Though it may seem odd for us to consider, Jesus was once a little boy who had to be fed, changed, bathed, and educated, not only in the most practical ways, such as, reading and writing (in multiple languages), and learning mathematical skills necessary to becoming an accomplished carpenter, but he also had to learn the law of God and the traditions of his people. Luke gives us a brief glimpse into this shrouded part of Jesus’ life, “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40). The writer to the Hebrews also adds insight into Jesus’ personal journey of maturity,
“During his life on earth, Jesus lifted many prayers with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his humble and holy submission. Even though he was God’s son, he learned obedience through his suffering and, once he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”(Hebrews 5:7-9).
During his ministry, Jesus was adamant that he only did what his Father showed him or told him to do. He was supremely intentional about staying submitted to his Father’s will at all times; the Apostle John is careful to record this aspect of Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus declared publically many times that his message originated in God: “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me” (John 14:24); “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me” (John 8:28); “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life, so whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say” (John 12:49-50).
Jesus also publically declared that his actions were carefully directed by his Father, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19); “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38); “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34).
Jesus was confident that he always honored his Father in what he said and did, “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” (John 8:29); “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (John 5:30).
Though Jesus was (is) his Father’s Son and not his disciple per se, his careful obedience to his Father’s will is a model for his own disciples. Submission, obedience, loyalty, learning, these are the qualities of someone determined to please the one he loves the most; this is exactly what Jesus calls his disciples to emulate, “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40).
The vital issue is whether or not we are mere converts to Christianity or actual disciples of Jesus Christ. In what has become known as the “Great Commission,” Jesus commands his disciples to go into all the world making disciples, teaching them to obey all he commanded (see Matthew 28:18-20). Beliefs are indeed important, but it is Jesus himself who emphasizes over and over again the need for obedience, “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father” (see Matthew 7:21), and “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching” (John 14:23). In Luke, Jesus asks this ominous question, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). The New Testament is saturated with the language of obedience.
Cross Culture
The invitation to follow Christ familiar to most people in our culture bears little resemblance to the “invitations” of Jesus himself. First century Jews (and Gentiles) were commonly exposed to the ever looming pestilence of Roman crucifixion. Criminals and political activists were put to death by the thousands. It was and is still considered one of the most heinous forms of capital punishment ever devised. Even the great first century Roman historian Cicero acknowledged the horrors of the cross, claiming that no Roman citizen should ever experience it in any way, “The very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen, but from his thoughts, his eyes, and his ears.”
The majority of early first century Jews had personally seen countless countrymen nailed to the cursed tree. They had seen the torn flesh from the initial flogging. They had seen the spikes driven through wrists and feet. They had seen the hot Mediterranean sun cook the raw flesh of the crucified. They had seen the biting flies crawling over the open wounds of the victim. They had seen the scavenger birds waiting for death, and sometimes not waiting. They had heard the cries for mercy, the tears of terror and agony, the slow and painful suffocation. They, like all in the Empire, lived in mortal fear of this fate.
Jesus, too, had undoubtedly seen this horror—we can only imagine what he thought as he contemplated his own crucifixion one day. Knowing the revulsion his fellow Jews felt about this brutal act, it might be considered strange, possibly even heartless, that Jesus would adopt this imagery as the signature metaphor regarding following him. He is adamant that those who desire to come after him cannot do so apart from the way of the cross, “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27); “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23); “…and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38).
Why would Jesus choose such an alarming image? It would seem that anyone seeking followers would never want to use such a graphic contemporary practice to call them to join him, unless Jesus’ intent was to communicate from the outset the gravity of his message, purpose, and calling. Our modern American culture has tamed Jesus over the decades. We have inundated our churches and homes with paintings of a kind, gentle shepherd with long, flowing hair and a beautiful tan…sufficiently subdued to little more than our very own Sancho Panza. But this is not the Jesus of the New Testament; the Jesus who cleared the temple, who stood toe to toe with the Pharisees seeking to kill him, who boldly confessed his divinity before the Sanhedrin, who refused a defense before the Roman procurator, and who endured twice the crucifixion experience of the average man. Jesus came on a mission that would alter eternity and he is calling courageous disciples to boldly carry on this mission until he returns; disciples who understand the meaning of the cross.
Crosses abound in our culture, from steeples, to jewelry, to tattoos, but a cross is no mere decoration, a cross was a means of capital punishment and used for nothing but killing. Jesus calls us to voluntarily take up the cross knowing that those who bear crosses have been stripped of all rights and are committed to dying (figuratively and/or literally). We bear a cross because our Master bore a cross and told us we could not follow him if we did not bear a cross ourselves. Bearing our cross is the ultimate symbol of our commitment to God’s purpose and our loyalty to our Master. Crosses are not decorations, but declarations that we belong to Christ Jesus and intend to fulfill his purpose in our lives.
We take up our cross daily, just as Jesus did, and follow him, he says there is no other way; The way of the cross is the way of Jesus, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). As we bear our cross in obedience to Christ, the Holy Spirit uses it in our lives to enable us to die to ourselves daily and to relentlessly place one foot in front of the other, walking away from this world and toward the Kingdom of God. Moment by moment, thought by thought, we choose to honor God and, consequently, are being conformed to the image of his Son.
In his letters, the Apostle Paul often uses the imagery of crucifixion to describe our death to the world and our life to Christ. To the Roman Christians he writes that our old self has been crucified with Christ so that we would no longer be slaves to sin (see Romans 6:6). To the Galatians, Paul says he himself has been crucified with Christ, it is no longer he who lives, but Christ who lives in him (see Galatians 2:20). He later tells these same believers that all those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires (see Galatians 5:24) and that the world has been crucified to them (see Galatians 6:14). Later in his ministry, Paul tells the Philippians to have the attitude of Christ Jesus who took on the very nature of a slave and became obedient even to the point of dying on a cross (see Philippians 2:5).
Obviously, in our world today, the fear associated with actual crucifixion does not exist. Nevertheless, as followers of the crucified King, we must allow God to continue to use the pain and death of the cross to crucify our flesh—our longings for the ways of the world, our selfish ambitions that distract us from his work in our lives, and our innate pride and arrogance that keep us from being the humble servants of those still trapped in the world. I highly recommend that you find some of Francois Fenelon’s writings. He died in 1651, but his reflections on the work of the cross in our life are unsurpassed in my opinion. The book, The Seeking Heart, is a very nice collection of his writings. Google him; his stuff is well worth it.
Who Exactly Is a Disciple?
Some of us have inadvertently made the mistake of thinking that the term disciple applies only to the twelve men Jesus called in the Gospels. It is true that Jesus chose twelve as apostles (see Luke 6:13) who would stay with him at all times and learn directly from him; these men became known simply as the Twelve (see Luke 8:1 for instance). After Jesus ascended into heaven and Judas Iscariot committed suicide, the apostles chose Matthias to become the twelfth member of the Twelve (see Acts 1:26). However, Jesus had many more disciples than this.
The following verses will illustrate this fact, “When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them” (Luke 6:13); “A large crowd of his disciples was there…” (Luke 6:17); “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus” (Matthew 27:57); “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples’” (John 8:31); and once when Jesus taught a particularly difficult message, some of his disciples were offended, “From this time many of his disciplesturned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66). As Jesus traveled and taught throughout Israel, he spoke often of what it meant to become one of his disciples (see Luke 14:26-35 for instance). In the Great Commission, Jesus tells the apostles to go into all nations making disciples (see Matthew 28:19).
As the apostles spread the message of the gospel throughout Judea and the Mediterranean, long before the followers of Jesus were known as Christians, they were simply known as disciples (see Acts 11:26). Many followers of Jesus are named as disciples throughout the book of Acts: Ananias (see Acts 9:10), Tabitha (see Acts 9:36), Timothy (see Acts 13:1), and Mnason (see Acts 21:16). In fact, Luke, the writer of Acts, frequently makes reference to the growth of disciples, “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly…” (Acts 6:7; see Also 6:1) and “[Paul and Barnabas] preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples” (Acts 14:21).
It was not uncommon for others to have disciples as well; John the Baptist had disciples (see Matthew 9:14). In fact, Andrew was first a disciple of John and then became a disciple of Jesus (see John 1:35-42). The Pharisees also had disciples (see Matthew 22:16); and many of the Pharisees considered themselves to be disciples of Moses (see John 9:28). The concept of disciple is so common throughout the New Testament that the word appears over 280 times in the typical English Bible.
To become a Christian is to become a disciple. If a person admires Jesus merely as a masterful teacher, he is not a disciple. If a person sees Jesus simply as a special friend who will one day tenderly escort him to heaven, he is not a disciple. If a person believes that Jesus died for his sins, but has no conviction or desire to know and do what Jesus taught, he is not a disciple. Jesus himself explains that the purpose of discipleship is to become like him, “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). If we have no desire or conviction to become like Jesus, we need to reconsider our understanding of the Faith we claim.
A Disciplined Faith
The word disciple in Greek literally means “a learner” (mathetes), but implies both thought and action. Disciples did not study under a master simply to know what the master knew, but to know in order to live like the master. Disciples of Jesus do not merely believe in Jesus, but they believe Jesus and strive to believe what Jesus believed and taught in order to live like Jesus lived. Disciples of Jesus do not only celebrate the life of Jesus, they emulate the life of Jesus.
As mentioned above, Jesus consistently identifies following him with a lifestyle of obedience, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’will enter the kingdom of heaven,but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21); “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50); “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14). Once when Jesus was teaching, a woman in the crowd was moved to yell out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” But Jesus responded, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:26-27). Even in the Great Commission, Jesus’ call to obedience is unmistakable: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, now I am telling you to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. I promise you, I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
Jesus does not send us into the world to make believers, converts, or mere followers; his charge is to go and make disciples who are obedient to his commands. This call to discipleship is so crucial to following Jesus, at times his words even sound harsh. To one man who sought to follow him, Jesus warned, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58) — challenging the man to consider whether he is actually prepared for the call or not. To another who asked if he could begin following Jesus after his father dies (the typical obligation of a first-born son), Jesus said, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60). And to another who asked to first go and say goodbye to his family, Jesus simply said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
Such “insensitive” language is difficult for us to understand or appreciate. In our culture, saturated with inalienable rights and personal freedoms, it sounds offensive for someone to be so direct. In fact, many of us would not tolerate being spoken to like this. But the language of Jesus reveals the gravity of his call; Jesus was fully willing to allow people to turn down the opportunity to be his disciple. To one young man who sought the key to eternal life, Jesus, who loved the man, advised, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). However, “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth” (Mark 10:22). Though Jesus loved him, he did not chase after him and negotiate. Another time, because some who followed him found his teaching offensive, they abandoned him, “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66). Again, Jesus did not recant what he had said that offended them.
It was not uncommon for Jesus to teach some of his more difficult lessons when a large crowd had gathered; this often had the effect of separating the “wheat from the chaff.” In this passage from Luke, Jesus tells his listeners that before becoming his disciples they must be sure to carefully consider the cost of that decision:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
Imagine that a man wants to build a tower. Shouldn’t he figure out how much it will cost, to see if he has enough money to finish the job? If he gets started and doesn’t finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, “This guy began this project without even knowing if he would be able to finish.”
“Or imagine a king is about to launch a war against another king. Shouldn’t he first figure out if he is able with ten thousand troops to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he isn’t, he better send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and seek a peace treaty. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-33).
In the first part of this statement, Jesus identifies that which ought to have the most value to any human being…family relationships. The Lord of love and family is certainly not advocating actual hatred and legitimizing resentment, yet, in comparison to the commitment we must have to following him, even that which is most precious to us cannot detour us from our call. If Jesus would choose something so powerfully personal as family to make his point, how might we imagine he would feel about the other things that we cherish in this life that hinder our call to discipleship? With striking frankness, the Master gives two illustrations to clarify his call.
First, a man is going to build a tower but fails to consider beforehand what will actually be required to complete the task. When he runs out of resources, he stops building, the people in his community humiliate him, and what he has built is slowly destroyed by the elements. In our culture, when someone is “led to Christ,” there is very little discussion of what it actually means to be a disciple. Consequently, we have literally millions of Americans who believe they are Christians but feel no obligation to live as disciples. Jesus is much more honest in his presentation of the gospel. As unappealing as this sounds to American ears, Jesus warns that those who do not first count the cost involved in being his disciple will likely fail, bringing humiliation and devastation on themselves (a point he makes elsewhere as well, Matt. 7:24-27).
In the second illustration, it appears that the smaller army represents a person, and the larger army represents God. When the smaller army realizes there is no possibility of victory, they choose a treaty rather than destruction. Jesus then says that those who desire to follow him, like the smaller army in the illustration, must submit to the terms of the treaty, even giving up everything to have peace with the king. Otherwise, Jesus warns, we cannot be his disciple.
Disciples accept the fact that to follow Jesus is to think and act like him, which undoubtedly means rethinking our own lifestyles; to believe what Jesus believed and to live like Jesus lived requires rethinking the purpose and priorities of our lives. It is the purpose of our lives that determines our priorities, and our priorities dictate how we use our time, energy, and resources. For example, if my purpose in life is to make enough money to comfortably retire by the time I am fifty years old, then my priorities will be about earning as much as I can, saving as much as I can, spending as little as possible, and making smart investments; my entire life will be directed by my ultimate purpose.
Christians are called to every kind of vocational field and career path and should manifest a diligent work ethic wherever we find ourselves—this is honorable to God. However, our purpose (as opposed to our career or vocation)must be aligned with the purposes of God, and our priorities must be designed to accomplish his purposes first and foremost. In other words, whether I am a teacher, police officer, or mechanic, my priorities regarding ethics, fairness, diligence, and so on, must all be guided by my ultimate purpose: to honor God and bring glory to him in all things. Jesus says, “Seek first God’s kingdom and lifestyle, and all the other things will be given to you also” (Matthew 6:33*), and ominously, “What good is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
We cannot know his purpose, nor prioritize our lives accordingly, until we develop a deep conviction about knowing what Jesus and the apostles taught in the New Testament and doing it. Author and professor Dallas Willard writes, “The governing assumption today, among professing Christians, is that we can be ‘Christians’ forever and never become disciples.”[1] Willard goes on to speak of how utterly critical it is that Christians understand the difference between the two:
“So the greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as “Christians” will become disciples—students, apprentices, practitioners—of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”[2]
Christians are indeed called to obey many arduous commands: doing good to those who harm us, praying for those who persecute us, blessing those who curse us, loving one another as he loves us, forgiving one another as our Father forgives us, doing to others as we would have them do to us, being merciful as our Father is merciful, being peacemakers because we are called the children of God, and so on (see Matthew 5-7; Luke 6). Professor Willard may be right, if enough of us really did live this way, we might actually change the world (or at least our little, tiny part of it).
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[1] Dallas Willard, The Great Omission, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2006, Pg. xi.
[2] Ibid., Pg. xv.