January 9, 2008

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me’.” Matthew 16:24

Jesus is asking some difficult things from those He is speaking to, “deny himself”…"take up his cross”…”follow Me”. Fortunately he was talking to others, not me. “Then Jesus said to His disciples…” That means His twelve chosen followers, right? He wasn’t talking to me, was He?

In the broadest sense, the word disciple, from the Greek, is learner…a pupil. In first century Israel, there were many noted teachers or rabbis that had a group of students who followed them, sat at their feet, and learned from them. John the Baptist had disciples. The Jews in general, considered themselves disciples of Moses.

As we consider the charge Jesus is giving, in its most basic sense, He is calling all of us who would be His disciples…His students…to be willing to pay the price of discipleship. Each of us who would call Jesus our Lord must be willing to “deny”…”take up”…and “follow”.

To be His disciple is not a hobby. It is not a casual relationship. It must be central…it must impact us 24/7, not simply occasionally or when it is convenient. To be called a disciple is to fully identify with the teacher. Disciples begin to look like their teacher in the most significant areas of life. Are you a disciple or simply a groupie?