Gospel of Mark: Disciples of Jesus

Verse 30, page 1013.

They left that place and passed through Galilee.

Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were,

because he was teaching his disciples.

He said to them,

The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.

They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.

But they did not understand what he meant,

and were afraid to ask him about it.

They came to Capernaum, where he was in the house.

When he was in the house, he asked them,

What are you arguing about on the road?

But they kept quiet,

because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve and said,

If anyone wants to be first,

he must be the very last and the servant of all.

He took a little child and had him stand among them.

Taking him in his arms, he said to them,

Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me,

and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me,

but the one who sent me.

Teacher, said John,

We saw a man driving out demons in your name,

and we told him to stop,

because he was not one of us.

Do not stop him, Jesus said.

No one who does a miracle in my name

can in the morning,

in the next moment,

say anything bad about me,

for whoever is not against us

is for us.

I tell you the truth,

anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name

because you belong to Christ

will certainly not lose his reward.

And if anyone causes one of these little ones

who believe in me to sin,

it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea

with a large millstone tied around his neck.

If your hand causes you to sin,

cut it off.

It is better for you to enter life maimed

than with two hands

to go into hell,

where the fire never goes out.

And if your foot causes you to sin,

cut it off.

It is better for you to enter life crippled

than to have two feet

and be thrown into hell.

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

than to have two eyes

and be thrown into hell,

where their worms do not die

and the fire is not quenched.

Everyone will be salted with fire.

Salt is good,

but if it loses its saltiness,

how can you make it salty again?

Have salt in yourselves

and be at peace with each other.

Thanks very much, Maria.

Well, please keep your Bibles open

at that section we've just read.

We've just started a new series,

which is looking at the second half

of Mark's Gospel,

which really is the last few months of his life

while he was on earth

and the journey that he takes

with his disciples towards the cross.

So we're going to be looking at that section

that Maria just read.

And before we do,

we're going to pray.

Hopefully you've got a piece of paper,

maybe to take notes,

or you can use the back of your news sheet there.

And if you have any questions

or anything that you want to ask after,

then please feel free to do that.

So let's pray.

Father, we thank you for this account

about Jesus while he was here on earth,

for the things that have been recorded.

And yet, even as we've just read them now,

some of them sound quite strange to us.

Some of it perhaps quite hard.

And so, Father, we need the help of your Holy Spirit

to not only understand with our minds,

but we need your Spirit

so that it will change our hearts

to show us what it is

to be a disciple of Jesus.

So please help us right now.

We come as disciples,

people who want to learn from you.

We want you to teach us

through your word.

So come, Spirit, teach us.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now, before I start,

has anybody got the flicker?

I'll do it.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

You're hired.

That's what every contestant longs to hear

from Lord Sugar

as they seek to become the winner

of The Apprentice.

What's on offer?

Well, a six-figured salary

and the opportunity to partner with him

in a multi-billion business.

The way to win is simple.

You must be arrogant and stubborn

with a ruthless desire to be successful.

Stab your opponent in the back.

Rather than serve people,

you must use people.

In Mark's gospel here,

we are introduced to the apprentices of Jesus.

Verse 30.

They left.

That's Jesus and his disciples.

They left that place and passed through Galilee.

Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were

because he was teaching his disciples.

known as the Twelve.

They were to learn what it meant to be a disciple.

That's what disciple means.

They are a learner.

And Jesus is teaching them

what it is to be a follower of Jesus.

But in contrast to Lord Sugar,

not sure who gave him that title,

the one and only Lord Jesus Christ,

offers his apprentices not success,

but suffering.

Look at verse 31.

He said to them,

The Son of Man is going to be betrayed

into the hands of men.

They will kill him,

and after three days he will rise.

The Son of Man was a title for Jesus,

a title of absolute power and supreme authority.

But this man of great power,

the God-man,

would be killed.

You see, the death of Jesus

is not just the means for becoming a disciple,

but is also the model for living as a disciple.

That's why he's teaching about his death.

It's not just the means for becoming a disciple,

but his death is also the pattern,

the shape of a disciple's life.

At this point in the account,

Jesus is six months from his death,

and the journey that is going to lead him to his death

is a journey that we are called to live

every single day.

It is nothing less than a life of humble service

with a ruthless desire to remove any hint

of self-centred living.

Look at verse 32.

But they didn't understand what he meant,

and they were afraid to ask him about it.

Who in their right mind

wants to model their life

on someone who's going to die a terrible death?

Do you?

Surely there must be an easier way to go.

No.

This is a call to radical discipleship.

If we crave comfort

and a nice, gentle lifestyle,

if we long for popularity and acceptance,

if we desire to be the ones who control our life,

then please close your Bible right now.

Put it under your seat,

close your eyes,

and go to sleep.

Because what follows

is not for you

if you want a gentle life.

After all, as we've just read in verse 31,

Jesus doesn't want others to hear

what it is that he teaches

to his disciples.

Because not everybody can handle it.

So what does he teach?

Well, first,

being a disciple means

serving the weak,

not seeking to be great.

Verse 33,

they came to Capernaum.

When he was in the house,

obviously,

of one of the disciples,

he asked them,

what were you arguing about on the road?

But they kept quiet,

red-faced,

and embarrassed.

Because on the way,

they had argued about

who was the greatest.

So who do you think

is the greatest in this church?

Go on.

Who do you think?

Well, we don't like to publicly

talk about it, do we?

That is embarrassing.

But we can unconsciously

practice it.

You see,

we can be preoccupied

with appearing great,

that we simply forget

to do great things.

Verse 35,

sitting down,

which in that culture,

in that time,

was actually a position

of authority.

So Jesus sits down,

he's saying basically

to his disciples,

hang on a minute,

you're talking about greatness?

Well, listen to the one

who knows what true greatness

is all about.

He called the twelve

and he said,

if anyone wants to be first,

he must be the very last

and the servant of all.

Did we get that quite right?

Did he say last?

Did he say servant?

How is that greatness?

But yet,

that's what Jesus came to do for us.

He was the one

who was great,

but became last,

the lowest of the low.

He was the one

who became a servant,

giving up of his rights

and ultimately,

giving of his life.

That's what greatness is.

And Jesus now demonstrates

to us what this

will look like

in practice.

verse 36.

He took a little child

and had him stand among them.

What's so great about that,

you think?

Well,

children

in that culture

are not treated

as they are

in ours.

We have a special place

for children

in the

Roman Greek culture.

The father would decide

if the child

actually lived or died

when it was born.

If he thought

they couldn't support

the child

for financial reasons,

or if they thought

the baby was going

to be sick,

they were left

outside

or abandoned.

So children

in this context

were a good example

of the lowest

of all people

and nobody.

But look what Jesus does.

It's both shocking

and surprising.

He takes the little child,

has them stand

among them,

but not only that,

he takes him

in his arms

and he said to them,

whoever welcomes

one of these

little children

in my name

welcomes me.

Now this isn't

about cute

little kids.

It's about

all those

regardless of age

who are considered

insignificant

and less

than everybody else.

So through this

very visual example,

Jesus is saying

to his disciples,

look,

if you want to

not just appear

great,

but if you

really want

to do

great things,

then we need

to begin

to serve

the weak

and the insignificant,

the nobodies

within our community.

For us,

it might mean

inviting

not the popular

nice people

to our home,

but the outsider,

the one that

nobody really

bothers with.

It might mean

giving of our

time.

Not to those

who are like us

and might say

thank you

or give us

something in

return,

but to those

who are

ostracized,

those who

struggle to fit in,

those who

can't give

anything in

return.

Isn't that

what Jesus

did for us?

Jesus came

into this world

to serve

weak,

insignificant,

nobodies

like us.

He came

to welcome

sinful

outsiders

like us

to welcome

us in,

to bring us

in,

to be part

of his

family.

family.

You see,

a church

family that

does not

welcome

all people,

regardless of

their race

or their

particular

social

background

or class

or their

religion,

is a church

of pseudo

disciples,

fake believers

who want

to appear

great

rather than

do great

things.

So first,

being a

disciple means

serving the

weak and

not seeking

to be

great.

Second,

he goes

on,

being a

disciple means

humility in

ministry,

not superiority

in ministry.

Verse 38,

Teacher,

said John,

well,

we saw a

man driving

out demons

in your

name.

But don't

worry,

we told

him to

stop because

he wasn't

one of us.

Literally,

he wasn't

following us.

Now,

how arrogant

is that?

John,

it seems,

is more

concerned about

his privileged

position.

John wants

status,

not service.

discipleship.

But John

is so far

from true

discipleship

because the

way of

Jesus was

marked by

humility.

He didn't

hold on to

his position.

He gave

up his

position for

us.

He humbled

himself to

the point of

death on a

cross so that

we might become

the privileged

followers of

Jesus.

In fact,

Jesus shows us

the kind of

humility that

he looks for

from his

disciples.

Verse 39,

we can just

picture it,

John,

do not

stop him.

no one who

does a

miracle in

my name

can in the

next moment

say anything

bad about

me,

for whoever

is not

against us

is for

us.

Can you

not see

it's not

about superiority

over people,

but humility

towards people.

It's about

being generous

hearted to

other believers,

other disciples,

even if they're

not part of

your little

particular

denominational

group.

I think we

can suffer

with John's

attitude,

I know I

can,

wanting to

hold on to

my position,

wanting to

have status,

thinking that

the only

possible way

that God

can work

is through

me,

or that

the only

way God

can work

is through

this church

or through

that particular

denomination.

well,

as disciples,

we need to

quickly understand

that God's

work is not

confined to

any one

person or

one church.

If they are

preaching Christ,

or as it says

in verse 40,

whoever is

for us,

they can't be

against us.

then we

should be

humble enough

to accept

them and

welcome

them.

It seems

that Jesus

has a

broader view

of ministry

than perhaps

we do.

Jesus came

in humility

to minister

to us.

He didn't

just dismiss

us or

ignore us,

but he

stretched out

his arms

on the

cross to

include us.

His

ministry

was broad

enough

to bring

close to

himself

people like

us who

were against

him.

In

humility

he came.

Look at

verse 41.

Jesus

says,

I tell you

the truth,

anyone who

gives you

a cup of

water in

my name

because you

belong to

Christ will

certainly not

lose his

reward.

Jesus is

looking forward

at this stage

to a time

when the

disciples will

actually be

out on

ministry

themselves,

no longer

with Jesus.

Jesus will

have returned

to heaven

and they

would be

out on

their own.

And he's

saying,

look,

as you

go about

doing

ministry,

you're

going to

meet people

and they're

going to

come to

you and

serve you,

perhaps give

you some

water or

some food.

They're

going to

welcome

you.

And the

people who

do that,

it's evidence

that they

too are

disciples,

that they

too love

Jesus.

So the

question is,

are we as

generous and

welcoming of

God's people?

People who

perhaps come

to this

family of

this church

from other

places,

other Christians

who've

moved here?

Do we

show that

generosity

of a

welcome?

Or do

we kind

of keep

people at

arm's length

with a

sense of

superiority

because,

well,

they don't

really fit

in and

they don't

do things

our way,

you know.

So being

a disciple

means humility

in ministry,

not superiority

in ministry.

Third,

being a

disciple

means being

ruthless

with sin,

not casual

with sin.

Verse 42,

and if

anyone

causes one

of these

little ones,

that is,

any other

disciple,

a follower

of Jesus,

if anyone

causes one

of these

disciples who

believes in

me to sin,

it would

be better

for them

to be

thrown into

the sea

with a

large

millstone

tied around

his neck.

How

serious

he is,

causing

another

disciple,

another

follower

of Jesus

to fall

away

from God

or to

turn away

from God

is serious.

Because what

we say

and how

we live

as a

disciple

really

matters.

Sin is

not personal,

it's not a

private matter,

it not only

affects my

life

if I

sin,

but

my sin

affects the

community

of believers

around me.

In fact,

it is so

serious that

such a

person will

face the

full weight

of God's

wrath.

It will

be like,

as he says

at the end

of verse

42,

being thrown

into the

sea with

a large

millstone

tied around

his neck.

Jesus

took sin

seriously.

he came

into the

world to

take

our sin

on himself.

He faced

the full

weight of

God's

wrath around

his neck

for us.

He died

in our

place on

the cross.

He took

the blame

for our

sin so

that we

could live

a different

way,

so that

we could

be ruthless

with the

sin that

is in

our lives.

let's

read the

verses of

verse 43

to 48.

If your

hand

causes you

to sin,

cut it

off.

It is

better for

you to

enter life

maimed

than with

two hands

to go

into hell

where the

fire never

goes out.

And if

your foot

causes you

to sin,

cut it

off.

it is

better for

you to

enter life

crippled

than to

have two

feet and

be thrown

into hell.

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

than to

have two

eyes and

be thrown

into hell.

If ever

we were

in doubt

as to

the seriousness

of avoiding

sin in

our lives

or not

dealing with

sin in

our lives,

this awakens

us to the

terrible and

eternal

consequences of

being casual

about sin.

sin.

I'm going to

read that

again.

If ever

we're in

doubt as to

the seriousness

of avoiding

or not

dealing with

sin in

our lives,

this must

awaken us to

the terrible and

eternal consequences

of just being

casual.

sin.

So as I

read this,

and maybe

you're thinking,

how come I

still have my

two hands and

my two feet and

my two eyes?

Have I never

sinned?

Well, you can be

sure it's not

because I never

sin.

I do.

Too much.

Jesus'

teaching about

cutting and

plucking is

not to be

taken literally.

We're not to

go and perform

surgery on each

other and cut

each other's hands

and feet and

pull each other's

eyes out.

But this means

we are to take

things seriously.

He's using

strong language

deliberately to

drive the point

home.

Whatever we do

with our hands,

wherever we

happen to go

with our feet,

whatever we

see with our

eyes, if any

part of our

life causes

us to sin,

kill it,

cut it out,

deal with it

before it

kills you.

Anything

less is to

ignore the

reality of

hell itself.

God's

love.

Johnny, you

can't really

mean this,

can you?

If Jesus

didn't literally

mean cut

off your

hands, then

it's not too

far to kind of

go as far to

say, well, he

didn't literally

mean hell.

Well, to

underline that

hell is real,

Jesus quotes

from Isaiah.

Look at

verse 48.

The end of

verse 47, he

says, you'll

be thrown

into hell

where?

And he

quotes Isaiah

where their

worm does

not die and

the fire is

not quenched.

That quote is

from the very

last verse,

you can look it

up later if you

wish, the very

last verse in

the book of

Isaiah, which

comes at the

end of two

long chapters of

God's wonderful

salvation, his

promise of

restoration and

renewal and

all that he's

going to do, but

at the very end

it ends with

this serious

note of

judgment.

The very last

verse.

Let me read

it to you.

Here's the

full verse.

They will go

out and look

upon the dead

bodies of those

who rebelled

against me.

Their worm

will not die,

nor will their

fire be quenched

in other words,

this is eternal

suffering and

they will be

loathsome to

all mankind.

It's a reality.

And you know

what?

If it were not

for the death

of Jesus,

we would all

be facing

hell.

Jesus came

to be ruthless

with sin

because we

could never

do it.

He came to

be our

sin.

He took

on all the

wrong things

that I've

ever done

and that you've

ever done.

He endured

the judgment

that we deserve.

He suffered

the depths

of hell

for us

so that we

don't have

to.

He did it

all for us

so that we

could actually

live a different

way so that

we could

fight the

sin in our

lives.

This is a

sober reminder

to all of us

as disciples

of Jesus.

How we view

sin and

more importantly

what we do

with the sin

that is still

in our lives

determines

our eternal

destiny.

so being a

disciple means

being ruthless

with sin

and not

casual with

sin.

I said it

was hard

and I think

that's why

Jesus took

his disciples

alone

because it

is difficult

but yet

there's joy

in discipleship.

This is the

radical nature

of discipleship.

This is what

it means

to follow

Jesus

and if we're

in any doubt

as to its

difficulty

look at

verse 49

everyone

will be

salted

with fire.

In other

words he's

saying the

path of

discipleship

will mean

a life

of suffering.

Serving

the weak

being humble

towards others

being ruthless

with sin

that's not a

walk in the

park

that's really

tough.

but it's

really good.

It's really

good.

It's good

for you.

Look at

verse 50

changing the

metaphor

Jesus says

salt is

good

but if it

loses its

saltiness

how can you

make it salty

again?

Have salt

in yourselves

and be at

peace with

each other.

water.

We don't

use salt

in the

same way

but again

in the

times that

it was

written

salt

will

preserve

and salt

will purify

food.

So Jesus

is saying

the suffering

and the

path that

we take

as disciples

it will

preserve

and purify

you.

if there's

no salt

in the

food

it's going

to rot

and be

mouldy

and stink

and go

off.

So without

the salt

of suffering

we will

never become

the disciples

and the

people that

God calls

us to be.

so he

says it's

good.

And

thankfully

Jesus

took the

ultimate

suffering

for us

our sin

death

hell

itself

so that

the path

of suffering

that we

now walk

as his

disciples

as we

journey

with him

it will

change us

and transform

us

and make

us to be

more like

Jesus.

in a

contradiction

to the

world's

standards

suffering

is good

for us

and we

can be

joyful

in walking

the path

because

one day

suffering

will end

and

suffering

will

have

fulfilled

its work

within us

because we

will see

Jesus

and not

only will

we see

Jesus

but we

will be

like

Jesus

the

ultimate

and true

disciple

we will

become

like him

in every

way

living with

him

for all

eternity

this is

the joy

in being

a disciple

is it

hard

absolutely

is it

worth it

without

a doubt

are we

hired

are we

an

apprentice

of the

Lord

Jesus

following

him

as his

disciple

let's

pray

father

perhaps

in some

ways

we're

just

like

the

disciples

as they

first

heard

those

words

of

Jesus

we

find it

hard to

understand

and

we're

even

afraid

to ask

what all

this

means

this is

this is

hard

for us

this is

not easy

for us

so please

would you

give us

a heart

to

accept

your

teaching

and to

follow in

it

trusting you

that your

way is

perfect

and good

and the

journey

and the

path

that you

call us

to

while it

is hard

it is

good for

us

and it

is your

good way

of changing

us and

transforming us

to be more

like Jesus

so that as

we go out

into the

world we

reflect the

beauty of

Christ

and we

begin to

serve

others who

are weak

the nobodies

and we

begin to be

humble in

our ministry

and we

begin to see

the sin that

needs to be

rooted out

father be

gentle with

us

and continue

your work

in our

lives

as we

seek to

follow you

and learn

from you

in Jesus

name we

pray

amen

and we

you

you