Uncomfortable Week 1 – Fred Gallop – July 12, 2020
Main Scripture: Mark 8:34 NLT
Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower (disciple), you must give up your own way (deny yourself), take up your cross, and follow me.
Big Idea: What is a disciple?
Context is important to the principle of exegesis, which is proper interpretation of a text. It is impossible to understand what the Bible is trying to communicate without first establishing context, and without this context, we can walk away with all sorts of meanings counter to scripture. This is known as eisegesis, which is interpreting a text by putting our own thoughts ON the text. We want to avoid this at all costs.
31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.
33 Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Daniel 7:13-14
13 As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.
Daniel 9:24-26
24 “A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.
26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.
Isaiah 53:3-5
3 He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole.
Mark 8:34
Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower (disciple), you must give up your own way (deny yourself), take up your cross, and follow me.
Those oh so simple three steps that we will take three weeks to unpack are simply:
- Deny self: meaning you forfeit control of your life over to the Lord
- Take up your cross: meaning that you both figuratively die to yourself and are willing to give your life up for the sake of the Lord Jesus.
- Follow Him: go where He leads you.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download