Toward the end of his earthly ministry Jesus spoke to his disciples plainly about the nature of discipleship. There were important principles to keep in mind whenever thinking about what it means to follow Jesus.
1. Following Christ may bring division to our closest human relationships.
LK 12:49 "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! [50] But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! [51] Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. [52] From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. [53] They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
Jesus yearns for the day when the fire of the gospel would spread across the earth. That couldn’t happen until he had suffered.
To make a commitment to Christ might bring a division in some of our closest relationships. In our largely Christian culture, this is rare—but not unprecedented.
* Such divisions still take place when a member of another religion embraces Christ.
* Such divisions still take place when a “confirmed” pagan “gets religion.”
* Such divisions still take place among the sophisticated and cultured when a member takes Christ’s claims seriously.
We may have to be willing to take responsibility for those ostracized by their non-believing relatives and friends. We must speak clearly of the possible consequences for following Christ.
2. Following Jesus calls for us to be attuned to the signs of the times.
LK 12:54 He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, `It's going to rain,' and it does. [55] And when the south wind blows, you say, `It's going to be hot,' and it is. [56] Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?
The scenarios Jesus suggests are “no brainers”. Anyone could look toward the west—out over the Mediterranean Sea and predict that the moisture laden clouds would bring rain. Anyone feel the winds coming from the direction of the desert and predict a hot day.
Why couldn’t they do the same with the signs Jesus had been giving them? The miracles of Jesus were truly signs of the times. They pointed to the presence of God in the world. Why didn’t they see it? Larry Richards explains a key term, “Hypocrites.” The term can simply refer to wearing a mask for a play or it can mean one whose life is essentially false.
In the Bible the negative meaning prevails. Often hypocrisy refers to evil or sin in general, not pretense in particular. In the Old Testament, “hypocrite” was used by the King James Version whereas later translations (e.g. RSV, NIV) often use “godless” or “ungodly” (Job 8:13; 15:34-35; 17:8; Isa. 9:17; 33:14, etc.). This “godless” person was totally opposed to God or forgetful of God. The Hebrew word often translated “hypocrite” referred to pollution or corruption. Although the Hebrews were concerned about pretense or insincerity (Isa. 29:13; Jer. 12:2), there is no one Hebrew word exactly equivalent to “hypocrisy.”
Hypocrisy in the narrower sense of playing a role is highlighted in the New Testament, especially in the teaching of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels. …The hypocrites could interpret the weather but not the signs of the times (Luke 12:56).
Perhaps both meanings apply in this passage. They were evil. The word “hypocrites” suggests being evil or godless (following the Hebrew usage of the term). Yet they also claimed to be wise. They weren’t.
In contrast, Jesus’ followers were to understand the signs of the times. Just as the first century believers needed to be aware of what God was doing in the world, so, too, to we.
For a while after 9/11 our world changed. You could walk into department stores and hear Christian music playing. It was as if people were saying, We want to affirm our faith and the two or three atheists who don’t like it can go elsewhere.
Now we seem to have had a pendulum swing back to a more secular mindset.
We need to be attuned to what we can do to take advantage of the new attitudes and hunger in people or find ways to overcome resistance.
3. Following Jesus calls for us to judge for ourselves what is right to do and act accordingly.
LK 12:57 "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? [58] As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. [59] I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. "
Let me try to paraphrase what I believe Jesus is saying here: “Look, your ‘religious’ teachers are claiming I am a charlatan. They want you to ignore what I do and what I say. Instead, evaluate the evidence for yourselves. Once you do, you’ll be like a man who is going to court with the evidence stacked against him. If you’re wise, you’ll try to be reconciled before the judge bangs his gavel.”
Certainly this calls us to examine our response to Christ. At the same time, it calls us to be sure we, as a church, present the claims of Christ in such a way that men and women understand that they must make a decision, that they must decide how they will respond to him.
4. Following Jesus calls for us to place our priority on repentance.
LK 13:1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. [2] Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? [3] I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. [4] Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? [5] I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
This passage has captured a lot of attention since 9/11. It applies in several ways:
* It reminds us that, despite our natural inclination to speculate about tragedy, we must not rush to judgement.
* It warns us against any attitude which says those who suffered tragedy must have been greater sinners than we are. (Jesus was speaking to Judeans who tended to think of Galileans as “those people.”)
* It calls us to place priority on repentance, getting our relationship with God right.
Speculation is fun, but Jesus doesn’t call us to preach speculation, he calls us to preach repentance. Repentance is never an easy message—it’s even harder to repent. But we have to call people to repentance if we are going to be faithful.
5 Following Jesus calls for us to stress the urgency of responding to him.
LK 13:6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. [7] So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, `For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'
LK 13:8 " `Sir,' the man replied, `leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. [9] If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' "
The fig tree in question was probably about six years old since no tree would be expected to bear fruit until its third year. So, for three years this man looked forward to the fruit it would produce, he was disappointed three years in a row. Now he made a logical decision—get rid of it. But the gardener interceded for the tree, asking for one more year. Perhaps he didn’t want to waste the work he had expended. It would be a mistake to try to cast God the Father into the role of the Owner and God the Son into the role of the Gardener. The parable is not about God. It is about second chances.
The message is one of urgency: You have a chance to get right with God but you don’t know when your next chance will be your last chance.
How does what Jesus says about discipleship effect what we say about discipleship?
