Follow Him Gladly • Luke 9:23-36
1:00:51 Teaching begins
Notes
Picking up your cross and following Jesus might give you a gloomy outlook on life. Grit your teeth, another day, another death.
Jesus knows He is heading to the cross, but He is clearly not a gloomy character. He has an eternal perspective that affects His attitude today. He knows He is going to eternal glory.
Those who follow Him are following Him to glory, so they follow Him gladly.
I’m reading in Luke 9 from verses 23-27.
1. Jesus teaches what it means to follow Him, vv. 23-27.
A. He just asked His disciples questions: who does the crowd say I am? Who do you say I am? They have come to this conclusion: You are the Christ, the Son of God.
B. Being the Messiah doesn’t mean glory right now. Jesus says, don’t tell anyone. It’s not time for that yet. Now it means dying to Myself, serving the Father and everyone else. It’s suffering, it’s humility. He says I’m going to be rejected and crucified and rise on the third day. It’s suffering now, glory later.
C. It’s the very same for His disciples.
D. You deny yourself.
1. Deny is what people do to Jesus. They say, it’s not true. I don’t want anything to do with Him. He’s probably going to wreck my life. I’m not having that.
2. So you do that to yourself. If I keep control of my life, I’m going to wreck it. I don’t want anything to do with me. Keep me far away from me.
E. You carry your cross daily.
1. A condemned criminal would be compelled to pick up the crossbeam of his cross and carry it to the place of execution. People would watch and know exactly what’s happening. You are shamed before you die.
2. That’s what you do every day. You say, today I’m dying with Christ. You bear that shame of identifying with Him.
F. You follow Jesus.
1. He said, where I am there My servant will be also. He is still serving the Father. He’s still seeking and saving the lost. He’s bringing other sheep into His fold. He’s tending them and feeding them and serving them.
2. Jesus serves the Father. You serve Jesus. It is the highest existence, it is the highest purpose, it is the best way to live. That’s how Jesus saw His life.
2. Jesus now looks ahead to the future to answer the question, “What if I don’t do that?”
A. Your attitude today might be, “Well, I’m not going to lose my life to Jesus so He can rule over me. I’ve got plans and legitimate desires, I want my life to please me. I want a fruitful life. I don’t want God to waste my life extravagantly and foolishly. I want my life to be valuable to me.”
B. That sounds reasonable now. Who wants to live stupidly and have nothing to show for their life?
C. Jesus looks beyond now to the outcome, to the result in the future of not losing your life to Jesus.
1. At the judgment you will lose your life. You will give a true account of your life given to you by God. “I didn’t want anything to do with Your Messiah. I denied Him and His rule in my life. I insulted God, refused His salvation, and served only myself.”
2. At the judgment you will lose your fruit, as you give account. “I pursued unworthy goals and I achieved them. They were temporary and connected with the world that just now burned up. I have nothing of eternal value to show for my life. I lived my life focused on my own glory, and I realise now that that was unworthy of You. I have just lost all I have done and made.”
3. At the judgment you will lose your soul. The soul is the immaterial part of you that will exist forever. “I ignored my immortal soul and only focused on the here and now.” Your soul is given a body prepared for eternal judgment away from the presence of God. This is called the Second Death. You lose you.
F. Jesus looks ahead to judgment and He also looks ahead to glory.
1. Lots of people are ashamed of Him and His words. They don’t see why they should give up their lives for Him. That’s crazy, that’s beneath my dignity. I refuse to think about Him and you can’t make me think.
2. Jesus came into this life in humility, born as a baby. He is not coming back as a baby. He’s returning into this life in the glory of the Father, as God Himself. It says in Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
3. Every eye will become spectator to the glory of God. Those clouds John spoke of are thousands upon thousands of angels with their glory. Greater than glorious angels is the One exalted by them. In the centre of all that is Jesus Christ the Son of God, coming in the glory of the Father. No one will have to say, “That’s Jesus, you know!” No one will have a theological problem saying, “How can Jesus be God?” They’ll know: He is God. This event concerns everyone; those people who pierced Him have been dead for some 2000 years, but they will see Him come in glory. Everyone who has ever lived will see Him. You will see Him.
4. People faced with all that glory will mourn. They all deliberately got it wrong and refused Jesus. They all are going to be judged. No one can change it or do it over and get it right this time. Every person will see the truth, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father, but they are not His people. Their way of life is over forever. We can hardly stand shame and contempt now. What will it be like then, to experience shame and contempt forever?
G. Jesus clearly sees the difficulties of following Him. He also sees clearly beyond that to what happens at the end of following Him. It’s suffering now, but glory forever then.
3. Jesus allows others to see and experience His perspective, vv. 27-36.
A. There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. They will see with their own eyes that what I say is true.
B. It happened eight days later. That’s enough time to forget what Jesus said, that it would happen in their lifetime. Were they looking to see it happen? Did Jesus warn them it’s about to happen? But they were with Jesus, so they didn’t miss it.
C. I have always assumed this happened at night, and the disciples were fighting the drowsiness that can happen when you pray at night. But it doesn’t say it was at night. They are up on a mountain, and they are there to pray. They got away from everyone else and they had time to stretch out and pray.
D. Jesus is transfigured.
1. His face became different. His clothing became white and gleaming. Not like the usual earth-coloured garment one usually wore. He is clothed in glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
2. The disciples saw Jesus talking with two glorious men, and they knew it was Moses and Elijah. 1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. They saw glorified men and they had a taste of glorified knowledge.
E. All three are speaking of Jesus’ departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
1. The Greek word used there is exodus, it means just that: departure. Moses departed from Egypt. He left the world of sin behind. When it was time for him to die it wasn’t death. It was departure to be with God.
2. Elijah didn’t die when he departed this life. He was caught up in a chariot of fire and went directly into heaven to be with God.
3. Jesus will depart this life at Jerusalem. He will accomplish eternal salvation by His departure. He is going to where Moses and Elijah already are: the presence of the Father. Glory and eternal life. They were written in scripture centuries ago, but they are still alive. Jesus departed and He rose from the dead, and He is still alive, in the presence of the Father.
F. Peter, James, and John were overwhelmed by the revelation of Jesus in glory.
1. People like to make fun of what Peter said as he saw Jesus. You notice that John and James say not one word. It says in Mark 9:6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. Maybe you think it would be cool to see Jesus glorified. I don’t think you would do any better than they did. I think we would be terrified to see the reality of Jesus in glory.
2. But then it gets more intense: a cloud forms and overshadows them. Matthew says it was a bright cloud. And in the bright cloud they hear a voice coming out of the cloud. I imagine it was surround-sound. They were in the cloud and in the sound. They are hugging the ground in terror. When they look up, it’s over. Jesus looks like Jesus again.
3. The voice said, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him.” Peter might have thought, “Here are three glorified beings, make three booths, we’ll worship you all.” Many years later on the island of Patmos John sees Jesus glorified, he sees angels, he bows down to worship the angels twice! But here the Father says, “Listen to Jesus.” We’re not supposed to venerate glorified men. We’re not supposed to worship angels. We only worship God and that means we worship Jesus.
4. So what? If you’re going to follow Jesus, do everything He did. Pick up your cross, deny yourself, follow Christ, and look to the glory.
A. It’s easy to forget the purpose for which you suffer. The difficulties can be so big and overwhelming and they look like they’re never going away. It looks like the suffering will drown you. The question will come to you: Why am I suffering? Why am I going through all this? If you’re discouraged and can’t think of a reason then what do you do? You get this sinking feeling. You’re failing. Why go on? It’s better to get out of suffering. Death starts looking like a good way out.
B. Look at Jesus. He clearly understood the purpose in His suffering.
1. He knew who He was: God, the Son of God, born as a human being.
2. He knew that He would suffer, be rejected by the chief priests and the nation of Israel, and die for the sins of the whole world.
3. Hebrews 12: 2 For the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
4. The joy Jesus looked forward to is resurrection. Psalm 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
C. The encouragement is to endure the cross with Jesus and keep looking ahead to glory with Him. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
D. Hebrews 11:24-27 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
E. You know how to see Him who is unseen. Look at Jesus dying on the cross for you. Look at Him buried. Look at Him raised from the dead.
F. That’s how to follow Jesus gladly: look to the reward, the resurrection from the dead, and see Him who is unseen.
Let’s pray.