Trust the Good Shepherd, Not Yourself

Mark 14:27-31
Richard Spencer | Sunday, July 25, 2021
Copyright © 2021, Richard Spencer

Good morning. Many people in our country today have a victim mentality, which claims that their biggest problems are caused by some group of people they label as oppressors. But friends, let me tell you that man’s greatest enemy is not other men or women, it is not capitalism, or the cisgender, heteronormative white male patriarchy, or any other boogey man that the left might conjure up as the purported cause of all problems. Man’s greatest enemies were, are, and will continue to be until Christ comes again, the twin tyrants of sin and the one whom the Bible calls the “ruler of the kingdom of the air”, Satan, or the devil.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1-2, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” Satan was the first creature to rebel against God, but many angels followed in his rebellion and became demons. And Satan then succeeded in bringing about the fall of man in the Garden, not because Satan is mighty – although he is much more powerful than we are – no, he succeeded only because it was God’s will for him to succeed. God is not the author of sin, but he is absolutely sovereign over sin and has been from the very beginning. He only allows those particular sins that serve his ultimate purpose, which is completely good. But we are always 100% accountable and responsible for our own sins.

And when Adam sinned, he immediately died just as God said he would. He immediately died spiritually and he immediately started to age and die physically. And since he was the representative of the whole human race, we all died in him as Paul tells us in Romans Chapter Five. We were therefore, conceived in sin, born in sin and practiced sin every day. We were, as Paul wrote, dead in our transgressions and sins; dead to God, but alive to Satan. We followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air. He was the spirit who was at work in us as we walked in continual disobedience to God. We were absolutely obedient to Satan, although he deceives people into thinking they are autonomous.

And let me tell you, Satan and sin are the worst tyrants of all. We could never escape them on our own. But, praise God, he has made a way for us to be free from Satan, free from sin, free from condemnation and free to walk in the joyful obedience of faith. If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed!

Therefore, I want to look at our passage from Mark this morning by considering four main points. First, we have real, powerful enemies. Second, Jesus is our Good Shepherd. My third point is then a question, “Are you one of Jesus’ sheep?” And the fourth point is, follow your shepherd, follow Jesus. So, let’s begin with the first point, we have real, powerful enemies.

I.  We Have Real, Powerful Enemies

Our passage begins in Mark 14:27 with Jesus declaring to his disciples, “You will all fall away, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’” Jesus was quoting a prophecy from Zechariah 13:7, God had Jesus’ incarnation, death and resurrection planned from before the creation of the world. The death of Jesus Christ was a necessary step in God’s eternal plan of redemption and Jesus Christ himself is the definitive dividing line between all people. He is either your Savior or your Judge.

In looking at this passage from Mark, we have a tendency to focus on Peter’s betrayal because of the dramatic events that transpired with his denying Christ three times and then later, after Jesus’ resurrection, being restored by Christ when he was asked three times, “Do you truly love me more than these?” And those events are recorded because they contain important lessons for us. But notice that Christ was clear here in Mark 14 that Peter was not alone, Jesus said, “You will all fall away”, not just Peter. And in Verse 31 we are told that it wasn’t just Peter who denied that he would fall away, we are told that “all the others said the same.” They all thought they could stand in their own strength.

Every single one of us has a sinful tendency to think that we can stand on our own. And we all need to learn how wrong we are. We are not very powerful, not very bright, not all that rich, not that influential, and not very important. Go read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. And even if we were all of those things, it wouldn’t help us. We need a serious dose of humility. We can’t prevent ourselves from getting sick. We can’t prevent ourselves from growing old and dying. We can’t fix many of the problems in this world. And, most importantly, just as we could not pay the penalty we owed because of our sin, so also, we cannot persevere in the faith in our own strength. We are told in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

And, in addition to our own sin, we have powerful external enemies, and all of them are under the rule of our most powerful enemy, Satan. We are told in 1 John 5:19 that “we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” What a contrast that presents us with! We are children of God, but the rest of the world is under the control of Satan. They are children of the devil. Christ said of them in John 8:44, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

And we are told in John 10:10 that Satan “comes only to steal and kill and destroy”, and in 1 Peter 5:8 we are told that “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Friends, we need to know that Satan is a powerful, dangerous and determined enemy. We could never hope to defeat him in our own strength.

But, if we belong to Christ, we do not need to fear Satan or any of those under his control. Satan wanted to destroy Christ and the world wanted to destroy Christ, but it was God himself who struck our Shepherd, and he did it for our eternal good. We read in Acts 4:27-28 that after Peter and John were released from being questioned by the Sanhedrin, they praised God saying, in part, “Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”

What great comfort that should provide to us! Even the worst sin ever committed by man was entirely in God’s will and under his control. He has truly foreordained everything that comes to pass. Nothing is outside of his sovereign control.

Christ suffering on our behalf was prophesied in Isaiah 53:4-5, where we read, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Christ accomplished that which was completely beyond our ability, he paid the infinite penalty for our sins. The Shepherd was struck, but for the good of his sheep. It is all part of God’s perfect plan for the salvation of his people.

And God’s plan is certain. Notice that Jesus next said that “after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” And that is exactly what happened. Jesus is the Lord of history and can tell you what the future holds because it is under his sovereign control.

But we cannot sit back and be complacent. We must take warning as well as encouragement from this passage. Peter and the others needed to use their sanctified reason and think carefully about what Jesus said. Notice that Jesus gave a reason for saying that the sheep will be scattered. He said “for it is written”. In other words, the infallible Word of God declares it to be true. It was the same thing that Jesus said to Satan when Satan tempted him. And that should have been enough to stop the apostles from proclaiming in their sinful pride that they would not fall away. They should have immediately cried out for mercy and for God to preserve them. God’s Word is absolutely true and perfectly reliable. God cannot err and God cannot lie. We should never allow ourselves to think anything that goes against the Word of God. That is what Adam and Eve did, and it plunged the whole human race into an estate of sin and misery.

And yet we read in Verse 29 that “Peter declared, ‘Even if all fall away, I will not.’” This was sheer arrogance and ignorance. It was sin. He was saying that Jesus was wrong and that what he said would happen would not because Peter, in his own strength, would be sure to stand.

And so, after this first denial, Jesus went further and said “I tell you the truth”, in the Greek the word is actually amen. Jesus was emphasizing that what he was about to say was absolutely certain, and he then said very specifically that Peter would fall away that very night, before the rooster crowed twice. And it wasn’t just that he would fall away, he would deny Jesus three times.

Now think about all that Peter had been through and all that he had seen Jesus do. Could he think of a single instance where Jesus had been wrong? No! So this again should have stopped him from objecting. It should have caused him to cry out for help with all humility. And finally, in the parallel account in Luke 22:31-32 we are told that Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Peter was warned that he was going to be attacked by Satan himself, and that again should have elicited a humble cry for mercy and help. As I have noted, Satan is far more powerful than we are. And Jesus also said “when you turn back”, which again shows that it was certain Peter would fall away. And yet, we read in Verse 31 that “Peter insisted emphatically, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the others said the same.” How foolish and sinful people can be.

Friends, Peter and the others did not respond to all of this as they should have. They should have been praying and crying out earnestly with all humility and tears to be strengthened so that they wouldn’t fall. And Peter, in particular, should have been praying for mercy and strength to not deny his Lord. But far from being earnest in prayer, we are told in Mark 14:37-38 that later in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter and the others fell asleep while Jesus prayed. Jesus then rebuked Peter for falling asleep and said, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Brothers and sisters, this is all written down for our benefit. Let us take the warning that Peter and the others failed to heed. We need the Holy Spirit to strengthen us so that we will not fall into temptation. We need to put on the full armor of God that we read about in Ephesians 6 so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes. We need the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And we need to pray on all occasions and then pray some more. Pray that we will not fall into sin.

Our enemy is powerful and he has many allies, not the least of which being our own sinful nature, which was formerly under his rule. But God is able and willing to give us grace. 2 Corinthians 9:8 says that “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” And God promises to provide a way out when we are tempted. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Friends, we must be prepared to fight. We must put our own sin to death daily and we must fight against Satan and all those who follow him, but we must never think that we can do all of this in our own strength. We have strong enemies and we are weak. But, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” If we see our need, the power of our enemies and the awesome power of God, we can be strong in Jesus Christ. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit and carried along to victory. Jesus told us in John 15:4-5, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

If we try to stand on our own we will be like sheep without a shepherd, easy pickings for the devil. In John 15:6 Jesus said, “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” But, praise God, we have a shepherd, and not just any shepherd, we have the one and only ultimate Good Shepherd. And that leads to my second point, Jesus is our Good Shepherd.

II.  Jesus is our Good Shepherd

We need a shepherd who watches over us at all times. One who cannot be deceived, one who does not fall asleep, who sees all things and knows even our thoughts and fears. Because many of Satan’s attacks come in the form of thoughts that he throws into our minds, so we need a shepherd who knows our thoughts. And we need a shepherd who is strong enough to defeat Satan, one who loves us and is able and willing to redeem us from our bondage to sin. He must be able to pay the penalty we owe, he must be able to clothe us in perfect righteousness, and he must be able to change our hearts. And Jesus is the answer to all of those needs.

First, he keeps watch over us at all times. Read Psalm 139. There is nowhere we can go to flee from his presence. Not up to the heavens, not down to the depths, not the far side of the sea. Even darkness does not hide us from his sight.

Remember when Jesus sent the disciples away by themselves to cross the Sea of Galilee? Even though it was night and they were half way across the lake, while Jesus was still on land, we are told in Mark 6:48 that Jesus “saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.”. And then he went out, walking on the water, to help them. And when he got in the boat, the wind died down because Jesus is Lord over all creation.

Second, Jesus cannot be deceived. In Job 13:9 Job asked his friends, “Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive men?” The obvious answer to this rhetorical question is, “No, you cannot deceive God. He knows all things.” And Jesus is God.

Third, he doesn’t sleep. He is always aware of what is happening to all of his children and, in fact, to everything happening in all of creation. We are told in Psalm 121:3-4 that “He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Fourth, he knows our inmost thoughts. Again look at Psalm 139; we are told he perceives our thoughts from afar and that he knows every word before it is on our tongue. When Jesus healed a paralytic and forgave his sins, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were thinking to themselves that he was blaspheming. We read in Luke 5:22 that “Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, ‘Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?’” Brothers and sisters, Jesus knows everything about us. We have no secrets from him. That can be terrifying if we are sinning, but it should be a great comfort if we are striving to walk in holiness.

Fifth, Jesus is strong enough to defeat Satan. He created all things. He performed great miracles. He raised the dead. And we read in Revelation 19:15 that “Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” And in Psalm 2:4 we are told that “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs” at all of the rulers of the world gathered together to oppose him. And in John 10, speaking of his sheep, Jesus says in Verses 28-30, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” If we are in Christ, we are secure. There is no power in creation that can prevent God from saving all those whom he has chosen to save. Not Satan, nor anyone or anything else.

Sixth, Jesus loves us. In his greeting to the seven churches in Revelation 1:5-6, the apostle John breaks forth into praise and says, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” Notice that John is giving praise to Jesus. It is Jesus who has freed us from our sins by his blood. And John clearly says that Jesus loves us. That is why he freed us from our sins.

And God the Father loves us too. We are told in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Seventh, Jesus is able and willing to redeem us from our sins. In Titus 2:14 Paul wrote that Jesus, “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” In Mark 10:45 Jesus himself said that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” And when Jesus was praying in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion, we read in John 12:27 that he said, “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” And the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 14:9, “For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” We need to appreciate that Jesus died willingly to save us. He was not forced, no one could force him. In John 10:17-18 he himself said, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” Praise Jesus for his amazing love. He loved us enough to give his life as a ransom to pay for our sins.

Eighth, Jesus is perfectly righteous and can clothe us in his righteousness. In Chapter Three of Acts we read of the people flocking to Peter and John at Solomon’s Colonnade after they had healed a cripple. Peter then said to them, “You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.” And in 1 John 2:1 we read, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” Jesus is the Righteous One. He is perfect God. And in Galatians 3:27 we are told that “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Friends, if you have trusted in Jesus Christ, he has paid the penalty for your sins and you have been clothed in his perfect righteousness. When God looks at you, he sees Christ.

Ninth, Jesus is able to change our hearts by his Spirit and perfect us when we come into his presence. God tells us in Ezekial 36:25-27 that “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Brother and sisters, we need the Holy Spirit to do the work Gad has ordained for us to do.

In his flesh, Jesus can only be in one place at a time. But by his Spirit he can dwell in all believers at all times. He told his disciples in John 16:7, “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” And the Counselor he was speaking of is the Holy Spirit. And it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that all of those who belong to Christ are being transformed to conform to the image of Christ. That work is not fully complete in this life, but when we die, God will perfect us. Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6 that he was confident that God, who began a good work in us, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. And in Hebrews 12:23 we are told we, “have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect”. Hallelujah! That is our destiny. To be made perfect and to spend eternity in perfect fellowship with God and one another. And this end is so certain that it is spoken of as a present reality. In Hebrews10:14 we are told that by his one sacrifice, Jesus “has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” When that verse says that Jesus “has made perfect”, the Greek verb is a perfect, active, indicative. It is tense that has no exact counterpart in English[1]. It describes “an action that was brought to completion and whose effects are felt in the present.”[2] Isn’t that amazing? If you are in Christ, there is a sense in which you are, right now, perfect. Jesus is powerful to save!

Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who meets all of our needs. In John 10:11 Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” And in John 17:4 Jesus said to the Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” Our salvation is certain because Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd and he has completed the work God the Father gave him to do, which was to save his people from their sins.

But that leads directly to my third point, which is the question, “Are you one of Jesus’ sheep?”

III.  Are You One of Jesus’ Sheep?

In John 10:27 Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Do you know Jesus’ voice? Do you follow him? Do you obey him? He told us in John 14:15 that “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” We dare not easily conclude that we are Jesus’ sheep. In Matthew 7:21 Jesus himself said that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” We don’t earn our salvation by our obedience, but if we don’t walk in obedience, we have no basis for believing that we are truly saved. To follow Jesus means to obey him.

In Hebrews 5:8-9 we are told that “Although he was [Son][3], he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”. Do you obey him? If you don’t, he is not the source of eternal salvation for you. This is not, of course, speaking about perfect obedience. None of us obey perfectly. But we should strive for perfection and, when we fall short, we should repent and seek forgiveness and do our best to put our sin to death and to not do it again. Our lives should exhibit constant change. You cannot sit still as a Christian.

And it is extremely important to test yourself. You all know the verses. In Philippians 2:12-13 Paul commands us, “to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” And then again, in 2 Corinthians 13:5 he commands us to, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” And then in 2 Peter 1:10-11 the apostle Peter wrote, “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” I don’t know about you, but I certainly want to receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ. And in Acts 26:20 Paul tells us that he “preached that [people] should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.”

Brothers and sisters, there have been several messages in recent weeks about the narrow way and the broad way. God gave those verses to different people all at this time – we didn’t collaborate on those messages. God is speaking loud and clear that we must all be very careful to make sure that we are on the narrow path that leads to heaven. Your assurance and joy of salvation cannot be better than your present obedience will allow. So take my counsel and pay more careful attention to follow your Shepherd, to follow Jesus. And that is my fourth point: Follow your Shepherd, follow Jesus.

IV.  Follow Your Shepherd, Follow Jesus

We read in Romans 8:14 that those who are being led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. We don’t see Jesus with our physical eyes, but we have his Word and Spirit to guide us and we have capable and godly under-shepherds to guide us, the delegated authorities that God has placed in our lives. Especially spiritual authorities; for children this is, first and foremost, your parents. And for all of us it includes elders and pastors, especially our senior pastor.

It is impossible to say that you obey God if you are not walking in obedience to his delegated authorities. And you can’t say you are walking in obedience to his delegated authorities just because you aren’t actively disobeying a direct command. Do the authorities whom God has placed over you know what you are doing? Do they have to chase you down to find out? And when they do chase you down, do they get the full story? Or are you doing your best to stay in the church but to go completely unnoticed? Do you really want to know and do God’s will? Or are you trying to avoid having anyone apply the Word of God directly to your life?

I spoke earlier about our need for humility. We all have a natural, sinful tendency to unwarranted pride. True humility is not just humility toward God. It is easy to say you are humble before God when you come to him in prayer, and it is even easy to actually think and feel that you are truly humble before God. But if you are trying to fly under the radar in church, that is a clear sign that you don’t really want to know and do the will of God. You are not humble if you think that you alone can discern the will of God, or if you reject the idea that he can speak to you through Pastor, elders, parents and teachers. It is not just that pastor or elder or parent or teacher you are rejecting, it is God himself.

And let me say again that you don’t have to reject a specific command to reject a leader – by simply doing your best to avoid having the leader know what you are doing, you are, in reality, rejecting that authority. All delegated authorities are finite, sinful human beings. We do not, and cannot know everything. You can fool us. You can hide things from us, but you can’t hide anything from God. and God has placed authorities over each one of us for our own good, so we should desire to press in to them and get counsel. The Lord speaks through his Word and through delegated authorities. Only a fool thinks he can properly understand and apply the Word of God to his own situation all the time without help. And only a fool seeks that help from his friends and peers.

We are told in Ephesians 4:11-13 that it was Christ “who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Note that we all are to reach unity in the faith and in knowledge and become mature. Not just some.

We are part of the body of Christ, not just individuals. At the end of Hebrews Chapter Eleven, that great chapter on the heroes of the faith, we read in Verses 39-40 that “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” And again take note that it is only together that the people of God will be made perfect.

If you have been born again and adopted by God, then you are part of the body of Christ. You are part of the bride of Christ. Your identity is bound up with the whole. You dare not think of yourself solely as an individual. And there is authority within the family of God for a good reason. That is how we all function best. And so, in Ephesians 6:1 we read, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” In Ephesians 5:22-24 Paul commands, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” And in 1 Corinthians 11:3 we read that “the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”

So we are all under authority. And with specific regard to the church, we are told in Hebrews 13:17 to, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” In other words, it will be harmful to you if you are a burden to those whom God has placed over you.

We are to take up our cross and follow Christ we are told in Matthew 16:24. That means we are to die to self. Jesus said in Luke14:27 that “anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” And in Luke 14:26 he said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”

Friends, the message is clear. If you live for this life, your reward, such as it may be, will be entirely in this life. You will spend eternity in hell. But if you deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus, you can have glorious eternal life in his presence in heaven. Do not depend on yourself. Not for eternal salvation and not for the ability to overcome temptation and stay on the narrow road. Take the warning that Jesus provided to Peter and the others. Watch and pray that you don’t fall into temptation. Follow Christ by walking in transparent obedience to God and all of his delegated authorities. Don’t lean on your own understanding. Follow the Good Shepherd.

[1] See William D. Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Zondervan, 2009, pg. 223

[2] Ibid

[3] The proper translation here according to Rev. P.G. Mathew