Sermon Tone Analysis

Christian: What Kind of Disciple Are You?

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 20:17-28

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared December 6, 2022)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 20:17.

In this verse of Scripture, Jesus has started His trip to Jerusalem to die on the cross for our sins.

And by the beginning of the next chapter, the Lord will be on the outskirts of the city less than a week before the cross.

*Of course, the cross was on our Savior's mind, and last time we studied vs. 17-19 where God's Word says:

17.

Then Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them,

18. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death,

19. and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.

And the third day He will rise again.''

*As Jesus focused on the cross here, He was speaking to His 12 disciples.

But we must understand that the word "disciple" means "student," "learner," "follower," "imitator."

And in the bigger sense, every Christian, every true believer in Jesus Christ, is also called to be a disciple of the Lord.

(1)

*Yes, we are citizens of Heaven, children of God, friends of God, and much, much more.

But we are also called to be disciples of Jesus Christ.

And the same standards that Jesus gave to the twelve, apply to all of us today.

Please think about this truth as we read Matthew 20:17-28.

MESSAGE:

*I was saved over 47 years ago.

It's hard for me to believe that it's been that long.

But it has!

And I praise the Lord that I was saved by God's grace through faith in the cross of Jesus Christ.

But what about my walk with the Lord?

*Remember that Ephesians 2:8-9 tells all Christians, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

But then vs. 10 goes on to say that "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

*Christians: The question for me and you is: "How's my walk going?

What kind of disciple am I?" This is true whether you have been a Christian for 47 years or 47 days: "What kind of disciple am I?"

*I know I need to be more focused on following the Lord.

I know I need to be a better disciple.

And if you feel the same way, today's Scripture can help us.

1. FIRST: WE MUST STRIVE TO AVOID DISTRACTIONS.

*We must try our best to avoid the many things that can distract our walk with the Lord.

We don't want to be like the Lord's first disciples in vs. 17-21:

17.

Then Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them,

18. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death,

19. and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.

And the third day He will rise again.''

20.

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

21.

And He said to her, "What do you wish?''

She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.''

*There they were, just days before the death of our Lord.

Jesus was focused like a laser on His great mission to die on the cross for our sins.

He knew full-well the agony that was racing toward Him.

Jesus also saw the glory of His resurrection on the other side.

And nothing could have gotten in the way of Jesus making that great sacrifice for us.

Nothing could have kept Him away from the cross.

*Jesus was focused like a laser, but His twelve disciples were not.

Mark 10:32 tells us that "they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.

And as they followed they were afraid.

Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him."

*The disciples were amazed and afraid of what was coming.

But at the same time, they were still jockeying for first position in the kingdom of God.

When it came to Heaven, everybody wanted to get the best seats in the house.

*I usually just think about the 12 disciples following Jesus.

But there were many more people in the group who followed Jesus up the road to Jerusalem.

Matthew 27 gives us his report of the cross, and vs. 55-56 tell us that "many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons."

*Zebedee's sons were the Apostles James and his brother John, and their mother Salome was on the road with them here in Matthew 20.

That's who went to Jesus with the request about her sons.

And again in vs. 21 she said, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.''

*On one hand, we can't blame this mother or her sons for their request.

There are some good things we can say about it.

They wanted to be as close to Jesus as possible for all eternity, and nothing could be better than that.

John Phillips also pointed out that strong faith in Jesus was behind their request.

They still strongly believed that Jesus was the Messiah, their promised King!

And that He was surely going to set up His kingdom.

(2)

*But the request was untimely to say the least, sort of like trying to divide up the estate at the funeral, or even in the hospital room of a dying man.

Jesus was focused on what He was about to give: His life on the cross for our sins!

The Apostles were still focused on what they wanted to get.

*Jesus was focused on His cross, and that's where His disciples needed to focus too.

On top of that, Jesus explained that their request wasn't His call.

As the Lord said in vs. 23, "To sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.''

*The bottom line here is that the disciples were distracted from the cause of Christ.

Do you ever get distracted?

Oh yes, -- we do.

I get distracted sometimes when I drive, and that drives my wife Mary crazy.

She can't understand why I like to see what's going on out the side window.

Thankfully, I haven't had a wreck because of my distractions.

But a lot of people do.

*And there are a lot of things to distract us when we are going down the road: Cell phones, texting, fiddling with the radio, fussing kids, eating.

Some people read or write notes behind the wheel.

Some people comb their hair.

And I have seen a few ladies putting on their make-up as they went down the road.

*One Triple A study found that 70% of drivers got distracted by something inside or outside the vehicle.

And it can be serious, because 25% of all traffic crashes are caused by distractions.

*Driving distractions can be very serious, but spiritual distractions can be much more serious.

Many times we are in danger of letting the good things in our lives take the place of the best things in our lives.

*Talking about the work God has called all of us to do, Pastor Jim Wilson once said, "Any distraction that averts our attention from our mission will have catastrophic results."

That's why Hebrews 12:1-2 says this in the NIV: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (3)

2. HOW CAN WE BE BETTER DISCIPLES?

STRIVE TO AVOID DISTRACTIONS.

BUT ALSO ACCEPT THE DIFFICULTIES OF FOLLOWING JESUS.

*We must try our best to understand and accept the difficulties of following Jesus Christ.

This was the Lord's goal when He responded to the mother's request.

In vs. 22-23, Jesus spoke to James and John and said: