The meaning of Discipleship - Matthew 10

“The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. The one who has found his life will lose it, and the one who has lost his life on My account will find it" (Matthew 10: 38-39 NASB).

I think we all can agree at some point in our lives we have asked God this question - how do I follow you? What does that look like?  The disciples witnessed Jesus performing many miracles, but now it was their turn. So, in Chapter 10 of Matthew Jesus gives them authority (vs. 1) and then instructions on what to do as they go along ministering in His name (vss. 5-23). 

But are the instructions given in verses 5-23 what discipleship looks like? Is this a laundry list of qualifications? Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with diseases that ostracize them from society, cast out demons, give freely, do not acquire gold and such for yourself, etc. I don't know about you but if this is the meaning of discipleship, I have fallen WAY short because I've not done any of those things in my lifetime. So there has to be more, right? What was Jesus teaching His disciples about following Him? 

For me, I think what Jesus was teaching His disciples was complete devotion and surrender to Him which will cause division - mother against daughter, father against son, etc. Therefore, we will have a choice to make - which relationship are we going to choose as most important?  I don't think Jesus is saying that those relationship are any less important. The issue is when they become MORE important than Jesus - when those relationships cause us to not be fully devoted to Him. We cannot serve two masters; "either he will hate the one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other" (Mt. 6:24). 

"And the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. The one who has found his life will lose it, and the one who has lost his life on My account will find it" (Matthew 10: 38-39 NASB)." 

We hear "take up your cross and follow Him" a lot but what does it actually mean?  The word "cross" in this passage is referring to the "crosspiece on which criminals were nailed for execution" but figuratively it means to "expose oneself to reproach and death" (Key Word Study Bible).  If we are going to be fully devoted to Jesus, then we must "expose ourselves to reproach and death." Jesus' cross" was our sin and now that that has been taken care of - our cross is exchanging our lives for His life. Tall order? Yes, but what Jesus teaches throughout the whole of Scripture is only through Him can this be accomplished. Not only does He provide a way for that to happen (through His death on the cross) but He also provides the means in which to do it (His continual presence). I don't know about you but for me, I think it is time to do some exchanging. My life for the life He has given. There is no other way to find joy and fulfillment - for this life and for the life to come. 

In the name of the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

with Jesus,

Carri