What does it mean to carry your cross?

Speaker: Matthew Ruttan

February 03, 2025

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“It’s my cross to bear.” When people say that they are usually referring to some sort of burden. But when Jesus said to “take up your cross” what was he actually talking about? He said it before crosses had become sentimentalized. A modern equivalent might be, “take up your electric chair.”

This sermon by Pastor Ruttan (also released as a podcast episode) unpacks Mark 8:31-9:1 and zeroes in on that enigmatic expression, and also a few other related statements: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

It explains the context, provides a definition for the meaning of carrying one’s cross, a motivating reminder about the joy that lies behind sacrifice, and a suggested application for disciples today.

In the words of missionary Jim Elliot: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”