Discipleship – under the sign of the cross
Series: Follow me | Bible text: Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23
Following Jesus Christ costs me everything – even my life. Following him has a price. I can only decide in favour or against it, there is no middle ground. However, this decision is always voluntary. The price of following Jesus means that Jesus Christ should be the most important thing for me. The goal of Jesus» call to discipleship is not self-denial or carrying the cross, but the willingness to follow him.
Succession costs me everything
Followers of Jesus say that he is the most important thing they have. Everything else must take a back seat. Because they follow him. But this following has its price. This can vary. But it can cost me my reputation with my friends. It can result in a different and less selfish use of my resources. I may face hostility from various sides or it may even cost me my life. This raises the fundamental question: «Am I ready to entrust everything to Jesus?» Jesus was travelling one day and invites people to follow him. However, this invitation is certainly different to how we would invite someone to become a Christian follower. After all, we don’t want to put anyone off. Jesus said: «But don’t come until you’ve calculated the costs. For who wüwould start building a house without first analysing the costs. üWould it be better to break the bank and check whether there is enough money to pay all the bills? Otherwise he might finish the foundation and then run out of money. How wüEveryone would laugh at him! They wouldürden say: «That’s the one who started building a house and then didn’t have enough money to finish it!» […] In the same way, no-one can take my Jübe more comfortable withoutüto give up on me» (Luke 14:28–33 NLB). If you want to follow Jesus, you have to give up everything. His family (Matthew 10:35–40), his safe home, social obligations and closest relationships (Luke 9:57–62) and even his own life (Mark 8:34). People often come up against precisely such biblical passages because they have to give something up in order to follow Jesus. Nevertheless, many want to participate, but without the costs. So to speak «dr Füüfer und z’Weggli». Following Jesus is voluntary. Nobody has to follow Jesus. Hopefully nobody forces you to. So nobody can talk their way out of it and say, I want to follow, but I don’t want to pay the price. Because the price is fixed. It is therefore important to weigh things up carefully beforehand.
Following Jesus costs me everything. «Then he said to the crowd: «If one of you wants to walk with me, he must deny himself, take up his cross anew every day and follow me» » (Luke 9:23 NLB). People in Western civilisation basically want to spend an eternity in God’s presence. In other words, they would like to end up in heaven. But nobody wants to pay anything for it. But following Jesus costs me everything so that I can gain everything. «For whoever tries to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake and for the sake of the good news will save it. What nüDoes it do a person any good if he gains the whole world but loses his soul in the process? Is there anything more valuable than the soul? If a man is ashamed of me or my message in this unfaithful and sinful time, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes with the holy angels in the glory of his Father» (Mark 8:35–38 NLB). Everything is connected to the forgiveness that comes to the followers of Jesus. Every person has a debt to God in the billions, which they can never pay on their own. But Jesus Christ comes and pays this debt for me. This debt would bring me eternal remoteness from God. But Jesus has paid! As a result, I have access to eternal closeness with God. The paradox is that I have to die in order to live. We like to avoid such biblical passages. Even me personally. I had finished the sermon for today so far that all I had to do was write it out. But I didn’t have a good feeling. So I rewrote everything. Because on the one hand I didn’t want to water it down and on the other hand I didn’t want to paint a dark picture. Back to the Bible passage again. The Greek word for soul is «psyche». The German word Psyche means the totality of all mental characteristics and personality traits of a person. The Greek «psyche» means more than this. It means the whole person. A person does not have, but is «psyche». The decision in favour of or against Jesus is made here on earth and is decided in and by my life. Not by a theology, nor by good deeds, but by my commitment to Jesus Christ in word and deed.
What is the price of succession?
So what exactly is the price of discipleship? In the Gospel of Mark, the call to discipleship is given as follows. «Then he called his disciples and the crowd to him: «If anyone would come after me,» he said, «he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me» » (Mark 8:34 NLB). The price includes three things. Firstly, as already mentioned, it is something voluntary, which we have already touched on in the cost consideration. Discipleship is absolutely voluntary, but if someone wants to follow, the cost is the next two points.
The second price of discipleship is self-denial. I am called upon to let my own desires and needs die, and this is not about a pathological self-denial. This would be, for example, if you lived ascetically out of compulsion and no longer allowed yourself anything because Jesus is supposed to be the most important thing. This would basically be selfish again and my performance of non-performance would take centre stage. Self-denial also means that I put my own ideas about Jesus to one side. Jesus once had the following conversation with his disciples: «Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and travelled up to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, «Who do people think I am?ür John the Täshore’they replied, «other für Elijah, and still others say you are one of the other prophets.» Then Jesus asked: «And füWho do you think I am?» Peter replied: «You are the Christ. But Jesus told them not to tell anyone about him.ächoose» (Mark 8:27–30 NLB). Peter makes a confession here. The people had different ideas about who exactly Jesus was. But Peter made the right statement. He said that Jesus is the Christ – the Anointed One. In other words, the Saviour that the Israelites were so eagerly waiting for.
The third prize is taking up the cross. Peter’s confession had the right label, but the content was wrong. He assumed that Jesus, as the Christ, would establish an earthly kingdom through power and superiority. But Jesus corrected this view. Jesus is the one who can pay the debt of billions of people. He is the Saviour from guilt. But in a different way than they could ever imagine. «Then Jesus spoke to them for the first time about how the Son of Man would have to suffer many bad things and would be rejected by the leaders of the people, the chief priests and the scribes; he would be killed and rise again three days later. However, when he was so open with his Jüngers representüPeter took him aside and said to himäHe urged him not to speak like that. Jesus turned round, looked at his disciples andüHe attacked him and rebuked Peter sharply: «Away from me, Satan! You only look at everything from a human perspective and not from God’s perspective» » (Mark 8:31–33 NLB). Jesus himself carried the cross. This was unimaginable for his followers. They had a different mindset. So Peter rebuked Jesus. But then Jesus rebuked him. The saying does not mean that Peter is Satan, but that the thought is. This rebuke is immediately followed by the call to deny himself and to carry the cross. Jesus makes it clear: the self must die. Because only Jesus is able to pay for the billion-dollar debt of every single person. The cross is an image of humiliation and suffering that a follower takes upon himself. In doing so, however, he is only following the example of Jesus Christ. Carrying my own cross means that I have to discard false ideas about Jesus. He is not the one who fulfils my wishes, but the one who pays my debt!
However, the aim of the call to discipleship is not self-denial or carrying a cross. The goal is the willingness to follow Jesus. And to do so constantly and always. In the Gospel of Luke, the call is repeated with the addition «every day anew» (Luke 9:23). It is a daily decision to put Jesus first.
Life under the sign of the cross – life in dependence on God
A life under the sign of the cross is a life of dependence on God. The price of discipleship can be overwhelming. But the price of not following is much greater. What does discipleship under the sign of the cross look like? Letting go leads to growing dependence on Jesus Christ and his will. This is not about a loss of personality. I remain myself. But it is about a change of dominion away from self-determination towards dependence on Jesus. The danger of this call is that people try to pay this debt themselves by denying themselves and carrying the cross. «Or do you not know that we died with Jesus Christ when we were baptised in his name? For through baptism we died and were buried with Christ. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, so we too can now live a new life» (Romans 6:3–4 NLB). Baptism makes it clear that it is not man himself. Dying happens with Jesus and resurrection happens through the power of God. This same power enables us to lead a life that constantly and always follows God. There are various ways to put Jesus first. I would like to briefly outline two areas in which we as a family try to practise «Jesus first». These are two areas where I always want to be myself. I consciously try to entrust these to God. On the one hand, finances, and on the other hand, my occupation with the Bible.
The message of the Bible has the following purpose: «The disciples saw Jesus perform many other miracles that are not recorded in this book. But these were written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you may have eternal life in his name» (John 20:30–31 NLB). What was written down in the Bible serves us to believe.
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Mark 8:34–38
- What is your spontaneous reaction to Mark 8:34? What does this verse trigger in you?
- In which area do you find it particularly difficult to put God first?
- Who is Jesus for you? Is Jesus more the Saviour or the wish-fulfiller for you? Why have you come to this conclusion?
- Do you live your life «under the sign of the cross?»
- How could you practically practise your dependence on Jesus in your current life issue in everyday life?
