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If the Baltimore Ravens were giving away 2 season tickets to the biggest fan, how would you convince someone you should be the winner?
What comes to your mind when someone says they are a serious and devoted fan of… ? (pictures?)
- Fashion
- Nascar
- Christmas
- Me with pbc. 4 seasons in my house: eggs, pumpkins, trees, hearts.
What comes to your mind when someone says they are a Christian, or even a Baptist Christian?
- Lots of qualifications.
- I’m not like those Christians (judgmental, hypocritical…)
- I’m not like those Baptists… (Westboro… SBC issues)
The Scriptures reflect a few key characteristics for those who were called Christians. First, it’s important to note that Christians did not call themselves by that term. Instead, they were known as either “disciples,” or “followers of the Way.”[1] It was the outsiders who called Jesus’ disciples “Christians,” by which they meant as a derogatory term (Ac 11:26). In sum, the word “Christian” is used 3x in the NT[2] but the word “disciple” is used 268x in the NT. Being a disciple of Jesus implies not just faith in but followership of Jesus. Christianity was not just a belief system but a way of life. This gets to the true meaning of what it means to be a Christian.
Being a disciple of Jesus implies not just faith in but followership of Jesus. Christianity was not just a belief system but a way of life. This gets to the true meaning of what it means to be a Christian.
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Today’s hard saying of Jesus comes from Matthew 8 & 10. We will explore 3 features of what Jesus means when He says, “Follow me.”
EXAMINE Matthew 8:18-22 (ESV)
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Disciples of Jesus follow without limitations (8:18-20).
A scribe was a religious educated expert in copying, preserving, and teaching OT Scriptures.[3] They were skilled at interpretation and making judgments, somewhat like lawyers are in relation to laws today. Therefore, the scribe would have been very interested in Jesus as a rabbi. However, the scribe’s addressing Jesus as a teacher may be accurate but not adequate, seen in the following exchange.
The scribe boldly claims he would follow Jesus wherever. Jesus responds with a claim of His divinity, claiming to be the “Son of Man,” (cf Dan 7:13-14) and challenging the scribe’s limits to discipleship. Though he said he would follow wherever, the assumptions were wherever there was the comforts of home – a place to lay his head, rest his feet, or store earthly possessions. The scribe was likely sincere but was ignorant of the implications of following Jesus. He likely understood discipleship as a fixed amount of time, rather than a full-time and forever commitment.
Jesus’ response indicated discipleship makes no promises for pleasantries and no guarantees for luxury or easiness. If Jesus were speaking today, He may not reference foxes or birds, but may say something like, ”White-collared professionals live in gated communities and business men & women have beach front property, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
Ultimately, Jesus was telling the scribe that nothing was off limits for His discipleship. Jesus’ discipleship was not confined to a scribe’s classroom but everyday life. Being a Christian goes beyond a Sunday faith to the grind of daily dependence for God’s provision. There is something about not knowing what tomorrow holds that causes both fear of the unknown and lacking control yet results in faith and trust in the good character of God.
Being a Christian goes beyond a Sunday faith to the grind of daily dependence for God’s provision. There is something about not knowing what tomorrow holds that causes both fear of the unknown and lacking control yet results in faith and trust in the good character of God.
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Another similar scenario in the Gospels is when someone approaches Jesus and asks for counsel about eternal life and entrance to God’s kingdom (Mt 19:16, ff). After a discussion about whether the man followed God’s commands, Jesus told him, “go, sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me” (Mt 19:21). However, the man left Jesus in sadness because he enjoyed pleasures and treasures more than trusting Jesus.
In biblical times, one of the highest compliments one could give to a disciple was that their rabbi’s dust is all over them.[4] That wasn’t meant literally for them to take a shower, but as a metaphor that they were emulating every step and turn of their rabbi.
Likewise, when we study and apply what it means to follow Jesus, we want our focus to be on the face of Jesus not His hands. Nearness to Jesus is not about making promises to do for God, but trusting promises of what He’s done for us. A key to the Christian life is focusing on proximity not activity – being the right person rather than doing stuff for self or God.
Ways to focus/(re) being more than doing…
- Start the morning with prayer to the Lord.
- Ps 5:3,8 “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation… Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness… make straight your way before me.”
- Start fresh after repentance. Most Christians want to obey and honor Jesus but sometimes life gets in the way, if not also plain worldliness. Instead of allowing our temporary drifts to result in extended disobedience, we need to emblazon 1 John 1:9 into our brain!
- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Nearness to Jesus is not about making promises to do for God, but trusting promises of what He’s done for us. A key to the Christian life is focusing on proximity not activity.
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Disciples of Jesus follow without excuses (8:21-22).
21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Another person came to Jesus desiring to follow Jesus as one of His disciples, but he needed an indefinite postponement. The request was not of his dead father needing burial, but that the father was alive, and so he would need to delay discipleship for an extended and unknown period of time.[5] Jesus’ response appears cold and callous for the man to leave his father to die alone, and to follow Him in discipleship. Yet, Jesus was clarifying the distinct devotion required for true discipleship.
In another place, Jesus says, 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (Mt 10:34-37)
You see, Jesus’ statements are meant to shock and surprise yet too often we read today with simplicity and ease. There are things in our life that Jesus is calling us to abandon. There are also even good things that are affections are disproportionate to how we should relate to Jesus. Important items should not necessarily be ultimate. Our allegiance to Jesus must be of such unction and urgency that, by comparison, all other affections appear as an aversion.
Jesus wants His disciples to know there is blessing in following but there is also a burden; there is sweetness but there is also suffering; there is the joy of Jesus but there is also the cross of Jerusalem.
Jesus is teaching and testing every would-be follower – even one’s two thousand years down the road – that discipleship requires a sense of urgency.
And Jesus knows our idols. He is calling for us to surrender our all to Him. He is prying away the specific excuses and idols and pruning our heart from that which hinders us from fully following Him into discipleship.
- What excuses are you making for following Jesus half-heartedly or not at all? Seriously, I want to hear them… write them down, QR email, or let’s talk.
- What is Jesus calling you to abandon in order to have distinct devotion and urgency in your faith relationship? Where is Jesus calling you to shift your affections and allegiance for ultimate authority in your life?
- An activity that you enjoy during times of leisure?
- An apathetic negligence for stillness to pray and read the Scriptures?
- A relationship with one who is pulling you away from faith?
- Nursing a grudge or harping on mistakes of others more than own sin?
- A sin habit that is hovering and haunting daily thoughts?
Isa 55:6 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.”
Rom 13:11 “you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”
Rom 12:11 “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”
Disciples of Jesus follow without pretense (Matthew 10:38-39)
38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
In this passage, Jesus makes faith and discipleship a matter of life and death. To the ears of Jesus’ audience, they understood the cross symbolized death. When a person considers their death, there’s a sobriety and gravity in the priorities of life. Jesus is saying, if we live for gain in this life then you will lose it in the next. But, if we lose our life through humility, unselfishness, and trust in the Lord, then we will gain in eternity.
The greatest winners of this world are the biggest losers in the next. And those who appear as disappointments, failures, and castoffs are often those who understand this world is not our home and we await an unshakeable kingdom.
- Jesus says “Follow Me.” Therefore, faith is relational. We cannot go through the motions of a few religious routines and expect that we’re one of Jesus’ disciples.
- Further, following a Savior who spent the majority of His time eating meals with sinners, healing the sick, and teaching fishermen how to cast nets for people means we must do similarly. In other words, our relationships with other followers of Jesus is very important. Solo is a no go / and solo means no grow. So, you need the church, and the church needs you if we are to become disciplemakers for Jesus.
- Whatever your agenda for the church, it must be defined in terms of the cross. [Next week’s message will discuss this further in Mt 16 with Jesus’ hard saying to Peter.] In short, cross-bearing should make it clear that Christians are not going to receive plum positions of authority and influence in our culture. Instead, Christians will make a difference working with the underprivileged, washing feet, and being faithful in the mundane circumstances of life. The glory we seek is not the headlines of this world but an inheritance that is imperishable and unfading, kept in heaven by the King of all glory.
The greatest winners of this world are the biggest losers in the next. And those who appear as disappointments, failures, and castoffs are often those who understand this world is not our home and we await an unshakeable kingdom.
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In Latin American culture, there is a popular and festive caricature named Catrina. Catrina is a female skeleton who wears an oversized hat with sophisticated dress and flowers.
This glamorous skeleton was meant to mock elite society – the rich and famous – with the reminder that no one can escape death. Underneath fancy clothes, fast cars, or feigned smiles, we are all skin and bones and death is our destiny. Catrina is one of the most recognized symbols of Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead). Catrina wants everyone to fear death, but Jesus wants you to face it.
My friends, Jesus is not just another key on a chain you place in your pocket, or a vitamin pill you pop inside your body and wish for the best. Instead, Jesus is your oxygen and apart from Him there is no life, no strength, no peace, no hope, nor salvation.
Jesus turns the inevitability of death into the invincibility of resurrection life.*
- Write your sin debt with your name and place it at the cross (and on these steps).
- Take God out of the box and boundaries you’ve placed on Him. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak into every area of your life.
- No Turning Back
[1] Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14. See also John 14:6; Isaiah 40:3 with Luke 3:3-6
[2] Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16.
[3] Chad Brand et al., eds., “Scribe,” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1452.
[4] Ray Vander Laan, Faith Lessons, Volume 6, “In The Dust Of The Rabbi.”
[5] K. E. Bailey quoted in France, R. T. (1985). Vol. 1: Matthew: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (164). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
*Adapted from Craig Lounsbrough ?
Growing Godly Generations 