HOFC Sermon Archive: Gospel of Mark Part 58: The Cost and Reward of Discipleship

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SERMON TIMELINE

10. Jesus Cleanses the Leper

11. Jesus Heals the Paralytic

12. Jesus and the Tax Collector

13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14. Of Wine and Wineskins

15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025

16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts

17. Three Responses to Jesus

18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles

19. The Family of Jesus

20. The Unforgivable Sin

21. The True Family of Jesus

22. Parable of the Four Soils

23. How Well Do You Listen

24. Parable of the Growing Seed

25. Parable of the Mustard Seed

26. Benefits of Private Teaching

27. Jesus Calms the Storm

28. Who is Afraid of Jesus?

29. The Touch of Jesus

30. When Familiarity Breeds Contempt

31. Principles of Evangelism

32. Weakness in the Seat of Power

33. The Need for Rest

34. Feeding 5000

35. Jesus Walks on Water

36. Healings at Gennesaret

37. The Danger of Traditions

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

48. The Value of a Soul

49. Ashamed of Jesus and His Word

50. The Transfiguration

51. The Disciples ask Questions

52. The Unclean Spirit

53. The Way to Greatness

54. Principles of Discipleship

55. God Hates Divorce

56. Jesus Blesses Children

57. The Problem with Wealth

58. The Cost and Reward of Discipleship

INTRODUCTION

Over the last few weeks, we read how the word revealed the disciples' failure to cast a demon out of a boy because they relied on their own ability rather than praying to the Lord.

After Jesus explained to them their problem, they immediately argued on the way to Capernaum about who was the greatest disciple among them, showing they still had not submitted to Christ, but remained prideful and arrogant about themselves, which always negates any ministry you do in the name of Jesus.

Jesus once more rebukes them and explains that the greatest in His kingdom is the one who is most humble and seeks God in all things. Jesus explains the principles of discipleship, and they continue on their journey.

Along the way, they meet another crowd, where Jesus is confronted with a trap in the guise of a religious question about marriage. After explaining that God hates divorce, we read of women bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed. Jesus again explains that those who are like children, in humility and trust in God our Father, are the ones who will see the Kingdom of God.

Last week, Jesus was confronted by a rich man, who arrogantly supposed he had kept all the Law of Moses perfectly, and asked Jesus what he must now do to enter the Kingdom.

Jesus, knowing the man's heart, reveals to the man that his love of his wealth was the only thing keeping him from following the Lord. Therefore, if he wanted to follow Jesus, he would have to sell his possessions, and then he could follow Jesus.

We see the man leave, choosing the things of this world over Jesus.

We then read Jesus saying to the disciples in Mark 10:23-27 “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus *answered again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶And they were even more astonished, saying to Him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

Which brings us to today's verses;

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

Mark 10:28-31

“Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” ²⁹Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, ³⁰except one who will receive one hundred times as much now in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. ³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

What we see here is basically, Jesus confronts the young ruler about worldly possessions keeping him from truly following Jesus, and Jesus warns the disciples about how difficult having riches is if you desire to follow Jesus.

Peter responds to Jesus’ statement with, “See, we left all and followed you.”

Matthew 19:27 recording this conversation reads, “Then Peter answered and said to Him, 'Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

For everyone desiring to follow Jesus as His disciples, there is a promise of both cost and reward. Not everyone is willing to pay the cost, as we saw with the rich man with many properties.

Let’s examine both the cost and the rewards according to scripture.

I. THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

a. Earthly relationships

Mark 10:29 “…one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake…”

1. Jesus spoke of leaving family.

2. Not that leaving family to pursue God is a requirement, however, sometimes even your family will turn against you because of your faith.

3. But better yet, when you follow Jesus as the disciples, and your family believes as well, take them with you!

I Corinthians 9:5 “Do we not have authority to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?”

4. YES! Some of the apostles were married and took their families with them!

5. YES! Jesus had brothers and sisters who were half-siblings. Scripture is clear about Mary having other children.

ii. But we read in scripture that when you are a believer, sometimes even your family turns against you.

Matthew 10:21 “And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.’”

a. There is a promise of persecution from the family

Matthew 10:34-36 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.”

iii. Jesus’ own family turned against Him at the beginning of His ministry.

John 7:2-5 “Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. ³Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. ⁴For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself publicly to the world.” ⁵For not even His brothers were believing in Him.”

Mark 3:20-21 “And He *came home, and the crowd *gathered again, so that they could not even eat a meal. ²¹And when His own kinsmen heard this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”

Mark 3:31-35 “Then His mother and His brothers *arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him, calling Him. ³²And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” ³³And answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” ³⁴And looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! ³⁵For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Acts 1:14
“These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”

After the resurrection, His brothers are numbered among the believers. James, in particular, becomes a pillar in the church.

Yet the fact remains, sometimes, even your own family will turn against you for your belief in Jesus. Are you willing to pay this cost to follow Him? The disciples were. The rich man and many other disciples were not.

John 6:60 “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”

John 6:66 “As a result of this many of His disciples went away [LIT: returned to their previous lives] and were not walking with Him anymore.”

Sometimes the cost of following Jesus is our own family and friends.

b. Earthly possessions

i. Jesus also speaks of leaving houses, farms, and land

ii. Not suggesting that it is always necessary.

1. The church of Asia (Aquila and Prisca) held church in their house (I Corinthians 16:19)

2. Epaenetus (first Christian convert from Asia) held church in his house as well (Romans 16:5)

3. Nympha from Laodicea held church in her house (Colossians 4:15)

4. Apphia and Archippus held church in their house (Philemon 1:2)

iii. However, we also see disciples selling lands, as well as opening their homes for church. (Acts 4:36-37; Philemon 1:22)

iv. And we know from Philippians that Paul gave up much to serve Christ.

Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of the knowledge of Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ”

v. Jesus and His kingdom must come before possession, and sometimes even family who have turned on you.

Are you willing to forsake all that is necessary to be a disciple of Jesus?

Some can’t even muster the discipline to open their bible during the week, or fellowship for an hour with brothers and sisters, or support the work of Christ Jesus in sharing and spreading the Good News.

Is the Gospel that saved you not worth more than all the gold in this world? Yet, some treat it as something of shame or little worth.

The cost of discipleship can be great in this life, for some, seemingly more than others; however, for those who are willing to bear their cross daily and pay the cost of discipleship, Jesus promises rewards.

II. THE REWARD OF DISCIPLESHIP

a. Everlasting relationships

i. Jesus spoke of a hundredfold blessings “in this time” (Mark 10:30)

ii. Of brothers, sisters, mother, and children

1. Referring to fellow disciples as family

a. Mark 3:31-35

2. Notice, Jesus does not mention “fathers.”

a. This is probably because we have but one Father in heaven

Matthew 23:9 “And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.”

3. Our spiritual family (the church, the Body of Christ) is the only family that will survive death.

iii. Of houses and lands, believers shared all. (Acts 4:32)

1. They opened their hearts and homes to one another

2. Like Aquila and Pricilla (Acts 18:1-3; I Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:5)

Even now, through His church, there are great rewards for following Christ.

b. Everlasting possessions

i. Jesus also spoke of the everlasting life to come

ii. As Paul described, the gift of God is to be received at “the end.”

Romans 6:22-23 “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Matthew 25:45-46 “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

iii. This eternal life includes the people of God

Revelation 21:3-4 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, ⁴and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.”

iv. This everlasting life the Lord promises will not only have people, but houses and lands!

1. Many rooms in the Father’s house (John 14:1-3)

2. A new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1)

3. The holy city, and New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2, 23-27)

These are just some of the glorious rewards of those who commit to following Jesus regardless of the trials, tribulations, sufferings, or losses they face here in this life. They all fail to compare to the majesty and glory of the life to come for those who submit to following the Lord Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION

Jesus mentions persecutions along with rewards in Mark. Some who suffer persecution are certainly blessed (Matthew 5:10-12; Revelation 20:4-6)

Jesus closes us today with “…many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Something He says in the parable about the vineyard in Matthew 20:1-15, and in Matthew 20:16. This is a cautionary warning that we not serve the Lord FOR the reward, because the Lord judges our hearts, and our intentions matter.

Whatever the cost of discipleship, whether our service is long and difficult, or short and simple, the reward of discipleship more than makes up for whatever loss we face.

As Paul, who suffered greatly for Christ, said in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 “For our momentary, light affliction is working out for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, ¹⁸while 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.”

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Thursday, March 26, 2026

Gospel of Mark Part 58: The Cost and Reward of Discipleship

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