Disciples?
I. Introduction
Some things are complex and complicated. Rubix Cubes. Algebra. Or maybe better said . . . math. Why people in horror movies go into barns, cellars. Why people in action moves never take the gun of the person they disarm when there are more bad guys to face. Women.
However, faith was never supposed to be complex or confusing. Man has this propensity to make things harder than they should be. When Jesus arrives on the scene man had severely complicated matters. In fact, they had taken the 10 Commandments as easily understood as they were and they had "clarified" them until now there were 613 laws. They had developed the Mishnah which was an oral tradition of commentary on the Mosaic Law that introduced additional, man-made rules that “built a fence” around the Mosaic Law so people wouldn’t even come close to breaking God’s commandments. This had 63 subsections. For instance on the idea of keeping the Sabbath they had 39 categories of forbidden labor which are prohibited by this commandment and under these categories dozens of other kinds of labor that were forbidden. Complex. Confusing. Jesus walks into this crushing environment and systematically tries to simply everything. Once when asked to make commentary on the already commentaried to death Commandments, He simply says there are two great commandments. Love God and love your neighbor. Jesus made it simple. We should too.
That is what we are going to try to do over the course of the next few weeks. Let's go back to basics. Let's make sure we focus on what matters. We could take time and try to be profound and deep. However, too often we are simply educated beyond our level of obedience and certainly beyond our level of experience.
One of the simplest truths we learn is one of the ones that we forget and when we do the ramifications on our actions/behavior and thought life is dramatic and often devastating.
Mark 1:16-20 (NIV)
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
In Mark 2, the scene is repeated and He calls Levi - tax collector.
By the time we arrive in Mark 3, Jesus has chosen 12 disciples to be with Him.
We don't even understand that Jesus is turning the system of the day on its head. The first way He did this was who He chose as His disciples.
Each village/town had a synagogue. The Temple had been destroyed so since they couldn't get to the temple they brought the temple to them. The synagogue was more than just a place of worship. It was their place of education. So all the 5-10 years old boys and girls go to House of the Book to learn Torah. Then all 11-12 years old boys go to a great interpretation - learn how to apply Word. Then at 13 years old - Bar mitzpha a right of passage. Then the "A" students looked for a rabbi. All the other boys entered their father's business. The fact that all the men that Jesus called/picked/chose were involved in their father's business tells us they flunked out. They didn't excel. They weren't good students. They showed no promise in religious things. The second important thing is that in the system of the day the disciple selected the rabbi. The 13 year old would attach himself to a teacher who he wanted to become like. Not just learn what he taught but to become like him in character. However, Jesus, the rabbi, chooses His disciples. The Chosen One chooses these men to follow Him.
The good and simple news is that Jesus continues to choose! He still seeks people others would cast off and cast aside. He still selects the unselectable. In fact,
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 tells us this . . .
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”
Then again in . . .
Ephesian 1:3-6
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Why are those portions of Scripture important we consider whether we are disciples?
a. We need to remember who did the choosing.
In spite of our shortcomings and unworthiness, Jesus added us to His team. Overlooked and outcasts in society. Less thans and unwanted He still gathers us. Why is this an important thing to know? It should fill our hearts with joy! He first loved us. We were hand picked. Selected. We weren't worthy. But it should also fill our hearts with humility! If we did the picking it would lead to pride! We didn't choose Him He chose us! While we were still sinners.
We also need to remember this because there will be days when we are facing difficult situations that we won't feel chosen. However, we need to remember that our chosenness has nothing to do with feeling . . .
Feelings are great liars. Feelings are important in many areas but completely unreliable in matters of faith. Paul Scherer said, “The Bible wastes very little time on the way we feel.” We live in an “age of sensation.” We think that if we don’t feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it. But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting."
Just because we don't feel chosen has no bearing on the fact that we are chosen! Remember we are chosen!
b. Chosen leads to choices!
Being chosen forces us to make choices. You can be chosen and refuse to really follow. Being chosen leads to choices. There are many choices that we must make once we have been chosen but I want to just keep it simple and focus on 1 thing that if done will take care of the rest.
The #1 choice we must make is to Obey
This is the single most important choice and the one all others hinge on. We must make a conscious decision to obey.
The disciples had to make that choice. Remember when Jesus found them on the sea shore frustrated because they had fished all night but caught nothing? Jesus gives them odd instructions . . . wrong time of day - cast your nets again. Fishermen being instructed on fishing by a carpenter! They start to make excuses but then obey and a great harvest comes.
Disciples make decision in spite of feelings, their own wisdom or even experience and they obey.
In the Old Testament, the whole story is an account of God trying to get His people to obey. David knew that with God obedience is better than sacrifice and nothing changed in that regard in the New Testament.
Jesus drives home the importance of obedience in the life of a disciples by saying . . .
John 14:15 - If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.
John 15:10 - If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. (So if you we don't keep commandments we don't remain in His love?)
Simply put disciples obey. We don't look for loopholes or for how much we can get away with and still stay in right relationship. Close following requires complete obedience.
One man rightfully said, "We have disconnected obedience from faith, producing a default gospel that is eating the life out of our churches."
Our fall back position must become "Even so lord we will do as you say". Our level of discipleship will be determined by the depth of our obedience.
When you have choices and you will let's keep it simple . . . simply obey. Every other choice you have must be weighed out through this choice. If it comes down to my way, the world's way, what's right, what's wrong, preference, tradition, influence, trend, socially acceptable I will stop and weigh it out in light of my choice to obey Jesus!
We call Jesus Lord because that term is more socially acceptable. His disciples often called Him "Master!" We don't like that term. However, Let that sink in! Master. Maybe we need to let Jesus become Master in our lives! We need to ask ourselves are we really disciples?
