October 16, 2012 … Following Jesus Is Tough Business

Chronological Bible Reading Plan - Day 290

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Matthew 14 To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Mark 6 To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Luke 9 To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Highlight Passage: Matthew 14 : [NLT] … {In Matthew 14, the Tax Collector Disciple relates the stories of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus feeding thousands near Capernaum with just a few fishes and loaves of bread, and one of my favorites, … Jesus walking on water in the midst of a raging storm.} …
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Highlight Passage: Mark 6 : [NLT] … {In Mark 6, we read Mark’s parallel version of the same three episodes in Jesus’ life as in Matthew 14; but also Mark documents Jesus being rejected in His own home town of Nazareth and the Lord sending out the 12 Disciples into the country side near Capernaum to minister to the people.} …
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Highlight Passage: Luke 9: 21-27 : [NLT] … {In Luke 9, the stories of Jesus sending out the 12 and of Him feeding the five-thousand can also be found, along with accounts of Jesus taking three of the inner Disciples up to the Mount of Transfiguration. And then the passage I want to focus on today was related by Luke, … that being Luke’s account of Jesus predicting His own death and teaching the followers about the cost of being His disciple.} …  
21 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about this. [i.e., Jesus warning His inner 12 not to tell others that He was The Messiah, knowing that they could/would be persecuted for saying this before He went to the cross. Jesus knew they weren’t ready for such persecution.] 22 “For I, the Son of Man, must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “I will be rejected by the leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. I will be killed, but three days later I will be raised from the dead.” 23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. 25 And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process? 26 If a person is ashamed of me and my message, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in my glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. 27 And I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see the Kingdom of God.” …
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Cross Reference Passage: Matthew 16: 24-25 : [NLT] …{This is the parallel passage from Matthew of Jesus telling His followers of the cost of discipleship in Christ.} … 24 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. 
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Cross Reference Passage: Mark 8: 34-35 : [NLT] …{Same song ... from John Mark's Gospel} … 34 Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. “If any of you wants to be my follower,” he told them, “you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. 

My Journal for Today: Once again, there’s a lot in these three chapters of the Synoptic Gospels (i.e., Matthew 14, :Mark 6, and Luke 9) which a blogger like me could discuss, … fascinating passages like Jesus feeding the five thousand, or Him walking on water in a storm, or the curious account of Jesus taking three disciples up to the “Mount of Transfiguration.” But anytime I read one verse in these chapters, which I memorized years ago, Luke 9:23, I’m touched with a certain degree of reality and conviction.

 In this passage Luke quotes Jesus telling a large group of His followers, a wider group than His inner 12, about what it takes to be His disciple. Essentially the same passage can be found in Matthew 16: 24 and Mark 8: 34 (which I’ve copied above). And to this humble follower of Jesus this may be one of the briefest, but most important three-point sermons ever preached by our Lord as He was ministering to and teaching the people about God’s kingdom values on His way to the cross.

One can/will notice in Luke 9: 21 how Jesus had warned His disciples not to be blatantly and openly telling others at this point in time that He was The Messiah; … because Jesus knew, as I wrote above, that His followers, especially the inner 12, were not ready to incur the persecution that could come if they were out proclaiming that they had found THE Messiah. Yet, Jesus wanted them to know – ultimately – what it was going to take for them to be HIS disciple. So, The LORD lays out the three things that anyone – including you and me – will need to do if they are going to be a surrendered follower of Jesus, The Christ.

Such a follower must [1] deny him or her self. They must [2] take up their cross daily; and [3] such a disciple must do all he or she can to follow Jesus. Now there’s a three-point sermon that will stop almost any Christian in their tracks with conviction. Well, maybe it doesn’t convict you as much as it does me; but very personally. I find it excruciatingly difficult to [1] deny myself when I’m confronted with many choices in life which cause me to choose between self or Savior.

Have you ever been in the line at a smorgasbord or buffet; and you’re looking ahead at the foods you can choose; and there are choices which you know are healthy … and then there are other foods which you’d love to eat – BIGTIME! – but you know they are not good for you? Maybe you’re coming up on the dessert items; and you just know that you shouldn’t take that piece of pie, … also knowing that the sugar-free Jello would be better for you. Denying self in that instance and living to protect God’s temple of the body (see 1st Cor. 6: 19) is what Jesus was saying in Luke 9: 23 when He said that we must “deny self” to be His disciple.

Then there is the business [#2] of being able to pick up and carry our daily crosses, which means dealing with the stresses, challenges, and circumstances of life. Jesus, most certainly, was going to have His own cross to bear; but in Luke 9: 23, He was teaching that, as His disciple, we were going to have our own crosses to bear as well; and in order for us to handle the circumstances of life, many times almost too heavy to bear, we’re going to have to do the other two things which Luke 9: 23 teaches … i.e., to [#1] deny self and [#3] to follow Jesus. So, Jesus openly and revealingly states that our being able handle life is going to depend on the degree to which we can surrender ourselves to Him.

Finally, there is point #3, … i.e., following Jesus. And to illustrate this, I often use a powerful word picture. It’s a simple question. If you were charged with the task of crossing a mine-field, laden with deadly mines, would you rather forge ahead on your own or would you prefer to follow someone who knew exactly where ALL the mines are and was willing to lead you through the mindfield? … DUH!!! … The answer is a no brainer, right? … Well, Jesus is very simply saying, that He wants us to go through life, avoiding the tendency to forge ahead on our own (i.e., selfishly) and rather, to take on the minefield of life [i.e., our daily crosses] by following Him. And I don’t’ think it takes a rocket-scientist to see that this means living like He lives, and following what He says.

And how do we do that? Well, maybe since God, through the authors of the New Testament, has given us in great detail and accuracy, vast insight into Jesus’ words and described His life and teachings, maybe it might behoove us, as His disciples, to get to know HIM through HIS word, seeking out HIS will and living HIS way.

 So, coming across Luke 9: 23 today brought me – AGAIN – into a self evaluation as a disciple of Christ; and I’ll leave that self-inventory up to you today if you’re reading along with me.

My Prayer Today: … Oh, Lord, when I’m weak, I need to follow You more closely. When I’m selfish, I need to follow You more closely. When I’m overwhelmed in the minefields of life, I need to follow You more closely. Help me, LORD! Amen