“All or Nothing”

Matthew 10:24-39

June 22, 2008 – ©Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes

Introduction: In the 1950’s, a board game was created for church families, called Going to Jerusalem. Unlike in the game Monopoly, the playing piece wasn’t a top hat or dog. In Going to Jerusalem, you got to be a real disciple, represented by a little plastic man with a robe, a beard, sandals, and a staff. In order to move across the board, you looked up answers to questions in the little black New Testament provided with the game. You started in Bethlehem, and made stops at the Mount of Olives, Bethsaida, Capernaum, the stormy sea, Nazareth, and Bethany. If you rolled the dice well, you went all the way to a triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

But in this game you never got to the Crucifixion or the Resurrection. There were no demons or angry Pharisees. You only made your way through the nice stories. It was a safe adventure, perfectly suited for a Christian family on a Sunday afternoon walk with Jesus. For some reason, the idea that traveling with Jesus wasn’t meant for plastic disciples who looked up verses in a little black Bible, wasn’t a part of this game.

Going to Jerusalem missed the point that if you walk with Jesus as his disciple in this world, you will need to change your expectations. After all, Jesus said, “Take up your cross, and follow me.” [PreachingToday.com, “Board Game Softens Discipleship,” submitted by Lee Eclov].

Walking with Jesus, being his disciple, was never meant to be a game. When we follow Jesus we follow him into situations that are not always fun, or safe, or easy. In fact, sometimes following Jesus can be scary.

Persecution Expected

We find it difficult to watch a movie showing the suffering of Jesus. Yet, even if we believe that it was God’s will that Jesus would suffer and die for our sins, we don’t want to consider the possibility that we too should expect to suffer as Jesus, our teacher and master suffered.

However, Jesus reminds his disciples in Matthew 10:24, “Students are not above their teacher, nor servants above their master.” Jesus was persecuted and suffered, so we have to face the fact that we too could be persecuted or suffer as he did. The Pharisees accused Jesus of being Satan’s disciple Beelzebul, and of casting out demons by the ruler of demons [Mt.12:24]. The Jewish leaders couldn’t accept the truth of Jesus’ identity, that Jesus was the Son of God.

Jesus taught about God’s kingdom, God’s forgiveness and love. He condemned the Pharisee’s lack of forgiveness & love. He accused them of not knowing God. Finally, they found a way to get rid of Jesus when Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, accepted money from the Jewish leaders to betray him and lead them to Jesus.

In Jesus’ final hours, he was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, wrongly accused by the Jewish leaders, brutally flogged, made fun of by soldiers who put a crown of thorns on his head, was forced to carry the cross through the streets of Jerusalem up to Calvary, nailed by his hands and feet to the cross and then hung there to die a humiliating and unbelievably painful death.

Jesus submitted his life, his whole being to God, accepted the Father’s will, and suffered and died for us. So, do you still want to follow Jesus?

It’s not as though Jesus surprised his followers one day with the news that, “oh by the way, if you follow me, you can expect to be persecuted.” Jesus told them over and over that those who followed him would face rejection and persecution just as he did.

In Matthew 10:17-19, Jesus told his disciples, “Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say.”

Also in John 15:18-21 Jesus says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name.”

Jesus’ disciples should expect to experience what Jesus experienced. Christians who live in countries where Islam is the dominant religion face life-threatening persecution. Following Christ in such places requires more than a casual acceptance of Jesus.

Dave Dravecky wrote, “In America Christians pray for the burden of suffering to be lifted from their backs. In the rest of the world Christians pray for stronger backs so they can bear their suffering. It’s why we look away from the bag lady on the street and to the displays in store windows. Why we prefer going to the movies instead of to hospitals and nursing homes. [PreachingToday.com, “The Burden of Suffering.” Dave Dravecky in When You Can’t Come Back. Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 10].

Choices Required

Jesus told his disciples that if you’re going to follow him, you must make choices.

Jesus said in verse 32-33, “Whoever publicly acknowledges me I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever publicly disowns me I will disown before my Father in heaven.”

We cannot just believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead. We must also declare with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. [Rom.10:9]. An invisible or silent witness to faith in Jesus Christ is no witness at all. We must choose to tell others about Jesus.

However, when we talk about Jesus, we can expect resistance and even rejection. It may be that our family members will turn against us if we proclaim Christ to them. Our friends may reject us.

Jesus said in verse 37, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” What is more important to you than Jesus Christ?

Unfortunately, Christians put other things before Jesus. A 2007 Barna study found that 7 out of 10 adults in the U.S. choose their earthly family over their heavenly Father.

§ For 22%, their spouse was the most important relationship in their lives.

§ For 17%, children were the most important. [PreachingToday.com, “Adults Prefer Families over God”].

Jesus doesn’t settle for second place. We are to love Christ more than anything else. We are to love God more and the world less.

Jesus says that “whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me” [v. 38]. To choose the cross is to choose God’s will over your own will. It is to submit fully to Jesus Christ, just as Jesus submitted to his Father.

§ Will you proclaim that Jesus is your Lord and Savior?

§ Will you love Jesus more than others, even family?

§ Will you submit to Jesus’ will, rather than your own?

Following Jesus is not a nice walk on a summer afternoon on the way to Jerusalem. It will require that we go all the way to Calvary and embrace the cross. Following Christ requires all, or nothing.

Do Not Be Afraid

That may be a very scary thought to you. However, Jesus said 3 times within 6 verses, “Do not be afraid.”

In verse 26, Jesus says, “So do not be afraid of them.” Do not be afraid of those who speak lies about you or about Christ. Your faithful witness to Christ is known by God. The truth of your testimony will be revealed. Do not fear.

In verse 28, he says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

We are right to fear Satan, for Satan’s goal is to destroy the disciples of Jesus Christ. Not only can Satan kill our bodies, but if we turn from the truth of the gospel and give up our witness for Christ, we lose our soul as well.

But, we do not need to fear God, for we belong to God. God is able to protect and redeem those who are faithful. The Apostle John writes in 1 John 4:4, “Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Do not be afraid!

Then in verse 31, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” If even the number of hairs on our heads matter to God, then we can trust God for every concern of our lives, whether small or great.

No matter what danger or struggle or temptation comes our way, God knows it and is able to take us through it. So do not fear.

§ Do not be afraid to speak the truth of Jesus Christ.

§ Do not be afraid to be a witness to Christ in your life to your family members or your friends.

§ Do not be afraid to follow God’s will and ways.

Then Jesus gives us with one final challenge. Verse 39 says, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

“Discipleship is represented not as adding on another worthy cause to one’s list of obligations, but a giving of self that is the ultimate self-fulfillment.” [M. Eugene Boring, Matthew, The New Interpreter’s Bible (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 262].

Do not be afraid to give your life, your whole life, to Jesus. Trying to protect yourself in this life will only end in death.

On December 9, 2007, Matthew Murray shot and killed 26-year-old Tiffany Johnson and 24-year-old Philip Crouse, at a Youth With a Mission (YWAM) training center in the Denver suburb of Arvada. He then killed two more people at New Life Church in Colorado Springs… Yet not one of the 120 people who signed up for the training program dropped out.

Matthew was in the building for half an hour talking with students, and then he asked to spend the night. Tiffany was called to the front because she handled hospitality. Normally, they would not have someone spend the night without knowing them or arranging ahead of time. When told this, Matthew said, “Then this is what I’ve got for you.” He pulled out a gun and began shooting. After firing a few shots, he had his foot in the door, and at some point his foot slipped and he fell back. The door slammed on him and automatically locked, so he couldn’t get back in.

After [a] student performed CPR on Tiffany, she regained consciousness and asked [another trainee named] Holly, “Is it bad?” Holly said, “Yes, it’s bad.” Tiffany looked at Holly and her boyfriend, Dan, who was also shot, and said, “We do this for Jesus, right guys? We do this for Jesus.” [PreachingToday.com, “We Do This for Jesus.” Submitted by Sarah Pulliam, “YWAM Director Describes Shooting, Forgiveness,” www.christianitytoday.com (12-19-07)].

§ Are you living in a way that people know you are doing this for Jesus?

§ Have you given your life to Jesus, so that Jesus can give you life that truly matters?

We can expect attacks from the enemy. But don’t be afraid. God will be with us. God will give us a life worth living both now and forever.

Yes, walking with Jesus means facing persecution.

Walking with Jesus means making choices for Christ.

But, the good news is that walking with Jesus means we don’t need to be afraid.

Being a disciple of Christ is not a game.

With Jesus it’s all or nothing. Amen.

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This sermon is copyright ©2008 by Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes, Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, Illinois.