What does it mean to follow Jesus?

Introduction

If you could ask Jesus Christ any question, what would it be? For the teenagers and pre-teens it might be: what will happen after high school, will I go to college or get a job right away. Who will be my future spouse, or where will I live. For others it might be, what will my life look like in 10, 15, 20 years. Some may ask, how much longer will I live, what will my death look like. If you could ask Jesus one question, or ask him one request, what would it be?

Jesus is entering the end of his earthly ministry, and in so doing he is teaching his disciples, the essence of discipleship. A disciple is a learner! Many of us probably have already filled in the blank in our mind of what it means to be a learner of Jesus Christ. For some it means that we spend time in personal study. We read, we listen to podcasts on theology, we watch youtube videos. We think that since we are consuming content, that we are being discipled. For others it means doing. Those people that spend some much time reading and talking about theology aren’t really making a difference in the world. I am going to do help people. I am going to find ways to seek to be a blessing. For others, it means trying to be still and connect with God through prayer, silence, and solitude.

The question we need to ask Jesus is what does it look like to be your disciple.

So what does it meant to a be learner of Jesus Christ.

A disciple follows Jesus

This is literally going on in this account. Jesus has predicted his death twice already and he is doing it a third time. They are heading on their way up to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is set on a hill and Jesus has already talked to them about his impending death. In Jesus’ passion prediction, Mark 9:32, they were afraid. What Jesus is going to go through is the source of their fear. they are following him, but they are lagging behind.

The Gospel according to Mark (The Third Passion Prediction (10:32–34))

Despite the grave ascent, Jesus is not lagging behind like a prisoner going to the gallows, but “leading the way,” like Isaiah’s servant of the Lord who “set [his] face like flint” (Isa 50:7). How revealing of Jesus’ self-understanding and how instructive for discipleship that he displays his prominence in humility and willingness to suffer. Nowhere else in Mark, notes Eduard Schweizer, does Mark speak of Jesus leading the way, except in the prophecies of 14:28 and 16:7. “Here he is the Master who goes before his disciples, whose responsibility it is to follow him.” When it comes to humility and suffering, Jesus does not only teach: he leads the way.

Jesus could have said, I’m going alone. I don’t need you. I’ve got this. But he doesn’t. Instead he leads the way and he expects his disciples to follow him. Jesus leads, the followers lag.

How often is that the case with us? We drag our feet following the path Jesus lays out.

Jesus clearly lays out what is going to happen to him. It is an all out assault.

1. The son of man will be delivered. All you grammarians out there, this is what is called a passive. This is God’s work on our behalf. Romans 8:32. Jesus is fully human, but he is also fully divine. He had the power to stop it. Instead, he willing allows himself to be handed over, knowing full well that it was going to cost him his life.

2. He would sentenced by his own people.

3. Die at the hands of the Gentiles

4. rise again.

This last part changes everything. If Jesus does not rise from the dead, then we are still in our sins and all we have is a dead prophet.

Jesus discloses to his followers again what it means to follow him. It really means that we as followers of Christ need to take up our cross and follow him. So a disciple is willing to follow Jesus wherever he is leading us.

A Disciple finds greatness in serving

Talk about a lack of relational wisdom and people skills. Jesus has just told his disciples that he is going tortured, humiliated, mocked, and killed. They don’t know how to read the room do they? Not only is it a ridiculous request, their timing couldn’t be any worse. Yeah Jesus, about that whole dying thing, we want you to do whatever we ask of you. And it appears they are asking it in front of the other disciples as well. So they clearly have little regard for the situation. They are only thinking about themselves in the moment.

The wrong Way

Clearly, they don’t understand what Jesus is getting at, or what Jesus is doing. They don’t understand what the kingdom of God is all about. They are still thinking that Jesus is going to the king that they were expecting . The type of king who would raise up a great army and restore Israel to power and prominence. That Israel would return to being a great nation. That the Roman occupation would end. If Jesus were to be a great king like David, surely he would be willing to offer positions of power to his faithful followers. Surely he would be looking for some men who would be able to assist Jesus in helping rule. This is the impulse behind their request.

We ask the same questions too don’t we? Jesus if I do this for you will help me out. I’ve been guilty of this in the past. I remember thinking that if I gave a ridiculous amount of money to one of my former churches, then God would bless me financially. If I gave sacrificially, if I trusted God with my money, he would reward me with more. I was doing the same thing that James and John are doing. I was positioning myself to try to be get Jesus to do whatever I ask of him.

The amazing part is that he graciously engages them.

Picture it. You are hiking in traveling toward Jerusalem, your teacher has just laid out some pretty serious stuff, and you have these guys who are politicing for power. I’m surprised Peter doesn’t just speak up and let loose on them. But Jesus engages them.

The Way

Jesus pokes a serious hole in their request. You don’t have any clue what you are asking.

The cup is used in different ways in Scripture. Sometimes it is referred to as the cup of blessing. But it is also referred to the cup of the God’s wrath. This is hwat it means here.

Mark Additional Notes §19

The cup here represents the sufferings Jesus will undergo. In the OT the cup of wine is a frequent image for the wrath and judgment of God upon sinful people, e.g., Ps. 75:8; Isa. 51:17–22; Jer. 25:15–28; 49:12; 51:7; Lam. 4:21; Ezek. 23:31–34. The image of a cup (in the Hebrew) is also used to symbolize one’s lot in life (Pss. 11:6; 16:5) or God’s salvation (Ps. 116:13), but it is probably Jesus’ way of referring to his coming sufferings (cf. 14:36), perhaps implying that he sees them as coming from God, though on behalf of others.

The baptism

The Gospel according to Mark Self-Serving Sons of Zebedee and Self-Sacrificing Son of Man (10:35–45)

Baptism” expresses Jesus’ solidarity with sinners and his willingness to bear their judgment before God. The cardinal point of v. 38 is that Jesus’ question (“ ‘Can you drink the cup …?’ ”) requires a negative answer: despite their claim, the disciples cannot drink the cup and undergo the fate that only Jesus must undergo

Their response is…yes Jesus. We are your followers. Of course we can drink the cup and undergo the baptism. We are there with you, not a problem.

Jesus will explain later on what he means by drinking by the cup and baptism, but he does tell them that you too will drink the cup and will be baptized. In other words, Jesus is telling them that they too would suffer. Though we have no record of John begin Martyred, there is no doubt that he suffered. And James did die a Martyrs death. To follow Jesus is not glamorous. It does not promise a life free from suffering, a life free from pain, a life free from being persecuted. And lest we think that the persecutions that Christians faced were unique to the early church, they were not. Furthermore, they are happening now and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ are drinking the cup and being baptized.

Granting Requests

Now does this mean that Jesus does not have the same authority as the Father. They are both fully divine right?

The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition The Shorter Catechism

Q. 6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?

A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

So why can’t Jesus grant this request? Remember he is fully human too. So Jesus doesn not have the human authority to grant this request. This request requires divine authorization. Divine authority. This is a mysterious doctrine of Jesus possessing two natures in his person. It is difficult to fathom, yet true nonetheless.

The power play is not the way

In our current world, politics, money, influencers, they wield power and influence. This is the model that our world operates under. Get in positions of power and influence the culture, for good or for bad. But the way is the same. And the evangelical church for far too long has tried to win the culture wars through Gentile like strategies. Opting for power plays, compromising our gospel witness and our character by aligning ourselves with the people we deem powerful. The people we deem influential.

There is a a list of Christian leaders over the past few years who used their power and influence to lord it over people. To manipulate, to control, to abuse, to win at all costs. This is the way of the gentiles, this the the way of the world, this is not the way of the kingdom of or the king

. What does is it mean t o be a disciple?

Way is to find your power through service.

This does not even mean that we need to commit ourselves all to the model of servant leadership. Not that leading through serving is bad. But what Jesus is getting at is more radical than that. The idea behind the word service is more than just taking out the trash, or unloading the dishwasher, or bringing someone a meal. The Word is far richer and deeper. IT means that you seek to benefiit others. It meants you are willing to perform the mundane tasks for the sake of others. You’re even willing to sacrifice your preferences for the sake of others.

You see, the great people of the kingdom, are probably the people we never hear about. They never wrote a book, they never pastored a large church. They didn’t go on the mission field and convert a bunch people.

You don’t do something with the hope of gaining anything in return. You don’t do it because you are “paying it forward” or “putting something good into the universe” or “expecting karma to repay you.”

You do it because you are a disciple. You do it because you love Jesus, you follow Jesus, and you know the Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

The preeminence of service in the kingdom of God grows out of Jesus’ teaching on love for one’s neighbor, for service is love made tangible.

James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 326.

This is what it means to develop in love. We grow in our desire to not seek recognition for our service, but we do it because our heart are shaped by him.

Heart to the gospel

Jesus wraps up his teaching here with tying the 2 threads together. We have the thread of service, and the thread of suffering. Just, the Son of Man is the chief servant. He came to serve. We see that in his life and ministry don’t we. He left the glories of heaven to come here, to proclaim the good news of the gospel, to liberate people from their bondage. But he does it through service and by offering himself.

The metaphorical language used in verse 45, a ransom (or redemption) for many, is drawn from ancient economic life (see note) in which a slave, a prisoner, or a forfeited parcel of land or other possession might be freed by a purchase price paid.

Slave or prisoner might be freed by a purchase price paid.

You may be wonder wondering well what is Jesus ransoming, what is his ransom price. It is his very life. Our debt has been paid, our guilt covered, our shame, taken away.

*That is not the model with which Owen is operating: the penalty is not quantitative in such a way; rather, it is perhaps better described as qualitative. It is not that Christ has to pile up a heap of suffering to match the offense human beings have given to God; it is that he has to die. Death is the penalty. Thus, Owen is able to maintain the solutio eiusdem: Jesus Christ dies and thus pays precisely the same penalty that is required of a sinner. There are rich and obvious implications here for the connection between atonement and incarnation.*

Many...not all. limited atonement and particular redemption.

There is a key difference between the suffering that Jesus undergoes and our own. Jesus’s suffering is redemptive, he leads the way, and pays the price, and pave the way for our redemption. Ours is as his followers.

A disciple displays faith

The tension of the story should be ratcheting up. Jesus enters into Jericho which is where they would have potentially crossed the the Jordan and entering Judea. This is a city that is 800 feet, roughly below sea level, it is the city of the great conquest, where the Israelite army marches around it 7 times before the walls collapse. This is his last healing in the gospel of mark.

Here is another Jeshua…Joshua crossing over the Jordan, to bring about a different type of conquest. The parallels are striking. And as Jesus enters into the town, news begins to spread, as it often does that Jesus is here. Okay…now is the time, if ever there was a moment for healing to take place, it would be now.

This blind man, Barimaeus has a reputation for being a beggar and he is strategically located on the side of the road in the hopes of being in the right place at the right time for those who are going to Jerusalem for the passover. Will they give me some money, will they take pity on me as they go to worship and sacrifice at the temple.

But something is different this time around, Jesus is passing by, so he calls out, Jesus Son of David have mercy on me. This is the first time Jesus has been called that in the gospels, but the man is right. Jesus is the fulfillment of the covenant promise in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. This is the seed of faith right here. Batimeaus, is blind physically, but spiritually he is wide awake. He sees Jesus for who he is.

This is really kind of a sad scene, they tell this lowly beggar to be quiet. Don’t disturb the master, go about your business, he has more important things to do. He came to serve, he has to get busy serving, don’t you understand?

This is great, this bold faith, rather than drop down the volume and decrease the intensity, he ramps it up. He calls out louder, Son of David, have mercy on me.

Bartimaeus gets it. He is not worthy of God’s healing touch. Neither are we, it is only God’s mercy, God showing compassion.

What do you want me to do? This is really great. He give Bartimaeus a choose your own adventure option. You get to pick, what do you want.

Unlike the sons of Zebedee, Bartimaeus does not ask for any special honor for himself, but only the restoration to wholeness that is part of God’s messianic promise

Mary Healy, The Gospel of Mark, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2008), 217.

And Jesus gives him the option to go your way. What does he do, he followed Jesus. We have some hints that he was known, this is why his name is used and the Father’s name Timaeus. He becomes a disciple. You see, he didn’t just get something from Jesus, then go back to his old ways of life. Instead, he followed Jesus. He became one of the disciples.

What does faith make well mean?

The Gospel according to Mark A Model Disciple (10:46–52)

The word for “healed” (Gk. sō̧zō) also means “saved,” combining both physical and spiritual dimensions. In Bartimaeus’s case the word is doubly appropriate, for “he received his sight” and “followed Jesus along the road.” The latter description designates the model disciple for Mark. Jesus has transformed Bartimaeus from a beggar beside the road (v. 46) to a disciple on the road (v. 52). Faith that does not lead to discipleship is not saving faith. Whoever asks of Jesus must be willing to follow Jesus … even on the uphill road to the cross.

Karate Kid could be called a movie about discipleship. Daniel thinks he knows what he needs to learn karate. Mr. Myuogi, knows that there is a better way to teach Daniel how to block, how to hit, how to kick. And there our times where Daniel has to make a choice whether he is going to follow Mr. Myugis teaching or not. Is he going to do the things that make know sense in the moment, the actions that make him feels silly, is he going to have the patience to endure?

And if we are truly Christians, then we need to follow Christ whereever he takes us. For some here, that may mean that you need to start following him. Maybe you’ve been coming for awhile, and you haven’t really understood who Jesus is, what the gospel is all about, I want to invite you to receive Christ’s invitation to follow.

For the teens and younger, that may just mean that you strive to be faithful where God has placed you. You find ways to be a blessing to your family. You look for ways to be begin serving, rather than being served. You strive to follow Christ at your school, to be a servant to your friends and teachers. You are willing to stand out because you trust God’s ways.

For others that may mean you follow Christ in a difficult marriage. OR you follow Christ through giving up a sin or addictive pattern. Which by the way, you are not alone in those moments, even if you feel alone. It mean you may have to view your work differently, they aren’t there to serve you, but you are there to serve them.

Perhaps it means finding ways to bless your neighbors without asking or expecting anything in return.

Maybe you do open your bible ask begin to see the vistas and beauty of following Christ.

What question would you ask Jesus? Let’s ask him, how can we be faithfully following you today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our time here.