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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When Jesus saw the crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.
Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
Another disciple said to Him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
But Jesus told him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
Matthew 8:18-22
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When Jesus saw the crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.
Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
Another disciple said to Him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
But Jesus told him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
Matthew 8:18-22
As they were walking along the road, a man said to Him,
“I will follow You wherever You go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but
the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
He said to another man, “Follow Me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my
father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but
you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first
let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and
looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:57-62
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
What if Jesus ran a want ad seeking disciples?
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
What if Jesus ran a want ad seeking disciples?
It might read like this:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Disciples wanted. Can be men or women. Must be willing to leave everything behind and travel long distances, sometimes on foot weathering and enduring nomadic outdoor living. Must also be willing to accept consistent persecution, maybe even death, at any time.”
I wonder how many applicants Jesus would receive.
Indeed, there is a price to be paid for anyone who truly chooses to follow Jesus in the way they live. For He demands that we sacrifice for sacrifice is one of the qualities that defined Him. One only need look to Calvary’s cross and the crucifixion to understand that truth.
So how far are we willing to sacrifice for the One who gave up everything for us?
It’s a fair question and one we all need to ponder, asking:
Am I truly committed to lay it all down for Jesus as He did for me?
You see this matter of sacrificing is at the heart of our scripture passages today from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. There we see Jesus underscoring a little of what’s required to truly be His disciple. Look again at His words here:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Disciples wanted. Can be men or women. Must be willing to leave everything behind and travel long distances, sometimes on foot weathering and enduring nomadic outdoor living. Must also be willing to accept consistent persecution, maybe even death, at any time.”
I wonder how many applicants Jesus would receive.
Indeed, there is a price to be paid for anyone who truly chooses to follow Jesus in the way they live. For He demands that we sacrifice for sacrifice is one of the qualities that defined Him. One only need look to Calvary’s cross and the crucifixion to understand that truth.
So how far are we willing to sacrifice for the One who gave up everything for us?
It’s a fair question and one we all need to ponder, asking:
Am I truly committed to lay it all down for Jesus as He did for me?
You see this matter of sacrificing is at the heart of our scripture passages today from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. There we see Jesus underscoring a little of what’s required to truly be His disciple. Look again at His words here:
When Jesus saw the
crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.
Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
Another disciple said to Him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
But Jesus told him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." Matthew 8:18-22
Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
Another disciple said to Him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
But Jesus told him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." Matthew 8:18-22
As they were
walking along the road, a man said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
Jesus replied,
“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His
head.”
He said to another
man, “Follow Me.”
But he replied,
“Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him,
“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another
said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my
family.”
Jesus replied, “No
one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the
kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62
The scriptures tell us Jesus “gave orders to cross to the other side” of the Sea of Galilee when He had seen “the crowd around Him”. You’ll recall that He was in Capernaum which was located on the northwest part of the sea so moving to the other side meant He would head to the eastern shores. One there, we read where He was approached by a “teacher of the law” who declared, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." Knowing the hearts and minds of man, we get the feel that Jesus sensed the man was not aware of the sacrifices or commitment that came with his proclamation. For He tells the teacher of the law, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
In other words, Jesus was warning the man that life with Him wasn’t going to be glamorous. Rather, it was going to be very challenging and rigorous. Indeed, Jesus, and those who followed Him, would find resistance nearly everywhere they would travel, even in Jesus’ hometown.
The scriptures tell us Jesus “gave orders to cross to the other side” of the Sea of Galilee when He had seen “the crowd around Him”. You’ll recall that He was in Capernaum which was located on the northwest part of the sea so moving to the other side meant He would head to the eastern shores. One there, we read where He was approached by a “teacher of the law” who declared, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." Knowing the hearts and minds of man, we get the feel that Jesus sensed the man was not aware of the sacrifices or commitment that came with his proclamation. For He tells the teacher of the law, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
In other words, Jesus was warning the man that life with Him wasn’t going to be glamorous. Rather, it was going to be very challenging and rigorous. Indeed, Jesus, and those who followed Him, would find resistance nearly everywhere they would travel, even in Jesus’ hometown.
The bottom line is that anyone who decides to follow
Jesus needs to be aware that things would often be rough and even downright
dangerous. It wasn’t (and still isn’t) for the faint of heart. Many Christians being
persecuted in the world this very day would testify to that as they boldly
serve our Savior, obediently answering His Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)
despite the risk and peril involved.
Question: Would you be willing to die for the cause of Jesus in your own life?
It’s a question all Christians need to consider because none of us know when we might be faced with doing just that.
Back to the scriptures. For after addressing the teacher of the law, Jesus encountered another disciple who was interested in following Him but with a caveat. The disciple asked Jesus to “first let me go and bury my father” to which Jesus replied, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
What? One can’t even show proper respect to their parent, in this case a father who had invested so much in raising and rearing his child?
Jesus would say “No”.
Question: Would you be willing to die for the cause of Jesus in your own life?
It’s a question all Christians need to consider because none of us know when we might be faced with doing just that.
Back to the scriptures. For after addressing the teacher of the law, Jesus encountered another disciple who was interested in following Him but with a caveat. The disciple asked Jesus to “first let me go and bury my father” to which Jesus replied, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
What? One can’t even show proper respect to their parent, in this case a father who had invested so much in raising and rearing his child?
Jesus would say “No”.
Why?
Because it is just one of many excuses someone could come
up with to get out of fully committing themselves to Jesus’ calling and thus
not having to fully lay their lives down for the One who would lay His life
down for them, doing so without reservation or stipulation.
Indeed, Christ didn’t say to God, His Father and ours, that couldn’t carry out the call to be crucified, paying the price for the sins of all mankind, because He had something else to do. We know He asked for no delay. Instead, He accepted the wrongful injustice of the fixed Jewish courts, the beatings and the mockery, the humiliation of carrying His own cross to His place of execution, and the agonizing nailing to a cross He would hang and die on.
Indeed, Christ didn’t say to God, His Father and ours, that couldn’t carry out the call to be crucified, paying the price for the sins of all mankind, because He had something else to do. We know He asked for no delay. Instead, He accepted the wrongful injustice of the fixed Jewish courts, the beatings and the mockery, the humiliation of carrying His own cross to His place of execution, and the agonizing nailing to a cross He would hang and die on.
Jesus didn’t try to get out of any of this, Rather, He
allowed Himself to be sacrificed in our place and He did it because He loved
you and me that much.
So how much do we truly love Him in return?
So how much do we truly love Him in return?
Do we ask Him if we can put His will on hold so we can give
our devotion to someone else besides Him?
Or do we realize that He and He alone is the only One we
should love with all our heart and mind and soul and strength and respond in
absolute and unquestioning obedience to His call?
Friends, the decision to follow Jesus is not to be made lightly. We must be sure of what we’re signing up for. For a decision to serve in Jesus’ army means we are committing ourselves to a lifelong enlistment, one that will take us onto the battlefield and into harm’s way for his sake and cause. We must be willing to rough it with Him, no matter where He leads us, to get down into the trenches and sacrifice with Him.
For indeed, sacrifice is required but it’s worth it for we can and will help others to find and follow Jesus their Savior as we look forward to the day when we share eternal life with Him forever, a privilege we have only because of His sacrifice.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Friends, the decision to follow Jesus is not to be made lightly. We must be sure of what we’re signing up for. For a decision to serve in Jesus’ army means we are committing ourselves to a lifelong enlistment, one that will take us onto the battlefield and into harm’s way for his sake and cause. We must be willing to rough it with Him, no matter where He leads us, to get down into the trenches and sacrifice with Him.
For indeed, sacrifice is required but it’s worth it for we can and will help others to find and follow Jesus their Savior as we look forward to the day when we share eternal life with Him forever, a privilege we have only because of His sacrifice.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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