Faith is joy, but discipleship comes at a cost
Matthew 20:17-19
While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”
The apostles James and John, the sons of Zebedee, wanted a place of prominence in the kingdom of Jesus, and apparently, their mother wanted that for them as well.
Jesus answered his disciples, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”
James and John answered, “We are able.”
The word "minister" means servant. Not a lofty position, not famous, not prominent. It's a humble position to take and should only be taken in humility, because there is often a very costly consequence involved in this decision. Jesus is again predicting his persecution, which is right around the corner, and he's again having to caution his disciples to count the costs of following him into that persecution.
The twelve apostles and the many other followers are about to embark upon a ministry mission that will ultimately span millennia and convert millions of people. And they all will pay a terrible price for that decision.
So, James and John get a look into the future they will face. Their fate is like Jesus’. He's there to suffer for sinners and drink the cup of God’s wrath, and they too will face similar future consequences.
But meanwhile they're selfishly seeking prominence in Jesus' kingdom. And the other apostles heard this and became angry.
Soon a battle breaks out and the place turns into a melee between all the disciples.
And Jesus breaks it up...saying,
vs. 26-27 "It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave."
There cannot be a better man among the ministers. There cannot be grifters and charlatans. There cannot be prominent figures and still be servants. And the fruit of that mission cannot be popularity. If it is any of these things it is very much likely that it is not "in Christ". Because being in Christ immediately sets you up against the ways of the world. And the world is very unkind to those who try to set themselves up as holy and good, righteous in God alone. The world doesn't appreciate, accept and celebrate the things of heaven, the world seeks worldly things. The world celebrates the created things, not the Creator. The world assigns glory to the deeds of humanity. Therefore, if the world sees your ministry as something to be admired, you're probably corrupted by the world.
There is always a terrible cost for authentic ministry. James and John, sons of Zebedee, were the so called, "Sons of Thunder". James proclaimed the gospel after Jesus' resurrection and was the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred for his faith. At times, often at inappropriate times, James could be rash and unthinking. He did not always apply the gospel to earthly matters. When a Samaritan village rejected Jesus, he and John wanted to call down fire from heaven and wipe out every living thing there.
I can relate to James.
James had an abiding faith unto death. He was killed with the sword on order of King Herod Agrippa I of Judea, about 44 A.D.
James got his wish. He was given a very prestigious situation. He became the first among the apostles to suffer and die by the sword for his ministry. James wanted to take up that cup that Jesus took up, and he did, he died for his faith.
“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.” —Acts 12:1–2
I wonder if his mother regretted asking that of Jesus.
And of course, we know that James will likewise rise up and be received by our Lord into eternal glory. His mother will see him sitting upon one of the twelve thrones.
"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:28-30).
This is the ministry. The apostles exercised authority by teaching people how to become Christians and how to remain faithful, even unto death. They, guided by the Holy Spirit, rendered decisions on every question that arose in the early church times, the so-called apostolic church. They ruled on "...all things that pertain to life and godliness..." (2 Peter 1:3).
And they suffered greatly.
Simon, also known as Peter, was killed by Emperor Nero around 64 AD, was crucified on a cross upside down. Peter’s brother Andrew allegedly suffered a similar death in the Greek city of Patras around 60 AD.
John the beloved is traditionally regarded as the only apostle to die of old age. When Mary (Jesus' mother and now John's adopted mother) died, John allegedly went to Ephesus. While there he wrote his three epistles to the church. After that he was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the gospel. While there he received the revelation from Christ and wrote the Book of Revelation. Eventually, he makes it back to Ephesus and dies an ordinary death sometime after 98 AD.
It's hard to narrow down how Phillip died. One record says he died of natural causes. Another says he was beheaded. And still another says he was stoned to death. And yet another that he was crucified upside down. According to records he likely died in the ancient Greek city of Hierapolis. Probably he, not unlike Barthlomew, was flayed and beheaded or crucified upside down. Or all the above. No one knows for sure. But obviously the demonic pagan world did whatever they could, in very gross ways, to destroy the ministry of Jesus Christ.
The apostle Thomas, of doubting Thomas fame, suffered death by stabbing (spearing) for preaching the good news at the hands of the people in Mylapore, India.
The apostle Matthew, it is said, was slain by a halberd (a spear with an ax head attached) in the city of Nadabah Ethiopia, in A.D. 60. The early church fathers said he was burned, stoned, stabbed, or beheaded. At any rate it didn't end well for him.
James son of Alphaeus was stoned to death. Jude was martyred in Syria on his missionary journey with Simon the Zealot. As for Simon the Zealot (let's call him Simon Z), it seems many people wanted credit for killing him. Legends say that Simon Z and Jude went into Persia and other places driving out demons from the pagan temples there. These two are the exorcist crew. They made a lot of people very angry when they drove out the demons who helped them provide signs and wonders that of course they could then grift off of. One claim is that Simon Z was sawed in half.
Mathias was stoned to death as far as we know. His ministry is somewhat obscure.
Judas of course killed himself, and I don't think you could say he had much of a ministry at all.
The Apostle Paul was stoned several times, shipwrecked, imprisoned, flogged, tortured, and ultimately it is said he was beheaded. An apocryphal work from the second century known as The Acts of Paul says that Nero had Paul decapitated. And in 200 AD, Tertullian wrote that Paul’s death was like John the Baptist’s.
And many others in the first church were murdered for their faith by very gross acts of violence. And now the largest religion in the world exists as we know it today because of the work they began in the years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The cup Jesus talked about to them became their cup.
The position of prominence they sought probably wasn't what they'd hoped for. But their faith, their witness, their hope was such that they did face these trials in Christ.
It's notable to me that not one of them confessed against Christ except Judas who committed suicide. They all knew something that was powerful enough to maintain their resolve even in the face of terrible pain and suffering. There are no stories of them being angry at God because things weren't going their way. They did have church dramas, that's going to happen apparently, even among these faithful people. But in the end when pressed up against a rock and a hard place, they all chose the rock (the gospel truth about Jesus Christ) and took the hard place in faith.
They all had faith in his resurrection and theirs being secured in Him. So much so that they lived and died for it.
These people gave everything. Think about that, all of Zebedee's sons were killed. Think about their mother and her request that they sit at Christ's left and right hand. Think about her the next time you're pissed off at your church because they did something unkind to you, or didn't meet your needs. Get a grip friend. Faith is joy, but discipleship comes at a cost.
#Discipleship