Sermon Notes - Cost

Bible Passage: Mk 10:35-40

Key idea – On a number of occasions, Jesus predicted that opposition and persecution should be expected by His followers. Modern Western nations, built on Christian values and teaching, have become used to a lack of opposition. But that is not the case in many countries around the world today - their experience is what Jesus predicted.

Palm Sunday, we like the crowd praise Jesus for his triumphant entry. He is the king.

But he knows this moment won't last, and a cost is coming.

Today, in modern Western society, the cost of following Jesus, especially in the last decade, has been people burning out or being knocked out by moral failures.

But that has to do more with a lack of sabbath rest and is a different sermon.

Today, we are looking at the physical cost, relational cost and life-changing cost of Following Jesus that many around the world experience.

If I am honest, I do not have much experience in that area, and so I am going to refer to stories of those who have and be just as challenged as you in their testimony of faith.

Karl, the author of this series

o Had the privilege of travelling overseas to meet with and support Christian brothers and sisters

o One time in Asia, he was going through certain parts of the city laying on the floor of the car so as not to be seen by others

§ And then meeting with brothers and sisters in Christ in small, secretive locations

§ These followers of Christ had already been, and continue to face, significant persecution simply because they follow Jesus and want others to know about Him

o On that same trip, Karl got quite sick

§ And at the end of the trip, he was taken to an airport by a few of his friends who were working in that region

§ And almost without thinking, they got me settled in the airport and then started praying for me before my flight home

§ Then, about halfway through their prayer, they realised where they were in an airport with guards and cameras

§ They stopped and realised that they could get in trouble for what they were doing, but thought they’d already started, so might as well finish

§ And in that instance, they got away with doing that

· I was at the airport this week, and we know that we

o don’t feel in fear for our safety or security for being a Christian

o we don’t have to worry that somebody will read over our shoulder what we are doing and report us to the authorities

§ And that if we were found out, we would subsequently be arrested and spend time in prison, like Karl’s friends did when they prayed for him

· Talking about ‘the cost’ of following Jesus for many of us feels real, but very different from that of many people around the world

o Yes, some people have suffered at work by being outspoken about their faith

o And yes, in some ways, Christians face a level of resistance and ridicule

o And maybe for some, their family doesn’t like their newfound faith

o But it seems to me very different from what Christians in other parts of the world face

· So, what I’m about to share just seems so ‘unfamiliar’ to many of us

o It almost doesn’t feel real because our experience struggles to relate to the reality of what many followers of Jesus face around the globe

o The organisation Open Doors[1]tells us that in 2023…

§ More than 365 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith

§ 1 in 7 Christians are persecuted worldwide

§ 1 in 5 Christians are persecuted in Africa

§ 2 in 5 Christians are persecuted in Asia

§ 14,766 churches and Christian properties attacked

§ 4998, or 13 Christians per day, were killed for their faith

· Just let that sink in for a moment

o 13 brothers and sisters in Christ were killed every day for their faith in 2023

§ A little over 1 person every 2 hours

· The reading we have heard today tells us that there is a ‘cost’ to following Jesus

o And we are told that ‘cost’ will involve suffering

§ Now, whether it is the kind of suffering that Open Doors looks at

§ Or whether it is the kind of ‘suffering’ that you and I face in our setting

· Jesus tells us that this is the cost of following Him

· Let’s consider a little bit of information about our Bible reading where the two disciples, James and John, talk with Jesus about getting the ‘good seats’ from Lynn Cohick

o “It's significant that Jesus in this story is heading up to Jerusalem. He is emphasising to His disciples that He's going to face death, and it's not an easy death that He will be persecuted and He will face a shameful death, and that He will rise again on the third day. And that does not seem to really sink in. The disciples are not are not catching it. James and John wanted to be the most important. And they asked that by saying, can we sit on your right and left? That's code for can we be the most important of your leaders, you know, of your cabinet, to use a more modern analogy. With this, we see that the disciples, not just James and John, because when the other disciples hear this, they're quite offended, not because they think James and John have misunderstood the kingdom. No, they are upset that James and John tried to get a jump on them. They all wanted to sit in these seats of honour.”

· So how does this idea of the cost of following Jesus come about in this passage?

o And what can that mean for us today?

A request that causes division

Suffering will come in this world

We have a hope that is bigger than suffering

In light of this Sunday, Palm Sunday, this encounter with Jesus is framed by Mark happening just before Jesus entry to Jerusalem.

A request that causes division

o Most of us have seen ‘in-fighting’ within a group we have either known about or learned about

§ It may be in a sporting team, a bank, a family, or, unfortunately, even a church

o There is an episode of a TV show where one of the characters is caught up in a fire in a unit

§ And instead of helping others

§ He basically runs over the top of children and elderly people in an attempt to make sure that he gets out safely at the expense of all others

· Well, in this passage, two brothers make a request of Jesus that causes ‘in-fighting’ within the group

o We read this request in Mk 10:35-37, and the disciples response in v41

· James and John want positions of prestige and power

o Yet Jesus, in this passage and elsewhere, makes it clear that this is not how His Kingdom works

o In Jesus’ Kingdom

§ The first are last and last are first (Mt 20:16; Mk 10:31; Lk 13:30)

§ Jesus came to serve, not be served (Mk 10:45; Mt 20:28)

§ Jesus didn’t use his position for advantage but made himself nothing (Phil 2:5-11)

o And in all of these passages and more, He calls us to do the same

· Jesus’ Kingdom is sometimes called the upside-down kingdom

o Because it is often the reverse of how the world operates

§ Which means we really need to work hard to live Jesus’ way rather than the worlds

· We can read James and John's request and be in danger of thinking

o Thank God I’m not like them

· But the reality is that we can be much more like them than we realise

o We can easily want positions of prestige

o We can easily want positions of power

§ Because the world around us can more easily get into our hearts and minds than we may give it credit for

Suffering will come in this world

As some of you would know, I am not a coffee drinker, milo and Hot chocolate, or I drink tea to be sociable if they are on offer.

But not coffee.

But I can think of one or two times someone has served me a coffee by accident or forgot I don’t like it.

And I do not want to offend someone who has gone to the effort of making or retrieving for me the drink.

So, I take a sip or 2 not to offend, but knowing I won't like it.

· Well, in some way, that is what Jesus is saying here to James and John

o And by extension

§ To all of us

· Jesus reminds James and John that a cup of suffering awaits, and you must drink it

o ‘You will drink the cup I drink’ (Mk 10:39)

§ Not maybe drink the cup…but will drink the cup

· So in one sense, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when suffering and hardships come to us

o Think of what is written

1 Peter 4:12–13 NIV

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

· The cost of opposition and suffering is very painful and difficult

o And we are not saying that they aren’t at times ‘gut-wrenching’

o And they are particularly painful when they come from the people you may least expect to bring that into your life

· But suffering will come to us in this world

o It may be direct

o It may be indirect

o It may come out of nowhere

o It may cost you a promotion or friendships

o It costs some their inheritance or even their life

o It may even come from those you least expect it from

· Again

o Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you (1 Peter 4:12)

· And just to back up what the bible is saying on this, listen to the following…

James 1:2–4 NIV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Paul writes when boasting about the glory of God for our Hope

Romans 5:3–5 NIV

Not only that, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

3. Testimony time

· Testimony from the series

o We are going to watch one small part from the coming weeks episode about how one of the guests, Joseph Wario Guyo, bore a cost for following Jesus

§ “(Karl… What was your families response when you decided to follow Jesus?)... Since I believe in Jesus I faced lots of challenges…I started going to church while hiding my faith from my parents but one day my father see a cross that I put in my neck. He asked me boy even you ,you have converted to Christian? Just before me he told my brother who converted to Christian to go from his house. He told me too that we can't stay together. He called the sheikhs and asked and told them even this boy from the look he will be Christian. What can I do to him? The sheikh visited me and told me that if I will be Christian I don't have any inheritance from my father just like my brother so they ask me to convert to my original religion Muslim. I told them it is now impossible to be back to Muslim. So my father took away the land he has given me and all things that he has given me before, he even chased me from the villages. He told me he cannot pay school fees and buy books for me until I will be back to his religion…I was hated facing lots of challenges I never turn away from Jesus Christ knowing even if hated by people, Christ loved me.”

· But we also want to champion what God is doing in our local congregation

We have a hope that is bigger than suffering

o SM Lockridge (pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego from 1953 to 1993)

o He had a few famous sermons

o And one of them was about seeing the hope that is coming despite the suffering you are currently facing

o We won’t read all of it here, but in it he says things like…

§ It’s Friday

Jesus is praying

Peter’s a sleeping

Judas is betraying

But Sunday’s comin’

§ It’s Friday The disciples are running Like sheep without a shepherd Mary’s crying Peter is denying But they don’t know That Sunday’s a comin’

§ It’s Friday The world’s winning People are sinning And evil’s grinning

§ It’s Friday But let me tell you something Sunday’s comin’

§ But it’s Friday It is only Friday Sunday is a comin’![2]

· The Scriptures remind us that this world does not last forever

o And that suffering and persecution, amongst many other painful and sinful things, will stop

§ For whilst it can be bleak now (i.e. Friday), the day of resurrection (i.e. Sunday) is coming

· In John 14 we see Jesus comforting the disciples

o And He reminds them that there is a world beyond this one

John 14:1–3 NIV

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

· Or ponder this promise of what is awaiting…

Revelation 21:3–4 NIV

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

· The danger is that many of us are looking for the ‘safe’ alternatives for life and faith

o In C.S Lewis ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ there is a place called Narnia

o Narnia is described as a place that is winter with no Christmas

§ Don’t forget this book was written in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is cold in winter

o Well, Narnia is described as a place of continual winter where there is no Christmas

§ One could say a pretty bleak place

o Well, one day the snow starts to thaw, spring is on its way

o And in the story, Lucy asks what is happening

o The reply is that Aslan is on the move

o Aslan, who is Aslan?       

§ Well, Aslan, for those of you who know the story, is a lion, and in the story, Aslan is the Christ figure

o Lucy then asks, is he, the lion, safe?

o Safe, he is a lion, have you ever met a safe lion?

o Of course, Aslan is not safe, is the reply - he is a lion

o But the reply continues, but he is good

· Sometimes we want Jesus to be our ‘safe’ option

o One who keeps troubles at bay and makes our life safe and secure

§ Yet to use the words of C.S Lewis

· He is not safe…But he is good

· Dorothy Sayers once wrote

o That we have “very efficiently pared (trimmed) the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.”[3]

· Jesus isn’t the safe option

o He is the right and good option

o But He isn’t about making our life safe and without cost

· Time of reflection/response

§ What is at least one thing that God seemed to say to me today?

§ What will I do with what I have heard?

Pray