A few years ago, my wife Linda and I were blessed to go to Israel. One of the most impactful places we visited was the Sea of Galilee. As we walked the shore, story after story from the Gospels came to my mind. It was here that Jesus spent so much time with his disciples. It was here that he called many of them to follow him and to be his disciples.
Bible scholars believe these 12 men were very young, possible even teenagers. Imagine leaving family, friends, and responsibilities to follow and learn from this new Rabbi. There was something different about Jesus, something so compelling they were willing to leave everything behind to follow him.
Over the next three years they would be eye witnesses to his miraculous power, his interactions with the hurting, the broken and the lost. They would hear his teaching and would think, “no one teaches like Jesus.” These men would follow him everywhere he went. They would have access to him that no one else would have. They would follow him…all the way to the cross.
Deeply impacted by the resurrection, these men would give Jesus their lives. They would obey his command to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to make disciples of all nations.
I love reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John because we get to read the first hand report of the life and ministry of Jesus.
As I read the gospels each year, I am struck with the call to follow and I recognize it wasn’t a call just for 12 young men who lived in the Galilee region of Israel. It’s a call for everyone of us.
I don’t believe being a disciple is an option. Some Christians seem to think discipleship is an optional second level of Christianity. You know…for those who are really serious, and even fanatical.
No, the call to follow, the call to be a disciple comes to us all.
Matthew 10:38 - “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
This is the first mention of the cross in Mathew’s gospel. The statement must have shocked the disciples of Jesus. At this point, these 12 men did not know Jesus would die on a cross. Of course, they were familiar with the Roman method of execution by crucifixion. But in this sentence Jesus seems to be likening discipleship with the horror of crucifixion. How can this be? What is Jesus saying?
What is our cross to bear? Jesus is not referring to a particular difficulty, annoyance, or trial you must face. Sometimes I hear people say, “Well, I guess this is just my cross to bear.” This is not what Jesus is referring to in Matthew 10:38.
Jesus is saying that true discipleship is a death to self and a resurrected life unto God. It is death to our selfish will, our sinful nature, and our old life. It is following Jesus and walking in the new life he would offer us.
What these 12 men would learn is that the dying to self and the walking in new life is something they would do daily. This is Christ’s call for discipleship. I hope you hear his call. He’s calling people like you and me to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and to follow him.
Everyone one of us listening today struggle with surrendering to God. It’s hard to yield our will to God’s will. But what we gain is so much greater than what we lose. That’s why Paul says in Philippians 3:7-8:
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”
Today’s Challenge: Do you hear the voice of the savior calling you to follow? Do you hear him asking you to deny yourself, to take up your cross, and to follow him with all that you are and all that you have? Receive this truth today: everything you need is on the other side of surrendering your life to Jesus.
