True followers of Jesus-1

하나님이여 주는 나의 하나님이시라 내가 간절히 주를 찾되 물이 없어 마르고 곤핍한 땅에서 내 영혼이 주를 갈망하며 내 육체가 주를 앙모하나이다 ² 내가 주의 권능과 영광을 보려 하여 이와 같이 성소에서 주를 바라보았나이다 ³ 주의 인자가 생명보다 나으므로 내 입술이 주를 찬양할 것이라 ⁴ 이러므로 내 평생에 주를 송축하며 주의 이름으로 인하여 내 손을 들리이다. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ² So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. ³ Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. ⁴ So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. (Ps. 63:1-4)

¹⁸ 예수께서 무리가 자기를 에워쌈을 보시고 저 편으로 건너가기를 명하시니라 ¹⁹ 한 서기관이 나아와 예수께 말씀하되 선생님이여 어디로 가시든지 저는 좇으리이다 ²⁰ 예수께서 이르시되 여우도 굴이 있고 공중의 새도 거처가 있으되 오직 인자는 머리 둘 곳이 없다 하시더라 ²¹ 제자 중에 또 하나가 가로되 주여 나로 먼저 가서 내 부친을 장사하게 허락하옵소서

 ²² 예수께서 가라사대 죽은 자들로 저희 죽은 자를 장사하게 하고 너는 나를 좇으라 하시니라. ¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. ¹⁹ And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." ²⁰ And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." ²¹ Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." ²² And Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead." (Matt. 8:18-22)

FCF: We tend to stop following Jesus when we fail to get what we want from Him.

주제: 예수님은 최고를 받으시기에 합당하신 주님이기에 어떠한 대가에도 그분을 따라가야 합니다.

Theme: Because Jesus is the Lord worthy of our utmost pursuit, we must follow Him at all costs.

Introduction: Sheep need a shepherd for provision, guidance, and protection (Ps. 23). They are so weak and helpless against wolves or lions. They are so vulnerable to danger. They are likely to follow one another into danger. So, they should rely on their shepherds for safety. Knowing our tendency to move into danger like unthinking sheep from the loving care of our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, the prophet Isaiah said, 우리는 다 양 같아서 그릇 행하여 각기 제 길로 갔거늘. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-- every one-- to his own way (Isa. 53:6). I found an good illustration in James Dobson’s book Life on the Edge: “A documentary on television was filmed in a packinghouse where sheep were being slaughtered for the meat market. Huddled in pens outside were hundreds of nervous animals that seemed to sense danger. A gate opened that led up a ramp and through a door to the right. To get the sheep to walk up that ramp, the handlers used a “Judas goat.” The goat did his job very efficiently. He walked to the bottom of the ramp and looked back. Then he took a few more steps and stopped again. The sheep looked at each other skittishly and then began moving toward the ramp. Eventually, they followed the goat to the top, where he went through a little gate to the left, while they were forced to turn to the right and to their deaths. It was a dramatic illustration of unthinking herd behavior and the deadly consequences it often brings.”

                  We have such a tendency to trust ourselves about whom to follow or where to go and turn. We are often appalled at the shocking news a lot of young people or even intellectuals follow their cult leaders who exploit their purses, harass them sexually, and lead them to hell. And some so-called Christians in the church are deceived and determined to follow such false shepherds as their Christs or returned Lords. Even in Jesus’ day, the multitudes had to decide whether or not they would follow a man named “Jesus from the Nazareth,” a son of a carpenter, an uneducated outlier. If He had been a mere miracle monger or religious charlatan, they would have perished with Him. But He was the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. They were called to follow Jesus the Messiah. Indeed, a great crowd flocked around Him at first. When He died on the cross, there were almost one around Him except for His detractors. Why? Following Jesus is a great challenge. Without His enabling grace, we may be tempted to follow someone else other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, a countless number of people today follow their false religions, ideologies, philosophies, etc. Some follow science as a way of salvation. Others follow politics as a way of salvation. Still many follow religious charlatans for salvation. So, we must make sure whether we are following the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead with His mighty power.

                  However, many in the church seem to give up following Jesus and follow their interests, pleasures, materials, or prosperities. Then, what about you and me? What or whom are we following today? We may feel difficulty following the Lord Jesus. We have our own plans or priorities. Following Jesus seems at first fairly easy and profitable to us. When it is lucrative, we are willing to follow Him. But when it costs us much, we reconsider whether we continue following Him or not. When He calls us into salvation, Jesus calls us to follow Him. Because Jesus is the Lord worthy of our utmost pursuit, we must follow Him at all costs. This is what we learn from the text today. No matter what may happen to us, we shouldn’t give up following Him. His true disciples follow Him at all costs. Today, I shall discuss the matter of following Jesus. I have three points to share with you. I will take up one point each Sunday for the next three weeks. Today, I will discuss what may get in the way of following Jesus. Next Lord’s Day, I will discuss the proper motives of following Jesus. The following Lord’s Day, I will deal with how to follow Him. My first point today is…

I.              위협적인 장애물에도 불구하고 예수님을 따르라.

Follow Jesus in spite of life-threatening obstacles.

Through the book of Matthew up to this point, we thus far have seen the miraculous birth of Jesus by Virgin Mary, His baptism, and temptation in the wilderness. We have heard His first message, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” Also, we have read the story how He commanded Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him, promising them He would make them fishers of men. Then, we have learned what the Lord Jesus had taught His disciples the Sermon on the Mount in which He described the characteristics, ethics of citizens of the kingdom of God. He demonstrated the authority in His teaching unlike that of Jewish religious teachers. Then, we have seen how He demonstrated the authority over diseases, such leper, paralysis, fever, demons, and all kinds of disease. Indeed, the multitudes heard about the news of Jesus the Nazarene, His humble background, His kingdom message and teachings, His miracles, etc. Surely, the crowds began to form their personal opinions about who Jesus might be. Some of them were certainly willing to follow Jesus.

Last Lord’s Day, we talked about Jesus’ messianic suffering for His people. One Sabbath evening, He healed all the demon-possessed and all the sick who gathered at the door of Peter’s house. Having seen all the miracles, which they had never seen anywhere and anytime, they must have been astounded. They had to interpret what they had seen and experienced or what He taught and did. Surely, they benefitted from His teachings and miracles. They liked Him. By this time, they must have raised the question, “Who is He?” “Is He the Messiah we have been waiting for?” “Is He the One who will set us free from the oppression of Rome?” They began to wonder who He would be and to develop a hope in the promised Messiah. On the basis of all the information on the virgin birth of Jesus, His escape to Egypt, His settlement in Nazareth, His baptism, His temptation, His message, His teachings, His healing miracles, or His exorcism, Matthew concludes Jesus is the Christ, the Son of David, the Promised Seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, and the Suffering Servant who took aways the iniquities of His own people and took upon Himself their weaknesses and diseases.

Verse 17-이는 선지자 이사야로 하신 말씀에 우리 연약한 것을 친히 담당하시고 병을 짊어지셨도다 함을 이루려 하심이더라. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases" is the logical conclusion about the messianic identity and suffering of Jesus. Matthew sees the messianic prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled in the public ministry of Jesus, and will be fulfilled in the vicarious suffering of Jesus on the cross. He tells His Jewish readers that Jesus is the promised Messiah and calls on them to accept Him as their Messiah and follow Him. As He continued to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God, teach the ethics of God’s kingdom, and serve the crowds, Jesus taught them about the cost of discipleship. While they were wondering whether they would follow Jesus as their Messiah, Jesus warned them that following Him wouldn’t be easy as they assumed. The way Jesus took was not easy, cozy, or prosperous, but tough, narrow, troublesome. Even though He was willing to invite anyone to follow Him, Jesus knew how challenging being His disciple would be.

In fact, Jesus tells would-be disciples what to do to become His true disciples: ²⁴ 이에 예수께서 제자들에게 이르시되 아무든지 나를 따라 오려거든 자기를 부인하고 자기 십자가를 지고 나를 좇을 것이니라 누구든지 제 목숨을 구원코자 하면 잃을 것이요 누구든지 나를 위하여 제 목숨을 잃으면 찾으리라. ²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matt. 16:24-25). Following Jesus necessarily involves pain and trial that arises from self-denial and bearing one’s own cross. People in the church do not seem to consider the cost of discipleship seriously. They don’t seem to practice it in their everyday living. They seem to simply assume that they are following Jesus even though they don’t enter the narrow gate Jesus sets before them. Apparently, they try to avoid any hardship or suffering they are called to endure for following Jesus. They seem to believe a blessed Christian life is a pain or trouble-free life. We like to stay in comfort zones, unwilling to take an adventurous way with Jesus.

Again, following Jesus involves painful self-denial and self-death. If we disregard this truth, we can’t truly follow Jesus. We may be called as churchgoers, but not Jesus’s disciples. We may be called the crowds or fans as in the day of Jesus, but not His disciples. We may be proud of being in the majority of nominal Christians in the church, but not belong to the minority of true believers in the church. We may sit in nicely cushioned seats and enjoy sermons as if we were watching movies. We seek Christian entertainments, but not sacrifices for Christ and His church. Like the multitudes in the day of Jesus, a lot of people in the church are fans of Jesus who simply try to enjoy emotional highs in worship, not obey the Lord’s commands. We have to ask ourselves the question whether we are fans of Jesus or disciples of Jesus. How can we find out whether we are His followers or not? One of the ways we examine our discipleship is to see whether we follow Jesus in spite of life-threatening dangers.

After having spent a busy Sabbath day, Jesus was surrounded by a large crowd who had seen Jesus performing miracles. This crowd seemed to follow Jesus wherever He would go. If He had presented Himself as a political messiah to them, stirring up their passion for freedom of Israel, Jesus could have established a political kingdom in Israel. If He had acted like a religious demagogue, Jesus could have established a religious kingdom in Israel. He was able to solve the problem of food for people as seen in the story of feeding more than ten thousand people with the five loaves of bread and two fish. But He didn’t come to build a small clique of blind faith. Indeed, He had power to do anything. But He knew why He came down to the world. He came to do the redemptive purpose of His Father, which would be fulfilled by His death and resurrection. He came to establish the kingdom of God all over the world.

The crowd didn’t understand why He came to the world. They were simply fascinated with the manifestation of His supernatural power. They were trying to make Jesus their King so that they wouldn’t worry about personal, national securities, food, health issues. They were not calculating what it meant to follow Jesus Christ. They were simply interested in immediate improvements of their circumstances and instant gratification of their heart desires. They were not interested in paying anything to follow Jesus. But Jesus knew why they were flocking around Him. Their purpose of following Him was found not in Him, but in their gains. Knowing this, Jesus knew many would go away from Him when they encountered hardships while following Him. He knew they wanted to indulge in self-complacency. So, He invited them to go over to the other side of the sea of Galilee. Going to the other side of the lake was His definite plan and will. So, He would definitely get on a boat to get to His destination and do something there.

In fact, we know from the accounts of the gospel writers that Jesus would encounter a storm in the lake while he was sleeping in the boat. His disciples would be in panic, completely gripped by terror of death. They woke Him up and asked Him to rescue them from the storm. The Lord rebuked their lack of faith, telling them not to fear the winds and the sea. Then, He rebuked the storm and calmed it down. The disciples were astounded by this miracle that the winds and the sea obeyed His voice. They were taught that Jesus had the authority to control the natural world. Jesus demonstrated His authority over His created world. Then, Jesus got to the country of Gadarenes where He healed the demon-possessed man. To deliver this man, Jesus gave orders to the other side.

But as soon as the crowd heard of the Lord’s order, they had to decide whether they would follow Him to the other side of the lake. To follow Him, they would have to cross over the lake from their safe zone. How could they go over to the other side? The huge body of waters got in their way to follow Jesus. They might have to pay boat fares to go there. So, they might have to be concerned about the money. Some of them may have been concerned about getting on a boat. They may have had a fear of the big waters. Or they may have been concerned about a huge storm in the lake that would be life-threatening. The lake here refers to a hindrance to following Jesus. People want to go after Jesus as long as they walk on a well-paved, safe way. For some, the sea of Galilee was a source of income and livelihood. For others, it was a menacing, life-threatening place. As seen in the case of the disciples, they thought they were dying because of an unexpected gust and raging sea. Except a small few, the majority of the crowd didn’t like to leave their safe zone and pass the huge body of waters to follow Jesus.

We face a host of obstacles of life that hinder us from following Jesus. First, our safety and security get in the way of following Jesus. We don’t want to do anything that may endanger us. We tend to stay in a safe zone. A lot of Christians today fall into self-complacency. They invite Jesus to stay with them where they feel safe and secure. They don’t listen to Jesus who invites them to take a challenge adventure with Him. Self-complacency is a blight that saps energy, dulls attitudes, and causes a drain on the brain. It makes us fear the unknown, mistrust the untried, and abhor the new. Like water, self-complacent people follow the easiest course -- downhill. They draw false strength from looking back. A lot of us may not like the Lord’s command, “Let’s go to the other side of the sea of Galilee.” We may consider the other side of the lake as a danger even though the Lord goes with us. To follow Jesus, we should overcome the danger of self-complacency.

Surely, we may face a huge body of waters in the way to follow Jesus. We have to be willing to pay any cost for following Him. We may encounter discomfort, tiring labor, persecution, oppression, bullying, or discrimination in the way of following Jesus. The crowd had to face the huge sea of Galilee. The commoners didn’t know how to cross over the other side of the lake. They may not have had any money to pay for boat fare. It may have been quite a distance they had to go with Jesus. Some may have had fear of a sea. The disciples were going with Jesus to go to the other side of the lake. They were obeying the Lord’s order. But they encountered a life-threatening storm and high waves. They may have wondered why they had to go through the tempestuous winds. Well, following Jesus may lead us to trials.

Parental oppositions are quite common. I know a lady from Japan who studied at Bob Jones University. After she got saved, she wanted to know and serve Jesus Christ. She decided to come to BJU to study. However, her entire family was against her new faith in Jesus. So, she was expelled from the fellowship with her family. They didn’t like her witnessing of Jesus to them. They simply kicked her out because she embraced Jesus as her Savior and Lord. Despite the estrangement and opposition of her parents, brother, and other family members, she couldn’t stop following Jesus. Even though her family didn’t understand why she changed so much, she kept praying for their salvation. She didn’t turn her back against her family. She loved them even more with the love of Christ. She kept her faithfulness to God. She kept following Jesus in spite of her family opposition. She never succumbed to their persuasions. They chose to follow Jesus despite great pains she suffered from her family.

Some are hesitant to following Jesus because they assume that they have to sacrifice a lot of things. They assume they have to sacrifice fun things in life to follow Christ. They feel there are so many things they shouldn’t do in order to follow Him. For example, a lot of Korean new converts are worried about making offerings to the spirits of their ancestors. Christianity forbids ancestor worship. But Koreans grew up in a Confucian culture that ancestor worship is mandatory to show respect to their ancestors. New converts are worried about violating the long-held custom. Certainly, ancestor worship gets in the way of following Jesus to a lot of Christians. Catholic believers in Korea have compromised their faith in Christ alone. They are allowed to practice ancestor worship because they are indoctrinated that ancestor worship is a practice of paying tribute to their dead parents or grandparents. They believe ancestor worship is not idolatry. They do something noble because they simply demonstrate filial love to their ancestors. Some Christians still struggle over this issue, which certainly poses a hindrance to following Christ.

We should not let anything hinder us from following Christ. As for the crowd in the text, a distance, a great body of waters, or a violent storm got in the way of following Jesus. We may face various storms of life. Many give up following Him because of hardships in life. But His disciples stick to Jesus because He controls all things by His divine power and works out everything for the glory of the Father and the good of His people. It costs us for following Jesus. No matter what we may suffer, we should be willing to be with Jesus anywhere He goes and leads us. Instead of belonging to a large crowd who give up following Jesus before a huge storm of life, we should belong to a small few who are willing to risk anything to follow Jesus.

A large crowd followed Jesus. And a few disciples followed Jesus. The crowd consisted of a variety of groups. They came to Him after they had heard about the rumors of Jesus. They hung around Jesus. They shared their common interest in Jesus together. Without knowing one another, they gathered together and scattered together. They attempted to follow Jesus out of mob psychology. They had a vague expectation about Jesus. They didn’t have a one-on-one meeting with Jesus. They didn’t have a one-to-one relationship with Him. Even though they heard of His teachings and witnessed His miracles, they had no clear understanding of Jesus’ identity. Their greatest concern was to find answer to their problems of life. They didn’t think about what would cost them for following Jesus. They were thrilled about His miracles. They simply anticipated something good would happen to them for following Jesus. Such their expectation was not true faith. As mentioned above, following Jesus involves suffering. It refers to following the painful way of the cross of Jesus. While following Jesus, we may be condemned as heretics, pressed down under all kinds of persecution, abandoned by our families, or bullied by our society. There may be a life-threatening storm in the way the Lord invites us to go together. Likewise, when they suffer pains and losses, the crowd may abandon following Jesus as dilapidated shoes.

On the contrary, true disciples are a few who risk their lives to follow Jesus. They are unlike the multitudes who easily abandon and leave Jesus. They endeavor not to give up following Jesus no matter what happens to them. They do not depart from Jesus while complaining about a tough way Jesus leads them. Trusting His guidance, they try to entrust themselves to Him. Even though they might die for following Jesus, they are determined to follow Him. It is because they believe Jesus is eternal life to them. They still follow Jesus in spite of familial oppositions. They still follow Jesus in spite of forfeiting their jobs. They do not deny Jesus even though are threatened to death. However, we may not be able to follow Jesus in this way only with our efforts. The twelve apostles of Jesus promised to follow Jesus unto death without denying Him. But none of them kept that promise. Blind to money, Judas Iscariot sold Jesus over to the high priests. The head disciple Peter denied Him three times. Nonetheless, Jesus had prayed for Peter’s faith not to fail. And after He rose from the dead, He first came to Peter to restore him to His calling. We can’t wholly follow Jesus only with our own strength, wisdom, and efforts. Relying on Jesus’ enabling grace and humbly following His guidance are a way to follow Him to the end. The disciples of Jesus are those who confess, “I can do nothing apart from Jesus” and rely on Him. We should belong to a small group of His true disciples.     

Conclusion: In His book “The Cost of Discipleship,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer diagnoses the problem of modern churches as seeking “cheap grace” over paying the price of discipleship. The reason there are so many nominal Christians in the church today is found in the fact that they are accustomed to cheap grace. Bonhoeffer describes cheap grace as follows: 값싼 은혜는 우리 교회의 치명적인 적입니다. 오늘날 우리는 값비싼 은혜를 위해 싸워야 합니다. 값싼 은혜는 시장에서 팔리는 값싼 제품을 같습니다. 성례, 죄 용서, 종교의 위로를 가격을 깎아서 던져줍니다…대가를 지불하지 않는 은혜, 값을 지불하지 않는 은혜…모든 것을 공짜로 얻을 수 있는 것입니다.  “Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjack’s wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices … grace without price, grace without cost!… Everything can be had for nothing.” The Lord Jesus Christ pay the price of His broken body and shed blood to grant us saving grace. His saving grace is costly. We have received it for free by faith. This doesn’t mean that we are free to live in a way we desire. Since we are given such costly grace, we are now willing to pay anything to follow Christ right away. If we postpone it, we may never really follow Christ. At all costs, we must seek a life with Christ. If we lose Christ, we have nothing. But if we have Christ, we have everything. Again, we can’t be confident that we will follow Christ at all costs. Remember the tragic failures of His disciples who ran for life out of fear of death. We need to seek the Lord’s enabling grace. We need to rely on Christ and His mighty love so that we really follow Christ with all our hearts. Following Christ is our blessed privilege. Let’s walk with Him from now on and forever.

Benediction: ²⁴ 여호와는 네게 복을 주시고 너를 지키시기를 원하며 ²⁵ 여호와는 그 얼굴로 네게 비취사 은혜 베푸시기를 원하며 ²⁶ 여호와는 그 얼굴을 네게로 향하여 드사 평강 주시기를 원하노라. The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶ the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.