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Gospel of Mark
Part 47: The Cost of Discipleship
By Rev. Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON TIMELINE
1. Introduction
5. The Preaching Ministry of Jesus I
6. The Preaching Ministry of Jesus II
9. At the Home of Simon and Andrew
12. Jesus and the Tax Collector
13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting
15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025
16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts
18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles
24. Parable of the Growing Seed
25. Parable of the Mustard Seed
26. Benefits of Private Teaching
30. When Familiarity Breeds Contempt
32. Weakness in the Seat of Power
34. Feeding 5000
38. The Source of True Defilement
39. Gentile Blessed for Her Faith
40. He Has Done All Things Well
41. Jesus Feeds 4000
42. Jesus Sighs
43. Beware of Leaven
44. The Blind Man at Bethsaida
45. Who Do You Say That Jesus Is?
46. Mindful of the Things of God
47. The Cost of Discipleship
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Mark
8:31-33
“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man
must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and
the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 And He was stating the matter openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He (Jesus) rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
The message was Being Mindful of the Things of God.
Jesus rebuked Peter for wanting “his will” (Jesus not to go to the cross and die) rather than being mindful of what God’s Will was. We see that Jesus refers to a person who lives for their own will rather than God’s, “satan.”
We spoke about the difference between the words satan and ha-satan, and the fact that Jesus was not calling Peter “the” Satan, rather, satan as in the fact that Peter chose his own will over the will of God, making you God’s adversary.
It is literally “satanic” to live for ourselves, our desires, our will, over the will of God.
We become God’s adversary. Which means, enemy of God. Opponent.
After rebuking Peter, Jesus called all those listening to Him, along with His disciples, and said the following two verses.
Mark 8:34-35 “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to follow after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
INTRODUCTION
In Mark 8:35, the Greek word translated “life” is ψυχή (psychÄ“).
The noun ψυχή is one of the richest and most elastic words in the New Testament. Its semantic range includes life, soul, self, inner being, and in some contexts, the whole person as a living being.
It does not refer merely to biological existence, nor is it restricted to an immaterial soul detached from embodied life. Rather, it speaks of the self as an animated, conscious, and personally invested existence. The entire person.
ψυχή also carries the sense of the inner self, the seat of desire and devotion.
We see this word used in verses such as
Matthew 22:37 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
The emphasis on ψυχή is on the self offered wholly to God.
Therefore, translating ψυχή as ‘life’ is grammatically correct. However, rightly understanding the term requires seeing it as referring to the whole person, the self as lived and directed, rather than merely physical existence.
While no standard translation renders ψυχή as “soul” in Mark 8:35, the theological reality of the soul is not absent from the verse.
Jesus is not asking what part of you will be saved, but whether you will surrender yourself at all.
We read in the beginning of His ministry, Jesus called people, such as Simon and Andrew in Mark 1:16-18, and James and John in Mark 1:19-20, to be His disciples.
At the conclusion of His ministry, we see Jesus sending His apostles to make more disciples and teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded. (Matthew 28:19-20)
In today’s text, Jesus tells us about the cost of discipleship.
To be a disciple of Jesus means we learn about what Jesus commands, and we obey it. This distinction of being more than one who simply listens is clarified in the Book of James.
James 1:22 “…become doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
True believers, real Christians, actual disciples know that such discipleship requires a cost.
A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS MUST…
I. DENY ONES SELF
a. What does it mean to deny self
i. Deny your will and remain mindful of God’s
1. Deny sinful self
2. Deny desires of the sinful flesh, renounce ungodliness, worldly lusts, and depart from them.
ii. Rebuke the self-righteous nature.
1. Renounce all your own works of righteousness.
2. Deny yourself of its self-righteous pride, arrogance, and sinful lust from dominating you.
One of the biggest complaints I hear from people (including believers) about people calling themselves Christians is “They think they are better than everyone else.”
Self-righteous behavior, pride, arrogance, the way of the narcissist.
That MUST die, if we are to follow Him.
b. How denying self is manifested in a believer's life
i. Denying the sinful self is illustrated by Peter
1. 1 Peter 2:11-12 Abstain from fleshly lusts
a. Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Matthew 19:26 “And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
2. 1 Peter 4:1-4 STOP living like the rest of the world
a. Reread the scripture references above (a-d)!
ii. Denying self-righteousness (narcissistic behavior) is illustrated by Paul
1. Philippians 3:4-14 Paul had MUCH he could boast about!
a. He referred to this as confidence in the flesh
b. However, he tells us to choose to put all our trust and confidence in Christ
Philippians 3:7 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”
In teaching and in practice, the apostles tell us what it means to deny self.
II. A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS TAKES UP HIS CROSS “DAILY”
a. What this means
i. To voluntarily and decisively accept the pain, shame, and persecution that is going to be their particular walk.
ii. This will not be the same as another’s, but unique to their loyalty to Christ and their calling.
iii. To cheerfully receive and patiently bear every affliction and evil, however shameful and painful it may be, which is appointed to them, and they are called to, which is their unique cross to bear.
iv. Every Christian has their own cross to which they must choose daily to quietly submit, and carry, with resignation to the will of God, in imitation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
v. To this, we “obey” daily. To gladly endure whatever hardship we may receive in service to Christ!
b. How this is manifested in a Christian’s life
i. Look at all the apostles endured in I Corinthians 4:9-13
1. They were made a public spectacle before the world
a. Observed by both angels and men
2. They were regarded as fools
3. They lived in weakness
4. They were dishonored and treated as insignificant
5. They endured hunger and thirst
6. They were poorly clothed
7. Roughly treated, beaten, and abused
8. Lived without stable housing, homeless and unsettled
9. Had to labor physically, working with their own hands to survive
10. Reviles, spoken against with contempt
11. Persecuted, slandered, falsely accused
12. Regarded as the scum of the earth
13. This doesn’t sound anything like the oh-too many “Christians” we see and read about today, with their mansions, multiple cars, expensive clothes, far from going hungry or without
a. Most of them have large houses, huge garages, fat bank accounts, and even fatter bellies from living a life of self-indulgence and a flesh-pleasing lifestyle.
ii. Paul endured much as well! Read 2 Corinthians 11:23-29
1. Hermeneutics - interpreting Scripture or seeking the meaning of a passage by considering its context, language, culture, and purpose, so that its intended message can be accurately communicated and applied.)
2. Because of poor hermeneutics, many struggle to understand scripture and give far too much conjecture and personal (or denominational) interpretation to what verses mean, such as the thorn in Paul’s side, which he asked God to remove three times in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9.
3. But if you remember that scripture interprets scripture, you would turn to the previous verses in 2 Corinthians 11, and discover Paul explains what the thorn is that he asked God to remove.
2 Corinthians 11:7-9 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
a. Meaning God allowed Satan’s attacks and the hardships Paul endured (2 Corinthians 11:23–29) to keep him humble and reliant on God’s grace and strength, demonstrating that divine power is perfected in human weakness.
iii. We may be ridiculed 1 Peter 4:4
iv. Reviled, condemned, despised, abused, hated, and unloved Matthew 5:11; Luke 6:22
All the while, rejoicing because it is an honor to suffer for Christ’s sake!
1 Peter 4:16; Acts 5:40-42
This is not suffering due to masochistic pride, false-humility, or some martyr syndrome. (Romans 12:3; James 4:6)
But for the sake of Christ!
Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Therefore;
James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”
With the willingness to deny self and bear our cross daily, we become obedient followers of Christ.
III. A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS FOLLOWS JESUS BY HEARING HIS WORD AND DOING IT
a. What this means
i. Seeking to become “like” Him!
1. Luke 6:40; Romans 8:29; Romans 13:14
ii. To accept Him as Lord, doing what He says!
1. Luke 6:46; Colossians 3:17
iii. To walk in His footsteps, even at great cost!
1. 1 Peter 2:21-25
b. How it’s manifested in a Christian’s life
i. Obeying the gospel of Christ
1. Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; ACTS 22:16
ii. Observing all that He and His Apostles commanded
1. Matthew 28:20; Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 14:37
iii. And ever growing in grace and knowledge
1. Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:27
CONCLUSION
Jesus said;
Luke 14:28–30
“… which
of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost,
whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, after he has laid a foundation
and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This
man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Jesus uses this illustration to teach the necessity of considering the cost of discipleship. Following Him requires deliberate commitment, careful evaluation, and willingness to endure sacrifice. Just as a builder must plan to avoid ruin and ridicule, a disciple must count the cost of surrendering self, possessions, and comfort to faithfully follow Christ.
This is why we see so many false converts and weak Christians who fall away (Hebrews 6:4-6; Hebrews 10:26-27; 2 Peter 2:20-22; 1 Timothy 4:1; Matthew 24:10-13; Galatians 5:4)
This is why we read in John 6 when Jesus explains Salvation and why He came, John 6:59-66 tells us that as a result of this “difficult” teaching, many of His disciples left Him and were “not talking to Him anymore.”
The true cost of discipleship may seem rather high.
Denying self and your will
Taking up your cross daily
Following Jesus by hearing the word and doing it
However, Jesus explains in Mark 8:35, there are only two choices!
You can try to save your life yourself, and end up losing it.
John 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
(Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 43:10)
Or, You can lose your life for the gospel and Jesus, and end up saving it!
Revelation 2:10 “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Mark 8:35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
In view of eternity, there is only one viable choice! We must endure the high cost of discipleship and receive the blessings of eternal life.
Want to learn more about Salvation?
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