Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction: Jesus suffered like He was guilty of sin.

You and I deserve to suffer.

Not Him.

He predicted His death to prepare the disciples.

And He warned them to be ready to suffer like Him.

Text

I. Jesus [[vs.

21-22>>Luke 9.21-22]]

A. Suffer

1. πάσχω: to suffer pain; pain, suffering, to suffer, to be in pain.

2. Many

B. Be rejected

1. Religious leaders

2. The crowds

3. Judas

C. Be killed - ἀποκτείνω: to cause someone’s death, normally by violent means, with or without intent and with or without legal justification; to kill.

D. Be raised to life - ἐγείρω: to cause someone to live again after having once died; to raise to life, to make live again.

E. The description of the Son of Man being rejected…killed, and…raised is the first of six passion summaries in Luke: 9:22; 9:44; 17:25; 18:31–33; 24:7; 24:46–47.

What Jesus announces for himself, is not for him alone.

Despite all the horrors of the prospect, it is finally the way to life, and the values embodied must also be embraced by the would-be disciple of Jesus.

II.

Disciples [[vs.

23-27>>Luke 9.23-27]]

A. Deny self vs. 23

1. ἀρνέομαι: to refuse to give thought to or express concern for; to disregard, to pay no attention to, to say No to.

2. To say no to oneself firmly and radically is to treat oneself as a negligible quantity that should never enter into consideration, to suppress oneself, in a way; a meaning reinforced by the image of bearing the cross, which leads to death.

Conversion to Christianity is a categorical refusal to be in servitude to worldly desires, the goal being to live freely, “with self-control and piety”(Titus 2.12).

Faith implies faithfulness, a living adherence to Christ; it requires living in conformity to his teachings.

… This violation of sworn loyalty means breaking the initial baptismal commitment to live a life of the brotherly love that characterizes the disciple (John 13:35).

To fail here is worse than being an unbeliever, who at least is not breaking a promise.

Without brotherly agapē, the Christian is not only failing to keep his word to the Lord Christ but also stooping beneath common morality.

3. To deny Christ is not to be at His disposal to meet the needs and acknowledge the claims of one’s neighbours.

It thus follows that any unethical conduct may be described as a denial of Christ.

4. Act in a wholly selfless way

B. Take up your cross daily

1. Parallel accounts: Matt 16.24-26; Mark 8.34-38

2. Similar statements: Matthew 10.38; Luke 14.27

3. Daily

a.

Only Luke adds this word

b.

He is obviously not talking about your original commitment

4. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him.

Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

C. Follow Jesus; become a disciple

D. Note the mercantile terms in this passage (save, lose; gain, forfeit).

E. In order to save you must lose

1.

The economy of the Kingdom is completely different from the world

2. In fact, the world’s economy may stand in the way of the Kingdom!

F. Jesus’ call was to a radical denial of self-interest and concern for one’s own natural well-being.

G. Share the fate of the Master

H. Compare Psalm 49

I. See the Kingdom

1.

The link of v 27 to the set of linked vv 23–26 would seem to be that the time of full realization of the gains and losses flowing from the choices made in life under the challenge of Jesus is not in some remote uncertain future, but is within a single life span.

Those who are not called upon to give up their lives for the sake of Jesus may even expect to live to see it.

2. Use of “Kingdom” in the gospels

a. Kingdom of Heaven – 32 times, Matthew only

b. Kingdom of God – 4 times in Matthew, 14 times in Mark, 32 times in Luke, 2 times in John

c. Kingdom – 26 times in gospels referring to God’s Kingdom

Conclusion: We talked in Don Gribble’s Bible class this morning about persecution.

Most of us have experienced little or none, except maybe harassment.

We concluded that it is because of where we live and how we live.

We all claim to be in the Kingdom when it is easy.

I wonder what we would do if our lives or our personal property were in danger.