Luke 9:23, 26 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Months back, we journeyed into a passage regarding Jesus’ denial of the believer before the Father in heaven. For a review for those interested, I am supplying a link for your convenience. Conditional Security – Matthew 10:32-33.

At first glance, our Luke 9 appears to be the parallel passage to Matthew 10 message from the Lord. Such is not the case, for the parallel is in Luke 12:8,9.

It is not exactly the same topic, for in the Matthew verses, Jesus is speaking of how He will respond before the Father based on our relation with Him. Verse 23 is a simple statement of qualification that precedes a passage that is somewhat similar to Matthew 10:32-33 and Luke 12:8,9

A quick table will provide a comparison.

Now before we proceed, it may be wise to consider some differences. In Matthew 10 and Luke 12, the warning is of denial before the Father. Might this occur even daily in our lives, that as we walk with Him and fall into a denial of some type, Jesus may also reflect this denial before the Father in heaven.

Before we go any further, I need to ask – Is all denial of eternal consequence? Of course not, for we simply need to consider Peter. Some denial is not permanent.

For the passage this morning, it appears to be specifically describing an experience of shame Jesus will go through when He appears in glory.

The first two passages resulted in a denial of our person before the Father. This morning’s passage centers on the shame Jesus will experience at His great revealing.

Shame we experience regarding the Word of God, either the written declaration we possess in our hands or of the Living Son of God, which resides with us in our bodies, may trigger a shame based emotion in Jesus at His coming.

In a believers life, periods of weakness, doubt and shame may occur. Is this a desirable situation? Of course not. Can God work in these periods of dryness, periods of pain and doubt, periods where we are confused, possibly questioning His Word, and pursuing wrong solutions? Of course He can, and thankfully He does.

Yet if we continue to lay the cross down, continue to seek our ways and not His, there is a danger of bringing shame on the Lord at His coming.

For those who may be experiencing difficult times, please be encouraged in that God is still there for you, that He is working in and around you for His glory and your benefit. The charge for us as we struggle in down times is that we do not abandon in the struggle the very strength of God found in His Word and in His Son. None of us wants Jesus to experience any shame on His day, but in our struggles we need to continue in depending on His Word and His Way. It is upside down from what the world teaches, and we desperately need to be reminded of His will and way we are to pursue daily.

Don’t lay down the cross! It is a daily choice that produces life in each of us, as we die to our old desires.

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