True Discipleship

True Discipleship. God demands obedience and trust.

 

A1 Objectives

B1 Describes what Jesus requires of His followers.

B2 Distinguish between disciples and discipleship.

 

A2 Scriptures

B1 Matthew 10:16-39

B2 Matthew 16:24-26

B3 Luke 13:25-33

 

A3 Notes

B1 Sheep and wolves

B2 Serpents and doves

B3 Persecution

C1 From religious authorities

C2 From government authorities.

 

A4 Notes

B1 What are the sheep that Jesus is talking about?

C1 Jesus is called the Good Shepherd.

C2 Shepherds take care of their sheep in nearly every aspect.

C3 The sheep of the Good Shepherd are the true Christians.

C4 For example->Now may the God of peace, who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the everlasting covenant, (Hebrews 13:20, EMTV)

B2 What are the wolves that Jesus is talking about?

C1 False prophets ("But beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. (Matthew 7:15, EMTV)

C2 The unsaved ("Behold, I am sending you forth like sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16, EMTV)

C3 False teachers seeking to lead the sheep astray into error/heresy/death

D1 But a hired hand, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. (John 10:12, EMTV)

D2 For I know this, that savage wolves will come in after my departure, not sparing the flock. (Acts 20:29, EMTV)

B3 Serpents and Doves

C1 What is Jesus calling serpents?

D1 How to answer skeptics, etc. wisely. "...for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict, nor to withstand." (Luke 21:15, EMTV)

D2 Deep knowledge of things God wants us to know. "For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I rejoice on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent to what is evil." (Romans 16:19, EMTV)

D3 Knowing God's will for today. "See then that you walk carefully, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:15-17, EMTV)

D4 How to interact with nonbelievers. "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, redeeming the time." (Colossians 4:5, EMTV)

C2 What is Jesus calling doves?

D1 We are to love enemies.

E1 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, (Matthew 5:44, EMTV)

E2 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22, NKJV)

D2 Help enemies. ""If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. "If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it. (Exodus 23:4-5, NKJV)

D3 Feed your enemies. "But he answered, "You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master." Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel. (2 Kings 6:22-23, NKJV)

D4 Pray for your enemies. ""But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, "bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. (Luke 6:27-28, NKJV)

D5 Follow Jesus's example. "Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots. (Luke 23:34, NKJV)

D6 Ask God to help your enemies. This is so they will repent. "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (Romans 12:14, NKJV)

D7 Shows real love. "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NKJV)

D8 Have God take your burden. The Lord Jesus is our example in this, too. "who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; (1 Peter 2:23, NKJV)

B4 Why are we to be alert and to beware of people?

C1 Not to be too trusting.

C2 We are to be a little skeptical.

C3 "But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. (Matthew 10:17, NKJV)

C4 And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them, they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region. And they were preaching the gospel there. (Acts 14:5-7, NKJV)

B5 Dealing with religious persecution. How are we to respond?

C1 They will call us "fools" and "Raca". But I say to you that whoever gets angry with his brother without cause will be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Empty-head!' will be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ' fool!' will be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:22, EMTV)

C2 They will seek for false witnesses to justify punishing us. Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the Sanhedrin were seeking false witnesses against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death, and they did not find any. And though many false witnesses came forward, they did not find any. But at last two false witnesses came forward (Matthew 26:59-60, EMTV)

B6 Dealing with persecution from the government. How are we to respond?

C1 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. (2 Timothy 4:16-17, NKJV)

C2 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; (1 Peter 2:23, NKJV)

C3 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator. (1 Peter 4:19, NKJV)

C4 To give the Gospel to authority both religious and government.

D1 "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now." (Acts 22:1, NKJV)

D2 Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you." (Acts 24:25, NKJV)

B7 How does God help us what to say at times? ("But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; (Matthew 10:19, NKJV)

C1 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: "If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. (Acts 4:8-14, NKJV)

C2 Regarding Stephen, it was said, "And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke." (Acts 6:10, NKJV)

B8 Will there be problems and conflicts with family members? Why?

B9 Why do people hate Christians?

C1 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. (Luke 6:22-23, NKJV)

C2 "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. (John 7:7, NKJV)

C3 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. "But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (John 15:18-21, NKJV)

B10 For Matthew 10:22, what does "endure to the end" mean?

C1 End may mean

D1 The end of the trial, persecution, affliction, etc.

D2 The end of life.

D3 The end of time--judgment.

C2 "...eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; (Romans 2:7, NKJV)

C3 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:9, NKJV)

C4 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, (Hebrews 3:14, NKJV)

B11 Is it OK to leave an area suffering persecution? (Yes, Matthew 10:23).

B12 Can we expect some type of persecution?

C1 Yes, they did it to Jesus.

C2 Matthew 10:23-26

B13 Is it OK to be afraid?

B14 What is the definition of bravely?

C1 Not an absence of fear but doing what needs to be done even if afraid.

C2 Courage

C3 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, he went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. (Mark 15:43, EMTV)

B15 But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly I say to you, by no means will you have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 10:23, EMTV)

C1 Does this mean that Jesus would come back before the Apostles had preached the Gospel to all the cities of Israel?

D1 Some believe it means they would hide in the cities of Israel, but they would not hide in each and every one before Jesus returned.

D2 Jesus return would be His transfiguration, Pentecost, or the destruction of Jerusalem.

D3 The word for "come" is not return. The word means come.

D4 So possibly, per context, they would not preach in every city on this commission, sending out, by Jesus before Jesus would come. Come as in

E1 When Jesus finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he left that place and went off to teach and preach in the towns near there. (Matthew 11:1, GNB92)

C2 What does it refer when it is written "the Son of Man comes"?

D1 Jesus sends out the disciples 2X2 early in His third Galilean tour. Matthew 3:35

D2 Jesus then was rejected, again, at Nazareth. Matthew 13:54-58

D3 John the Baptist was beheaded. Matthew 14:1-12

D4 Jesus takes his disciples to a place of rest. Matthew 14:13

D5 So most likely it would refer to the time Jesus goes to Nazareth and is again rejected.

B16 Should we expect troubles because we are Christians?

B17 Does God know all things? (Yes, Matthew 10:26

B18 Jesus knows that living and preaching (for we all preach Christ, if we live for Christ) will bring great fear, but He encourages us. How does He do this? "What I am telling you in the dark you must repeat in broad daylight, and what you have heard in private you must announce from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's consent. As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!" (Matthew 10:27-31, GNB92)

B19 Why are some fearful to confess Christ?

B20 What is the danger if we refuse--for any reason--to confess Christ? Matthew 10:33

B21 Did Jesus come to bring peace? Is He referring to peace with God or peace in the world? Why did He not bring peace into the world--at least at this time?

B22 Why would members of a family turn against each other?

B23 Why must Jesus be the highest priority of those we love? (Some of the family might not love Christ and urge the Christian to continue with them. "Please, don't you love me? How can you be a Christian? Thus, some might deny Christ because they love their family member more).

B24 What is the blessing for following Christ to the very end of our life? Matthew 10:39

B25 What does it mean to find our life (Matthew 10:39), or to lose our life? (Physical versus spiritual life)

B26 What does it mean to deny himself (Matthew 16:24)? (God's priorities must be greater than ours).

B27 Why do so many people seek riches, fame, and honor, even to the extent of the whole world (Matthew 16: 26)?

B28 What can a person give in exchange for their soul? What do they think would be the thing they could exchange; would it be money, honor, business, beauty?

B29 Are humans going to be judged by their works (Matthew 16:27)?

B30 Who are those who are standing there who will not die until the Son of Man returns?

C1 Some believe that Jesus returned in 70 AD. (Preterist--all prophecies are fulfilled, Jesus returned spiritually, not physically).

C2 "The coming of the Son of man, intended in this verse, is clearly distinct from that intended in the preceding verse, unless, with some modern scholars, we are ready to attribute a gross error to Jesus. They would hold that He Himself expected to return during the lifetime of His Twelve. While He confessed not to know the time of "that day and that hour" (Mat. 24:36), He affirmed nothing about not knowing perfectly every other detail thereabout. In Mat. 16:27, rather, He shows that He does know these details. As with other prophecies, so also this one must be interpreted in the light of its undoubted fulfilment. Jesus did not return personally in the lifetime of His Apostles. Therefore, He did not intend to promise that here. Rather, Jesus did establish His Kingdom during the lifetime of these disciples, therefore that is the coming He had in mind. (Study Acts 1, 2 as the beginning of the fulfilment of this prophecy.)

 

Had Jesus meant to refer to His own second coming in this verse, then it would be assumed by the reader that, after some would have seen the coming of the Son of man in His kingdom, then they would experience death. But the very final defeat of death at the final judgment precludes this possibility. (Cf. 1Co. 15:25-26) Therefore, when the Lord affirmed that some would not die until they should see Him coming in His Kingdom, He really leaves open the possibility that, after that event, they could really die. In light of the Church's beginning on Pentecost, an event witnessed by every Apostle (except the suicide, Judas, Mat. 27:3-5), we must affirm that this verse refers at least to that event, and maybe to much more in the life of the early Church. Today, however, the Apostles are all dead, and Jesus has not yet personally returned in His glory and royal dignity. What has occurred in Mat. 16:27-28 has been correctly analyzed by Hendriksen (Matthew, 659). Jesus shows the Apostles His entire glorification as one unitary concept embracing all the events from His exaltation and vindication at Pentecost and the period following clear up to His second coming. Mat. 16:27 outlines His final victory; Mat. 16:28 describes its beginning.

 

A careful harmonization of all that Jesus said reveals His full intention:

 

MATTHEW: There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom

MARK: There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.

LUKE: There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.

 

The differences in reporting Jesus' words may be resolved in the following manner: "You will live to see the beginning of my Kingdom surrounded with power. The arrival of the Kingdom of God is equal to and contemporaneous with the beginning of my reign as King." The fulfilment of this promise was only understood by faith, since Jesus did not personally appear in Jerusalem at Pentecost, nor even visibly above Jerusalem, exalted at the right hand of God. Not even then did Jesus perform stupendous personal signs, other than those actually recorded as performed by the Holy Spirit, to convince men of His reign. But what was done was evidence enough that He had indeed begun to rule the Kingdom of God with power. (Cf. Act. 2:32-33; Act. 2:36) That the post-crucifixion, post-Pentecost events are evidence of Jesus' coming in His Kingdom is clear from the following observations:

 

1. The disciples saw Jesus ascend to the Father's right hand. (Act. 1:6-11; Luk. 24:50-52)
   

   
    

2. They beheld the Spirit's coming to bring charismatic power, help and illumination. (Act. 2:1 ff)
   

   
    

3. They witnessed the birth of the Church among the Hebrew people despite the helpless rage of His enemies. (Act. 4:24-33; Act. 8:4; Act. 21:20!) They thought of this as "the Kingdom." (Act. 1:3; Act. 8:12; Act. 19:8; Act. 20:25; Act. 28:23; Act. 28:31; Rom. 14:17; 1Co. 4:20; Col. 1:13; 1Th. 2:12; Heb. 1:8; Heb. 12:28; Rev. 1:9)
   

   
    

4. They participated personally in the vigorous, rapid, world-wide expansion of the Church among the Gentiles. Acts 10; Act. 11:19-26; Acts 13-28.
   

   
    

5. They labored for and witnessed the maturing of the Church's love, boldness and oneness.
   

   
    

6. Some of the Apostles, notably John, witnessed the fall of national Judaism with its temple, priesthood and sacrifices, and the triumph of the Gospel proclaimed in every part of the Roman empire." (From the commentary College Press Bible Study Textbook Series on this passage)
   

B31 Luke 13:25-33

C1 What happens to all the workers of iniquity? ("Depart from me" Luke 13:27).

C2 Where do they depart to? (Hell--the Lake of Fire. "And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:15, EMTV)

C3 Is there any meaning or difference in the weepers and the gnashers? (Possibly weepers are those who wish they had believed in Christ. The gnashers are those who hate God and curse Him).

C4 Is Jesus being disrespectful to King Herod? (No, it is the truth).

C5 Does Jesus know the future? (Yes, He explains what is going to happen shortly. Luke 13:32-33).