Abide in the Servant-King: Discipleship Rooted in the Crucified and Risen Christ
INTRODUCTION: FOLLOWING JESUS IN A FRAGMENTED WORLD
We live in an age of disconnection. Constant notifications, fractured attention, shallow relationships, and spiritual distraction mark the 21st century. Many people are busy, yet barren. Informed, yet inwardly empty.
Into that noise, Jesus speaks with stunning simplicity and soul-shaking clarity:
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” (John 15:4, NLT)
Discipleship is not first about activity for Jesus, but abiding in Jesus. And the Jesus we abide in is not a vague spiritual guide, but the Servant-King foretold by Isaiah—born to rule, crushed to save, raised to reign.
Today, we bring together the vine of John 15 and the suffering and exalted Servant of Isaiah 9, 52, and 53, to see what it truly means to follow Jesus.
ABIDING AS THE ESSENCE OF DISCIPLESHIP
John 15:4 (NLT): “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
John 15 is part of Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse, spoken on the night before the cross. Judas has left. The cross looms. Jesus strips discipleship down to its core.
The word “remain” (Greek: µ??? – meno) means to stay, dwell, make one’s home. This is not a casual connection but a relational permanence.
Jesus is saying: “Make your life in me, or you will have no life at all.”
Fruitfulness flows not from striving, but from union.
A phone can be the most advanced device in the world—but unplug it long enough, and it becomes useless. Many Christians admire Jesus but live unplugged from Him. Abiding is not optional for disciples—it is essential.
Galatians 2:20 (NLT): “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
Paul speaks of union with Christ, the heart of Christian identity.
“Crucified with” (s??esta???µa? – synestauromai) — a shared death leading to a shared life.
Discipleship is not behaviour modification; it is life transformation through abiding union.
Tim Keller: “The essence of Christianity is not a set of beliefs or practices, but a relationship with a living person.”
That living Person is not distant. He invites us to abide—to live, breathe, and draw strength from Him daily.
THE CHILD WHO IS LORD
Isaiah 9:6 (NLT): “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah prophesies during political darkness and national fear. Israel longs for deliverance.
This child is human (born), yet divine (Mighty God). Discipleship begins with recognising who Jesus truly is.
“Mighty God” – El Gibbor — used elsewhere only of Yahweh Himself.
“Prince of Peace” – Sar Shalom — not merely peacekeeping, but peace-making through reconciliation.
Colossians 1:15–17 (NLT): “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God… He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.”
You cannot follow Jesus casually. He is not an add-on; He is Lord.
John Piper: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
When we abide in Christ the King, joy and obedience meet.
THE SUFFERING SERVANT
Isaiah 52:1–15 (NLT): “Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
This is substitutionary atonement in prophetic clarity—written 700 years before the cross.
Hebrew Word Studies:
“Pierced” – chalal — violently wounded.
“Crushed” – daka — utterly broken.
“Guilt offering” – asham — a sacrificial payment.
Jesus did not die as a victim of injustice alone—He died by divine design for sinners.
1 Peter 2:24 (NLT): “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross…”
Imagine a courtroom where the guilty walks free and the innocent takes the sentence. That is the cross. Jesus steps into our place.
Max Lucado: “He chose the nails because He chose you.”
The cross was not an accident—it was love with arms outstretched.
THE GOSPEL: CHRIST CRUCIFIED, BURIED, AND RISEN
Jesus Christ—
Lived the sinless life we could not live
Died the death we deserved
Was buried, sealing the reality of death
Rose again, defeating sin, Satan, and the grave
“He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.” (Romans 4:25, NLT)
This is the Gospel. And it demands a response.
CALL TO ACTION: HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE?
For Believers
Abide daily – Scripture, prayer, obedience
Repent quickly – Cut off what disconnects you
Bear fruit intentionally – Love, holiness, witness
Luke 9:23 (NLT): “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”
INVITATION TO SALVATION:
Friend, if you have admired Jesus but never trusted Him—today is the day.
Turn from sin.
Trust in Christ.
Abide in Him.
Isaiah 53:1 (NLT): Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
Romans 10:11 (NLT): As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced."
Pray. Believe. Follow.
CONCLUSION & BENEDICTION:
Discipleship is not striving harder—but staying closer.
May you abide deeply.
May you trust fully.
May you follow boldly.
2 Thessalonians 3:16, NLT): “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation.”
Jesus is worthy. Let us follow Him—abiding, believing, and bearing fruit.
