Counting The Cost Series

 200409.ser

“Counting the Cost”

CLBC Feb 15 04 a.m.

Subject: Discipleship

Theme: The Cost of Discipleship

Passage: John 6: 60 - 71

It was a difficult time for the 12 disciples. They had been so thrilled with the popularity of

Jesus. They had been so excited at the miracles performed by Jesus. In fact when the crowds

started talking about making Jesus their king, the idea sounded pretty good to them. They were

still like so many who thought in terms of a political Messiah, a great King like David who would

restore the fortunes of Israel.

But now what were they to think?

Jesus had told all these people that they were following him just for what they could get

out of it. He had taught them that he had come down from heaven to do the Father’s will, and

that seemed to be a claim to deity. Then he told them that they couldn’t be his followers unless his

Father drew them and finally he offended them completely by talking about eating his flesh and

drinking his blood.

The disciples heard the crowd begin to murmur, and complain, and then people began to

drift away, just a few at first, but then the whole multitude turned their backs and walked away.

“From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more.” v. 66 Even

others whom they were sure were real believers left, and as they looked around, there were only

the twelve of them left.

Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” Actually the actual

words seem to have been “You won’t also go away, will you?”

Yes, it was a difficult time for the disciples.

Have you ever been in a situation like this? Have you watched churches get torn apart

with people grumbling and complaining, with family after family leaving, and with some of them

going nowhere? And every family that has left has unsettled other families until perhaps you

yourself have wondered what you should do.

Have you watched people in other circumstances seem to turn their backs on Jesus? Have

you heard of people who have gotten tangled up in sin again and who seem to have left their

faith? Perhaps you have heard of Pastors or other Christian leaders to whom you have looked up

as role models and examples who have fallen into sin, whose marriages have shattered, perhaps

some who have even denounced Christianity?

It’s confusing, isn’t it? And perhaps it has made you wonder, “What is it that keeps a

person true to Jesus? How may I know that I shall not turn back one day?”

These are good questions. For every believer, these are necessary questions. There is a

cost to following Jesus. There are choices to make. Let’s see what the disciples decided.

1. They made a conscious choice

2. They made an informed choice

3. They made a deliberate choice

4. They made a costly choice.

1. They made a conscious choice

Of course it had to be Peter who became the spokesman for the group. “Lord to whom

shall we go?”

What other teacher are we to follow? Where shall we find any other guide to heaven

beside you? What scribe, what rabbi, what priest can show us words of life like you have shown

us?

Even though they saw all the others leaving, these twelve disciples made a conscious

choice to stay with Jesus.

2. They made an informed choice

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Never before had they heard anyone speak as Jesus spoke. The words that Jesus spoke

had penetrated their hearts. Those words had convicted them of their sin , and convinced them of

forgiveness and truth, and life. They didn’t know everything yet. In fact they still had no

understanding of the coming cross. They had no idea yet that their salvation would cost Jesus His

life. But they believed that Jesus’ words came from God and that they were true words.

3. They made a deliberate choice

And we believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

It was no small thing for them to embrace the one whom the Scribes and the Pharisees,

and the Priests and the Elders were rejecting. To stand with Jesus when everyone else was leaving

was no small choice. To stand with Jesus when he made such difficult claims like “Unless you eat

the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you”, was a monstrous step of

faith. Somehow they understood the spiritual meaning of those words, when the rest understood

them literally and were offended.

But they believed that this was the Messiah, promised in the scriptures. They may not have