Jesus Before All Else

I have entitled our message, “Jesus Before All Else.” Author Mike Mazzalongo wrote a book entitled Jesus Above All Else. He says that Jesus told His followers, “in no uncertain terms, that in order to be His disciple they must place Him above all else.” He explains that “above all else” means that we love Jesus more than any other person. “Above all else” means being ready to suffer; and “above all else” requires counting the cost of discipleship(1) – all of which we see in today’s passage. He continues to state, “Discipleship is a two-way street: Jesus [gave] up His life for us; we give up our [life] for Him. Discipleship means more than observing Jesus or talking about Him, it requires us to make Him ‘the Being’ who is above every other being in our lives, including ourselves.” With this brief introduction in mind, let us dive into our passage beginning in verses 32-33:

Jesus Before Men (vv. 32-33)

32 Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

These verses emphasize Jesus Before Men; Jesus first and foremost before the opinion of men, that is. These words apply to His disciples facing persecution, who might choose to cower in shame before their persecutors; but they also apply to the lost, who are afraid to confess the name of Christ. His DISCIPLES who choose to confess their faith in Him, who risk ridicule, and even life and limb, to share the gospel and His love; Jesus will openly own and acknowledge them. He will “speak the praise and commendation of their works . . . He will introduce them into His Father’s presence, and recommend them to [God], to be honored [and] blessed”(2) for all eternity.

In that day and time, for a disciple to deny knowing his rabbi and master, and choosing to act contrary to his teachings, was considered a heinous crime by the Jews.(3) “To deny Christ, is to drop, or oppose any of those truths regarding His person, office, and grace; or to hide and conceal them from men, through fear, shame, or cowardice.” Those who deny Jesus in any form or fashion, either by word or deed, are seen by Christ as being ashamed of Him. Therefore, in the presence of His Father, He will deny “that they belong to Him; [and] He will deny that He ever knew them.”(4) So, does this mean that there are believers who will lose their salvation?

If you will recall, we earlier studied Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Being a disciple, or a student of the Bible, does not make someone a Christian. Neither do good works. The teachings of Christ must move from the head to the heart. A person must transition from being a student to being a true believer. A disciple who is a true believer will never be denied by Christ.

This brings us to THE LOST. Just as there are those who call themselves disciples, but are not true believers; on the flip side, there are others who would never dare call themselves a disciple. They outrightly reject Christ and His teachings. They deny His very existence. They deny Him before men. They cringe when they hear His name. They are even ashamed to say His name in a historical context. My wife and I were watching the TV show “Somebody’s Gotta Do It” with Mike Rowe. You probably know him from the show “Dirty Jobs.” Mike was acting in a play where another actor was playing the role of Jesus. Mike wanted to meet this actor; and so, he went around the studio asking if anyone had seen Jesus; but you could see other actors cringe when they heard him say the name of Jesus.

In Mark 8:38, Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” If you do not want to spend an eternity in hell, then you must say His name – in faith. “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (v. 32).