gave up his beloved and only son to become the curse who hangs on a tree (Galatians 3:13), to endure a sadistically cruel and utterly shameful death to become the propitiation for all (1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10, Romans 3:25, and Hebrews 2:17). He accepted the punishment while being entirely innocent of all charges and accusations, only to be risen from the dead (Romans 4:25). Alive again, he was elevated to a status above all principalities, powers, and authorities (Ephesians 1:20-22, 1 Peter 3:22), making him head over all and his name above all names (Philippians 2:9-11). We too gain from suffering (Romans 5:3-5) and have an advocate that sees us and helps us through it all, providing comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), peace (John 16:33), assistance (1 Peter 5:7), and ultimate joy (Psalm 34:18, Romans 8:28).

3. The End of Exhausting Perfection: The cross was scandalous because the curse of the law was once on us all (Galatians 3:10) due to sin (Romans 3:23), condemning us to death (Romans 6:23) because we cannot be perfect according to the law (James 2:10; Romans 3:20). Because of Jesus and his sacrificial death (Hebrews 10:12; Ephesians 5:2), we are saved from the law and the resulting sin and death from our constant struggle with perfection (Romans 8:2). We are elevated with him (Ephesians 2:6) above Satan (Colossians 2:15; Romans 16:20), and now sit in his perfect grace (Romans 5:2). It is here that love, patience, and forgiveness overshadow the exhausting need for performance and perfection (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

   
   

So we see that to live a Christian life, we must first recognize Jesus, the cross, and the scandal that God orchestrated to move the human race from being under the crushing performance of the law into the freedom of grace through faith (Romans 6:14; Galatians 2:16).

Rethinking Self-Denial

Now let's talk about self-denial.

Self-Denial (Theological Definition): Rather than a mandate for self-hatred, strict asceticism, or simply "giving things up," true biblical self-denial is the radical dethroning of the "self" as the organizing principle of one’s existence. It is the willful surrender of personal autonomy to make God-in-Christ the supreme center of one’s identity, affections, and will.

Mark 8:34 tells us, "He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them, 'If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'" (NRSVue)

For such a long time, this passage goaded me into a feeling of inadequacy and guilt. I just can't measure up!

But the truth is, I misunderstood. A lot!

What Jesus means by denying himself in Mark 8:34 is easier to swallow if we try to understand how much he loves us. Rather than referring to asceticism, self-rejection, or renouncing specific sins, self-denial involves relinquishing the self as life’s organizing principle and replacing it with God-in-Christ as the center of one’s affections and will. Think of it as a balance with the "self" on one side of the scale and Jesus on the other.

Here again, the paradox of misunderstanding the will of God clouds our minds back into the curse of a performance orientation. Rather than striving for perfection or focusing on a massive to-do list of things to give up it is instead surender. Jesus-oriented self-denial involves relinquishing the "self" as our primary device for organizing our lives around what we think is important, replacing it with God-in-Christ.

This distinction matters because self-denial is sometimes misunderstood as merely giving up comforts or enduring hardships. Spiritually, we give ourselves way to much credit and not nearly enough to the holy spirit. The phrase doesn’t mean to do without something, or even many things. Instead, it’s a fundamental reorientation of identity and allegiance. Jesus isn’t calling for the denial of particular possessions or pleasures, but rather a renunciation of self as the ultimate object of one’s life a fundamental shift where God, not self, becomes central.

At the end of the day, true self-denial is not a crushing weight of rules; it is the ultimate freedom. It is the freedom to forget what you think you can or cannot do, and instead place your complete faith in Christ, trusting that He knows exactly what to do with your life and more than enough power to do it. You do not have to clean yourself up to come to Him, nor do you have to maintain an exhausting illusion of perfection. The heavy lifting has already been finished on that scandalous cross. So, lay down your burden of performance. Embrace the scandal of the cross, let go of your self-reliance, and come to Him today. When you do, you will find that the seemingly impossible demands of faith, hope, and love are actually the easiest, most liberating way to live.

References:

• Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson, eds., in Concise Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).

• Achille Vander Heeren, a Scandal in The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, ed. Charles G. Herbermann et al. (New York: The Encyclopedia Press; The Universal Knowledge Foundation, 1907-1913).

• Gerald G. O Collins, Crucifixion,in The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1:1209.

• Darrin W. Snyder Belousek, Atonement, Justice, and Peace: The Message of the Cross and the Mission of the Church (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012), 309.

• Martin Hengel, The Cross of the Son of God, trans. John Bowden (London: SCM Press Ltd, 1986), 180-181.

• Mark D. Baker, Go and Do Likewise, in Proclaiming the Scandal of the Cross: Contemporary Images of the Atonement, ed. Mark D. Baker (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2006), 188.

• Inc Merriam-Webster, in Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003).

• Walter W. Wessel, Mark, in The Expositors Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 697.

• Bruce B. Barton, Mark, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), 239.