Discipleship: Come and Die (Part 1)
This is part one of a three part series on what it means to be a Christian.
What do you say a Christian is?
Paul gave his answer in Galatians 2:20.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
To put it another way, “The old me is dead—crucified when Christ was crucified. I’m dead! And yet, I live, not for myself, not by myself, but for and by Jesus Christ, who lives in me. My life is not mine, but His. My ambitions are not mine, but His. My desires are not mine, but His. Now, I live by faith in Jesus, the Son of God, who loved me, and even died—on a cross!—for me.”
Some might say, “Well, that’s Paul. Paul was a super Christian. He was an apostle, a missionary, a pastor—I mean of course he’d say stuff like that. But me, I’m just an ordinary Christian. All that stuff about dying and crucifixion, that’s just way too extreme.”
But it’s not just Paul that speaks about all this suffering and dying and crucifixion. It’s Jesus Himself.
“If anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mark 7:34)
Or, put another way, “If anyone wants to be My follower, I command you: (1) deny your very self and all your sinfulness, (2) and take up your cross to be crucified, (3) and follow Me—to suffering, rejection, and death.”
If we are to follow Jesus—that is, if we are to be Christians—we must follow Him in His suffering. A Christian is a disciple of Christ, one who denies himself and follows Jesus Christ in everything—even to his death.
I. The Requirements of Discipleship
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he [Jesus] said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 7:34)
A disciple is simply a pupil, a student. In the Christian context, “disciple” means someone who is a learner, a follower, of Jesus. In other words, a disciple of Jesus is a Christian. Discipleship, then, is the practice and art of being a Christian, a follower, a disciple, of Jesus. It involves things like worshipping God, learning the Bible, loving the church, proclaiming the gospel—really, all of the Christian life is one of discipleship.
If anyone then would desire to be a disciple of Christ, he must consider the three requirements of discipleship.
1. Deny Yourself
Jesus demands if anyone wants to follow Him, he must first deny himself.
Denying yourself doesn’t mean denying yourself some thing—like that extra piece of candy, another scoop or ice cream, or watching another episode of your favorite anime. Self-control is good, but that is not what Jesus is talking about here. It also does not mean denying yourself desires from the good gifts God gives—food, rest, socialization, etc.—for spiritual reasons. Fasting, praying, giving to the church, etc. are all good spiritual disciplines, but it is not what Jesus is talking about here.
“Deny yourself” in this verse means, as one commentator puts it, “the denial of the self itself.” 1 Practically, it means I no longer lives for myself—what I want, what I desire, but I love. Instead, I lives for what Jesuswants, what Jesus desires, what Jesus loves—because Jesus is my Master, my Lord. As a disciple of Christ, the primary question in deciding who I am or what to do is no longer, “What do I want?” Or “Do I like it?” But “What God want me to do? Does God delight in it?” As a Christian, it means that I am not in charge anymore—the Lord Jesus Christ is. Why? Because I have become His disciple, His student, His follower.
To love Christ as Master is exactly the opposite of what the natural, sinful self wants. No one has to be taught to live for themselves; that is simply how we are born. No one has to teach a child to cry, scream, and pout if they don’t get their way; it’s just natural. And, unless God gives us new spiritual life, as we grow up, we will simply grow in perpetual selfishness.
To live with Jesus as Master is the exact opposite of the world teaches. The world is constantly asking, “What do you think of this?—this restaurant, this social media post, this video? Don’t forget to comment, like, and subscribe!” The world encourages us to do what we want, when we want, however we want, because we want to.
But a Christian no longer lives for himself. He lives for King Jesus. A Christian does not say to King Jesus, “God forbid it Lord! Never!” like Peter once did. A Christian does not say, “I will do what I want, when I want, because I want. I don’t care what you think, God.”
Instead, a Christian says to Jesus, “You are my Lord [that is, my Master] and my God!” A Christian says, “Father, may what You want, not what I want, be done.” A Christian says, “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.” This is the humble heart of someone who has denied himself in order to live for Jesus. It is the Christian disposition, of someone who has said to his sinful self, “No!” in order to say, “Yes, Lord,” to Jesus Christ.
Do you want to be a Christian? Then your life must stop being about you. It’s not about you; it’s all about Christ.
Now that sounds kind of demanding, doesn’t it? But Jesus doesn’t back down. He turns up the heat.
2. Take Up Your Cross
The second requirement of discipleship is to take up your cross.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross…” (Mark 9:34)
The cross is a beloved symbol of Christianity. But, because it is so familiar, we often misunderstand it.
In history, the cross was a torture device invented to maximize suffering! It’s scandalous! Whipping a victim until they are a bloody mess is beyond words. Nailing someone’s hands and feet with railroad spikes into a piece of wood is beyond inhumane. Letting the victim hang in public, in the sun and heat, in the cold and rain, until death is beyond barbaric.
The cross is a torture device, in the same family as being eaten alive by lions, being burned alive at the stake, being ripped apart on the torture rack, being killed by the electric chair. Thousands of people were killed on crosses in history. It’s a horrific thing!
And yet Jesus says, “You want to be my disciple? Deny yourself, and take up your cross.”
If you’re not shocked, you’re not really listening.
The Roman Christians in the 1st century would have been even more shocked. Imagine being that middle schooler who just saw his friend and his family crucified on crosses, and then hearing the book of Mark say this. “Jesus tells me take up my cross? What?!”
The command wasn’t metaphorical nor theatrical. The original audience of the book of Mark would have seen their loved ones on those crosses. They saw their blood, their suffering, their death. Yet, Jesus plainly says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross…”
It’s not merely human words, but the words of the Savior King, Jesus Christ Himself. We do not have the authority to edit Jesus’ words. What He says, what He commands are the commands of a sovereign, absolute, glorious King. He has good reasons for such a high demand.
So, what does it cost to be a Christian?
Everything.
It’s not just your Sundays and Fridays, not just your Bible reading and prayer times, not just your relationships, not just your hopes and dreams, not just your ambition and future. It’s not just your heart and affections, not just your thoughts and plans. It’s everything, even your most precious possession—your life.
We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength—in other words, everything. If we say that we will live for Jesus, doesn’t that also mean we will die for Him? Christ demands it all. Absolute allegiance. Limitless loyalty. Supreme sacrifice. Christ deserves it all.
Do you want to be a Christian? Jesus says to you, “Come and die—and then follow Me.”
3. Follow Christ
The third requirement of discipleship is to follow Jesus.
“If anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 9:34)
If we are to follow Jesus, we should ask, “Where is Jesus going?” He told us in Mark 8:31: to suffering, rejection, and death.
The whole point of being someone’s disciple is that to become like them (Matthew 10:24-25). Christians worship and love a Man who was tortured and killed by crucifixion. Why then would we expect to be loved by the world? Why would we expect comfort and ease in this life? Why are so surprised at trial and tribulation? Truly, we should expect immense pain and death in this life. Anything short of that is God’s loving mercy!
The previous two requirements to deny yourself and take up your cross are things done at the very start of the Christian journey.2 But the command to follow Him is a command to continually walk with Jesus.3
To follow Jesus means loving relationship with Him, as a tutor to a student, a mentor to a pupil, a master to a disciple. He is the ultimate example, the captain of our salvation, the leader of our voyage to Heaven. Growing as a Christian doesn’t just mean learning a lot about the Bible, reading Christians books, and proclaiming the gospel—although of course those things are all good. But primarily, living and growing as a Christian is about being conformed to Christ’s perfections.
When I was a kid, there was a phase in which a lot of my friends liked hosting their birthday parties at a pottery center. Usually we were instructed to make a birdhouse, a cup, or a box. But one time while we were there, I saw a master sculptor making a life-sized pegasus—that is a horse with wings. She was covered in clay, hair up in a bun, apron stained, putting her whole focus upon breathing life into this clay creation. She shaped its muscles, its nostrils, the form of its wings with the utmost care and attention. It was amazing.
Even more so, God is in the business of shaping sinners like us into the image of His Son. He is like a master sculptor, taking who we are, flawed and broken people, and yet conforming us, shaping us, with the utmost love and affection, to look like Jesus. It’s the miracle of the Christian life; by the power of God, we grow to be like our Master.
So, do you want to be a Christian? Then deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Christ.
Conclusion
Yes, Jesus’ call to discipleship is steep. Music instructors demand fees for their lessons. Sports teams demand practices and commitment to the game. School teachers demand homework assignments and attendance.
But Jesus? He demands it all. He demands your entire life. “Die to yourself and your desires. Be willing to die for Me, even on a cross. Follow Me in everything, every giving up your life.”
But why would anyone want to do this? How could anyone do this? Lord-willing, we’ll look at that in part two.
Footnotes
R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002), 340.
Aorist imperatives
Present imperative
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Based on a sermon titled “Discipleship: Come and Die” from Mark 8:34–9:1, preached on 2021.09.17 to the junior high students of Lighthouse Community Church in Torrance, CA.