Radical Discipleship on the Calvary Road
Harry Stoliker
May 14, 2006 EBC
I was praying about how the Lord might have me tackle the book of Hebrews in this
sermon series. It is a deep, deep book that is full of OT imagery about the coming
Messiah and his work on the Cross. It covers the whole scope of redemptive history
from Old Covenant to New Covenant to the end of time. John Calvin said of it: "There
is, indeed, no book in Holy Scripture which speaks so clearly of the priesthood
of Christ, so splendidly extols the power and worth of that unique sacrifice
which he offered by his death, that deals more adequately with the use and also
the abrogation (repealing) of ceremonies, and, in short, explains more fully that
Christ is the end of the Law."
How are we going to 'connect' with such a deep book of the Bible? As we used
a contemporary issue (the Da Vinci Code) as a backdrop for our study in Jude, I
wanted to make Hebrews apply to where we live as well. Actually, I don't have to
"make" Hebrews apply; it "does" apply to where we live today. But
how? In a recent discussion in our Wed. morning prayer group, we were talking about
what it means to live a radically cross-centered, Christ-centered life in the context
of American Christianity. That is a very daunting challenge. You know the old story
about the frog in the pot who doesn't realize that the temperature of the water
is going up! He gets cooked before he realizes it. I think that is the danger we
face in opulent, comfortable America.
We are reading a book together called Don't Waste Your Life which is an incredible
challenge to live in a way that magnifies Christ, that makes much of Christ, and
that shows the world his infinite value. That would be a very good definition of
'radical living'. It would be living in a way that makes his beauty and worth
shine most brightly through our treasuring him more than anything we have: healthy,
wealth, possessions, relationships, comfort, safety, even life itself.
This is exactly what Jesus calls his disciples to do. Mt. 10:37-39 "Anyone who loves
his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son
or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross
and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever
loses his life for my sake will find it." That is radical, severe, extreme,
sweeping discipleship! Jesus didn't pull any punches, he demands of his people that
they evaluate what they love most! He is saying that if you love anything more than
him, you are in jeopardy of losing your life. If you love something more
than him, you are trying to "find" life in an alien source.
Paul says essentially the same thing in Phil. 1:20 "I eagerly expect and hope that
I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always
Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." It takes
'sufficient courage' to look in the mirror and see if you are ready to live in a
way that exalts Christ AT ALL COST to yourself.
John Piper puts it this way: "Living to magnify Christ is costly! That is not surprising.
He was crucified. He was treated like a devil. And he calls us to follow him."
Living to make Jesus Christ most visibly supreme is the challenge that is set before
us as American Christians. Here's another simply way of putting it: What are you
living for? Sometimes when I'm reading a book I'll come across a sentence
or paragraph that is so vivid, strong and powerful that I'll just write in the margin
one word: "Yikes!" (A mid-18th cent. word used by fox hunters
to excite there hounds for the chase!) To me it is a mixture of "Incredible!"
and "Convicting!"
I found a "Yikes!" sentence recently that was talking about the challenge
of living for Christ. It says: "We are fallen, comfort-loving creatures. We are always
on the lookout for ways to justify our self-protecting, self-securing, self-pleasing
ways of life." Could this be why our Lord Jesus spoke in such strong terms
so often when he taught about being his disciple? Let's listen in on one of those
teaching moments where Jesus speaks about radical Christianity. Turn to Luke 9:57-62.
Jesus didn't seem very thrilled about the man's verbal commitment: "I will follow
you wherever you go!" Jesus responded in essence: "You better be willing to give
up you nice comfortable bed if you are going to follow me!" Another "would-be
disciples" says he wants to go bury his father before following Jesus.
In other words, "I would be your full-time disciple if I can set the terms,
if I can set the limits of my discipleship." The phrase "let me go and bury
my father" is most likely a traditional idiom that means "Let me stay at home to
care for my parents until they die and I receive my inheritance." He was
saying: "You go ahead; I'll catch up with you when my life circumstances are favorable."
Jesus said that the dead (spiritually dead) would bury their own dead, and he should
just get going on the mission.
The third "would-be disciple" says in effect: "Let me go back to my family, for that
is where my heart really is." Jesus detects that he hasn't broken ultimate
allegiance with his family. It may have sounded like an innocent request, but Jesus
saw to the heart of it. He says that once you have put your hand to the plow you
have to devote your full-attention to the work or you will make a crooked furrow.
If you are a Christian, any half-hearted, distracted, less-than-total loyalty to
the Kingdom just won't make it.
D.A. Carson comments that Jesus "detected insincerity, a qualified acceptance of
Jesus' Lordship. And that was not good enough. Commitment to Jesus must be without
reservation. Such is the importance Jesus himself attached to his own person and
mission."
Just before I move on to Hebrews, let me sum up this section with a priceless quote
from a man with a funny name: Norval Geldenhuys – a minister in the Dutch Reformed
Church in South Africa. This quote points us to Jesus Christ is a way that makes
radical discipleship all worth it! He says: "We must not forget that the Savior
himself fully complied with every one of those demands which he enjoins upon his
flowerers. He followed the way of utter self-denial and privation to the bitter
end. He even set aside the most intimate family ties with his mother, brothers,
and sisters where this was necessary for faithfully accomplishing His life's calling;
and without any division of attention or half-heartedness he set His hand to the
plough with a fixed purpose and complete His task at the highest cost to Himself.
The privilege and the seriousness of following Christ are of such tremendous magnitude
that there is no room for excuse, for compromise with the world, or for half-heartedness.
What a challenge to know that he who calls us to complete devotion and loyalty,
Himself followed whole-heartedly the road of self-denial, yes, even to the death
of the cross!"
OK, where am I going with all this and what does it have to do with studying Hebrews?
Hebrews is a call to radical discipleship. All you have to do to prove this is to
read
Chapter 11! You will find there the stories of men and women who understood what
it meant to not get caught in the gooey, sticky trap of this world's comforts. Listen
to how the radical Moses is described: "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused
to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with
the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He
regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures
of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." (11:24)
There are basically two roads you can travel in this life:
"The Wasted-Life Road" or "The Calvary Road". If you are not on the
Calvary Road, you are definitely on the Wasted-Life Road. The Calvary
Road is costly and involves suffering, yet it is deeply joyful. It is the road where
you make much of Jesus and make nothing of yourself. The Wasted-Life is the
road where your concern is "my life", "my family", "my job", "my health", "my vacation",
"my house", "my kids getting through college and getting a good job", "my retirement
account", "my health insurance policy", "my leisure time and hobbies", "my wife/husband"
and "my funeral."
My question is: What is there that can get us on and keep us on The Calvary Road
so we don't waste our lives? One last quote from John Piper and then we'll
begin our study of the text of Hebrews 1 for just a few more minutes. John says:
"What a tragic waste when people turn away from the Calvary road of love and suffering.
All the riches of the glory of God in Christ are on that road. All the sweetest
fellowship with Jesus is there. All the treasure of assurance. All the ecstasies
of joy. All the clearest sightings of eternity. All the noblest camaraderie. All
the humblest affections. All the most tender acts of forgiving kindness. All the
deepest discoveries of God's Word. All the most earnest prayers. They are all on
the Calvary road where Jesus walks with his people. Take up your cross and follow
Jesus. On this road, and this road alone, life is Christ and death is gain. Life
on every other road is wasted." (p.76)
My thesis for this study is that the theme of Hebrews will keep us on the Calvary
road.
What is the theme of Hebrews? The Supremacy of Christ. Because of His internal
worth, his innate glory, his inherent deity, Jesus is supreme. To us he is supremely
valuable. Focusing on His majesty gives us fuel for the Calvary Road.
As the well-know scholar and commentator, Philip Edgcumbe Hughes puts it: "The comprehensive
theme of the Epistle to the Hebrews is that of the absolute supremacy of
Christ – a supremacy which allows no challenge, whether from human or angelic
beings."
How does the author of Hebrews structure or lay out his epistle? Chapter 1:1-3 Christ
superior to the prophets; 1:4-2:18 Christ superior to the angels;
3:1-4:13 Christ superior to Moses; 4:14-10:18 Christ superior to Aaron;
10:19-12:29 Christ superior as the new and living way; chapter 13 a closing
exhortation. We will only begin with a few verses from Chapter 1 this morning.
Chapter 1:1-3 Christ is Superior to the Prophets
V.1 "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times
and in various ways but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…
- What is the author doing here? He is making a powerful CONTRAST. The contrast is
between Jesus and the prophets.
-
The greatness of the prophets was that they were spokesman for God. They weren't
great in themselves or in their own wisdom. Their power and authority came as they
spoke the words that God gave them to speak to the people of Israel.
The prophets were highly respected. They were seen as men who had the Spirit of
God on them (Num. 11:29); God revealed his will through them; they confronted kings
when the kings were in sin; they predicted the future; they were known as the 'servants
of God'; kings consulted them to know God's plans for war; most of all, they called
the people back to God through repentance (Jer25:4-5) "And the LORD has sent to you
all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened
nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, 'Repent now everyone of his evil way and
his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers
forever and ever" Zech. 7:12 "Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing
to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through
the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts."
The NT tells us that God used the prophets to write Scripture: 2 Peter 1:20-21 "Above
all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's
own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men
spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
- So, it is real hard to underestimate the importance of prophets to all that God
has done in redemptive history. There was however a limitation to their ministry.
This is what the author of Hebrews is getting at in the contrast. The point he is
making is that the message of the prophets came in fragments, in dreams, in mysteries,
in types, in shadows, in visions, in symbols, in physical illustrations, in enigmatic
or mysterious predictions. It was provisional, unfulfilled and not the final word.
This is what the author means when he says it came in "various ways."
- "But in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son!" Now we have a superiors
spokesman for God, a better and ultimate Prophet to tell us the will of God! The
Son's word is not provisional, it is the ultimate fulfillment; it is not in fragments
or dreams or shadows but in comprehensive clarity and finality. "This final word
fulfils and transcends all previous words spoken by God through the prophets, so
that there is no place for venerating the ancient prophets in a manner that would
challenge the supremacy of him who himself is uniquely the Word, equal to the Father,
the agent of creation, the sustainer of the universe, the heir of all things, and
the exalted Redeemer of the world." (Hughes)
Here's the point: What the prophets had to say was good, true, needed, inspired
by God. But now, we have a Superior or Better Word from God: Jesus Christ. They
led up to Christ and pointed to Christ. Now we judge everything in life from what
Christ taught. He gives the completed picture, the clearest and final authoritative
word. Next week we will see how and why Jesus is qualified to be the final authority
on what God the Father wants us to know. His qualifications are incredible!
What's the Application of all this:
Here is what I want us to hear: A Superior Prophet has spoken for God. He
has called us to radical discipleship on the Calvary Road. We dare
not ignore what He is saying. We don't want to waste our lives on meaningless and
trivial things. We want to live exactly the way the Superior Prophet told us to
live. We face the challenge of working this out in a culture that thinks the Calvary
Road is ridiculous and unnecessary. They would rather us walk with them down the
Luxury Road.
Ponder this question this week: What does it actually mean I our setting to walk
the Calvary Road with Jesus?
Let's pray.
H.