03 Jul Mark 21: Terms and conditions

Mark 8:22-9:1

²² And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. ²³ And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵ Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

²⁷ And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰ And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. ³¹ And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³² And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” 9 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

Have you ever updated an app and had the following message appear on your screen? “Terms and conditions have changed. You must read and agree to the new terms and conditions in order to proceed.” There were then fifty pages of terms and conditions that you have to read. Now, I don’t know if you read all those pages. I mean, we probably should read all the terms and conditions before we agree to something. Right? But for me, I just decided that the new terms and conditions could not be that much different from the previous one, which by the way, I also did not read. Don’t judge me. I know you did the same. So, I scrolled down to the bottom, ticked the box that said I agree with the new terms and conditions, and I clicked next. And that’s it. I can use the app as normal. In our passage for today, we find Jesus laying down the terms and conditions of following him. So, if we have decided to follow Jesus, we would have seen these terms and conditions before. And what’s amazing about these terms and conditions is they have never changed. They have never been updated and they will never be removed. Our circumstances might change. Our life stages might change. Our feelings might change. Our cultures might change. But the terms and conditions of following Jesus have not changed and will never change. They are what they are.

The question is, do we know the terms and conditions of following Jesus? Or do we simply click the box that said we agree without knowing what we agree to?  Because if we read the terms and conditions, here is what we find out. There is no such thing as a half-committed follower of Jesus. We are either committed followers of Jesus or we are not followers of Jesus. The problem is there are many of us who did not read the terms and conditions of following Jesus. We want just enough of Jesus to get us into heaven but not too much that it changes how we lived our lives. We assumed that we can simply add Jesus into our pre-existing lives. Jesus is simply another app in our lives. But Jesus is not interested in being another app in our lives. He wants to be the operating system upon which our lives are built. He is not interested in addition; he wants transformation. So, if I can sum up my message in one sentence, it would be this. The message of Christianity is that Jesus is the Christ and following him involves a heavy cost.

Let me give you the context first. Last week we learned how Jesus warned his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod. And the passage ended with Jesus asking the disciples a question, “Do you not yet understand?” What happened is that the disciples have yet to understand who Jesus is. They have seen Jesus do many wonderful things, but it has not yet clicked for them. They have yet to have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. But in this passage, it finally clicks for them. This is the “aha” moment for the disciples. The dots are finally connected. But then right after this defining moment, they miss the point again. Which tells us that they get it, but they don’t really get it. They can see, but they don’t really see. They only see partially. And sandwiched between the disciples not being able to see and the disciples seeing partially is a miracle of a blind man who receives sight. Interesting. Let’s look at it together.

I have three points for this sermon: The illustration; The confession; The condition.

The illustration

Mark 8:22-26 – ²² And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. ²³ And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵ Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

I think we can read this story in two layers. First, this story shows Jesus’ compassion for the blind man. We do not know why this man is blind and how long he’s been blind. When Jesus sees the blind man, he holds the blind man’s hand and guides him to a private place. And when they get out of the village, Jesus goes, ‘Ptui! Ptui!’ and rubs his spit on the man’s eyes. Some of you might ask, “Why does Jesus use his spittle?” I have no idea. Imagine you are sick, and you come to me asking for prayer. And I say, “You want me to pray for you? Sure. Close your eyes. ‘Ptui! Ptui!’” and I lay my hand on you. It won’t go well. It would go viral on social media. “A pastor breaks covid protocols by spitting on his congregations when he prays for them.” It is very unsanitary and unethical. But praise God the man is blind. He can’t see what Jesus is doing. But then something very unusual happens. After touching his eyes, Jesus asks the man, “Do you see anything?” This is the first time Jesus touches someone for healing and asks how that person is doing. In all other healings, the healing touch of Jesus guarantees perfect healing. And what happens next is even more interesting. The blind man opens his eyes, and he can see. However, he can’t see clearly. His sight is still blurry. He sees people like walking trees. The healing is incomplete. Then Jesus lays his hands on him again, and he opens his eyes again, and this time it is perfect. The blind man has perfect vision. He can see everything clearly. The healing is complete. And Jesus tells the man to not enter the village so that he won’t draw the crowd’s attention to Jesus.

But here is the question. Why the two-step process of healing? Is it because there is insufficiency on Jesus’ part? Is Jesus getting warmed up on the first touch and using his real power on the second touch? Of course not. Jesus has the power to raise a dead person back to life. He has the authority to still a storm with his voice. Healing a blind man is not hard in comparison. There must be something else that Mark wants us to see in this story. This story is often used to show that sometimes healing come in stages. And I think that is a valid interpretation of the story. So, if you trust Jesus for his healing touch and you have only experienced partial healing, keep trusting him. Keep putting your faith in him. Don’t put Jesus in the box of your expectation and timeframe. Jesus’ way is not your way and Jesus’ thought is not your thought. But Jesus’ way and thought are far better than yours. So, trust in his sovereign timing. This is the first layer.

But there is another layer to this story. Almost all commentators I read on this passage agree that this miracle is not just about physical sight, but it is also a lesson on spiritual sight. This miracle is a parable. Just like the man has a problem with physical blindness, the disciples have a problem with spiritual blindness. And this problem affects not only the disciples, but also the Pharisees, Herod, and the crowd. In other words, spiritual blindness affects everyone. Including us. Just as this blind man needs to see, all of us need to see who Jesus really is. All the way through the Bible, salvation is often described as an experience from blindness to sight. Just as it takes a miraculous intervention for the blind man to receive physical sight, it is going to take a miraculous intervention for us to see who Jesus really is. The disciples have eyes to see but they fail to see who Jesus really is. There is nothing that they and we can do about our spiritual blindness on our own. Both physical sight and spiritual sight are gifts of God. But here is what we must get. It takes more than one touch to heal spiritual blindness. This is the reason why Jesus touches this man twice. Our spiritual blindness is so deep. Even when we are finally able to see, it takes a lifetime for our vision to be perfectly clear.

Let me give you a personal example. When I first had my eyes opened to the gospel, I thought everyone around me who did not get the gospel was dumb. I mean, seriously. I thought, “Why can’t you see it? It is clearly there in the Bible. How can you be so blind to the truth?” I thought I saw everything clearly. I thought I knew everything. And everyone who disagreed with me was an idiot. I was ready to fight anyone who had a different view than me. I was wild, young, and dangerous. Okay, the last part is not true. I was wild, young, and dumb. Because now 13 years later, I look back at my old self and think that guy is a moron. I did not see clearly. All I saw were walking trees. And the truth is, 13 years from now I will look back at my current self and think that this guy is a moron. This is how we know that we are growing Christians. Our spiritual sight is clearing, and it is getting better every day. And we start to realize that we have yet to see everything clearly. And the fact that our spiritual sight is clearing is a gift of God. We have no reason to feel superior to others or feel impatient toward anyone else who doesn’t see or see less than we do. Having spiritual sight is not something that we can do on our own. It is a supernatural work of God. And it takes a lifetime for us to have the perfect spiritual sight. We might think that we have it right now, but we don’t. But Jesus is patient with us as he is patient with the disciples.

The confession

Mark 8:27-30 – ²⁷ And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰ And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

This is the turning point in the book of Mark. For the first half of the book of Mark, the main question is, “Who is this man? Who is this man that the wind and the sea obey his voice? Who is this man that he is able to heal the sick, cast out demons, forgive sins, raise the dead, and feed the multitude? Who is Jesus?” And this question is about to be answered. Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Jesus asks this question not because he is insecure about himself. He is not wondering, “I wonder what people think of me. I wonder if they like me. I wonder if the netizens are praising me or cursing me.” That’s not Jesus. That’s me. Jesus knows exactly who he is. He asks this question to test the disciples. And people in Jesus’ days have many opinions about Jesus. Some say he is John the Baptist. Some say he is Elijah or one of the great prophets. All the names that are mentioned are the names of great people in Israel’s history. They were the people God used to bring reformation and deliver God’s message. It’s like if I ask you, “Who do people in RSI say that I am?” And you say, “You are the Indonesian version of Timothy Keller, John Piper and Matt Chandler combined. You exegete like Piper, contextualize like Keller, and communicate like Chandler.” Okay, I realised no one would ever say that about me. This is just an illustration. But if anyone does say that about me, I would take it as a compliment. But not so with Jesus. For Jesus, it is not a compliment to be compared to great men like Elijah and John the Baptist. Because Jesus is far greater than them. It shows that the people don’t have the eye to see Jesus for who he is. But enough with what other people think of him. What other people say about him is interesting, but it is not nearly as important as what the disciples think of Jesus.

So, he asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Jesus is asking his disciples, “Have you begun to see clearly? Do you have the eyes to see me for who I really am? Or do you not yet understand?” And by this time, it has been years since they started to follow Jesus. They have seen Jesus perform miracles after miracles. They have seen the impossible made possible. They have seen the authority of Jesus to forgive sins. They have seen the authority of Jesus over nature, demons, diseases, and death. And predictably, it is Peter who answers first. He says, “You are the Christ.” And for the very first time in the book of Mark, we find human’s confession of Jesus’ true identity. The word Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. To say that Jesus is the Christ is to say that Jesus is the fulfilment of 3000 years of God’s promise to the Jews. He is the one who will lead Israel out of slavery into glory. He is the one who will bring the perfect reign of God’s kingdom on earth that is centred on Jerusalem and Israel. This is massive. In other words, the disciples are no longer blind. They have received spiritual sight. They are finally able to see Jesus for who he really is. And Jesus probably smiles and says, “Sweet. You finally see me for who I am. Now that you know who I am, I don’t want you to tell others about it.” This is strange. Why doesn’t Jesus want the disciples to tell others that he is the promised Messiah? Let’s continue with the story.

Mark 8:31-33 – ³¹ And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³² And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Imagine you are Peter. One moment, you hear Jesus says, “Well done mate.” And the next moment, “Get away from me you Satan.” What happened? Let me tell you what happened. Peter and the disciples are finally able to see. But what they see right now is walking trees. They are yet able to see everything clearly. They still have a distorted image of Jesus. So, when Jesus tells them that he must suffer many things, rejected by the religious leaders, and be killed, the disciples do not get it. Out of all things Jesus ever said, this is the most confusing and shocking. Because in their understanding, Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is a king sent by God. And the Messiah is supposed to come and make everything right in the world and defeat evil and injustice. How in the world can the Messiah possibly defeat evil and injustice by being killed? It is ridiculous. It does not make any sense. A king supposes to go to a throne, not a cross. A king supposes to experience glory, not suffering.

So, Peter is convinced that Jesus gets it wrong. And he takes Jesus to the side, and he rebukes Jesus. Note, he does not disagree with Jesus; He rebukes Jesus. He is not saying to Jesus, “Jesus, I am not sure you are right.” He is saying, “Jesus, how can you be so foolish to not understand what the Messiah is supposed to do?” So, Peter is telling the person who wrote the Old Testament that he gets the Old Testament wrong. Poor Peter. So, Jesus rebukes Peter and says, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” By calling Peter Satan, it does not mean that Peter is being possessed by Satan. But what Peter presented to Jesus is exactly what Satan presented to Jesus when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Do you know what that is? It is glory without the cross. Satan offered Jesus all the glory of this world without him having to go to the cross. Satan is happy to go along with Jesus as the Messiah, as long as Jesus does not die on a cross and rise from the dead. Satan has no problem with cross-less Christianity. But Jesus understands that there is no Christianity without the cross. Cross-less Christianity is useless. It has no power. And to have Christianity without the cross is to have our minds on the things of man and not the things of God. Jesus is a king. He is the Messiah. But he did not come to live but to die. He did not come to take power but to lose it. He did not come to rule but to serve. He did not come to enjoy life but to suffer. And this is why Jesus does not want the disciples to tell others about his identity. Because they have yet to have the right understanding of Messiahship.

Which begs a question for all of us. Why are we following Jesus? Are we following Jesus for what he can give us or because we believe that he is the Christ? Because get this. A wrong view of Messiahship leads to a wrong view of what it means to follow Jesus. We need to know who Jesus truly is or we won’t understand what it means to follow him. The idea of a suffering king is completely out of sync with human reasoning. But we can’t reinvent Jesus according to our own thoughts. When we do, we are being satanic. But we oftentimes want Jesus who exists to meet our longings and desires. We simply want a Messiah to guide us. But we do not want a Messiah who dies for us. We want Jesus who can help our marriage, repair our finances, make us better people, help us raise our children, advance our careers, and heal our sickness. We like this Jesus. We like cross-less Christianity. But we don’t want Jesus who goes to the cross. Because the cross is offensive to us. We like to think that we are not that bad. But Jesus who goes to the cross tells us that we are so bad that Jesus must die for us. We are so sinful that the cross of Jesus is the only solution. And if we want to follow Jesus, there is no negotiation whatsoever. We either agree to his terms and conditions or we do not follow him. We are either all-in or we are not in at all. That is why we must have the right view of Jesus’ Messiahship. So, what are the terms and conditions? I’m glad you asked.

The condition

Mark 8:34 – And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 

These are the terms and conditions of following Jesus. Jesus is not trying to scam anyone. He tells his disciples clearly what it will cost them to follow him. There is no * in following Jesus. Do you know what I mean? We look at a brochure and it says, “iPhone 13 for $99*” or “Holiday to Japan for $499*”. There is a small asterisk next to it. That small asterisk tells us that the price we see is not necessarily the price we pay. They don’t tell us all the additional costs. They only tell us the basic price to get our attention. It is called marketing. Let’s be honest. How many of you ever gotten tricked by it? I raise both of my hands. Here is good news for us. In regard to following Jesus, there is no asterisk. Jesus tells us exactly what it will cost us to follow him. He is not trying to hide anything. Jesus tells us the cost of following him from the very beginning, so we know what we are getting ourselves into. And these terms and conditions are not only directed to the twelve disciples. It is directed to anyone who wants to follow Jesus. And there are two conditions for following Jesus.

First, we must deny ourselves. The word deny is a strong word that means instead of thinking about ourselves first and foremost, it is to think about God first and foremost. It is to experience a Copernican revolution. Until the time of Copernicus, everyone thought that the universe rotated around the earth. The earth was the centre of the universe. The Copernicus revolution was that the sun is at the centre of the universe, not the earth. The revolution that must happen in our lives is that God is the centre of our lives, not us. To deny ourselves is to live in such a way that Jesus is the centre of our attention; Jesus is the centre of our affection; Jesus is the centre of our work, our family, our school, and our relationship. This means that we stop asking the question, “What’s in it for me?” Because it is never about us. We need to ask the question, “How does this make much of Jesus?” And if it does not make much of Jesus, then we need to deny ourselves. And this is not natural at all for us. Do you know what’s natural? Thinking of self. We don’t need to be taught to be selfish. All of us think about what’s good for us 24/7. But to deny ourselves is to say yes to whatever Jesus says and to say no to anything contrary to Jesus. This is the first condition.

Second, we must take up our cross. This is a very radical demand. I think a lot of time we miss the weight of this demand because we think of a cross as something beautiful and glorious. But the cross is actually a symbol of rejection, humiliation, and excruciating pain. It is not a happy thing. I just came back from Gold Coast. And in Movie World, I took my niece for her first big people roller coaster ride. And while we queued, she kept saying, “I am so scared, but I am so excited.” When Jesus knows that he is about to be crucified, he does not say, “Woohoo. The day is finally here. I am so scared, but I am so excited.” Do you know what happens to Jesus? He sweats blood. He is in extreme agony just thinking about what he must go through. Taking up the cross does not mean the way we often use it in our conversation. Sometimes we use the phrase carry the cross when things did not go as expected in life. “I did not get promoted at work. It is a cross I have to carry.” “I got credit and not high distinction. I am bearing the cross.” “I am married to my husband. He is my cross to bear.” But that is not what it means to take up the cross. To take up the cross is not ordinary human trouble but to endure suffering for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. It is when we are made fun of at school because we remain a virgin out of our love for Jesus. It is when we missed out on a promotion because we cannot support the company’s stance toward LGBTQ out of our love for Jesus. It is when we are disowned by our family out of our love for Jesus. To take up the cross means that we are a dead man walking. Only a criminal condemned to death carries the cross. It means that we are dead to our own dream. We are dead to our own plan. We are dead to our own ideas. We are dead to our own pride. This is what it means to take up the cross.

So let me put it in an equation for you. Following Jesus = Denying self + Taking the cross. These are the terms and conditions. And newsflash, the terms and conditions never changed. It is still the same today and it will be the same a thousand years from now. So, if we are not denying ourselves and taking up our cross, we are not following Jesus. It is as simple as that. Keller puts it this way. To follow Jesus is like we are under arrest. What happens when we are under arrest? We lose control of our lives. We follow the officer no matter what. There is no such thing as “I’ll follow Jesus if…” There is no if. It is either all or nothing. We are either free or we are under arrest. There is no middle ground. Jesus does not have two standards. We are either followers of Jesus or we are not believers in Jesus. So, the question we need to ask ourselves is not, “Am I in church or not?” That’s shallow. The question we must ask ourselves is, “Am I willing to let go of my life for Jesus?” Unless we are willing to die for Jesus, we are not ready to live for Jesus; We cannot be followers of Jesus. Salvation is free but following Jesus is extremely costly. But Jesus does not stop there. Jesus also gives us reasons why we should follow him despite the heavy cost.

Mark 8:35-38 – ³⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

In these verses, Jesus gives us reasons why we should follow him despite the heavy costs. The word “for” gives us the reasons why. There are three reasons. First, it is to save our lives. In verse 35, Jesus gives us the great paradox. If we try to save our lives, we will lose them. But if we lose our lives for Jesus’ sake and the gospel’s, we will save it. In other words, losers are keepers. And we can’t have both. It is not, “both… and.” It is “either…or.” We either save our lives now and lose them later, or we lose our lives now and will have them later. Let me put it in everyday language. At some point, our desires are going to go one way and Jesus is going to tell us to go the other way. And we must decide. Are we going to obey Jesus? Or are we going to follow our desires? And Jesus says that obedience to him will feel like death now, but it will bring life later. While disobedience to Jesus will feel like life now but it will bring death later. Choose wisely. Because only those who choose to lose their lives for Jesus’ sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Second, it is for our ultimate profit. Jesus is giving us a lesson on spiritual economics. Every one of us has a soul and our soul is eternal. Our body will perish but our soul will remain forever. And to lose one’s soul is to suffer eternal loss. Now, think about it. Let’s say that we have the riches of Elon Musk. We can have whatever we want. Money can get us a lot. It can get us fame, acceptance, comfort, control, power, and even a relationship. Do you realize that a rich person tends to have a hot girlfriend or a cute boyfriend? Money can get us the world. But the joy of money only last in this lifetime. We cannot bring what we have in this world into the next world. The best money can give us is 100 years of pleasure. But our souls are eternal. It has no end. And here is Jesus’ argument. Whatever we are holding onto that keeps us from following Jesus, we are going to lose it anyway. It won’t last. But our soul is forever. So, what profit would we have if we gain the whole world and lose our soul? That’s not a profit. That is a terrible loss. It does not matter how long 100 years are, it is only a drop of water in comparison to eternity. So why would we choose a drop of water over oceans of joy?

Third, it is for our eternal acceptance. The Bible tells us that we are created with eternity in our hearts. It means that deep inside our hearts we know that judgement day is coming. We know that this world is not all there is to it. We know that every wrongdoing will be punished. We know that Hitler and Stalin are not going to get away with it. And Jesus says that he will return in glory to judge the world. And if we are ashamed of Jesus in this world, Jesus will be ashamed of us in the coming world. This is a strong warning. The terms and conditions of following Jesus have eternal consequences. Yes, it is extremely costly to follow Jesus. But here is the question. Can we afford to not follow Jesus? Because not following Jesus leads to eternal condemnation.

And Jesus ends by saying, Mark 9:1 – And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” There are many different interpretations of what Jesus means but it cannot mean that some of the disciples won’t die until Jesus return in glory to judge the world. I think it means that some of them will witness the kingdom of God come with power through Jesus’ resurrection and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. And the power of the Kingdom of God is foreshadowed in the story of the transfiguration next week.

So, these are the terms and conditions of following Jesus. And these conditions will not be renewed or revised. They are the same forever. And right now, Jesus is sending us a message. It says, “My terms and condition have not changed. You must read and agree to the conditions in order to proceed.” The question is, are we going to tick the box? But before we answer, I want us to consider one more thing. Mark 8:31 – And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. Jesus does not just say he will suffer, he says he must suffer. He must be rejected, killed, and rise again. The word “must” is very important. Because what Jesus says is not just, “I have come to die,” but “I must die. It is absolutely necessary that I die. There is no other way.” Why? Because that is the only way to satisfy the justice of God. Every wrongdoing must be paid for. There is no such thing as free forgiveness.

And here is the point that I want us to consider. Before Jesus asks us to tick the box, he has first ticked the box. Jesus has agreed to the terms and conditions to save us before we agree to it. Before Jesus tells us to take up our cross, he first went to the cross for us. Jesus is not telling us to do what he has not done himself. Jesus read the terms and conditions. He knew exactly what it would cost him to make us his and he paid the price for it. Jesus left his glory and became one of us. Jesus suffered injustice at the hand of the best people in society. He was mistreated by his earthly family. He was neglected by those closest to him at the time he needed them the most. Jesus sweated blood in the garden of Gethsemane thinking of what he had to endure. Jesus was forsaken by God the Father at the cross and he was killed. Why did he do all that? For us. These are the cost that Jesus must pay for our sins. Jesus read the terms and conditions beforehand, and he said, “I agree to the terms and conditions.” He paid the cost of our lives with his life. He gave all for our sake. And now he wants us to do the same. And here is the irony. We are often ashamed of Jesus when we don’t have any reason to be ashamed. But Jesus was not ashamed of us when he has a million reasons to be ashamed of us. Jesus had nothing to gain and everything to lose when he ticked the box. Yet he did it out of love for us. The question is, are we going to tick the box? Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. What do you think usually comes to mind when people speak of following Jesus?
2. What does it mean to be a growing Christian? Can you see yourself growing as a Christian?
3. Why is it important for us to have the right understanding of Jesus’ Messiahship? Give examples of the wrong view of Messiahship and its effect on life.
4. Following Jesus = Denying self + Taking the cross.  List out everyday implications of this truth.
5. Look at the three reasons Jesus gives to follow him. Which one stands out the most for you and why?
6. How does the gospel empower us to follow Jesus?