In the acrostic CROSS we come to O- Obedience.Jesus went to the cross because of Obedience

Philippians 2:6-11 shares that Jesus “humbled himself and became obedience even unto death the death of a cross”.  God has given him “the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus even knee shall bow,” and “every tongue confess that  Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

Luke 22:42 - “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but thine be done”

Jesus carried out the plan of the Father. This plan was ordained long ago and was revealed to us in many Old Testament prophecies. The plan and details of the cross were worked out as we see in Ps 22 when Jesus fulfills the very words spoken on the cross. "My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?" The Psalmist talked about the mocking the insults, the thieves, the band of evil men encircling Him, they have pierced His hands and feet. They divided His garments among them and cast lots for His clothing. This was written 1,000 years before Christ coming.

Isaiah 53 graphically prophecies "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

We need not only be aware of God's plan by reading the O.T. but even the prophecies after His birth, concerning His birth, points to the cross. When in the temple Simeon shared, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." He said to Mary.

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Our purpose is to bring glory to God both now and forever after He comes. That was also His Son's task, to glorify the Father by being obedient to His plan. You cannot glorify God more than by obeying Him. What pleases a mother or father more than an obedient, loving child? Those are the two elements of the cross that also glorified God and bring us understanding of Jesus’ character.

I was thinking back to years ago at one of the first plays I did at Bethel in other churches called Conquest in Burma. It was about the life of the great missionary, Adoniram Judson. When he graduated from seminary he received a call from a fashionable church in Boston to come as its assistant pastor. Everyone congratulated him. His mother and sister rejoiced that he could live at home with them and do his life work, but Judson shook his head.  "My work is not here," he said, "God is calling me beyond the seas. To stay here, even to serve God in this ministry, I feel would be only partial obedience, and I could not be happy in that."

It cost him a great struggle to leave his mother and sister to follow the heavenly call. The fashionable church in Boston still stands, rich and strong. Judson left for Burma with hardships; years without converts, he lost his child to death and his dear wife Ann also died, then remarried and she took ill and died. He was imprisoned and treated poorly. He was depressed and for a while emotionally distraught, unable to work, but out of obedience to his call he continued. A few more converts came to Jesus. Today Burma is called Myanmar and has several 1,000 converts and the influence of his consecrated life is felt around world.

How important is obeying God in your life? Many are interested in spiritual things so they might be blessed. Jesus wanted followers, not admirers. For Jesus, being good was not an intellectual problem of knowing what He ought to do in any situation. Jesus unabashedly asked not just for agreement; He demanded discipleship by obedience - learning to move, walking the walk, following Him in righteousness, and saying no to selfishness.     

The cross is a call to obedience and sacrifice is an illustration that Jesus uses to call His disciples to follow Him. Luke 14:27 “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”  Jesus went to the cross because of obedience and in that obedience suffered greatly and died.   Phil 2:6-11 shares that Jesus “humbled himself and became obedience even unto death the death of a cross.” therefore “God has given him a name that is above all names that at the name of Jesus even knee shall fall and every tongue declare him Lord, to the glory of his father.”

Application: Will you take up His cross and follow?

Prayer:  Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey