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READ: Mark 10:32-34
CHALLENGE: Follow Jesus No Matter What
Vv32-34 – They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
This will be the third time that Jesus predicts his death but they are following Jesus Christ regardless. It’s so inspiring! There’s something special about this story and it drew out a lot of thoughts from me. Jesus is literally marching toward his death and He knows it and so do they. Despite that, he leads the way and they follow Him no matter what. It’s a stellar example to us all.
- FOLLOWING JESUS TAKES COURAGE
Jesus had a Great Lakes freighter’s worth of courage! He is leading the march to his death and it’s a climb up to Jerusalem! They all had to make it and the elevation gain was 3500 feet from the Jordan Valley below. It was a rugged journey and it took courage, especially knowing it was heading to an execution.
Following Jesus requires that we walk uphill at times. It takes guts and determination to continue doing the right thing. To surround yourself with the right kind of people. To continue serving through opposition, obstacles, and weariness.
The city of Jerusalem was located up in the southern mountain range in Israel. They climbed up the rigorous road heading to the pilgrimage feast of Passover. Multitudes made the trip each year.
Last year I taught through all the psalms and I thought of one of them as I read this account about climbing up. It is called a psalm of ascent that the people would sing or chant as they made the trek up to Jerusalem. Jesus is taking the same walk that many had been taking for centuries and perhaps He was also thinking of the same psalm.
Psalm 121 – I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
I lift my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from? I had often thought that you’re looking to the mountains for help because you’re looking for God. That’s not the case at all! You’re looking to the mountains because that’s where the danger is on the way to Jerusalem. There could be bandits or other problems along the way.
You’re looking at the mountain in front of you and there’s uncertainty and perhaps troubles. In Christ’s case, it’s deadly. You look ahead and it’s scary! Where does your help come? Your help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He won’t let your foot slip as you hike up. He watches over you.
It takes courage to follow and do the right thing, so remember that God is your help. You count on God each step of each day. That’s courageous! Jesus has so much courage in facing evil.
What was the feast they were going to attend? It was Passover. Do you remember what Passover was all about? God sent Moses to deliver Israel and He sent 10 plagues to convince Pharaoh to let His people go. What was that last plague? It was the death of the first born. God had Israel kill a lamb and take the blood and apply it to the threshold of each door. When the angel of death came to their home that night, he passed over the houses protected by the blood of the lamb. Thus Passover! Their lives were spared and Israel was granted her freedom from bondage.
They celebrated this deliverance each and every year. John called Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and that lamb was headed to Jerusalem. There he would die and through faith in His death on the cross, death passes over us. We are delivered from bondage and set free!
This was such a huge part of world history and salvation history. This courageous march is still impacting lives today as people are continually freed from bondage. I was just told the story of how drug addicts were invited to church, found Christ, and their drug house became a house of worship the very next day. POWERFUL! We are looking for that!
Jesus led! Many times a rabbi walked in the middle of the group. Jesus was in the lead showing his willing choice to die for the sins of the world. No one took his life from him, he surrendered it.
It takes courage to follow Jesus.
- Courage Overcomes Obstacles
The disciples were astonished. They were amazed. Why? They say that less than two weeks prior is when Jesus called Lazarus from the grave. The religious leaders were looking for a reason to kill Jesus right then and there. Yet He’s marching into a nasty and powerful storm so they are amazed that he sets his sights on facing his enemies!
Perhaps they are astonished that anyone would want Jesus dead. Astonished that anyone could want to kill Jesus and fight against pure teachings, freedom, and the healing he offered.
Who would want to kill Jesus? It was the chief priest and teachers of the law! It wasn’t idol worshippers! It was the religious people who would also celebrate Passover. Jesus challenged their traditions and they were jealous of his following.
The disciples continue although the road ahead promises to be difficult. We stick with Jesus and we carry on. What else can we do? What else would God expect us to do? You go where He leads and we find strength there. We are here so that people can connect with God and find a new life in Christ.
I think of what Job went through. He struggled in his faith but he also continued believing and kept asking for an audience to God. No matter what your hurt is, the best thing you can do is to keep believing and to carry on. They were following him.
I’m astonished by many things. I’m also amazed and grateful for the incredible things that God continues to do. It’s truly remarkable and praiseworthy.
- Courage Overcomes Fears
The others who followed were “afraid”. They are uncertain as to what the future holds. There is gloom awaiting. There is death. There were times all the followers died along with the leader, but they are still willing to follow anyway.
They stuck with Jesus. He’s the leader and if this is what is deemed best then it’s the way that you move forward even if it’s scary. His path is a difficult and perilous one but they still follow Him. They are literally all in when it comes to the salvation of the world. Are we?
I have found that when it comes to doing the right thing, you cannot be wishy washy about it. Make sure it matches God’s will but then go in that direction. It might be uphill and discouraging at times – keep going. You might not know what will happen. You might not know if you can. Just have courage!
A couple of times our church went white water rafting down the Upper Gauley in West Virginia. They have 5 class five rapids along the stretch. They tell you that if you come out – aggressively swim back to the raft. You gather below the dam and you launch into that river determined to paddle and listen to your guide as he will get your through. We did flip the raft and he got all of us back in. You don’t know what might happen but we shoot the rapids with a great guide in Jesus.
Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Did you catch that? He will be with you wherever you go. Have courage!
- FOLLOWING JESUS TAKES COMMITMENT
Vv33-34 – “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
Listen to what Jesus is headed into? It’s condemnation.
- Jesus Was Condemned
To condemn means to make a decision AGAINST them. It’s the decision that determines that Jesus is worthy of death. Based on what? Based on trumped up charges devoid of truth. As the one criminal said of Jesus Christ, he did nothing to deserve being on this cross.
The irony of condemning Jesus. John 3:17 – For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Jesus did not to the world to condemn the world but to save the world. He’s not here to judge or condemn or look down on. His mission is to save and this continues to be our mission. We follow Jesus. We might get condemned but we continue to follow.
- Jesus Was Mocked
To mock is to ridicule and make fun of. They dressed Jesus in a purple robe for sport. The jeered at him. They called on him to save himself.
Might following Jesus get you lampooned or made fun of? Might you get treated as if you’re less. Sure. What do you do? Keep on going.
Like Nehemiah who as mocked for rebuilding the walls. You can’t do it. It’s going to fall over. A fox jumping on it would knock it over. It’s not going to work. Nehemiah just kept building the wall! In that story, I’d rather be the guy with trowel in my hand rather than a negative word! Be the person building, not the person tearing down.
- Jesus Was Spit On
You’re completely disrespected and disdained. The Old Testament predicted that the Messiah would be spit on. Job talked about being so low that he was a person others would spit on. He also said this a few verses later in Job 17:9 – Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.
What an insult. There’s always someone who thinks they’re better than you and who can verbally spit on you. You continue serving.
- Jesus Was Flogged
They beat him pretty good. They tore the skin straight off his back. Just insulting him was not enough. They wanted him marred! They wanted to literally tear into him. The hatred behind such an act is horrendous.
People still hate and say hateful things. But as Paul said, when they curse us, we bless. We’re just on a different path.
- Jesus Was Killed
Killed, they really wanted to silence Jesus Christ. They did not want him to speak.
The great news is that you just cannot stop the work of God! Praise God. It was all very painful and fitting but that’s humanity vs God. It’s a painful endeavor.
I want to talk about how hard DEATH is. I truly hate the whole concept of losing our earthly life or that of friends. It’s scary.
It started with Adam and Eve. If you eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, you’ll die. They did. We’ve been dying ever since. We were built to live but the wages of sin is death! We die because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. It’s part of the curse.
Death is a separation of the spirit from the body. Fortunately to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And the hardest part is being physically separated from the people you love. I haven’t seen my father in almost 26 years. That’s a long time.
Jesus took on death! What Jesus did and considering the horrors about to happen. He went to face that thing that we hate. There is a second death mentioned in the Bible in Romans 6:23 and that death is eternal separation from God into a place called the Lake of Fire. The worse part about hell is the absence of God’s presence. Jesus took on both.
Jesus was committed to following God. As he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Not my will but thine be done! It’s not my will but your will be done!
We certainly surrender things to follow God and may he use it powerfully as he did the death of Jesus Christ. Talk about good coming from bad! Salvation and life change!
It was a painful journey. Following Christ takes courage and commitment.
- FOLLOWING JESUS MEANS LOOKING FOR THE GOOD
“…three days later he will rise.”
I’m fascinated by the three days. What did he do? What did he experience? Who did he talk to? What did time feel like there? Was that also part of the mission of salvation.
He rose again and gives us hope beyond the grave. This is a huge part of our Christianity. We believe in another life. We believe that we will see our loved ones again. When Jesus came back from the dead, he had defeated the ultimate Goliath!
Where oh death is your sting. We can continue serving God
1 Corinthians 15: 55-58 – “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Death lost it’s sting. If a bee doesn’t have a stinger, it won’t hurt you the same. It would be like a poisonous snake without fangs. How could it deliver it’s venom? It can’t.
We have victory through Jesus Christ. And because there is eternal life, our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Why? It counts for all of eternity. That’s powerful – it’s incentive! So regardless of what we’re going through there is a great thought here. Look for good things.
Even in death, there is victory. Jesus went to the cross but he rose again! Who could have ever imagined the beauty that would come out of Christ’s pain?
We have new life in Christ that came through death. So much good still comes through our courage and commitment to Christ. We believe in the good He wants to do.
I lose a loved one and I’ll be thinking about seeing them again. I go through hard times and I’ll trust God to work out all things together for good.
One thing that I’d like to talk about is the idea of the good. When you’re tired. When you’re facing deaths of sorts. When you’ve died to your own wishes let’s say. It’s the good things that keep you going. If you see that you’ve helped someone. Or in some small way you’ve been an encouragement or pointed someone to Christ, that’s a beautiful thing.
It’s great to see the youth group flourishing. It’s great to see so many serving. It’s great to hear the stories of changed lives.
On the days when I’m busy, as long as I know that I have or can help someone or encourage someone, I take great comfort in that. So we died to self but wow, there’s good that comes. So as your march up the hill, you look to the uncertainties, know that God will meet you there!
When it comes to following. It takes courage and that’s what Jesus has. It takes commitment and Christ did the Lord’s will. It takes looking for the good.
Do you have the courage to take that step to follow Jesus? The commitment to follow through? Can you see the good that God is doing, even through you? Believe it!