Day 265 – Jesus’ Demands of Discipleship

• The inescapable message of today’s passages is the challenge of following Jesus, and the inevitable challenges, and sometimes suffering, that will occur when one does it fully. You should be challenged about whether you are following Jesus in name and in some of the things you do, or whether you life is committed to Jesus in such a way that everything you do is affected by whether it gives glory to Him. We’ll never be perfect in this regard, but we should always be striving in the right direction!
• What was Jesus saying to the man who questioned Him in Matthew 8:19? What did He mean about foxes and birds? What was Jesus challenging the man on, in this situation?
• What do you think about the story of the man who had to bury his father? Was Jesus being mean, or egotistical, when He challenged the man to “follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead”. Does it help if I phrase the sentence as “let the spiritually dead bury their physically dead”?
• Matthew 16:24-26 are well known and deeply powerful words. What does it mean to “take up your cross”? Can you think of a time when you have “taken up your cross” and stood up for Jesus, even though you suffered for it? What about a time when you backed down? Do you “take up your cross” enough?
• You have many good things in your lives. What does Matthew 16:26 say about the futility of gaining even the “whole world”, if one’s soul is forfeited?
• Luke adds several details in his accounts of these events, and records the disciples having rather petty arguments about who the greatest was. How did Jesus respond? Do you consider yourself great?
• Jesus is recorded as rebuking, at at least disagreeing, with His disciples several times in the passage in Luke. Jesus loved (i.e. cared deeply for) His disciples for sure, but He was quick to challenge them when they thought, spoke or acted in the wrong way. You can rebuke someone and love them at the same time. Do you realise this when you are being rebuked or challenged by your parents, or by other authority figures?

I’ve had many good chats with all of you Eurekans from time to time, and sometimes difficult ones when I’ve challenged you on decisions you made that maybe weren’t putting Christ first. When I had those chats with you, if I did, what did you think?

I’m sure you probably wouldn’t have enjoyed conversations of that nature. Maybe at the time you thought I was being a bit preachy, or picky. Maybe in retrospect you agree that you probably needed to hear the words that were said. Maybe not!

We will all sin, and we will all fall short of the challenge set before us to live a life that honours Christ. A mature faith, however, will understand the reasons for being challenged by sin, and see – like when Jesus rebuked his disciples – that it comes from a loving heart.

Jesus calls us to an seemingly impossible standard – to put Him first, in all things. We *will* fail in this, but when our hearts are set on Jesus, we’ll look back to Him, and he’ll pick us back up and we can start again. Time and time and time again!

Take heart in the challenges of today’s passages. Jesus is worth living for, more than you, and I, can ever imagine.