Sermon Tone Analysis

The Literal Cost of Discipleship:Renouncing All Self-Interests & Desires

A working definition of costly discipleship:

The denial of self-interests and desires, and a total commitment to do the will of God, even to the point of death.

(Dictionary of bible themes)

Have we truly considered the cost of discipleship in Keller TX?

I think we have to a certain extent, maybe some of us have experienced a cost to following Christ in our marriages, vocations, or some other circumstance, and this morning, we want to see how Jesus admonished his followers to count the cost of discipleship, literally.

For the sake of contrast, and seeing a literal cost associated with being in kingdom.

The King would take whatever he willed, and the people had to comply and if they didn’t there was a great cost.

So now, the people in thinking they needed a king to judge them and protect them, are paying a heavy cost; their livelihood, son’s, daughters, whatever the king deemed necessary, they had to give up.

In essence, their self-interests and desires cost them far more than what they estimated, and God warned them of it, and they still said, NO!

Here they were thinking they were saving their lives, but instead, they lost them to the will of the earthly king.

In a way, God’s warning to Israel was essentially, saying, “whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Like he said, they haven’t rejected you, but ME!

So it is with the Church, Jesus is warning those who would follow him to count the cost, realize the implications to our commitment to follow him.

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.

I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.

37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

whoever loves father, mother, son, daughter more than Christ isn’t worthy.

He came to bring a sword, setting man against his own family if the truth calls for it, and we must chose Christ over family.

Thus finding our life because we’re choosing him.

Contextually, as the twelve went out to proclaim the kingdom to the house of Israel.

Jesus was helping his disciples realize the extent of man’s hate towards them on account of him, that they will be persecuted, but not to fear man who may be able to kill the body but not the soul.

Application of text:

Our following Christ should supersede familial devotion.

Practically speaking, if God’s will calls us to a particular task or decision, we must obey even at the expense of familial comforts.

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!

This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!

You are a hindrance to me.

For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

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.

16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!

This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!

You are a hindrance to me.

For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

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.

Jesus calls Peter blessed because God the Father revealed that Jesus was the Christ, and declares that Peter will indeed be a master builder of Christ’s church, and that hell it itself will not prevail against it, and that the keys of the kingdom were his.

And declared he’d have the power of God; the power to bind and loose, bringing the kingdom down to earth.

What a moment for Peter!!!!

As soon as Jesus began to unfold how the kingdom would come, through his suffering, Peter rebukes Jesus for suggesting The Christ would suffer, but Jesus counter’s Peter’s rebuke, calling him Satan, a hinderance, for setting his mind on the things of man vs. God.

“With a sharp rebuke, Jesus confronts Peter’s misunderstanding of the Messiah’s ultimate mission.

Peter’s implicit desires align better with Satan’s aims (to convince Jesus to avoid suffering and death; 4:1–11) than with God’s plan (the cross)” Faithlife Study Bible .

Peter knew the king, but didn’t understand how the kingdom would come in power and have dominion.

Application of the text:

The cost of discipleship in this context is realizing our propensity to know the king, but lose sight of the work of the kingdom, keeping our minds on God and not on man or the world.

There are two texts in Mark and Luke - Speak to below

This is a shorter account of , but it doesn’t have Jesus declaring Peter as the rock on which he would build his church, and the power given to him.

This is also a shorter account of , but it doesn’t have Peter as the rock or the rebuke of Jesus.

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 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.

27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

After Jesus’ parables to the pharisees on humility, he addresses the crowds that were following him, and discusses the cost of following him.

He isn’t saying to literally hate one’s family, but rather, he’s being hyperbolic to make his point about devotion, Jesus must supersede one’s devotion even to his family.

Jesus and His kingdom must be first in one’s life.

Counting the cost, is a literal consideration, even in Jesus’ examples, those are literal costs.

In using those literal examples to demonstrate the extent of the cost, he further addresses the cost by calling those who would follow him to “renounce” all that one has.

ἀποτάσσω / apotasso - to give up or renounce interest in in something, and Jesus says to give up interest in all that one has, ridding ourselves of anything that prevents a total commitment to God’s kingdom.

In comparison to renouncing in the greek, the opposite is happening in the context of one following after Jesus, Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In other words, the call to discipleship takes precedence over all other work.

Application of the text:

A true disciple of Jesus is a follower and not just merely a believer.

Following Jesus requires obedience where mere belief doesn’t.

Group Discussion Questions:

Jesus called one of his closest disciples, Satan.

Circumstantially, is there anything in your life where Christ might rebuke you like he did Peter, where your thinking is worldly or on the things of man verses God and his kingdom?

In counting the Cost, is there anything in your family context where you need to die daily, your interests and desires?

Is there anything in your family context that needs to be discipled towards God than man or worldly comforts?