SERMON: “What is True Discipleship?” (Mark 8:34–38)

“What is True Discipleship?” (Mark 8:34–38)

Series:               “Together in Discipleship” #5           Text:                 Mark 8:34–38

By:                    Shaun Marksbury                         Date:                August 24, 2025

Venue:              Living Water Baptist Church            Occasion:             AM Service

 

I.              Introduction

Sometimes, it’s necessary to get back to basics.  We’re wrapping up our series on “Together in Discipleship,” and we’ve been encouraged to see discipleship as something to which God calls us all to contribute.  Yet, there’s one question we haven’t addressed, one that is foundational and at the core of this series: What is a disciple?

To give a quick answer to that question, a disciple is a learner, and we know we should be learning about Jesus Christ and His ways.  To give a longer answer to that question, though, we turn to Mark 8.  This chapter begins with Jesus still in Gentile territory.  He had spent months there with His disciples, and they’ve witnessed Him deal with the Gentiles unlike anything found in the traditions of their elders.  This chapter opens with a compassionate Jesus miraculously feeding a crowd of at least 4,000 Gentile people so they won’t go away hungry (vv. 1–10).  He is the Messiah for all peoples (Gen. 12:3; Isa. 42:1).

After He had spent these months away, one might expect that the Jewish people would be anticipating the return of their Messiah.  However, there are no crowds that welcome Him back.  Instead, the Pharisees had been awaiting Him, and they greeted Him with arguments and demands.  Jesus condemns them and promptly leaves (vv. 11–13).  The disciples are witnessing the Messiah being despised and rejected (cf. Isa. 53:3).

As they depart, Jesus warns His disciples about the false teachings and the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the Herodians.  However, the disciples are focused on the fact that they lack bread.  Jesus chastises them for being focused on such temporal concerns.  Until this point, they’ve failed to fully trust in His provision for their lives (vv. 14–21).  He is the Messiah, the Great Shepherd Who feeds His flock (Ezek. 34:12–13).

Passing back through Bethsaida, Jesus encounters a blind man and heals him (vv. 22–26).  The disciples should have already realized the implications of the Lord’s past healings.  He makes the blind see and the lame to walk, meaning that He is the prophesied Messiah (Isa. 35:5–6). 

This all culminates in Peter’s glorious confession.  Jesus and His disciples travel to Caesarea Philippi, still within the borders of Israel, and He asks them what people say about Him (vv. 27–28).  He then asks, “But who do you say that I am?” — to which Peter replies, “You are the Christ.” (v. 29).  He’s the Messiah, the Anointed One.

With that, the disciples seemingly reach a point of spiritual critical mass, realizing who Jesus is.  Now, they must realize His mission.  So, He explains the gospel path — plainly (vv. 31–32).  Instead of accepting it, though, Peter pulls Jesus aside.  He begins to rebuke Him for talking about the need to die, so Jesus informs Peter that he has become a mouthpiece for Satan (vv. 32–33).  They’ve come so far since Jesus had first called them to be disciples over two years ago, but they still struggle being learners and followers.

There’s a lesson for us today, and it’s one that ties back to our series.  We’ve considered the call to bearing burdens together, to sowing to the Spirit in love, to discipling our children in love, and to counsel one another.  True discipleship integrates all this, as it is self-denial for Christ’s sake.  We see in this passage two warnings every disciple must consider in the church: There’s a cost of being a follower of Jesus, but there’s also a high cost of continuing in one’s own way.  Let’s consider the first of those, which we will spend more time unpacking than the second one.

II.           First, the High Cost of Discipleship (v. 34)

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

News of Jesus’s presence begins to gather a crowd.  Perhaps seeing Peter and Jesus together away from the rest of the disciples, the crowd kept its distance.  Now, Jesus calls everyone over to Himself; the words He’s about to speak are not for Peter’s benefit alone, nor just for the Twelve, but for all who have a personal desire to call themselves disciples of Christ. 

And here, Jesus does the unexpected.  If He were trying to simply gather a crowd and build support for His brand, He goes about it the wrong way.  It’s like He didn’t even listen to the advice of the megachurch gurus!   However, He calls us to consider the eternal weight to the matter with careful thought, not the whimsy that seems to characterize so much of our faith today.

Unfortunately, it’s not thought that the disciples seem to have invested yet.  One disciple has just unwittingly allowed himself to become the mouthpiece of Satan in opposing the path before them.  Another disciple will allow Satan to fill his heart to betray the Lord.  And if thoughtlessness troubles the disciples, then how much more will it plague the curious onlookers now gathering around them?  Can you claim better? 

We all need a lesson in the high cost of discipleship.  So, He gives His first lesson to any would-be disciple.  He calls disciples away from mere impulses that strike the fancy and says those seeking to be disciples need to count the cost.  As the Lord says in Luke 14:27–33:

Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.”  Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.  So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

So, to break this down, what are the marks of a true disciple?  If any would seek to be a disciple of Christ, then going in, they need to know these three imperatives: A true disciple must deny self, die to self, and direct self to follow Christ.  Let’s expand on the first one:

A.             Our Lord Commands True Disciples to Deny Self 

The first requirement of discipleship is to deny or renounce the self.  Some think this might refer to asceticism.  We’re not talking about ceasing from bathing or taking vows of poverty, though.  Some of the desert monks went to these extremes, sitting exposed to the elements, thinking they were truly denying the self.

In fact, such thinking is the opposite of what Jesus commands.  When you decide you should give up this habit or that comfort on your own, you are, in fact, thinking about you!  Your mind remains on how you independently decide to improve yourself or prove to yourself that you mean business.  We should strive to be following Christ as disciples, not your own ideas!

Repentance requires you to turn from your path — from your sins and from your false religious expressions.  It also requires you turn toward Christ.  Thus, the true disciple turns from making himself the focus of his own life by replaces himself with Christ in his heart.  He renounces sin, love for the world, and any self-righteousness to embrace God and the gospel.

That means that the true disciple he makes Christ his aim.  He may be in wealthy, suburban America, but he’s not pursuing the acquisition of wealth or anything else.  The question we must ask isn’t the self-centered, “What do I need to do to show Christ I’m committed?” but the Christ-centered, “Am I trusting in Christ and following Him?”

This denial of self is the foundation for everything we’ve discussed in this series.  To bear one another’s burdens, for instance, we must deny our own convenience to restore a brother gently; if we’re self-focused, we won’t notice an absentee or offer a meal through our care groups.  Sowing to the Spirit demands denying fleshly impulses to persevere in doing good, as Christ’s body grows in love.  Discipling our children means denying our busyness to teach them God’s Word daily, nurturing them in the Lord at home and even through church ministries.  To be competent to counsel, we must begin with that basic Christian ritual of reading and understanding our Bibles, not spending all our time pursuing entertainment! 

True discipleship starts with denying the self to follow Christ, freeing us to love and serve as a church family.  This implies something else.  That brings us to the next point:

B.             Our Lord Commands True Disciples to Die to Self

Specifically, Jesus says to take up a cross.  That doesn’t mean to put on a necklace, to place bumper-stickers on your car, or to wear Christian-themed clothing.  It’s probably okay if you do all of this.  Just remember that, if you do, you’re always on the clock, but true disciples consider this in any circumstance.

This also doesn’t mean simply to keep the faith in rough times.  Sometimes, people say that they have a particular cross to bear, meaning they have a difficulty in life.  While it’s true that God assigns us suffering to endure, and it’s closer to the mark, doesn’t always capture what Jesus is saying.

To take up a cross in the ancient world meant one thing — death.  And Luke emphatically adds that this is to be done daily.  Every day, one must be willing to follow Christ, no matter what.  Jesus makes this clear in the next verse: a true disciple must be willing to lose “his life for My sake and the gospel’s.”

Consider: On the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed for the possibility that He need not drink from the cup (Matt. 26:39).  Prior to that night, Jesus asks His disciples in Matthew 20:22, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”  When they reply that they are able, He says, “My cup you shall drink” (v. 23).  We’re told to expect animosity from the lost world for just seeking to live godly lives (2 Tim. 3:12).  There will be trials and tribulations we must willingly endure.

Consider the cross we must bear.  The condemned hung on it beaten, broken, and naked — a symbol to shame all who would oppose the power of Rome; remember that the slave revolt led by Spartacus ended in 71 bc with him and 6,000 followers on crosses along the Appian Way.  Well, two of Christ’s disciples will bear that cross, with nearly all the rest also martyred in various ways.  Some of the Christians that Mark writes to in Rome will be crucified or burned when Nero will blame them for a fire he likely set. 

Some persecution only involves shame, though that’s perhaps too much to ask.  It’s difficult to remain a Christian when others mock and ridicule you.  We may lose our jobs for our faith.  Jesus warns, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (v. 38).  This is where you must be willing to die to self, fearing the shaming of the Lord more than the shaming of the world.

Dying to self is also at the heart of our series.  It’s denying personal comfort to help bear burdens, sowing sacrificially to the Spirit for eternal fruit, and persevering as Christ’s body in love.  For parents, it’s dying to busyness to teach children God’s Word daily.  Biblical counseling requires us to engage in and receive uncomfortable conversations.  These are just some examples of this daily death, freeing us to live for Christ.  That brings us to the final point.

C.             Our Lord Commands True Disciples to Direct Self to Him 

The third requirement of discipleship here describes personal, present effort to follow Christ.  We’re not to follow our own sinful desires, obviously.  We’re also not supposed to follow the ideas of the world or of Satan.  Jesus doesn’t say, “Just follow your heart.”  He says, “Follow me.” 

Don’t be tempted to think, as some commentators, that the call to discipleship has more to do with obedience than doctrine.  Rather, the two walk together.  If you have come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah (a theological statement), then you should follow in obedience.  Orthodoxy (right belief) leads to orthopraxy (right practice).  Moreover, there’s a sense in which the first two commands are prerequisites to this one, for one cannot be following Christ if not first denying himself and dying to self.

In drug court or at AA meetings, it’s common to hear people say, “I’m an alcoholic” or, “I’m an addict.”  We understand why that is an important confession.  But if you are a disciple of Christ, that is now how you identify yourself.  You’re not a gay Christian.  You’re not a lying Christian.  You’re not a murdering, slanderous, fornicating Christian.  If you are any of such, then you are not following Christ, for He says to deny and die to self. 

It’s a call with a high price — to be crucified with Christ (cf. Gal 2:20).  However, it isn’t as high as the alternative.  Let’s spend just a few minutes considering the remaining verses.

III.        Second, the High Cost of Independence (vv. 35–38)

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.  For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?  For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

Jesus presents us with a what seems to be a paradox.  To save one’s life, he must lose it — specifically, for the sake of the gospel.  Those who seek to save themselves in their own way, however, find that they lose their souls.  That’s because of where the price is paid — the price of discipleship is only paid in this life, but the price of independence is paid for all eternity.

Independence makes one ashamed of Christ and His gospel.  Jesus specifically addresses two, overlapping categories: those who pursue their own interests, and those who experience shame over Him.  This is the same picture, capturing both pleasure-seeking pagans and professing believers denying Him for their own interests (v. 34).  Perhaps when the fear of man outweighs the fear of God, but this is a warning sign of false discipleship.

They will think that there is a better way.  The pagan will, of course, have his false religion.  The professed believer, though, will try to hide his faith like the talent in the ground.  He thinks he’s better than his Master, because he can make it through this life without making any waves.  The truth is that he doesn’t love the actual gospel, and the peace of this life he so enjoys will be his only reward.

Independence will never lead to the treasures of the gospel.  Again, Jesus says in v. 36, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”  Consider the treasure in the parables of Matthew 13:44–46: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”  That’s quite a treasure!  Yet, back in Mark 8:37, Jesus asks, “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

A true disciple loves the Lord and the gospel so much he’s willing to lose everything for it.  He’ll treasure the gospel above all this world has to offer or can threaten.  Paul lost his position as a Pharisee for the sake of Christ, counting all the accomplishments of his former life as rubbish compared the worth of knowing Christ (Phili 3:4–8).  That’s why Jesus warns that those who are ashamed of Him now will find Him rejecting them when He returns (v. 38).

IV.        Final Thoughts

There’s a higher cost to independence than to being a disciple.  Being a disciple today may be costly in the short-term, but turning away is costly in the long-term.  We may be tempted to engage in self-focused living, which our series has challenged, but we may find that we miss out on an eternal reward.  Consider that this not only addresses the reward of your own soul, but the souls the Lord may have used you to impact for His kingdom through your service to one another.  This cost of being a disciple is worth it, leading to treasures in Christ.

We as a church should be making disciples, baptizing and teaching them, fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20).  The question is where your heart is, whether you want to be a disciple.  Those who focus solely on what is beneficial for them will not find their lives saved in the end.  They may find that that they gain what they want, only to find that their souls are required of them, such as in the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16–21.  Repent and seek that heavenly, incorruptible treasure that can’t be stolen (Mt 6:19–21).

Let’s be a church that is together in discipleship.