Never easy, always worth it.

November 10, 2021 (Wednesday)

 

Many Protestants fall into the camp of “evangelicals.” While this is generally a fuzzy term, the basic belief is in the necessity to be “born again.” It is a belief in a specific conversion experience. Along with this belief is the certainty that churches must “grow.”

 

If our focus is on the conversion experience, are we disobeying Jesus command to “make disciples?” (see Matthew 28:19). My observation is those who are good at “winning the lost” are not good a “making disciples.” The needs of the church require a team effort (see Ephesians 4:11 – 16). The think that puzzles me most is Jesus’ tendency to make following Him less than easy. It could be argued that Jesus made following Him difficult.

 

Early in Jesus’ ministry, at Nazareth, people reacted with some skepticism. “Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” [Luke 4:22 NLT] Anyone who has grown up in a small mountain town in Pennsylvania knows the feeling. You will always be who you are when you made that mistake when you were 10 years old.

 

The reference to “Joseph’s son” might have been a shadow of his perceived illegitimate birth. Jesus was born to a young unwed mother. Yes, she was legally under obligation to marry Joseph but the marriage had not yet been consummated before Jesus’ birth. So, the locals were accusing Mary of behaving badly and Joseph of either behaving badly or going along with it. Either way, they were suggesting sin and shame as Jesus’ identity.

 

Looking through their judgmental dismissal, Jesus charged, “Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’” [Luke 4:23 NLT] This lack of faith was a problem. Matthew documented, “And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.” [Matthew 13:58 NLT] Jesus limited Himself to the level of cooperation (faith, belief) of the people. Makes me wonder what we are missing due to our lack of faith.

 

Jesus follows up with two examples from Israel’s history were God favored Gentiles with miracles when the same conditions existed inside Israel. The reaction was immediate and violent. “When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff.” [Luke 4:28, 29 NLT]

 

This is not an isolated event. Jesus turned away the rich young ruler, despite loving him. Then there was the time when Jesus grew is congregation from 5,000 plus to 12 (maybe a few more) with one teaching session where He called the people children of the devil. How about the time when He used a Muslim (our equivalent to “Samaritan”) as the hero of the story, gasp! Jesus insulted His own people when He pointed out two Gentiles as examples of faith. How could Jesus possibly think people would follow Him?

 

Consider the things Jesus did that might seem unhealthy to a career as a religious leader. For instance, as a complete stranger, He interrupted a perfectly good funeral procession for a widow’s son. He once mocked a group of mourners holding vigil at a dead girl’s house. He refused to rush to the aid of a close friend, who supposedly died because of His negligence. How could Jesus possibly think people would follow Him?

 

Jesus did not just want us to just agree with Him. He wanted us to FOLLOW, to give our all, to believe against hope. For the record, Jesus raised the widow’s son to life. For the record, Jesus raised the little girl back to life. For the record, Jesus raised Lazarus back to life.

 

The real question is how could anyone NOT follow Jesus?