The Cost of Discipleship

Mark 6 : 7 - 13

Each time we assign a certain topic or title for our sermon there is always this reduction because the Bible is much richer than any title; even when digging from just one specific pericope. So I think the title “the cost of discipleship” should not reduce the richness of our reading of this sixth chapter. But it is also not entirely wrong or absurd, as any Bible also contains titles that the editor thought over very carefully. We just read from verse 7, but there is a certain editor from a biblical commentary who tried to integrate verse 6b as belonging to the entire pericope; so the pericope would not begin with verse 7 but with 6b. Verse 6b reads, “And He went about among the villages teaching.” Now we know that Jesus was very famous because He did a lot of merciful ministry, He healed sick people, even raised the dead. So He’s very famous for His compassionate deeds. Jesus as a miracle worker, as a healer, was certainly very famous. Even until now in our contemporary setting. But isn’t it interesting that when we read the gospel of Mark, Mark records Jesus’ ministry with the focus on teaching. It’s very important to be aware of this emphasis. For almost anyone who is sick, who doesn’t want to be healed? It isn’t something we even have to consider, healing is something that is very attractive for all sick people. When Jesus healed many people He also healed them sincerely out of love. But what is the difference between healing ministry and teaching ministry? If you receive healing from God, you receive a miracle. Of course this is something liberating, something comforting, you are blessed. But that does not necessarily demand your commitment. You don’t have to know Jesus who healed you. It isn’t a necessity. And in our contemporary situation this is also the problem with many churches. We want to be strengthened by God, we want to be helped, we want to be healed, but we do not want to grow to understand deeper about the Lord Himself, about God. In Asia, in Indonesia, in South Korea, and I believe in many parts ofAsia, many more people go to church than here in Europe. And that’s a common phenomenon I think. You have a problem, you come to the church, you ask God to help you, and you are helped. Jesus as a ‘helper’, Jesus as a ‘healer’, but Jesus as teacher and suddenly we have to pause, “Why should we learn? I have my own opinion, I have my own thoughts, I have my own consideration. Why should the office of teacher suddenly enter into my life? So when you talk about the teaching ministry of Jesus, you and I will be also corrected on our thinking of God. And this is something that you need self-denial for. If I could summarise it, teaching requires commitment. It doesn’t matter if the churches are full, but only a few are committed to doing the work of the Lord. Again, I want to stress about the cost of discipleship which includes commitment. If you receive healing, if you receive help from God, you can be impressed – and even to a certain extent grateful and thankful. But to commit your life to Jesus, that is another thing.

There is a famous German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Last year we commemorated 80 years of his death. Famously, he differentiated between cheap grace, and costly or valuable grace. Cheap grace doesn’t require any commitment. It requires no discipleship. You simply receive that grace and that’s it. Be a little bit thankful and that’s enough. But costly or valuable grace is responded to with self-dedication to God. This is the valuable grace. The grace of God is always free. It is true, it is free, you cannot buy it, but it is never cheap. That is why we talk here about the cost of discipleship. If we understand that the grace is not cheap but rather something valuable, then we will respond accordingly. Accordingly we also read here that the ministry of the missionaries, in this context Jesus’ disciples, were ordinary people. They were fishermen. Simply ordinary people. But their authority does not depend on their talents or greatness. Their perfection, their merits or their connection, their power etc. But their authority hangs rather on the calling of Jesus Himself. I think it’s important again to stress our dependency on Jesus on God and not on our own abilities, greatness, skill, etc. They were authorised to cast out the unclean spirits. We read here that the authority given to them is the authority to act, to do something, and not only to preach.

Three weeks ago I preached about this in the story of the raising from the dead of Jairus’ daughter. Jesus already healed and raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, but before that also the woman with the bleeding. But after, Jesus said something: “Give peace in her heart”. So Jesus already healed her, but still said something too. We can learn here that words and deeds go hand in hand; it’s not to be separated. So Jesus confirms what He already did to this woman, by His words. Of course there is a problem here in our contemporary situation. There are those who do a lot of merciful deeds or merciful actions, but do not dare to preach the truth, the holy gospel, because it might be seen as politically incorrect. But on the other hand you have certain religious people who always preach and even lecture. But are always so poor and miserable in their actions. They are simply stumbling blocks. But they always preach and preach and preach, they always preach and teach to others. And if I may quote from a commentary here, “Here, as elsewhere, in early Christianity, there is no proclamation of the gospel without powerful deeds, and no powerful deeds without proclamation of the gospel.” So you have here the integration between work and word. Not only in the life of the disciples but in the life of Jesus Himself.

We read in the passage that they (the disciples) are sent, and the requirements are that they should not take with them, with the exception of their staff, bread, bags, or money in their belts. Some scholars try to compare Jesus with radical cynic philosophers of the time, but we found no evidence that in the area in which Jesus ministered there were these cynic philosophers. There are, however, indeed certain similarities with cynic philosophers which are not to be overlooked. These philosophers usually advocate for a life of asceticism, a very simple life. That you should wear just one tunic. They go even further, that you should go barefoot and without sandals; but we read that Jesus said you should wear sandals. At a cursory glance this comparison might be interesting, but nowadays according to more recent research people realise that the continuation is not with the cynic philosophers but rather with the Israelites who were liberated from Egypt.

You can read in the book of Exodus chapter 12 verse 11 for instance. “In this manner you shall eat it” this is the passover story, of course, “with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s passover.” What can we learn from this comparison or from this similarity? Jesus wants to teach His disciples that you now bear the story, the good news, of this new Exodus. They should be free from any burden that hinders them to serve God freely in this new venture. I think this is also important for your and my life when we confess ourselves as Christians. Many things that burden our lives make us not agile enough and not free enough because we have too many worries and anxieties in our life. Family problems, political problems, economic problems, problems with friends. We are too attached to earthly things that we cannot serve God freely. What is at stake is our spiritual journey as a pilgrimage towards the promised land, which is disturbed because there are too many things in our lives. So again I want to repeat that perhaps it is more comparable to the story of Israel’s flight from Egypt as opposed to the cynic philosophers. Jesus’ crusade is not against civilisation or a certain habit per se. But when you read the story there is also a danger. It is not about a carefree lifestyle. The lives of the disciples were often accompanied with dangers. It is not an invitation to live out a rococo spirit. The sanssouci lifestyle. That is not the calling. But they are invited to participate, to experience the new authority given by Jesus Himself. That is why you see that the requirements for their missionary work is for them not to be burdened by unnecessary things. They should be content with the barest, the most minimum provisions, and place their trust in God.

Now I think I’ve already said this many times, that I think the more mature we grow spiritually, the more we should have this reduction and not amplification of needs; especially physical needs. The older you get the more you realise you don’t really need a lot of things in this world. All you need is the bare minimum. But this is of course not to be taken for granted. There are people who get older but still want to try out new things. Things they’ve never experienced, things they’ve never had and places they’ve never been. The amplification of needs instead of the reduction. This is childish. Can you imagine someone at their deathbed still striving to experience the best in his life? I think there is a beautiful theme in the film Titanic. When the Titanic started to sink, there was an old lady with very expensive clothing. When a small lifeboat was prepared she asked “is this the first class lifeboat?” You are about to die and you still ask if it is a first class lifeboat. Absurd. But I think it’s a beautiful depiction. As if when you get cancer and get injected with morphine you ask “is this the first class morphine or the cheaper one?” Crazy. That is not the barest minimum but the amplification of needs. But once we learn how to trust in God, how to trust in Jesus, then we don’t actually need a lot of things in this world. When you read the story of the Israelites in the wilderness are they not also provided only with mana? For their simple physical needs. There is no fried duck with pineapples, there is only mana. They have to learn to be content, to suffice themselves with the barest provisions from God. I think the beauty of this kind of life is that you can be fully dependent on God. That’s the first thing, but also the beauty and the freedom to serve others and to serve God. If you keep being attracted to the best things in life I don’t think you can serve God. Because you will always have this feeling of being left out. The feeling of missing out. Have you tried this new restaurant? No? Oh that’s a pity! Have you tried flying first class? No? What a pity. And our lives will be driven by the search for richer and richer experiences. But it does not really help other people, it is only for yourself and at best maybe your immediate family. How can we serve God in this kind of situation?

The disciples are entrusted with the good news. They are sent out and they should not have a lot of burdens in their life. Because in the simple life, there is a powerful proclamation. Of course we are attracted to this powerful proclamation, powerful ministry. But it always goes hand in hand with the simplicity of life. If you live a simple life, and don’t really need a lot of things then you can learn what it is to trust in God. We cannot proclaim the gospel apart from this faith in God. That is why we should correct ourselves. Perhaps this is the reason why our proclamation is not so powerful. Because we always want to search for the best in life but we still confess that we have faith in Christ and want to testify but there is no power. There are some Christians who visited the persecuted Christians in the underground churches. They think that when they come to China they want to serve, they want to preach, they want to teach about the holy scripture, the gospel, the exposition etc. There are so many accounts that those visiting are the ones who were in fact blessed by the persecuted Christians in China. We may have more knowledge, perhaps we are more theologically educated, but Christianity is not about erudite knowledge but about power. And this power goes hand in hand with our simple faith in Christ, in God, who can provide for us.

Perhaps one last point. You read here in the gospel of Mark that they were sent out to do miracles and to heal the sick. And they are instructed to anoint the sick with oil. I think the relationship between oil and sickness is something that can be explained naturally or medically too. That is why they anoint the sick with oil as a means of healing – even until now. But when the disciples were instructed to use oil I think the meaning was not limited to just the biological or medicinal aspects, but it is also a proclamation of the “oil of gladness” that you can read from Psalm 45. The anointing from God Himself. This is the inbreaking of the kingdom of God that has come into them. It is not only about the healing or liberation from physical sickness but also the healing and liberation from spiritual sickness. Because oil, especially in the old testament, is depicted as a symbol of joy. We cannot create this joy by ourselves. Of course the entertainment world can sometimes promise you a sense of joy or happiness but it is not long lasting. I think one of the best businesses in this world is indeed the entertainment industry. Because so many people are sad and want comfort but do not look for it in God, and find it in the entertainment industry. But of course, it is only superficial. It is not long lasting, it is not substantial, it is not rooted. But once we experience when we receive the oil of gladness, the Holy Spirit from Jesus Himself, then we are truly liberated. As you can read also in this story acceptance is not always the case sometimes they can be rejected too. But it doesn’t destroy the dignity or the authority of the gospel. The gospel is still valuable it is not something to be despised. When we proclaim the word of God when we proclaim the holy gospel we are not beggars who ask for mercy from others to receive this joyful news. That is why you also read that they should shake the dust off their sandals. Why the shaking of the dust? To preserve the dignity of the holy gospel. It is not to be confused with our impatience or anger from being rejected. We should be merciful, and pray for perseverance. Sometimes also with tears. But still the gospel is to be preserved in all its dignity. It is humanity that needs Jesus and not the other way around. Jesus does not need you and me. Jesus is in perfect happiness with the Father and the Holy Spirit. It is really a happy invitation for our sake. It is an invitation for us to participate in this divine life. I pray that we have this kind of faith. Not only an abstract faith in Jesus, but faith that we should not be too attached with the burden of life and the best things in life. So that our ministry can be more powerful. (A.H.)