Sermon Tone Analysis

“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

For what can a man give in return for his soul?

For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

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Too many church members profess themselves to be a fan of Jesus; too few are followers.

Despite a plethora of “God talk” among church members professing allegiance to the Master, there appears to be little obedience to His commands.

Perhaps this is the natural outgrowth of the unwillingness to make commitments in contemporary society; perhaps it expresses a rebellious spirit that refuses to submit to His reign.

Whatever the reason, it is high time for the professed people of God to follow Him whom they claim to love.

It was demanding to follow the Master in the early days of the Faith; it is no less demanding to follow Him today—if we follow according to His will.

Unlike many who seek to “celebrate Jesus”—whatever the meaning of that phrase—the Master has never lowered the demand for total commitment in order to make following Him more palatable.

Thus, there is a dramatic contrast between the call for discipleship issued among the churches in this day and the call for discipleship Jesus Himself issues.

I fear that many who proclaim the Word seek to create fans of Jesus—people who seek happiness and personal comfort.

The Master seeks followers—people who are committed, courageous and conscientious in service to Him.

In the churches of this day, we sing, “I can hear my Saviour calling, ‘Take thy cross and follow, follow Me’”; but if that involves giving Him reign over our will, we resist.

We sing, “I’ll go with Him through the garden,” and somehow avoid praying either corporately or individually.

We sing, “I’ll go with Him through the judgement,” but we demur if following entails sacrifice.

“All for Jesus!

All for Jesus!” we sing, but we cling tightly to the fiction of our own will.

It is Easter, and though presently the churches of our land appear to be captive to a timidity that marked the disciples following the crucifixion, I could wish that somehow we might recapture the thrill of His conquest of death and the courage that infused disheartened disciples after that first Easter.

The disciples were dispirited, intimidated into silence, cowed by the religious and civil leaders.

Huddled in gloomy enclaves, they silently grieved at His absence.

Some of the women who had followed Him vowed to honour His body by providing the funerary rituals expected in that society.

Talking in hushed whispers, they wondered who would roll back the massive stone—a stone weighing a tonne or more—so they could fulfil their task.

When they arrived at the tomb, they were astonished to see that the stone was rolled back.

Creeping closer, they peered into the dark recess and were startled to see a young man clothed in white sitting on the right side of the tomb.

He calmed their racing hearts, addressing their unspoken question, “Do not be alarmed.

You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.

He has risen; he is not here.

See the place where they laid him.

But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

There you will see him, just as he told you” [MARK 16:6, 7].

Breathless from running all the way from the tomb, the women entered the room where the disciples had hidden themselves.

Intimidated by the threats of religious and civic leaders, the once-bold disciples spoke in hushed tones and sat in gloomy dimness, shielding themselves from prying eyes.

Barely able to speak in their astonishment, the women blurted out that the tomb was empty—the Master was not there!

The announcement couldn’t be absorbed; startled looks painted the faces of the doubting disciples.

Seeming to wake from their astonishment, Peter and John did not wait to hear all that was being said.

Rushing out the door, the two men sprinted through the narrow streets, all the while wondering what this could mean even as they raced toward the tomb.

As the tomb hove into view, it was apparent that the report the women had brought was accurate—the stone was indeed rolled back from the opening.

John hesitated at the entrance to the tomb, stooping to peer into the darkness; but Peter pushed past him and rushed into the tomb.

As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he saw the linen cloths collapsed inward on themselves.

At almost the same time, he noticed the face cloth folded neatly and laid aside as though the Master had wakened after a restful sleep.

Emboldened by Peter’s brash rush into the tomb, John also went in and saw all that Peter had seen.

Though they saw all this and believed, they still could not understand—their minds were overwhelmed by information that defied human understanding.

Something happened to Peter and John, just as something happened to the remainder of the disciples in the days immediately following that day.

Mary Magdalene and a woman identified as “the other Mary”—the mother of James and Joseph [see MATTHEW 27:56; 61]—peered into the empty tomb and met the Risen Master.

They had even fallen at His feet, clasping Him tightly until He commanded them to quit clinging to Him [MATTHEW 28:1-10].

Salome had also been with them; like them, she had heard the angel’s gladsome announcement that He was risen [MARK 16:1-7].

Doctor Luke tells us that Joanna was also with the others at the tomb [LUKE 24:10].

Later, the Risen Master walked with two disciples, one of whom was named Cleopas.

The Lord instructed them concerning His resurrection using the Word, reminding them of truths they had failed to remember or had ignored at earlier times [see MARK 15:12, 13; LUKE 24:13-35].

That same evening, the disciples were gathered in one place, with the exception of Thomas.

Though the door was locked due to their fear of the authorities, suddenly, Jesus was standing in their midst.

Startled doesn’t begin to describe what they experienced.

At that time, the Master commissioned them, blessing and enduing them with His Spirit [see LUKE 24:36-49; JOHN 20:19-23].

Eight days later, Jesus again appeared to them, and this time Thomas was with them.

Jesus, knowing his doubts, invited Thomas to touch his hands and to push his hand into the place where the spear had pierced his body [see JOHN 20:26-29].

In the weeks between His resurrection and His ascension, Jesus appeared to multiple individuals.

Paul recalled His appearances when He encouraged the Corinthian Christians to live in anticipation of the Master’s victory.

The Apostle to the Gentiles wrote these words, “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-10].

Before His Passion, Jesus had many fans.

You will perhaps recall that as He entered Jerusalem, we are informed that the adoring crowds “spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.”

All the while, the crowds that accompanied the Master “were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest” [MATTHEW 21:8, 9].

The crowd was so excited to be in His presence.

When the growing throng entered the city, seeing the carnival atmosphere some people asked what was going on; people in the procession excitedly explained to them, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee” [MATTHEW 21:10].

One cannot read that account without concluding that the crowds were excited just to be in His presence.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus had often been the recipient of the praise of adoring crowds; but He had never committed Himself to them.

He had received wild adulation from idolising mobs; however, He had refused to permit Himself to take such praise seriously.

Having fed a large crowd on one occasion, the people decided to take action.

Because they had witnessed a great miracle, they reasoned, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world” [JOHN 6:14b].

They decided that He was the one promised by Moses.

You may recall that the Lawgiver had written, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen” [DEUTERONOMY 18:15] We might be tempted to imagine that Jesus would be pleased that they wanted to honour Him, giving Him recognition.

However, we read that instead He acted swiftly to stop their attempt to enthrone Him.

“Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself” [JOHN 6:15].

After removing Himself from the situation, the mob sought Him out on the other side of the sea.

When they found Him, He was quite blunt with them.

He responded sharply to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” [JOHN 6:26].

This makes sense when we read something concerning the response of people who had witnessed the signs He provided.

Listen to a portion of an early chapter from this book.

“When [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing.

But Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people, and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man” [JOHN 2:23-25].

Jesus was not prepared to commit Himself to the adoring crowds.

They were fans, not followers.

They were willing to hail Him as the Prophet; but they were focused on what they could obtain and not on the cost of following Him.

Tragically, matters remain at that level even in this day.

Like so many in this day, the crowds were willing to associate with the Master so long as they thought they could get something from Him.

They were willing to worship for what they imagined that He could give; like so many today, they sought the gift and not the Giver.

Jesus never sought fans; He discouraged those who would treat association with Him casually.

We read of some individuals who thought that following Jesus would be great fun.

Here is the account.

“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’

And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’