Following Christ, At What Cost?

Introduction

This week, through this last message of the year, we will look at an important truth to understand about our Lord Jesus Christ. Often in our time, the Lord is presented as a God of love and peace, One who forgives everything, who asks nothing of us, and who watches over us no matter what we do.

Yet it is always good to remember, through the Word, what Jesus said to His disciples, and what the disciples themselves had to accept in order to follow Him. It is true that our salvation is by faith, and that the grace of God justifies us. This brings us into a new and still unknown dimension, where the principles and limits have to first be identified, then experienced, and even gone beyond.

Once we understand the meaning of our belonging to Christ, we can then expect a life described by the Lord Himself, and not shaped by what others may say or make us believe. When we know the rules, the call of Christ, and the path He asks us to walk, we can prepare ourselves accordingly and face the obstacles of daily life.

Context of the passage

Here, Jesus is still teaching His disciples, preparing them, but within a very focused setting, as they are moving toward Jerusalem, among the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 

Jesus wanted to show them how to be true disciples and how to represent Him in humility, without gold, silver, or money, without even the basic necessities of daily life (bag, tunic, sandals, staff), so that they would live in complete dependence on God, and understand that the worker would be cared for by the same God who fed His people in the wilderness for forty years.

Their goal was not to worry about their own survival, but rather to find a worthy person who would receive them, and to remain there for a time determined and guided by God. 

Their presence would bring a blessing to those who welcomed them. On the other hand, those who would not receive them, Jesus said, would be judged more severely than the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

We therefore see that following Jesus includes a clear roadmap, embraced by our willingness to follow Him, but also guided by the Spirit (Matt. 10:20), in the midst of many persecutions, oppositions and betrayals.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means having a vision that is opposed to that of the world, sacrifices that are often misunderstood by many of those close to us, and an attitude of submission to God’s Holy will, so that the Gospel of salvation may be preached to those whom the Father desires to bring back to Himself.

Comprehension and teaching on this passage

« Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. »

To believe that Jesus came to bring peace and unity to the world is a lie of the enemy, for Jesus Himself clearly says the opposite.

If we focus only on this passage, we can clearly see that it touches what is most intimate in our lives, the things that are most precious to our hearts, but which have no value in the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ when they take first place in our heart.

The only thing that has value in His eyes is the intensity and depth of our separation from the world, which may sometimes include our own family, in order to follow Him, He who is the Savior and the Lord of our soul.

Jesus did not come to bring peace as the world understands it, a peace built on compromise, false unity, tolerance without truth, hidden things, and secrecy, meant to preserve a temporary peace under a general illusion.

Jesus did not come to bring pleasures, material blessings, or temporary things, all of which will come to pass at our physical death, for no one can take them into heaven.

Jesus came to bring the sword, which is His Word and His commandments, in order to make a clear distinction between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error, between light and darkness, so that our walk would not be fleshly, visible, or governed by our senses, but a walk by faith in Jesus Christ Himself, spiritual and invisible.

Division is often experienced and understood negatively in the world, but for Christians it is a sign of belonging, on one side or the other. If division leads us to transformation and change, it bears witness that Christ lives in us. However, if our condition remains the same, or even worse than before our recognition of Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we have to humbly examine ourselves and ask the right questions:

• Have we truly repented from our sins toward God?

• Has Christ truly taken His place as Lord in our lives?

• Has our salvation been sealed by the Spirit of God, producing the fruit of new life?

Here, division is necessary in order to serve Christ. Through this example, one might say: “Yes but, this concerns Christ’s disciples, and it does not concern us, because not all of us are called to live what the disciples lived.”

The answer is yes, indeed. However, how do we know how the Lord will use us? How will we know what our future will be through the transformation He is working in us? Only God knows. But it is our responsibility to enter into communion with Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit and to allow ourselves to be led where the Lord asks us to go, just as His disciples did.

The Lord did not call us merely to attend a gathering once a week, but to follow Him, according to His grace and for the mission that He has assigned to each one of us.

« Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. »

The worthiness described here is not the worthiness of the world.

In the world, worthiness is the value and way of life of a person who acts in accordance with who they are and what they represent. It is living in a coherent, upright, and respectful manner, without lowering oneself or compromising.

For example, in the world, we might speak of a doctor who has studied for twelve years. Because of his training, discipline, and expertise, he is considered “worthy” of respect, trust, and recognition in his profession. His worthiness is linked to what he has achieved and what he represents in the eyes of society. This is how the world understands worthiness: it is earned, measured, and recognized by human standards.

In the Bible, however, being “worthy” does not mean deserving something, but living in accordance with the calling one has received. To be worthy of Christ is to walk in a way that corresponds to His call, His words, and His lordship. To be worthy, in this context, is to manifest Christ in our lives: through His Word, through the truth of His Word, and through the application of His Word.

In the eyes of the world, worthiness is often defined by the respectable position we hold according to worldly standards, by how we rank or value one another. But in the eyes of Christ, worthiness is found in putting Him first, as the only One truly worthy of it all.

It is true that it is difficult to live against the course of this world, especially when it involves members of our own family, our parents, our children, those who are dear to us. But when we place God first, and love others as ourselves, the whole Law is fulfilled.

If God has saved us, it is first of all to enter into an intimate relationship with Him, our Father. Then, through His Spirit, He gives us the love needed to love others, first within the Church, and then those around us and our neighbor.

Often, we try to love God or others “in our own way,” without order or priorities. This produces frustration and weariness. But by the grace of the Spirit of God, we can embrace this new life by restoring God’s intended order in our lives, and thus bear fruit that remains.

«And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. »

The Cross is a powerful symbol in the Bible. It is a strong image that points to suffering, persecution, and self-denial. It shows us that each of us will have a cross to carry, and that according to the work God has prepared in advance, the weight and the way our difficulties are expressed may be more or less intense, or may appear in different forms depending on our calling.

It is also important for us to understand that the disciples did not yet know that Jesus would be crucified. This shows us that suffering is an integral part of the walk with Christ. If we are true believers, we all experience this duality in our lives, the tension between the temptations of the world and those that arise from walking according to the Spirit.

Following Christ often means seeing only a small part of the story and not immediately understanding the reason or the purpose of our actions in the present moment. Even the disciples and the servants of God throughout the history of the Church carried out actions aligned with Christ’s commandments, led by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, without always seeing the outcome, and sometimes without even being able to understand their meaning at the time.

To follow means to have faith in Someone who knows and understands the way; in our case, in Jesus Christ Himself. Our part is to remain on that path, to follow the narrow way that leads to eternal life, in complete trust in our Lord and Savior.

The word “worthy” appears again here to teach us several things. First, it is after these two actions, taking up one’s cross and following Christ, that this worthiness is expressed before Christ, not as a merit or empty glory, but as a way of life.

The Apostle Paul tells us that he rejoiced in suffering for Christ, because his reward would be great in heaven. It is true that the disciples and the servants of God were also equipped and tested in their faith in order to gradually overcome difficult situations. However, even those who do not have a public ministry first of all have: a family ministry, a professional life, and a testimony within a diverse social and cultural context.

We have to overcome each stage with perseverance, even when we cannot yet see the end of the tunnel.

All of this is, of course, for the advancement of the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. We are called to endure opposition and trials for the Gospel of Christ, not suffering or pain caused by our disobedience to God, nor because of a lack of faith, an attachment to worldly things, or our personal comfort.

«Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.»

Progressively, the message becomes more radical, in direct continuity with the call to self-denial, but still within a context where death is always present. What is described here is an allegory, a figure of speech, for it is not a physical death, but rather a death to self.

That said, it is true that death for the advancement of the Gospel has been common throughout the history of the Church, and it remains very present today in certain countries. Yet physical death, for the believer, is to our advantage when it is for Christ, as the Apostle Paul affirms, for it draws us closer to our God and frees us from earthly suffering.

There is also an other kind of death, the spiritual death, the one Jesus describes here. It is the total absence of eternal life: a life led by the flesh and by our senses, rather than by the Spirit. This spiritual death is even more widespread today, with a multitude of gods and beliefs, and even within the Church itself, where wolves have infiltrated to the point of becoming dominant in some communities.

Finally, there is the renunciation of former things, which is death to self. This means the death of our old nature, the one that guided us daily while we were distant from God and in rebellion against Him. 

For those who have believed in the work of reconciliation of Jesus Christ and have repented before God, their past, present, and future sins have been forgiven. Yet we still live with habits, passions, and ways of life inherited from our old nature, which the Lord desires to transform by His Spirit, in order to sanctify us and lead us to walk in newness of life.

Conclusion

Today’s message is a call to be fully devoted to Christ in His entirety, and not to follow Him with a critical or selective spirit. To love Christ is to keep and obey what He asks of us in our daily lives.

This obedience can only be lived out and made visible through the work of His Holy Spirit, who lives in us and acts on our behalf, so that we may be faithful and zealous witnesses of His Gospel of reconciliation with the heavenly Father.

Jesus Christ has given us spiritual gifts for the edification, teaching, and maturity of believers. It is therefore our responsibility to discover them, to exercise them, and to put them into practice within His Church, despite suffering and opposition, so that our lives may increasingly reflect the image of Christ and glorify God in all that we do.