Say "NO" to Easy (Discipleship Article #1)

Mark 4:

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34 he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

The reality is that Jesus never made following him easy.

To be a disciple in first-century Judaism meant finding a Rabbi and sitting at his feet to learn and be shaped by him. The Rabbi was a teacher and expert who would help people understand the truth that would lead them to Covenantal faithfulness as a Jewish person. In the past, the Jewish people had rejected the teaching of the Lord and found hope and life in other things. Largely, the Jewish people had rebelled against their covenant God and followed false idols that promised quicker results and the promise of easier access to power and protection.

Thus, the Jewish rabbis in the day of Jesus decided that the best way to avoid the judgment of God was to create an oppressive works-based religious system that would ensure the obedience of the Jewish people that would protect the nation of Israel from ever having to go into captivity again. However, the system was a fabrication of men that bypassed their need to know and follow their God even when it made no earthly and human sense. The system created by man was easily abused and manipulated by lawyers and powerbrokers. When Jesus came, he was a threat to their system and their childishness.

So, Jesus spoke in parables. But the parables were confusing. They were interesting, but in the end, it is hard to understand why Jesus would make his truth so veiled and indirect. The Answer? He challenged the large and impressive crowd that came for MANY different reasons, to seek him for the right reasons. In time, most of the crowd melted away. The disciples of Christ stayed, embraced him, asked questions, and continued to seek him, although in rough and sometimes silly ways.

However, it is those silly, childish, and needy disciples who found answers, truth, and life by seeking Jesus after the dust of his teaching had settled. Worship in Word and Sacrament together is important, but it doesn't show us HOW to live out the truth in everyday life. For that, there must be searching, asking, reading, staying, showing up, and learning. In short, to grow strong in the faith, there must be discipleship.

Are you engaging in Discipleship? What does that look like?

More to come.