The Cost of Discipleship
Mark 6:1-30
“If you read the Bible, you’ll see that nobody who ever met Jesus Christ ever had a moderate reaction to him. There are only three reactions to Jesus: they either hated him and wanted to kill him, they were afraid of him and wanted to run away, or they were absolutely smitten with him, and they tried to give their whole lives to him.” ~ John Stott, Basic Christianity
Main Idea: As we are sent by Jesus on mission, we must expect opposition and count the cost of discipleship.
I. Disciples Are Sent on Mission
Despite the disciples' questionable track record, Jesus sends them out on mission (cf. 1:17). This scene reminds us that the mission of God is not dependent upon the worthiness of the messengers but on the authority and commissioning of Jesus himself. The disciples are not to start a new mission; they are to carry on the mission of Jesus.
From Jesus’ instructions we learn:
The Christian mission is to be done together, as the disciples are sent in pairs to declare and display the gospel.
The Christian mission is to be done in dependence upon the Lord; the disciples must pack lightly and travel simply, only bringing a staff, sandals, one tunic, and a belt (cf. Ex. 12:11).
The Christian mission trusts God with the results. The disciples are to spread the seed of the gospel (cf Mk. 4) and trust God to bring growth. The “shaking off the dust” on their feet is a way of placing the responsibility on the hearers of the gospel to respond appropriately.
II. Disciples Should Expect Opposition
There are 3 kinds of opposition and rejection of Jesus and the gospel in this passage:
1. Opposition to the Ordinary (6:1-6)
Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth was extremely small and unremarkable (cf. Jn. 1:46). Upon his return, the people who would have grown up with Jesus “took offense” at him, unable to discern “the veil of ordinariness that surrounded Jesus” (William Lane).
“The people of Nazareth see only a carpenter, only a son of Mary, only another one of the village children who has grown up and returned for a visit. If only God were less ordinary and more unique, then they would believe... The greatest obstacle to faith is not the failure of God to act but the unwillingness of the human heart to accept the God who condescends to us in only a carpenter, the son of Mary.” ~ James Edwards
2. Resistance to Repentance (6:12)
The early Christians were perceived as simultaneously the most exclusive and the most inclusive group their culture had ever encountered. The call to repentance and faith was the great “equalizer” of all people, and this message was met with a mix of attraction and opposition. The natural disposition of the human heart is to continue in our own way, rather than the way of faith and repentance.
3. Fascination without Following (6:16-29)
As Jesus’ fame spreads through the mission of his disciples, Herod has a haunting sense that John the Baptist has been resurrected. He was wrong in one sense and right in another.
Herod’s opposition and rejection is complicated multi-faceted:
John openly opposed his marriage to Herodias (who was his brother’s wife), drawing the ire of Herodias (6:19)
Herod, however, “feared” John because he was a righteous and holy man; even though John confronted Herod, he “heard him gladly” and was perplexed and intrigued by his preaching. He seemed to be entertained by John, but never repents.
Herod traps himself in his sin, as he is intoxicated with his own lusts and his own importance (“King” Herod). Though he was “exceedingly sorry,” Herod fails to embrace the cost of following Jesus. He beheads John to save face with his guests and preserve his reputation.
III. Disciples Must Embrace Affliction
John is a model of embracing the cost of discipleship; if he would have refused to speak the truth, he would have remained alive. However, his courage to follow Jesus and to bear witness to the truth of the gospel, even when it was unpopular, cost him his life.
Mark 8:34–37: And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?
The suffering and death of John the Baptist foreshadows the suffering, opposition, and death of Jesus and for all who might follow him in faith (cf. Heb. 2:10, Jn. 15:18, 2 Tim. 3:12). The call to follow Jesus is the call to embrace opposition and suffering, knowing that it is a crucible of Christ-likeness and sanctification in us.
“The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die… In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die. Suffering, then, is the badge of true discipleship.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of DIscipleship
