1st weeks teaching is here! This week we saw verses describing what it means to follow Jesus. In this teaching I have merely compiled all of them into one simple presentation. Easy to read and very helpful. Enjoy the lesson!

1. Taking Up Your Cross
By Scott Meehan
Dailybibleverse23.blogspot.com
Daily Bible Verse

3. Questions
1. Requirements for following Jesus?
2. Sacrifices of following Jesus?
3. How to follow Jesus?
4. How to make the decision?

4. Requirements, Mark 8:34
When He had called the people to
Himself, with His disciples also,
He said to them, “Whoever
desires to come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me.

5. Requirements, Mark 8:34
• In Rome, a form of execution for dangerous criminals was
death on a cross. In order to signify submission of the
prisoners to Rome’s power, they would need to carry their
own cross to the place where they were to be executed.
Jesus used this imagery in this verse to illustrate His point
of the ultimate submission required by His followers. Now
Jesus is not saying that He is against pleasure or that we
should seek pain wherever we can find it. What He is telling
us is that the heroic effort needed to follow Him comes
from doing so ever second of every day even when we find
ourselves in difficult times or if the future looks very bleak.

6. Requirements, Mark 8:34
• Bearing your cross begins once you become aware and
acknowledge that you cannot save yourself, and
surrender completely to God’s mercy, as is told in
Matthew 19:21-22, “Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to
be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow
Me.’ But when the young man heard that saying, he
went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” If
you are unwilling to deny yourself, can you really make
the legitimate claim that you are a follower of Jesus?
Self-denial and sacrificial service is what Jesus taught
His disciples about what it meant to be great in the
kingdom of God.

7. Requirements Conclusion
1. Surrender completely to God’s mercy, total
dedication.
2. Deny yourself.
3. Sacrificial service.

8. Sacrifices, Luke 9:61-62
• Luke 9:61-62, “And another also said,
‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me
first go and bid them farewell who
are at my house.’ But Jesus said to
him, ‘No one, having put his hand to
the plow, and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God.’”

9. Sacrifices, Luke 9:61-62
• Jesus does not want a half-hearted commitment
from us, but wants total dedication. We cannot
follow Him selectively, picking and choosing
which laws we follow and don’t follow. We must
be willing to abandon our sins and everything
that has given us security when following Jesus.
As we accept mercy and salvation from the Lord,
we must also be willing to accept judgment and
difficulty, or to bear our “cross.” With this type of
focus on Jesus, we should make sure that nothing
distracts us from the kind of living that He
preaches good and true.

10. Sacrifices, Luke 9:61-62
• This story of the man’s encounter with Jesus is similar to the
one told in 1 Kings of Elijah commissioning Elisha:
“So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of
Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before
him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him
and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran
after Elijah, and said, ‘Please let me kiss my father and my
mother, and then I will follow you.’ And he said to him, ‘Go
back again, for what have I done to you?’ So Elisha turned
back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them
and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it
to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed
Elijah, and became his servant” (1 Kings 19:19-21).

11. Sacrifices, Luke 9:61-62
• You will notice that Elisha also asked permission to
return to his family and say goodbye before he
started to follow Elijah. However, in doing so he
expressed no enthusiasm in beginning his new work.
As a result of this Elisha decided instead to slaughter
all of his oxen and then follow Elijah, never to look
back. This is what Jesus is asking of us, not to wait to
follow Him, but to make the decision instantly and
never look back. To abide by all his laws and ideas in
how we should live our lives for Him, not to pick and
choose. Only through doing so can we truly receive
His mercy, His forgiveness, and His salvation.

12. Sacrifices Conclusion
1. Abandoning sinful behavior.
2. Abandoning things that provide security.
3. Instantly following Jesus, never to look back.
4. Following all His laws and teachings, even if
you may not agree with it.

13. Follow, John 12:25
• John 12:25, “He who loves His
life will lose it, and he who
hates his life in this world will
keep it for eternal life.”

14. Follow, John 12:25
• Our commitments to living for Christ must be so
strong that by comparison we hate our own lives.
This doesn’t mean that we should long for death,
live in depression by choice, or become
destructive with the life God has given us. What it
means is that we should be willing to die if in
doing so we will glorify Christ. This principle of
death was not only applicable to Jesus’ life, but
also to the lives of all His followers. At any time,
we as followers in Christ must be prepared to lose
our lives in service and witness for Him, just as
His disciples did.

15. Follow, John 12:25
• Ironically, this verse uses two different words for “life.”
Psuche, refers to our present existence in this world and
the exercise of the mind, desires, and will. Zoe, refers to
someone someone’s spiritual life everlasting. Therefore,
someone who loves their psuche will lose it, and
someone who hates their psuche will keep it for zoe. Our
psuche life is only temporary, while our zoe life will last
forever. If you are pursuing a life only caring about
yourself and your own needs, you are living a psuche life,
and will miss what God wants you to have in the spiritual
realm. To live a zoe life you are constantly serving and
praising God, living for Christ.

16. Follow, John 12:25
• This principle is so important to Jesus that He cites it probably more than any other of His teachings
(see Matthew 10:39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17:33). Used in a slightly different context, Paul
also cites this principle quite frequently:
– Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that
you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
– 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One
died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for
themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
– 2 Corinthians 6:9-10, “As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as
chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many
rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”
– Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in
me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me
and gave Himself for me.”
– 2 Timothy 2:11-12, “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with
Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.”
– See also Philippians 2:5-11.

17. Follow, John 12:25
• We must discard our own self-
satisfactions and our own self-
centeredness, and when we do this
we will be able to serve God lovingly
and freely. By transferring control of
our lives to Christ, He brings us
genuine joy and eternal life with
Him.

18. Follow Conclusion From John
1. Willing to die if in doing so you glorify God.
2. Constantly serving and praising God, living
for Christ.
3. Discard own self-satisfactions and own self-
centeredness.
4. Transferring control of our lives to Jesus.

19. Follow, 1 Peter 2:21-22
• There are many reasons today why we may suffer. Suffering can
stem directly from our own sins; it could come as a direct result of
our own thoughtlessness; and it could come to us simply because
we live in a fallen world. However, in these verses Peter is writing
about the suffering that happens to us when we perform good
actions. Jesus was sinless, and yet He suffered so that we may be
free. Peter learned about suffering directly from Jesus. He knew it
was part of God’s plan, as is written in Matthew 16:21-23, “From
that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to
Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests
and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter
took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from
You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to
Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are
not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’”

20. Follow, 1 Peter 2:21-22
• He also learned that Christ’s death was intended to
save us from our sins, as is written in Matthew 26:28,
“For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins.” Lastly, Peter
learned that all those who choose to follow Jesus must
be prepared to suffer, as is written in Mark 8:34-35,
“When He had called the people to Himself, with His
disciples also, He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to
come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake
and the gospel’s will save it.’”

21. Follow, 1 Peter 2:21-22
• Follow His steps. We should be modeling our
whole lives on how Jesus lived His: “He who says
he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just
as He walked” (1 John 2:6). Even if it means we
must suffer or even die, if that is His will we must
follow. We should also love just as He loved: “By
this all will know that you are My disciples, if you
have love for one another” (John 13:35). Finally,
we should also think just as He thought: “Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 2:5).

22. Follow, 1 Peter 2:21-22
• Committed no sin. There are many testimonies in the New Testament to
Christ never committing sin:
– 1 John 3:5, “And you know that He was manifested to take away our
sins, and in Him there is no sin.”
– 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for
us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
– Matthew 27:3-4, “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been
condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of
silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying
innocent blood.’ And they said, ‘What is that to us? You see to it!’”
– John 18:38, “Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’ And when he had said
this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in
Him at all.’”
– Luke 23:47, “So when the centurion saw what had happened, he
glorified God, saying, ‘Certainly this was a righteous Man!’”

23. Follow, 1 Peter 2:21-22
• Leaving us an example. We should always be following this example that
Christ set for us, living for others, even if it means we may suffer for it. As
is also talked about in James 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when you
fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces
patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking nothing.” In facing suffering as Christ did, we should
react with patience, with calmness, and with the confidence that God is
always in control of our future, and judges righteously.
– Isaiah 53:7-9, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened
not His mouth; He was lead as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep
before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was
taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His
generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the
transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave
with the wicked – but with the rich at His death, because He had done
no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”

24. Follow Conclusion From 1 Peter
1. Model your life after the life of Jesus, even if
you must suffer or die.
2. Love as Jesus loved.
3. Think just as He thought.
4. Live for others.
5. Have confidence that God is always in
control.

25. Decision, Deuteronomy 30:19-20
• Deuteronomy 30:19-20, “I call heaven and earth
as witnesses today against you, that I have set
before you life and death, blessing and cursing;
therefore choose life, that both you and your
descendents may live; that you may love the
Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and
that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and
the length of your days; and that you may dwell
in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers,
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

26. Decision, Deuteronomy 30:19-20
• Moses is speaking here to the Israelites on the plains of Moab, challenging
them to obey God and choose life, and in doing so continuing to receive
His blessings. This summarizes what he has already told the Israelites on
several occasions (Deuteronomy 10:20; 11:22; 13:4; 30:6, 16), to love the
Lord their God with all their hearts and with all their souls. This type of
obedience to God that Moses is speaking of is usually passed down from
generation to generation: “And these words which I command you today
shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and
shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way,
when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on
your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall
write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates”
(Deuteronomy 6:6-9). More often than not it is because of the parents
lovingly, persistently, and prayerfully instilling patterns of belief and
obedience in their children that the things of the Lord become a part of
the maturing child’s life.

27. Decision, Deuteronomy 30:19-20
• The influence of godly parents to their children can be very
profound, as is written in 1 Corinthians 7:14, “For the unbelieving
husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is
sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be
unclean, but now they are holy.” God lets us decide whether or not
to follow Him or reject Him, instead of forcing His will on us. God
does want us, however, to realize that this is a life or death matter,
and wants us to choose life and to choose Him. In our lives we have
to reinforce our commitments daily, to following God in every
situation. Jesus also emphasized the importance of choosing life or
death. Those who believe in Him have the promise of eternal life,
while those who refuse to believe face eternal death (see John 3:1-
36). Every person in existence must face this decision, life or death,
follow Jesus or reject Jesus, which do you choose?

28. Decision Conclusion
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and will all your soul.
2. Share God’s word with everyone you know,
especially your children.
3. Realize this is a life or death decision.
4. Follow Jesus, or reject Jesus. Which do you
choose?

29. Overall Summary, Requirements and Sacrifices
1. Surrender completely to God’s mercy, total
dedication.
2. Deny yourself.
3. Sacrificial service.
4. Abandon your sinful behavior.
5. Abandon things that provide security.
6. Instantly follow Jesus, never to look back.
7. Follow all His laws and teachings, even if you
may not agree with it.

30. Overall Summary, How to Follow
1. Willing to die if in doing so you glorify God.
2. Constantly serving and praising God, living for Christ.
3. Discard own self-satisfactions and own self-
centeredness.
4. Transferring control of our lives to Jesus.
5. Model your life after the life of Jesus, even if you must
suffer or die.
6. Love as Jesus loved.
7. Think just as He thought.
8. Live for others.
9. Have confidence that God is always in control.

31. Overall Summary, Make The Decision
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and will all your soul.
2. Share God’s word with everyone you know,
especially your children.
3. Realize this is a life or death decision.
4. Follow Jesus, or reject Jesus. Which do you
choose?