Mark 8:31-37
31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and [of] the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
34 And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
In this record, Jesus is teaching his disciples about commitment, because he knows that he will not always be physically present with them. Commitment is something of a dirty word in the church today; but commitment is something Jesus demanded from his disciples.
To deny yourself means to give up me, myself and I as my priority. You can't follow Christ while you're following yourself. When you stop following your own heart and follow Christ, you begin to reap the benefits of following him: love, joy, peace, and all the rest.
What does it mean to take up your cross? It means to give up all rights to your life. Jesus said that he who tried to save his life would lose it, but that he who loses, or gives up, his life for Christ's sake will find it. To take up your cross means that if anyone wants to crucify you, they don't have to go looking for a cross. It means recognizing that you -- the old you, or who you were before Christ saved you -- are already dead, and that you live now, in Christ, as one who has been raised from the dead. It means recognizing that you are called to live a completely new life, because what was old in you has died. It means the end of your selfish desires, ambitions and dreams -- and the birth of new desires, new ambitions, new dreams in keeping with the character of God and of Christ.
But not only are we to deny ourselves and take up our cross; we are to follow Christ. What does that mean? Let's look at a few examples in scripture of people following him, and see what we can learn that is applicable to our own lives.
Mark 1:14-20.
14 ¶ Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.
19 And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the [son] of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
Jesus met these men on their jobs and called them to follow him. They forsook their livelihoods to obey his summons. Following Jesus took, priority over everything in their lives.
Jesus proposed to take these professional fishermen and make them fishers of men.
Luke 5:1-10.
1 ¶ And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing [their] nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto [their] partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw [it], he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so [was] also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Following Jesus doesn't mean half-hearted obedience. Jesus had instructed Peter to let down his nets. Instead, Peter let down a net. He was not prepared for the abundance of fish that followed. Following Jesus involves doing exactly what he said do.
Let's go to a party with Jesus. You are there. You are watching the whole thing. There are good people, good food, good drink -- oops! No wine!
John 2:1-10.
1 ¶ And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do [it].
6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare [it].
9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: [but] thou hast kept the good wine until now.
I used to think that doing miracles involved doing something profound. It doesn't. One of the great keys in working miracles is obedience: doing exactly what your Lord said do.
Imagine what would have happened if, instead of obeying Jesus, the servants had come up with a "better idea"? Like running to the store, for instance? The results would certainly have been far less than God's best. (When was the last time you came up with a "better idea" than doing what your Lord told you to do?) Instead, God turned water into wine because these servants obeyed the words of Jesus Christ and "followed Jesus."
In John 13 we see another aspect of following Jesus. The scene is the last supper, shortly before Jesus' arrest. He already knows that Judas is going to betray him. So what does he do?
John 13:4-17.
4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe [them] with the towel wherewith he was girded.
6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also [my] hands and [my] head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash [his] feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for [so] I am.
14 If I then, [your] Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
Here Jesus is teaching his disciples about service. He's showing them how they're supposed to take care of each other when he's not personally and physically with them. Part of following Jesus is doing what Jesus would do in a situation, rather than "doing what comes naturally." It's serving one another in love, rather than simply serving yourself.
We need to have both Mary and Martha as our examples. Mary sat at Jesus' feet while Martha served. In that instance, Mary was right -- but you can't hang around Jesus' feet all the time! You sit at his feet first -- then you get up and serve others!
Psalm 78 is a record about how the Israelites followed Moses in the wilderness. This is NOT how we are supposed to follow Christ. Moses found himself leading an enormous group of people with an attitude.
Psalm 78:1-39. (NIV)
1 ¶ O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old--
3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,
6 so that the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
8 They would not be like their forefathers--a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9 ¶ The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle;
10 they did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by his law.
11 They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.
12 He did miracles in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand firm like a wall.
14 He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
15 He split the rocks in the desert and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
18 They wilfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the desert?
20 When he struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly. But can he also give us food? Can he supply meat for his people?"
21 When the LORD heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel,
22 for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.
23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens;
24 he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Men ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens and led forth the south wind by his power.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust, flying birds like sand on the seashore.
28 He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents.
29 They ate till they had more than enough, for he had given them what they craved.
30 But before they turned from the food they craved, even while it was still in their mouths,
31 God's anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.
34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues;
37 their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
God had at least three goals that I can think of in delivering the Israelites out of bondage:
* He wanted to bring them into the Promised Land.
* He wanted to get them out of Egypt .
* He wanted to get Egypt out of them.
God has similar goals for us in giving us salvation through Jesus Christ:
* He wants to give us eternal life and eternal fellowship with Him.
* He wants to deliver us from this dark world.
* He wants to get the world out of us.
We can't follow Jesus on our own. We get in trouble if we try! We are not equipped to handle this world, and what it throws at us, without abiding in Christ, and his word abiding in us.
John 15:1-7.
1 ¶ I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
When you follow Jesus, you have the light of life. When you don't, you walk in darkness.
John 8:12.
12 ¶ Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Our natural tendency is to "look out for number one!"
Mark 8:34.
34 And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
We tend to think in terms of:
* What can God do for me?
* What can the world do for me?
* What can you do for me?
* What can I do for me?
That's not following Jesus! That's not denying yourself!
Hebrews 12:1-3.
1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Can we run this race if we are being weighed down by the things of this world? If we're going to run it, we've got to let go of everything that would hold us back.
In addition, we are to look at, and follow, and imitate Jesus. Jesus always did his Father's will. He put God's thoughts in his mind. We've got to do the same thing, so that we respond to situations like Jesus would respond to them.
How do you think, for instance, Jesus would respond to a gossip "opportunity"?
Following Jesus is not something anyone else can do for you. Each one of us has to do follow Jesus for ourselves, day by day. This world is not our home, remember? Our treasures are future; we're not supposed to be stocking up on stuff now!
If we're going to walk like Christ walked, we're going to have to learn to think like he thought.
Philippians 4:8.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.
Finally, we've got to be careful to be for real in following Christ. It's not enough just to look good!
James 1:22-25.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
When you front on others and put on a Christian act, you're not fooling them; you're fooling yourself!