Lose Your Life To Save It | Discipleship | Luke 9:23-26

INTRODUCTION

Lose your life to save it, what does that mean?

What does it take to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ? I have heard people telling that “You accept Jesus Christ, come to church, take baptism and you are on the right track of following Jesus”, for instance. Indeed this is very true, however, Christianity is not just baptism and coming to church or is there something more required of it?

Most likely, we have all heard the phrase “Little drops of water make a mighty ocean.” However, this is the worldly principle, you add, add and add, and that leads to multiplication.

But the Kingdom principle or Christian principle is you lose to gain.

Luke 9:23-26 ²³Then he said to them all: “Those who desire to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

BACKGROUND

Luke in his gospel is presenting Jesus as the Messiah. We saw the virgin birth, the baptism, the Messiah overcoming temptation. Furthermore, we see the credentials of the Messiah through performing miracles, such as raising the dead, healing the sick, etc. Additionally, in Luke 8 we see the Messiah’s power over the storm and demons and through it all, Jesus is building the faith of the disciples. After that, in Luke 9, Jesus sends out his disciples two by two for ministry.

Peter’s Confession

Afterward comes the great confession of Peter in Luke 9. Now the background of our reading today is following the great confession of Peter.

After that, a couple of years of training, revelation, and miracles, it was time to give them the half-yearly exam in the school of discipleship. There’s only one question, “Who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter answers right:

Luke 9:20 Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Jesus is God’s Messiah. Indeed, all that the Old Testament promised and all that Jesus claimed is the above mentioned and this is the great confession, the supreme confession.

Matthew 16, the parallel of Luke 9

Matthew: 18:17-20 17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Keys to the Kingdom

Certainly, even Satan’s power of death is not going to stop the Lord from building His church. This is indeed a triumphant note, “You got the right answer to the question, you passed the exam A+. However, there is no question that, God is going to build his church and even Satan’s power of death will not prevail against it. Moreover, Jesus said, “I’ll give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, you’re going to be able to open the door to the kingdom and let people in.” How?

Through the proclamation of the gospel

So how do you get into the kingdom of heaven and what’s the key that unlocks the door? It’s the gospel. Jesus said, “So, you’re going to be My gospel preachers, and whatever you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall have been in loosed in heaven.”

Wow, now the disciples are ecstatic. The kingdom has come. This is what we’ve been waiting for.

Luke 9:21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. Jesus said, “Don’t tell anybody.”

Luke 9:22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

The true mission of the Messiah

Jesus explains, “The plan is not for me to take over my kingdom now. The plan is for me to be killed by the Jewish establishment.” I mean this is just absolutely shocking.

They have been literally exalted by the realities that He is the Messiah. Furthermore, he will build the church, that even the power of death won’t prevail against it and they have been delegated this authority.

Health, wealth and prosperity were right around the corner. They are seeing the glimpses of the kingdom: Sickness healed, dead rising, calming the storm, bread multiplied. They have power. Now Jesus just has to overthrow the Romans and rule. This was the great, glorious moment they had all been waiting for so long. And then Jesus says, “Not now, I have to die first.”

Coming back to Matthew

Matthew 16:22-23 ²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” ²³Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Following that Jesus introduces the principle or pattern of discipleship.

SYNOPTIC GOSPELS

The subject here is following Jesus:

Luke 9:23 Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

How to follow Jesus? How to become a Christian?

Pattern of Discipleship

1. Self-Denial

One thing strikes you at the very outset, approaching Jesus involves self-denial.

Luke 9:23 Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

The gospel is a call for self-denial. It is not a call for self-fulfillment. And that puts the true gospel in opposition to the contemporary gospel which is a gospel of self-fulfillment and self-help. The wrong gospel says, “Jesus really wants to make you feel better about yourself. He wants to elevate your self-image. He wants to put an end to your negative thinking. It is all about you.”

No, the gospel is all about God. The true gospel is the death of one’s self. That is the core of discipleship. These are principles which Jesus teaches repeatedly throughout His ministry.

First, true discipleship is self-denial.

What is self-denial?

a. Denying Worldly Values

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

The kingdom values go contrary to worldly values. if you are a follower of Jesus, inevitably, you live in conflict with the worldly values.

James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Consequently, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Areas of conflict: Adultery, homosexuality, hatred, violence. The list goes on.

b. Taking A Stand in Your Family If Need Be

Luke 12:52-53 ⁵²From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. ⁵³They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

Matthew 10:35-36 ³⁵For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— ³⁶a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

Matthew 10:37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

If you give your life to Jesus Christ, there are chances that there will be oppression from your family who are not in the Lord. So expect that and follow me says the Lord.

c. Willing To Lose Your Life If Need Be

Luke 14:26 If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

d. Willing To Give Up Your Wealth If Need Be

The way you know whether you are truly a Christian is to see how you handle your money. In Luke 18, Jesus is speaking to a rich young ruler, who wants eternal life. This rich young ruler had many good qualities. He has kept the law. No adultery, no murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, gave his tithes, and he honors his father and mother.

Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Jesus said the price to pay is willing to give up everything. Jesus might not ask it, but he might. The price is to be willing for it.

Luke 18:23-25 ²³When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. ²⁴Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Self-Denial Is Willing To Lose Everything In Order To Gain Christ

Luke 9:57-58 ⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

If you follow God, you will lose everything; that’s the price, just know that. Jesus didn’t say, “Follow Me. You will be happy; you will be healthy, wealthy, prosperous, successful.” He said, “Just know this, I don’t have any place to lay my head; it’s going to cost you everything.”

The path that Jesus was going was a path to persecution and death. Therefore, if you want to follow Jesus, it’ll just cost you absolutely everything.

Note: It is not that God is going to take your money, bring a fight in your family, not give you the blessings of this world, or you will be called to martyrdom. But if God requires you at any point in time, you need to be willing to embrace Christ and give up these no matter what the price.

In other words, Jesus is saying, “Don’t come to me unless you’ve assessed the price. And the first price is self-denial.”

Firstly, self-denial. See the example of Apostle Paul:

Philippians 3:4-7  ⁴If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. ⁷But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

2. Cross Bearing

Luke 9:23

Jesus said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Secondly, Jesus not only says that you must deny yourself but He adds, “Take up your cross daily.”

Luke 14:27

And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Disciples take up your cross

What does it mean to take up your cross? I’ve heard so many crazy views of this. For instance, your mother-in-law is your cross, your boss is your cross or your husband is your cross.

What does take up the cross mean to Jesus’s hearers?

Well, more than 100 years before Jesus, Alexander the Great crucified 800 Jewish rebels at Jerusalem while he was feasting in public. Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greek ruler during the intertestamental period, had also crucified many Jews for a revolt that followed the death of Herod of the Great. The proconsul Varus crucified 2,000 Jews. It is said that the Romans crucified 30,000 Jews in Palestine during the era around the life of Jesus.

Willingness to endure persecution

When Jesus said “Take up your cross,” they only thought of one thing: Horrible suffering, pain, and death. Jesus is saying, “This is how extreme your devotion has to be. This is the willingness to endure persecution. This is the willingness to endure hatred, hostility, rejection, reproach, shame, suffering, and even death.” They knew exactly what He was talking about. And be prepared to do it every day.

What Jesus is talking about is not a happy experience but it’s about carrying a cross, the cross in which you yourself may be executed.

See the example of Paul: Paul says to the Ephesians elders in Acts 20.

Acts 20:22-24

²²“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Philippians 1:21

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

1 Corinthians 1:31

I face death everyday…

Are you willing to suffer for the gospel? Without the cross, there can be no crown.

The cross then marks the willingness to accept suffering daily for the sake of Christ, even death. It is not that you look for suffering, but if suffering comes your way, you accept it.

3. Follow Christ

It’s a continual pattern of obedience. Hence, through the good and difficult times, follow Christ.

Matthew 7:21

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

John 15:10

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

John 15:14

You are my friends if you do what I command.

CONCLUSION

In brief, I am not stating that you have to deny yourself, be all on your own and jump to a sudden willingness to give your life, to be accepted by God.

They’re not chronological. They’re simply a blend. To be a disciple means self-denial, cross-bearing and obeying God daily. However, be reminded that you cannot do the above in your own power, you have to have the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to follow Jesus Christ effectively.

Luke 9:24

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

Here’s the paradox: You want to save your life? You’re going to have to lose it for me. Do you want to lose your life? Hold on to it.

As a result, what is our response, as Christians? Don’t value anything in this world. Buy what you need, use what you have, and share with others.

Luke 9:25

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

Here is the hyperbole. Let’s say you owned the whole world. You have everything you want. Jesus is telling be ready to give those up whenever God asks you so that you have a better life in eternity. That’s the message of the gospel. That’s the choice you make.

If you do the above: Self-denial, cross-bearing, and following Jesus; all your friends will know that you are a true Christian.

Luke 9:26

Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

This is the first mention in Luke’s gospel of Christ’s return. There is coming a day when the Son of Man comes to the throne of God to render judgment. All those whose names are written in the lamb’s book of life will be rescued from that judgment. All the rest will suffer forever in separation from God. If you are ashamed of God now, you will be ashamed then. But those who follow Jesus will shine brightly in eternal life.

Characteristics of a true disciple: Self-Denying, Cross-Bearing & Following Christ