(by Aaron Sellars)

This is part three in a series titled, What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus. You can also read part one and part two.

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
(Mark 9:38-41)

Jesus wants hospitable disciples, not standoffish disciples (Mark 9:38-41)

We need to be humble as the Christian life is about Jesus, not us. We need to receive and be received as a child. And what about people who aren’t like us? What about people a bit different? The disciple John tries his hand at this one. He thinks he can stump and get Jesus to agree with him.  He questions Jesus about someone who is not following the disciples, who might not be doing the things they are accustomed to doing.  Jesus doesn’t put up with John’s inquiry though.

The Master, Jesus, is shown to be more inclusive than his disciples. On top of being humble disciples, a disciple of Jesus is to be hospitable and not standoffish.

Jesus’ point is we should not only receive a child as Jesus, but we should receive all that are on Jesus’ team. Anyone doing something for, or on behalf of, Jesus were to be recognized as allies. I could just mention a church or two in OC and you could think of reasons why they are not good. You probably already did. A denomination, a pastor could lead you to the same conclusions. We are more concerned about ourselves and how we do things and what we believe than what Jesus thinks about these churches, denominations, and pastors.

The disciples were more concerned about protecting their exclusiveness, than being open and welcome to those who were still proclaiming and following Jesus. A key phrase in this passage is “we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” (9:38). Notice there is no mention as to whether or not he followed Jesus; rather, the concern was whether or not he followed “us.”

Once again, as Jesus was the greatest example of humility, he is also the greatest example of hospitality. ^“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die” (John 12:32-33). God did not have to come. He didn’t have to die. He chose to, however, in order that he might gather together a people. He died so he could reconcile to himself men and women from every tongue, tribe and nation. If we cannot be hospitable today, heaven is going to be pretty uncomfortable. Heaven will be made of people that will be different than us, with different skin colors, different languages, and different tastes and ways of doing things. Are you prepared for this?

How do we respond to Jesus’ call to come with him—in hospitality? We respond by looking to Jesus. We look to Jesus, remembering who he is, what he has done, who we are, and what he is calling us to do in light of this. Jesus sets the example for us to follow. He will not ask of us anything he is not willing to do himself. He was and is hospitable. And he welcomes all to join his mission. Does that mean if we have a coworker who is a believer we can join him on mission? Yes.  Does that mean if we have believing neighbors, we can include them and join them on mission for Jesus? Yes, even if they are not a part of our particular tribe, group, or generation. We can also include the people in our community groups, or small groups, in what God is using us for. God is not after religious groups or tribes, he is after a Church—a people for himself! If we embrace an attitude of humility, then we can hardly have feelings of jealousy for someone else through whom God is at work.  We are all on the same team.  We aren’t lone rangers.

(by Aaron Sellars)

This is part two in a series titled, What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus. Click here for part one.

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
(Mark 9:33-37 ESV)

Jesus wants humble disciples not arrogant disciples. (Mark 9:33-37)

As we saw last time, Jesus is on a mission, and he calls us as believers to join him on his mission.  In Mark 9:30-50, we see Jesus not talking to the crowds, but to the disciples.  These next three sections happen sequentially. They are not disconnected, but meant to be looked at together as a whole.

Who Is the Greatest in the Kingdom?

Jesus knows what the disciples are thinking and talking about.  He asks them, but they kept silent because they were arguing about who was the greatest.

So the question they ask Jesus is who is the greatest in the kingdom?  We’ve all asked that ourselves right? It would be the people we wish would run for president in November right? Are the disciples really arguing about who is the greatest? Have they forgotten about all the things that Jesus did and taught?  How easy is it for us to do the same? Have you had prayers answered only to forget and doubt he can answer again?  Have you had God provide for finances in mysterious ways and then forget he can do it again?

Jesus uses a child to illustrate a role reversal in God’s kingdom. The first must be last and a servant. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me” (Mark 9:35). In Jesus’ kingdom humility is key. It is more about defeat than victory.

Childlike Humility

Jesus uses an example of a child. In the mindset of first-century disciples, children represent the lowest order in social scale. Jesus calls us to not only be like them, but to receive and serve like them. The one who follows Jesus in the way of the cross must live a life of sacrifice and service.

Think about Jesus – he was the most humble man to ever walk the earth. He came from heaven as God and took on human flesh. Philippians says “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on the cross” (Phil 2:8).  The God of the universe shows us what humility is. The all-knowing and all-powerful God of the universe is the example of perfect humility.

How do we respond to Jesus’ call to come with him to Jerusalem? How do we respond in humility? Answer: we look to none other than Jesus himself as our example. We respond with the worship of Jesus and pointing people to him. He is the greatest. We look to Jesus, not ourselves. Jesus wants disciples who will follow him on his mission to Jerusalem, and to the ends of the earth—disciples that are humble and child-like, not arrogant and haughty.

Other posts in this series:

• Introduction: What does it mean to follow Jesus?

(written by Aaron Sellars)

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
(Mark 9:30-32)

What sort of disciples does Jesus want following him? (Mark 9:30-32)

Every year my wife and I pray about whether now is the time God is calling us to move overseas. In the process, we consider where we’d go and all of the things we would give up to be full-time missionaries. There is much to give up if we were to ever leave. We have’t left yet, but we remember that if God is calling us to stay, we are still on full-time mission here in Orange County. Many count the cost of only leaving the place they currently dwell, rather than counting the cost of staying.

It is clear throughout the Gospel narratives that Jesus is on a mission. And he was on a mission like no other; Jesus’ ultimate purpose was to die on the cross. His disciples must then know that following Jesus might end in death.

We see in Mark 9:32, Jesus predicts his death and resurrection again. It says, “But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him”. The disciples followed Jesus for 3 years and were not usually reluctant to ask Jesus to explain difficult saying. They knew enough to be afraid to ask so they could understand more. They had a holy terror for the things that Jesus told them. He is going to eventually ask them, “Are you with me? Are you willing to suffer with me? Are you willing to follow me and my example?”

A new blog series: What does it mean to follow Jesus?

As we go through this passage in the next few blog posts, I want you to think about your response to Jesus. There are really only three options: The first is are you READY to follow Jesus wherever he goes no matter the cost? The second, are you a bit RELUCTANT to follow Jesus knowing what it is going to cost? Or lastly, are you RESISTANT to follow Jesus whether you know the cost or not—either because you don’t know what it entails or because you don’t want to listen and follow his command?

Stay tuned and look for the next post as we delve into Mark 9:33-37 to see what following Jesus looks like.

Word #5: Distress

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”
(John 19:28)

God Himself experienced thirst. There is no way for a human mind to comprehend this truth. It would be impossible to overestimate how profound the these two words are. In order to shed some light on just how devastatingly beautiful that statement is, let’s look at three things that we learned from the very beginning of the book of John.

1) Christ Was in the Beginning With God

John 1:1 begins by telling us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with     God.” We know that when John says “the Word,” he is talking about Christ, because he says in verse 14 of the very same chapter, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Christ was in the beginning with God. His life did not begin when Mary conceived–His flesh did. As long as there has been God, there has also been Christ.

2) Christ Was God

It is not only true that He was in the beginning with God, but Jesus Christ was Himself God. This is why verse one of John 1 ends with, “and the Word was God.” The man on the cross was certainly a man (we know this because of “And the Word became flesh), but He was not merely a man. Jesus Christ was and is God, and He has been God since eternity past, and He will be God for eternity.

3) Christ Is the Creator of All Things

The man who died on the cross was not merely a man. Neither was He merely a God. Jesus Christ is the God–the one by whom all things were created, and the one in whom there is life. This is why John 1:3-4 says, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” There is only one who creates, and there is only one in whom there is life. Christ is the one and only creator God.

The eternal Son thirsts

So, the life of Christ did not begin when He took on flesh on earth. In fact, He was, is, and will be God Himself, the creator of all things, and the only giver of life. Christ was, is, and will be very, very big, and very, very powerful. This is the man who was dying on the cross: He was God, He was eternal, and He was the very source of all life and existence. Now, with this in mind, let us revisit what He said:

“I thirst.”

These two words are no small thing. These two words are God Himself submitting Himself to taking on humanity. What’s more, this is God Himself submitting Himself to need and pain. God put Himself in the way of distress, and He did it because of love.

The cross is not a fairy tale, and it is far from cute. The real God, who created the real heavens and the real earth, and breathed real life into your real body, and continues to keep you alive, bore this world. He bore pain. He bore suffering. And He experienced thirst. Why?

It was for His children.

Because He loves them.

God loves His children enough to experience distress on their behalf.

What is your response to this? We should love Him as grateful children. Look upon Him and see that He is mighty, and powerful, and full of love.

Word #4: Anguish

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
(Matthew 27:46)

As Jesus hung on the cross a great darkness fell over the land, and the Son of God cried out to the father in agony. This loud cry according to the text would have been a literal scream expressing pain and discomfort of incomprehensible magnitude.

Often Jesus is thought of as a model for how to endure suffering. In movies, the physical sufferings of Jesus are on display. The phrase “take up our cross” has been used by Christians identifying with Christ’s suffering as an example of how to persevere through their own suffering. Even religious leaders of other faiths have acknowledged Jesus as an example of how to endure hardship and persecution as a suffering servant.

Why is the suffering of Christ unique?

But while Christ’s crucifixion portrayal as a suffering servant is an example of humility, is that all it is? A question that must be asked about the cross in our day is this. Why is the crucifixion significant to us? What was unique about Christ’s suffering, when he cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? If countless other religious leaders and political figures have died martyr’s deaths, dying for something they believed in, why is Jesus’ suffering on the cross any different?

Crucifixion was so ghastly that a word was invented to describe the pain – excruciating, which literally means, “from the cross.”^[i] After enduring such pain, he was silent before his executioners, fulfilling the scriptures. (Isa. 53:7) Why was it that 6 hours after hanging on the cross he finally cried out to God?

The uniqueness of Christ’s suffering was that he absorbed the wrath of God. While the physical pain Jesus experienced was extreme, it was the wrath of God upon him that was the most unbearable.

While Jesus was fully man, he was also fully God and had existed eternally, before the foundations of the earth as God the Son. The greatest love story in the history of the world preexisted time in the perfect love expressed in the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit loved each other perfectly, for eternity, but when darkness fell over the land that day, the Father turned his back on Christ. At that moment in time, the son felt removed from this intimate bond of love. To feel cut off from this relationship was devastating.

Penal Substitutionary Atonement

The work that Christ’s shed blood accomplished for us on the cross is often referred to as Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Jesus was experiencing the wrath of God for sin that should have rightly been poured out on sinners like us. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’”

And so Christ took upon himself the penalty as our substitute. The result is that forgiven sinners once separated from God are now “at one” with God. This is the essential meaning that the word “atonement” captures.

Martin Luther called this moment the “Great Exchange,”^[ii] in which our sin, and the wrath of God, was placed on Christ as our substitute; as a result, through personal faith in what Christ accomplished, the curse of our sin and deserved punishment has been replaced with Christ’s perfect righteousness given to us! (2 Cor. 5:21)

Why is the cross significant? Christ didn’t just suffer as a moral example for us to follow – he bore our sin, paid for our sin, and has freed us from the curse he took on!

The accomplishment of Christ’s suffering isn’t just theological however. It is a reality that has profound implications for our life! When we face suffering or feel alone, we can take comfort knowing that Christ understands our pain and identifies with our loneliness. When we suffer, we are reminded that he suffered greater. When we feel alone, we know that he was alone in a way we never have been. Because he bore our sin and was alone, we will never, ever be alone in Christ Jesus!

When Christ cried out to the Father, he quoted the words of King David in Psalm 22.

Psalm 22:1-11

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.

(HT: Luke on Vimeo)

Word #3: Relationship

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”
(John 19:26-27)

The work of Christ on the Cross absolutely redefines our relationships. It changes how and why we relate to our family, and it changes who we relate to as family.

It Changes How and why We Relate to Our Family

We relate to our biological family first in a biological way. There is a bond that we feel based primarily on the fact that we share DNA. As time passes by, and we develop a family history, we begin to relate to our family based on shared experiences as well. We relate based on what we like, what we don’t like, and what we know about each other. For our biological family, the main things that tie us together are our blood and our shared history. Jesus changes this. Now we relate to our family, not based on our own blood, but based on the fact that we have all been washed by His. Now we relate to our family, not based on the experience that we have had together, but based on the fact that we have all experienced salvation. Because of the cross, my relationships are no longer based on myself, or any other person, but on Christ.

It Changes Who We Relate to As Family

This is the message that blares most loudly from these verses. “Woman, behold, your son!” and “Behold, your mother!” John was not Mary’s son, and Mary was not John’s mother! Our relationships change at the cross, because we change at the cross. We are born again into spiritual life, and we gain spiritual mothers and sons. Christ was not saying that Mary bore John, He was saying that there was to be a mother-son bond between that was spiritually based. When you become a Christian, you have a spiritual family. That family is closer to you than any DNA or any experience could ever make you. The Christian relates to Christians as family.

Christ Is Redeeming His Bride Into One Body

This is a call, directly from Christ, for Christians to care for Christians. The Church is not to leave the Church to die! The Church must care about the Church! It is not an option. Christ did not say, “Woman, behold the man who you could, if it pleases you, consider to be, and provide for as, your son.” He did not say, “Behold, a woman who, if she is not too difficult, could be loved and cared for by you as a son ought to love and care for his mother.” Mary and John were commanded to love and provide for one another as a mother and a son would love and provide for one another.

Every Christian is called to new relationship

Let us remember this call to love and care for the Church. Just as in the book of Acts, we see the Church share with one another as they could, and no one was in need, so we ought to act. Not when it is easy. Not for people who we want to love. But for the whole church, all the time, however we can. Every Christian is called to love every other Christian, and to care for God’s Church, the bride of Christ, in any way possible.

Christ has changed our relationships. He has changed who we relate to, why we relate to them, and how we ought to relate. He is changing me from someone who seeks to use people for selfish gain, to someone who loves His church, and uses his resources to bless her. Let us consider this, and be changed by the implications of what Christ said about our relationships as he hung on the cross.

Word #2 : Salvation

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
(Luke 23:42-43)

When Christ was hung on the cross in the ultimate act of humiliation as creator of the universe, hanging in the company of two criminals, the bloodthirsty onlookers who stood by watching the gruesome spectacle taunted our king saying, “If you are the son of God, come down from the cross.” Jesus said nothing to them. When the soldiers mocked Jesus, he said nothing in response to their hostile challenges either. The religious leaders who prided themselves in their moral perfectionism said sarcastically, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” Jesus said nothing to them either. Even one of the criminals who was dying along side him had the audacity to bitterly insult Jesus, though Jesus hadn’t done any wrong to him, or anyone else for that matter. But there was one person that the King chose to respond to, and yet he had no obligation to answer to anyone as the King of creation.

In this scene, a man who committed crimes worthy of receiving the most severe earthly punishment got a response from the King in his last hours. And Jesus responds with the comforting words of assurance and forgiveness that we know so well. To know without a doubt, in those final moments of life, that he would be forever united to his creator in fellowship must have been such sweet words to hear. Wouldn’t you agree?

The free gift of salvation leads us to worship

This passage contains one of the most poignant presentations of the gospel. And this gospel of good news for all Christians should overwhelm us with joy and overflowing worship to Jesus! The gospel is the life blood of our faith because everything we do and everything we believe finds its relevance and meaning in our lives through the person and work of Christ on the cross for our sin.

Our hearts should be overflowing with joy in Christ. But are they? In our lives, we aren’t always in love with the gospel of grace. Whether we’ve received the gospel, or we’ve outright denied it, there’s something else going on here that Luke’s gospel captures, pointing to a question that is begging to be asked.

Why does Jesus let a rotten criminal into his kingdom? How can a good God forgive the worst of people for their sin, and send seemingly good people to hell?

Christ’s words show us that unless we understand how outrageous God’s grace is, our hearts will not truly embrace the gospel.

There are two aspects to God’s grace that we can focus on in this encounter between Jesus and the criminal.

1. Grace reveals our total inability to save ourselves.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

What man can do on his own enough good to earn a right relationship with God? When we read from the book of Romans about our sin, who deserves God’s favor if all are guilty of sin before a holy God? Romans 3:10-11 says: “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

2. Grace can be responded to in two ways. We either deny the gospel, or we embrace it.

As we look back again to those who mocked and taunted Jesus, they represent two ways we still deny the God’s grace today. The first thief on the cross said, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” We deny the gospel when we are like a fool who says there is no God, but we also deny the gospel when we assume like religious people that we are deserving and basically good. When Christ accepted the criminal into his Kingdom, he shattered worldly expectation.

The second response to the gospel, is to identify with the criminal, recognizing our own sin and total inability to earn God’s favor, and turn to Jesus and receive his payment on the cross for our sin. The second criminal demonstrates one of the most powerful examples of faith in scripture, and what one must do to enter the Kingdom. He repents through his change of mind about his sin, and in faith, he believes that Christ is the King, the sent Messiah who came to deliver his people.

The way, the truth, the life

What a powerful miracle God enacts in his people when in our darkness, Christ by his sovereign grace calls us into his marvelous light. Truly, those in Christ will be in paradise.

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

(John 14:1-6)

And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

(Mark 15:33-38)

Lord Jesus, Comfort Me

You have canceled my transgression,
Jesus, by Your precious blood
May I find therein salvation,
happiness, and peace with God
And since You for sinner’s suffering
On the cross was made an offering
From all sin deliver me,
That I wholly Yours may be

All the pain You have endured
All Your wounds, Your crown of thorn
Hands and feet with nails through bored
The reproach which You have borne
Your back, ploughed with deep furrows
Cross and grave and all Your sorrows
Your blood-sweat and agony
Oh Lord Jesus, comfort me

Your back, ploughed with deep furrows
Cross and grave and all Your sorrows
Your blood-sweat and agony
Oh Lord Jesus, comfort me

from the album WATCH THE RISING DAY
Written by Matthew S. Smith
©2010 Detuned Radio Music
Based in part on a German hymn text by Johann Rist