(Lk. 9: 23 – 26; 57 – 62)
Jesus said “the
Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and
chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day
(Lk. 9:21- 22). When Peter heard this, he began to rebuke Jesus, but
he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an
offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but
those that be of men. (Matt. 16:22-23). Why would Jesus tell Peter
who just revealed His identity “get thee behind me satan?” Jesus was
affirming to Peter that absolutely nothing would prevent Him from paying
the price for the redemption of mankind. In essence Jesus was saying to
Peter and the other disciples – I know the cost of being the Savior of
the world, but do you know the cost of being my disciples? Jesus
continued the conversation by telling His disciples that anyone who
wants to follow Him must be ready to carry his cross (Lk. 9:23-27). From
this conversation that Jesus had with His disciples, we can identify
some of the things it will cost us to be the disciples of Jesus.
1. Separation from the world: In Lk. 9:18, Jesus was
alone praying when His disciples came to Him. Jesus lived a life of
total separation from the world and He was separated unto God. He was in
the world but not of the world. We also must live a life of separation
unto God.
2. Suffering and rejection: In Lk. 9:21-22, Jesus told
His disciples that He would experience suffering and rejection, and
letting them understand that they would suffer the same. The Bible
documents the fates of some of the early disciples of Jesus. Stephen was
killed by the Jews in Acts 7, James was killed by Herod in Acts 12,
Apostle John was banished to the Island of Patmos. In II Cor. 11,
Apostle Paul documented some of his experiences. Most of the other
disciples were matyred for the sake of the Gospel. Today, many
Christians all over the world are still suffering persecution for the
sake of the gospel.
3. Winning the lost:
There is a story in Lk. 9:51-56, Jesus and His disciples were rejected
by Samaria. The disciples asked if they should command fire to come down
from heaven to destroy the people but Jesus said “the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village”. Jesus wants us to save the souls of men rather than destroy them. 4. Total surrender of our possession: God wants us to release our possession to Him if we must His disciples (Lk.9:23-25). Jesus said “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”
Jesus said to another man, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”. Discipleship means leaving everything behind, not looking back but looking unto Jesus daily as we follow Him.