The past few weeks following Easter we have been studying in Luke chapter 24 and John chapters 20 and 21 on how Jesus’ death and resurrection affected the disciples of Jesus and their actions. Primarily, because they were followers of Jesus, in their minds, they were going to be next to be arrested and put to death by the Jewish leaders. John 20:19, “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the dis- ciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews…”
John 20:26, “A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked…”
This period of trial and testing of their faith was an important time of learning of who Jesus was. It also challenged their commitment as disci- ples of Jesus in two basic ways. They needed to realize to what extent were they willing to be known by others as followers of Jesus, but it was also necessary for each one of them to discover the true extent of their personal commitment to the One whom they decided to follow. It was easy to be a follower of Jesus when He was popular. Imagine how they felt to be associated with Jesus at His triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, when the multitudes were shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10 “Blessed is the coming king- dom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!”, Mark 11:9-10. But now just after His death and resurrection John tells us, “On the eve- ning of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews…”, John 20:19.
Some incorrectly criticize the disciples during this period of time, citing that they were so discouraged and defeated about all that happened concerning Jesus’ death, that they reverted to their former way of life be- fore they chose to become a follower of Jesus, that is why they are found fishing. “21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Ze- bedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. John 21:1-3. This assumption is incorrect. The four apostles and their three companions did not return to Galilee because they had given up on being followers of Jesus or because they were afraid of the Jewish reli- gious leaders, they were there because this is where Jesus wanted them to be. Jesus had told them the last night He was with them at the last sup- per. “But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” Matthew 26:32 NLT. Mathew also makes this very clear the day of Jesus’ resurrection, note what is un- derlined. “7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Sud- denly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:7-10.
If these followers had given up on having anything to do with Je- sus, they would not have followed His instructions to meet Him in Galilee.
Why were these disciples so committed to follow Jesus, to be where He told them to be to be, to be with Him? Didn’t they realize, no matter where they were that many would know that they were followers of Jesus? In the days and weeks after Jesus’ death and resurrection it is obvi- ous that the disciples demonstrated what they had learned about the per- sonal sacrifice and commitment to be a follower of Jesus.
Jesus, about one year before His death and resurrection, told His disciples what He required of them if they were going to be His followers.
Mark 8:34-38 NLT
“34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”.
The first point we see is in verse 34a, “If any of you wants to be my follower…”. We must always remember; it is our decision to be a follower of Jesus but it is always on His terms not ours.
The main or foundational point of all that Jesus tells us is, “…you must turn from your selfish ways…”, or as other versions tells us we “deny” ourselves. But what does Jesus mean by this statement? It is im- portant to note the question, it did not ask, “what does that mean to you?”, that would leave our answer to our interpretation which is limited to our understanding and application of Jesus’ words. Our answer would also be subject to our own textual interpolation, which is the insertion of a meaning of a different nature into the original statement. Our answer would be based on our limited knowledge of God’s word and our lacking experience of knowing who Jesus is, in other words our spiritual immaturity.
We always should first go to the Word of God to give us an under- standing to what is said in the Word of God. In this context as Jesus con- tinues, He explains to us in the following verses what He means by “…he must deny himself…”.
Warren Wiersbe in his commentary gives us the following insight about our text.
Jesus laid down three conditions for true discipleship: (1) we must surrender ourselves completely to Him, ver. 34a; (2) we must identity with Him in suffering and death, ver. 34b and (3) we must follow Him obediently, wherever He leads, ver. 34c. If we live for ourselves, we will lose ourselves, ver. 35a, but if we lose ourselves for His sake and the Gospel’s, we will find ourselves, ver. 35b.
Denying self is not the same as self-denial. We practice self-denial when, for a good purpose, we occasionally give up things or activities. But we deny self when we surrender ourselves to Christ and determine to obey His will. This once-for-all dedication is followed by a daily “dying to self’ as we take up the cross and follow Him. From the human point of view, we are losing ourselves, but from the divine perspective, we are finding ourselves. When we live for Christ, we become more like Him, and this brings out our own unique individuality.
But note the motivation for true discipleship: “for me and for the gospel” (Mark 8:35). To lose yourself is not an act of desperation, it is an act of devotion. But we do not stop there: personal devotion should lead to practical duty, the sharing of the Gospel with a lost world. ” for me” could lead to selfish religious isolationism, so it must be balanced with “and the Gospel’s.” Because we live for Him, we live for others.
Pastor John
