32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
This passage is a continuation of the last two days quiet times. Jesus has sent out his disciples, now called apostles, to spread the good news of the coming kingdom to the Jews. He then warns them about the persecution they will face.
The beginning of today’s passage has been interpreted by some to mean that to acknowledge Jesus before men is a necessary condition for salvation to eternal life. But if this were true, then salvation would not be by grace through faith alone (Eph 2:8-9), but by the work of acknowledgement as well. We also see in John 12:42-43 that some of the Jewish leaders believed in Jesus, but because they were afraid of being rejected by man, they kept quiet about their faith and did not confess it. What Jesus is talking about is a lifetime of acknowledging Him even in the face of persecution. Such a costly profession will be recognised and rewarded at the Judgement Seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:9-10). Verse 33 deals with the same thing but from a negative perspective. If we fail to persevere in faith and good works, Jesus will not deny us eternal life, but He will deny us the reward of reigning with Him (2 Tim 2:12).
One potentially high cost of following Jesus is that it can bring severe division within the home. If you decide to follow Jesus and the rest of your family don’t, then the stakes become very high. You could find yourself facing persecution within your own home. Jesus demands to be of utmost importance in your life, even more so than Mom or Dad, brother or sister.
To follow Jesus is a choice to deny yourself and take up your cross. When Jesus spoke here of taking up your cross, it was before the disciples even knew that Jesus would die on the cross. We have a backwards-timeline view of the cross. We associate the cross with Jesus’ incredible sacrifice for us. Try to see things from the perspective of the disciples at this time. A cross was a hideous symbol of torture reserved for the worst criminal. A criminal carrying his cross was a symbol that the Romans were right in executing a death sentence over him. Jesus was asking them to accept death at the hand of man before He did. If we cling to our lives here on earth, we will find that we lose all that eternal life can be, but if we deny ourselves in this life, then we will find a fullness of life, full of reward, one day in heaven.
Eternal life is a free gift offered to all—absolutely no strings attached. To be a disciple is a costly decision. Are you prepared to pay with your life to follow Jesus?