What Are You Willing To Surrender?

What are you willing to surrender?

Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

Mark 8:34-38

34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 "For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

This narrative appears on the surface to have two separate components. Indeed, there is only one topic. That topic has to do with a person's soul when the time of judgment occurs. In Jesus' day, and very much in today's world, people are not concerned about judgment day as they continue through the days of their lives. If people today care about their future, then this world's evil would dry up and come to an end. Alas, that is not happening. Sins committed today that are not repented will harm a person in the future. The Zohar tells us that a stain is placed on their souls when a person sins. Jesus tells us how to remove that stain. Picking up your cross can be interpreted as a call to repentance. It is also a call that the soul's spiritual life is far more critical than the physical body that houses the soul. Giving up items in the material world is what Jesus tells us to give up. Then it is the desire of the flesh, which wants material things, that causes people to sin. Included in that last statement is the desire of the flesh for the flesh's pleasures.

Jesus spoke about the need to do what is right by the LORD's law to save the soul. According to Jesus, the soul is more important to save than the body. To be a disciple of Jesus means to give up the material world and possibly one's life. In Jesus' day, new disciples did give up materially and physically. Anyone who worked for the Roman government lost their job when discovering that they came into discipleship to Jesus. Many of the first Christians were killed for joining the faith. Today the cost in many countries is not very high. In those countries, the number of disciples of Jesus is shrinking. In countries where the risk is high, the number of disciples is growing. What are you willing to give up for Jesus?

There are narratives about the new disciples placing their wealth at the apostles' feet in the book of Acts. This wealth was then used to help the new community of believers to thrive. There is the story of the husband and wife who decided not to place everything at the apostles' feet. If you are not ready to surrender something for Jesus' love and grace, you are not prepared to be a disciple. There are plenty of people in this world who claim to be disciples of Christ, but that is only in name. These people do not try to imitate the ways of Jesus. Lying is one of the sins Jesus addresses. It is better not to do something for Jesus than to lie about doing it.

The Second Coming is the idea that Jesus will come again in the flesh. The book of Revelation makes its argument that this is a truth. However, when the phrase "for the Son of Man will come in the glory" is an Aramaic phrase, "my mission will become a success in the future." This original meaning says that the mission that Jesus started, and many believed that He had failed, would become a successful movement. The Jesus movement became a sweeping world movement. Thus, the mission of Jesus became a success. Jesus did return! The task of the creation of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth did take off. Jesus did, does, and will always come into the hearts of those who would allow Him. The "second coming" is not a specific date on the calendar. Instead, it is a process that will terminate when every person on the Earth knows and loves the LORD and Jesus.

The prophets of old, John the Baptist and Jesus, cried out to the people to repent of their sins. None of them knew when the day of judgment was to arrive. But they knew that a person's soul would be lost to heaven if repentance did not happen. The prophets of old and John the Baptist were murdered for this message. The Messiah Jesus is included in that group. Jesus was a man of peace in a time of evil. He suffered the same fate as the prophets and John. Jesus' resurrection is the announcement to the world that there is a path of redemption and the forgiveness of sin. By following the ways and words of Jesus as found in the four Gospels, every person on Earth would learn about repentance, the forgiveness of sin, and the promise of eternal life with the LORD.