The Cost of Discipleship

Matthew 16:24–25 ESV

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Intro

Some people look at a scripture like this and feel it is an extreme invitation of Jesus. It is similar to what Jesus says in Luke 14:26

Luke 14:26 ESV

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

It seems as though Jesus is being rather harsh and demanding way to much. He uses such strong language like the word “Hate”. Some of you are probably thinking to yourself: “I thought Jesus was all about love?”. You are correct he is simply using extreme examples to make a point. The point is that Jesus needs to be the highest priority in your life if you really want to follow him and be his disciple. You cannot love anything more than you love him. You must love Jesus the most.

We can’t have full access to Jesus if he does not have full access to us.

Jesus is giving his followers a call to give themselves over to him, to completely dedicate themselves to following him.

Denying Yourself

If we are not willing and able to set aside our own desires and deny ourselves the very things we hold dearly in our flesh, we cannot follow Jesus. Does this mean you will have to sacrifice some dreams and goals? Does this mean you can’t just live your life how you want? Does this mean you have to obey him in every way? The answer is Yes.

Following Jesus has a cost. This is offensive to many people. How dare Jesus ask you to give up so much? Can I enlighten you today that everything in your life has a cost. Any time you say “yes” to something it will cost you a “no” to something else. You get to chose the cost and the price you pay and what you pay it for. In our daily life, working for financial security has a cost, but so does being in poverty. Being fit and healthy has a cost and a price you have to pay, but so does being out of shape and unhealthy. Having a family that loves one another with healthy relationship has a cost, but so does having a broken family. You get to choose the cost, what you pay and where you pay it to.

Taking up your cross

The reality of being a follower of Christ means that you will have to carry your own cross. The cross represents: suffering (facing life’s challenges), death (dying to your old self), Humility, Obedience, Endurance, Faithfulness, love and sacrifice. The cross represents so much. If we cannot embrace these things we cannot be a disciple of Christ (Luke 14:27). If the command is to deny ourselves then the method in how we do that is through carrying the cross. Many are quick to wear it as a necklace or on a t-shirt like an advertisement for a brand they support, but do not carry it as calling for their life. Luke’s gospel says it must be taken up “daily”. Being a disciple of Christ is a daily commitment. It is not a one time event, it is a lifetime of carrying all that the cross represents.

Carrying the cross keeps you reliant on Jesus. I am reminded that a man named Simon was pulled to help Jesus carry his cross. You see the journey was long a difficult and the cross was heavy. Jesus was to beaten down to be able to bear it on his own. I believe that just like Simon was needed to help Jesus then, Jesus is needed to help us now. We can’t carry these things on our own. We will fall down, wear out and fail. But we have friend who sticks closer than a brother who comes along side us to take this weight and help us along this journey. We don’t have to carry it all. Christ gives us the strength we need to move forward.

Follow me

Jesus gives them a further direction that you can’t just carry your cross around. Instead he gives a call to follow him. Because when you make this commitment you are not just going to wander aimlessly but Christ is going to take you somewhere. He is leading you towards a goal and calling. You don’t carry the cross for nothing. He is leading us to be like him. Jesus is the end goal. He is the author an finisher of our faith.

Finding your life

It is one thing to deny ourself and carry the cross but if we cast off the old life, we must replace it with the new one. You will pay a price to be his disciple. To become more like him. It will be difficult at times and challenge you. It will cost you time, effort, sacrifice, pride and more. But on the other end of it ultimately, it will cost you your old life. It will cost you your addiction. It will cost you your depression. It will cost you your bitterness. It will cost you things that you didn’t even know you held on to so dearly.

He is asking us to lay down our life as we know it so that he can give a new life of fulfillment and purpose. A major lie that many of us fall into is that we believe our life is ours and we belong to ourselves. Friends, we were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20) salvation means that our life has been purchased from the slavery of sin with the blood of Christ. We belong to him now. We once lived a life belonging to satan, now we live a life belonging to the Lord. We thought our old life was a life, but rather only a path of destruction.

John 10:10 ESV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.