A Study of Luke 9: 23
It's All About me, Right?
Well, it really is about me, right? At least that is what the world is selling me. Just about everything we read or hear says that the ultimate end of everything is to meet my needs and satisfy me. Yet, Jesus in Luke 9: 23 says; "If anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself." That is completely contradictory to all we have been bombarded with from our world system. I have a question I would like to ask. If you don't mind, please take a moment to think about it before you read on. Here is the question - Why did you come to Jesus?
I would offer that your answer will be much like mine and most other people. I came to Jesus primarily because I recognized I was a sinner and that Jesus had provided a way for me to be saved from the eternal punishment that awaited me. As a result of that decision, eternal life was given to me along with countless other blessings bestowed upon me as a follower of Jesus. Notice anything about this? It was all about me.
But now Jesus is saying if I want to come with Him, I must deny myself. Do what?
What is Jesus talking about? How do I deny myself, what do I deny? Can there be any me in my relationship with Jesus?
We have been talking about the difference in believing about Jesus and believing in Jesus. Along with that, we also considered the difference in knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. The me question seems to play a big part in separating the about folks from the knowing folks. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of the rich young ruler who comes to Jesus asking; "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Notice first that the man called Jesus a "Good Teacher." Jesus responded by advising the young man to keep the ten commandments. He assures Jesus he is already doing all this, indicating there must be something more. Evidently, this young man believed and knew a lot about Jesus, but sensed something was missing. Jesus then hits the nail on the head. I think Jesus realizes this is a me question. In other words, this man is interested in what he can do to better his present position. Remember, he is a rich man. So, Jesus responds, " You still lack one thing. Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Was it his riches that was causing the problem? Yes and no. Jesus was not stating that riches themselves keep us from Him, but He was stating they can be such a priority in our life that we can't come with Jesus. The next verse reveals the heart of this young ruler: " After he heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich." Jesus is teaching us there can be nothing in our life that comes before Him. In order for the rich young ruler to follow Jesus, he had to sell what was more important to him than the Good Teacher. Jesus wants to be Lord of our life, not just a teacher. And, he wants to be Lord of all, every compartment of our life. To do so, means we must deny ourselves.
In Luke 14: 25-26 Jesus relays the answer to what it means to deny ourselves; "If anyone wants to come with me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Now Jesus is not promoting us hating our most dearly loved ones. He is using this as an example of the fact that nothing, no one, NOTHING, can come before our devotion to Him. There is nothing more dear to us than our family. For the rich young ruler, however, it was his possessions. Jesus is pointing out to us that in order to come with Him we must place our love, our will, our plans, our desires, our career, and yes, our family, second to Him. Strong orders, but the only way we can reach the next step in following Jesus is to be totally surrendered and committed to Him and Him alone.
I don't know about you, but that causes me to question my "me". I am convinced the only way I can get to this point is to keep my eyes and heart centered on the Lord of the universe. Jesus is the One who sacrificed His life so that the me's of the world can not only experience eternal life after death, but experience abundant life here and now. All this is to get me to the point to follow Him. When I hesitate to follow Jesus in something He wants me to do because of family, career, or the pleasures of this world, then my "me" is standing in front of Jesus.
