Quest 8
Deitrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, wrote in the preface to his book, The Cost of Discipleship, these words: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” The book was published in 1937 when the rise of the Nazi regime was underway in Germany. It was against this background that Bonhoeffer's thinking on costly discipleship developed, which ultimately led to his death. When Christ called you, did he invite you to come and die?
A. The disciples were confounded by two irreconcilable ideas:
1. Jesus was the Messiah (Mark 8:29) - And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
2. Jesus was going to die (Mark 10:33) - “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.” This was the third time Jesus had told his disciples he was going to die -
Mark 8:31-32 - And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
Mark 9: 30-32 - They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
B. James and John, in spite of their inappropriate request, made the request because they believed Jesus would ultimately be victorious (Mark 10:37) - And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
LESSONS ON THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM
1. Love people by putting more into them than you take out of them.
Jesus stated his life purpose (Mark 10:45) – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The way of the world is to do as little as possible to get as much as possible. We want to take more out than we put in.
But our calling as Christians, with Christ’s DNA (Spirit) indwelling us, is this:
Luke 9:23-25 - 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 would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”
Luke 14:27 - Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Consider this sobering statement from the Apostle Paul (Romans 15:3): For Christ did not please himself. What percentage of your time and energy is spent on pleasing yourself?
2. Love your Lord so much you accept what you don’t understand.
They followed him on the road to Jerusalem (Mark 10:32) - And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
This is not a call to be irrational but to trust the Lord who leads you when you don’t know why you have to walk that road or where it is heading.
3. Love your Lord too much to leave him.
For all the disciples got wrong about Jesus’ purpose, they “followed.” They didn’t leave him as he led them to Jerusalem where they sensed trouble was waiting.
Even when faced with a fiery furnace, some have loved God too much to leave him (Daniel 3:16-18) - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Quest 8 Sermon from February 20th, 2022
