A Radical Calling

A Radical Calling

Introduction

As we read the words of Jesus in the gospels we can sometimes become too familiar with his message. So many of his sayings and messages we have heard countless times before and consequently we find ourselves unconsciously glossing over the sentences. In a sense we think we have worked out Jesus, like an old friend he has nothing much new to say. We’ve heard it all before.

And over time, not willingly or consciously, we box Jesus into our developed view of him. We see only the Jesus that we have developed over time in our own mind. The problem is that the photograph developed from our box may not in any way resemble the true Jesus. And when we compare our photos of Jesus we may be surprised just how different our version of Jesus looks to the true Jesus.

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me.” John 10:14 (NLT)

Some will think they know him and be mistaken.

On judgment day many will tell me, `Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.'

But I will reply, `I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized. ' Mat 7:22-23 (NLT)

So let’s be brave enough to challenge the box we may have put Jesus into. Let’s have the courage to check our image of him. How can we do this?

It requires us to listen to him with new ears. It requires us to come with new wineskins. To listen to familiar words without presumption or pre-conceived interpretation.

My Jesus Box

But before we listen to these uncensored words of Jesus, perhaps I should start by describing to you my Jesus box. Now I am sure, as I’ve alluded to earlier, my Jesus box may not be exactly the same as yours. But I am also reasonably confident that it will not be too dissimilar to the view that most of you have formed.

My Jesus is essentially a gentle and caring man. My Jesus loves God and all men. My Jesus especially cares for the disadvantaged and for those willing to confess their sin and weakness. My Jesus is intelligent and well spoken. My Jesus is very logical and can construct well thought arguments. My Jesus is balanced – a liberal to the conservatives and a conservative to the liberals. He is forgiving and patient. He is ever willing to listen and help. My Jesus makes so much sense. My Jesus is a peace lover and a lover of children and families. My Jesus is like a good solid middle-class South African family man.

I am not sure how similar my Jesus would be to your Jesus if you had to write a paragraph about how you think about Jesus? I hope the pictures would not be too dissimilar. The point remains that you would have your own view of Jesus. And between my Jesus and your Jesus we would want to be sure that we have found THE Jesus.

And who is this Jesus?

Luk 12:51-53 NKJV - "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Luk 14:26 NKJV - "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

Luk 14:27 NKJV - "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Mar 9:47 NKJV - "And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire

These are incredibly strong words from the “Bible” Jesus. If we listen to them carefully they use words like division, hate, cross and pluck.  In anyone’s language those are not the most comforting or balanced words and they certainly don’t fit well with my description of Jesus. So who is this Jesus?

Now before we get ahead of ourselves, I am not suggesting that these passages represent a summary of how Jesus is revealed to us in the Gospels. They most certainly do not. But these passages and many others like them are found in the gospels. They are in some way a part of this amazing man called Jesus Christ. And they can make us feel very uncomfortable or perhaps we have chosen not to take these particular passages too seriously.

These are the mind-blowing statements of Jesus, the ones that really challenge us and often don’t make sense to us. They present a radical Jesus. This Jesus is completely radical when it comes to your allegiance to him and his Father.

He is saying if joining me means the end of peace – so be it. If it requires division – then divide. And it must be done at the cost, indeed the abandonment of father, mother, wife, child or even a part of your body. Imagine a modern day politician or leader offering these terms to would-be followers!

This is difficult language and very extreme.

But this is a central theme of the message of Jesus. The message of complete and utter abandonment to him and to him alone. This is the foundation and hallmark of discipleship. The adandonment principle. The idea that Jesus cannot be followed with an “And”.

And as a living enactment of this principles it is made clear that his first 12 disciples abandoned everything to follow him:

Mat 19:27 KJV - Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

Jesus And …

We all want Jesus. We have come to learn of him and his ways and we want a relationship with Jesus. But we want Jesus with balance. Without wanting to sound irreverent, we want a portion of Jesus. We want Salt AND Pepper, Fish AND Chips, Curry AND Rice. Jesus AND a nice house. Jesus AND a busy job. Jesus AND best clothes. Jesus AND …

We want Jesus in moderation.

The problem as it seems to me is that he does not come in this package. He comes all or nothing. He will not be shared. He does not accept an AND. There is no Jesus AND …

The Abandonment Principle

Towards the end of Luke 9, Jesus outlines the key premise for true Christian discipleship. By any reading, it is a summary of radical abandonment.

Luke 9:57 NKJV - Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

In other words, if you want to follow me, you had better be ready to abandon the comforts of home. No soft bed, no roof to keep the rain off your head, certainly no air-conditioning. Even the birds and foxes have a better deal. I wonder where the would-be disciple went that night? Perhaps to the comfort of his own bed?

And now we get the message for the second time:

Luk 9:59-60 NKJV - Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."

If we can just hear these words at face value – we see once again how radical this Jesus is. A reasonable man would say that attending the funeral of your father rates as a really important thing to do. But Jesus will have none of it when it comes to following him.

And for a third time in verse 61:

Luk 9:61-62 NKJV - And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."

But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

It’s good manners to say good-bye. And besides, farewells are important for all involved. But Jesus says there is no place for Jesus And Goodbye – Just leave it and follow him!

And for a fourth time, to be sure:

Luk 18:22 NKJV - So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

So, if we are take these words at face value, then to become his follower we must be prepared to;

·      Become homeless.

·      Let someone else bury your dad.

·      Don’t even say good-bye to your family.

·      Give up all your possessions.

·       

Plainly put, a relationship with Jesus requires total, superior, and exclusive devotion.  Jesus was simply and boldly making it clear from the start that if you follow him, you abandon everything—your needs, your desires, even your family.

And then, just in case we have not got the abandonment principle clear enough, Jesus provides this as an encompassing premise for discipleship:

“Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

We often jump to the conclusion that the “carry his cross” is an allusion to his death and our need to be associated with it but in those days it referred to the main method of execution – You have to die to follow me. Kind of like in today’s language – Anyone who does not take up his electric chair cannot be my disciple.

Luk 9:24 NKJV - "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

This is the cost of Discipleship. Or as Dietrich Bohnoeffer ironically summarized it;

When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die

(Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1937) The Cost of Discipleship)

He was calling them to abandon their careers. They were reorienting their entire life’s work around discipleship to Jesus. Their plans and dreams were now being swallowed up in his.

Jesus was calling them to abandon their possessions. “Drop your nets and your trades as successful fishermen,” he was saying in effect.

Wherever you look you see this principle of Abandonment:

Sell all your possessions

Leave your family

Leave your nets

Leave your money changers

Cut off your hand

Let it go. Abandon it. You can’t take it AND me. I come alone.

The Loss of Discipleship

This is where we come face to face with a dangerous reality. We do have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We do have to love him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is entirely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor.

But we don’t want to believe it. We are afraid of what it might mean for our lives. So we rationalize these passages away. “Jesus wouldn’t really tell us not to bury our father or say good-bye to our family. Jesus didn’t literally mean to sell all we have and give it to the poor. What Jesus really meant was…”.

And this is where we started … our view of Jesus … our neat and comfortable box for Jesus who is more concerned with catering for us than requiring us to abandon us.

We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with.

A nice, middle-class, Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity.

We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is who we are most comfortable with.

And the danger is that when we gather in our church buildings to worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves.

We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.

The Gain of Discipleship

And this is really the point. Not the house, not the car, not the family – they are mere symptoms of the real thing that needs to be given up. It is about abandoning self completely and utterly to him. As we saw in the God in Everything principle, it is only this level of abandonment that leads to utter trust and faith. And when we get to this level of abandonment we truly gain Christ. As Paul put it:

[8] Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ - Phl 3:8 NLT

To gain an intimate relationship with Christ requires abandonment of all of the garbage that gets in the way. And if I gain Christ I gain everything. Love. Peace. Joy.