Jesus was, by all accounts, irresistible. People were drawn to him. They listened just a little, then realized that he knew exactly what they were craving. And they seemed to know that he could give it to them. Jesus was also more than a little frightening, especially if you held a position of power. The political and religious leaders of his day knew real power when they saw it, and Jesus threatened them.
And Jesus threatens us, too. Oh, you may not be a politician or a minister, but that doesn’t matter to those living in the Western world. We all have more power over our lives than the citizens of first-century Israel. Of course, the religion you are practicing may not be in the least bit threatening. In fact, many of us practice what C.S. Lewis termed Christianity and water; because the cup Jesus drank is pretty strong stuff, and many religious leaders of our day feel that they need to water it down for mass consumption.
The life of a disciple of Jesus the Messiah is a hard one:
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”
Deny myself? And follow you where? Where are you going with that cross…?
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
His disciples ask the obvious question: who then can be saved?
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Whatever happened to “peace on Earth and goodwill to men?”
These are the kinds of teachings Jesus laid down for us. And if we dare call ourselves his disciples, these and other teachings and examples from the life of Christ become our aspiration.
The next time I hear someone talk about the time they led someone in the Sinner’s Prayer™ I’m going to scream. Don’t get me wrong; I believe evangelism is an endeavor of utmost importance. And confessing sin is an important first step through the door of the Christian life. But I can’t help but think many of us see this first step as the goal in its entirety. And that’s a huge problem. It’s what Dallas Willard calls The Great Omission, saying that today’s church is great at making Christians but not so great at making disciples.
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
-Matthew 28:16-20, NIV
A disciple isn’t just a student: it’s a radical apprentice. Discipleship is a way of life. In fact, The Message paraphrases part of the above passage as, “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life….”
This may seem like a lot of rambling for something titled About Meditations, but I felt you should know what the focus of this blog will be. I am constantly trying to understand what it means to follow my Master. Sometimes I feel like I need to try harder. Other times I feel like I’m already trying way too hard. All I know for sure is that I haven’t even come close to arriving to the destination of this journey called discipleship.
So I’m going to set some of my thoughts and, yes, meditations, down in this blog and see where they lead. I pray that I’ll gain some feedback from others who are like-minded (or who aren’t… I’m not too picky), but if I don’t, I know I’ll grow through the process anyway.
Blessings, Robert
Very well writeen, and very strong! God doesn’t want believers – he want disciples!
One thing bothers me – you use the term “first-century Palestine” and that name was coined only after 70 AD when the Romans hade thrown us out. At Jesus time it was known as Israel. But mayeb that annoys me because I’m a jewish settler in the West Bank. And, yes, I’m a disciple of our Messiah.
I stand corrected (actually, I’m sitting right now, but that’s not the point). I had always understood that the Romans referred to Israel as “Palestine” to insult the Jews (it being a latin form of Philistia) and just assumed they had done so from the beginning of their occupation. And, of course, it must also be annoying to you today for the same reason
And I had also assumed that you were a Messianic Jew. So I’m one-for-two.
God bless you and your beautiful family (just checked out your Pesach pics).
Doh! Just read what I wrote and realized I didn’t understand what you had been annoyed about.
I, of course, was not trying to “insult the Jews” myself, and I see even more your exception to the use of “Palestine.”
Forgive me….