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(Matthew 16:24) "Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
Adam Allred tells us that Shusaku Endo's book "The Silence of God" features a Jesuit priest named Rodriguez, who travels to Japan and witnesses the torture of Japanese Christians by the ruling authorities. Their aim is not to break the bodies of these believers, but to shatter their faith in Jesus.
Finally, the torturers present Rodriguez with an image of Christ, demanding that he step on it and renounce his faith. They tell him that if he complies, the torture of the peasants will cease, but if he refuses, the suffering will continue.
For Rodriguez, this is hell. To step on the image of Jesus feels like betraying Him, but to refuse feels like he’s betraying love and compassion. And in that moment, the Silence of GOD is finally broken when Christ speaks and says, “It was to be trampled on by men that I was born into this world. Step on me. I carry the cross for this very reason, to bear the weight of your shame."
Christ did not come to condemn us; He came to be condemned for us. He didn’t come to be worshipped. He didn’t come for accolades, or for crowns, or for recognition. He came to be crushed so that ‘we’ could live. He came to show us the way - through suffering into freedom.
Many Christians often focus on worshipping dogma or preachers rather than genuinely following Christ. While He was indeed worshipped, His 'actual' command was far more demanding: "Follow me! Walk my path. Carry the cross. Enter the darkness. In doing so, you will find life." Salvation isn’t about evading pain; it’s about persevering through it—taking up our own crosses, enduring shame, loss, and hardship. It is only after this journey that we discover we are reborn, realising that the Kingdom of GOD has always been within us.
Rodrigues believed that stepping on the image was an act of betrayal, yet in truth, it represented the deepest form of worshipful following. Christ is not fragile; He doesn’t require our protection. He came to bear the weight of the world’s sin and proclaim that “Only I can set you free.”
That is the mission of Christ: to set us all free. Free from dogma, free from tyranny, free from a victim mindset, and free from our own chains. He demonstrated this not by avoiding suffering, but by transforming suffering into resurrection.
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Let us pray, "Heavenly Father, HELP ME!" Amen!
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