Many people expect their lives to be easy after they give their lives to Christ. They hope that their lives will be void of hardship, pain, and heartache. This is simply not true. Throughout His ministry, Jesus made it clear that following Him requires sacrifice. It requires giving up the things of this world in order to be faithful followers. He also taught that sacrificing in order to follow Him will always be worth it.
This week, we have been studying an interaction that Jesus had with a wealthy man in Mark 10. In this passage of Scripture, the wealthy man asked Jesus an important question, ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life” (verse 17). As it became clear that this man believed his good deeds would allow him to inherit eternal life, Jesus told him, “There is still one thing you haven’t done… Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor… Then come, follow me” (verse 21). Jesus’ call to follow Him came with a call to sacrifice. Jesus was calling this man to give up all of his possessions in order to follow Him. Jesus knew that this man could not fully follow Him and hold on to his possessions, so He called him to sacrifice what was likely most important to him. Mark tells us that this man "went away sad, for he had many possessions" (verse 22). His possessions possessed him, and he was unwilling to let go of them for something infinitely greater: eternal life with Jesus.
Jesus' call to follow Him has always been a call to sacrifice. Matthew 16 records a time when He said to His disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me” (verse 24). Today's readers might not understand the gravity of Jesus's statement, but His disciples certainly did. You see, in Jesus' day, the standard form of punishment for those who committed high crimes was crucifixion. Criminals and murderers would have to carry their cross all the way to the place where they would be crucified. When Jesus called His disciples to carry their crosses, He was calling them to give up their very lives.
It is clear that following Christ requires sacrifice. In fact, some people, like some of Jesus’ disciples, sacrifice their very lives in order to fully follow Him. Sometimes, following Christ means giving up relationships or popularity. One thing is sure, however: Jesus is worth giving up everything for. You see, the promise He made in Matthew 16:25 still rings true today: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
Is there something keeping you from fully following Christ today? It could be an unhealthy relationship, a sin that you know you need to let go of, or people-pleasing tendencies. Whatever it is, confess to God today anything keeping you from fully following Him. Ask Him to help you let go of that thing and fully follow Him.
One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! 4 Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.
5 Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? 9 Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? 10 Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? 11 Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”
12 Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.
22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. 28 And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
