Introduction
Some of you will know an old worship song called I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. Mission Praise (number 272) credits the authorship as Anonymous, surprisingly really, because I thought it was well known that the song originated in the mid-19th Century and was written by a remarkable Indian Christian called Sadhu Sundar Singh.
The lyrics are very simple and repetitious; “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back” and they were taken straight from the lips of a man who laid down his life as a martyr in Assam, in north east India. He had become a believer in Jesus through the ministry of a Welsh missionary and that didn’t go down well with the locals so the man and his family were summoned by the authorities to explain themselves.
The village elders said to him what many believers in Jesus are hearing even today; that becoming a Christian is a serious offence and that if he did not renounce his new faith he would have to die. And it is reported that he looked straight at the village chief and said slowly and deliberately, “I have decided to follow Jesus.”
So they made threats against his wife and two children, trying to scare them into renouncing their faith and isolating him. When the man heard this he said, “Though none go with me, still I will follow Jesus.” So the judge ordered that they must all be killed with bows and arrows. They were lined up, and as they were about to be executed the man sang these words; “The world behind me, the cross before me, no turning back.”
Having witnessed the extraordinary faith and bravery of this man and his family, and their faithfulness to Jesus even in the face of death, the chief who had ordered the execution broke down and said, “Now I too belong to Jesus.” The entire village turned to Christ.
The report of these words at the trial and execution spread and when Sundar Singh heard them he put them to music. I remember singing that little song with joy filling my heart when I was a brand new Christian, not knowing then that they were actually written in blood.
As I said, following Jesus still carries the risk of death in many parts of the world. Just last Saturday in Punjab, a pastor called Sultan Masih was shot dead outside his church by two men on a motorcycle. He leaves a wife and four children. One of his sons said this: “Our father was a courageous man and he was never afraid to die for Jesus. He has put the same zeal in us. Our family will continue to serve God.”
Following Jesus
Not many among us, if any at all, will be required to follow Jesus at such a heavy cost. But every one of us is called to follow Jesus – the world behind us and the cross before us, and even if no one goes with us. No turning back.
Our passage from Mark’s Gospel today is all about following Jesus. At this time, he is gaining in popularity amongst ordinary people – and from further afield as we’ll see. But simultaneously, he is getting flak from the religious leaders. As we saw last week, some of them by this stage are starting to talk about bumping him off. And Jesus knows it. He knows that he is going to have to complete everything he came to do in just three years.
That means his ministry must go from growth by addition to growth by multiplication. Here’s what I mean. If Jesus influences twelve lives, twelve lives are changed. If Jesus invests in twelve lives to each influence twelve lives, 144 lives are changed. This is the multiplication of the kingdom.
At this point, people are following him. In v7 it says “Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.”
But not only are they coming from the local area, the word has spread so wide, that they are swarming from Judea and Jerusalem (120 miles south), and from foreign parts; Idumea (150 miles south west), the regions across the Jordan (east) and around Tyre and Sidon (50 miles north west). People are spending days and days travelling on foot to get near to Jesus.
And so there are major stewarding issues. The crowds are so big, so desperate, that Jesus has to get his fishermen to improvise a kind of floating stage to avoid getting crushed by all these people. (I don’t know why he bothered actually, he could have just stood on the water if he wanted to…)
Still, he is healing many, and he is driving out evil spirits. You’ve got lepers and invalids, and depressives, and arthritics, and barren women, and deaf-mutes and all sorts pushing to the front to see if they can be cured. It is heaving and unruly, and embarrassing and noisy (the evil spirits leave making a right old racket) it’s the original messy church.
Who are all these people? Most of them have probably only got a limited understanding of the true greatness that is among them. Some are looking for evidence to be used against him. Others are no doubt just curious. Is he the real deal? Is he the Son of God?
Still others come wanting healing. We hear it said all the time, “if you’re healthy, that’s the most important thing.” It’s not actually. We all have spiritual needs even more important than health and life.
Some have come because they love him and recognise he is the Messiah and want to follow him, no turning back.
So there are many reasons why these people are there. Today, crowds still come to Jesus. People come to church for the very same reasons as these people came.
Some want to find fault. Others are just curious. Still others just want something for them. Some come to worship. What is the main reason you walked into this building today?
So far in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ strategy has basically been one you could describe as “come and see.” And the crowds do come to see. Something new is happening. They gather to hear him preach because his words have authority, not like the dreary platitudes they’re used to. They flock to see him do miracles which they find amazing, and they see him lift up the needy.
I have found that if the church does what Jesus did, people come. If the church doesn’t what Jesus did, people vote with their feet. Frankly, I don’t blame them.
The Twelve
From the hundreds and hundreds of people who followed Jesus from place to place, he chooses just 12 to be on his team. Why these 12?
Was it because of their great faith? No; in fact, their faith regularly faltered and Jesus was often exasperated by their lack of it.
Did he pick these ones for their training and education? Did Jesus go to Scribes Theological College and say, “OK, I’m recruiting, I want the best, who’s Head Boy? Who’s Pharisee of the Month?” Again, no. Acts 4.13 describes what Jesus went for as simple, “unschooled, ordinary men”.
Were these 12 particularly talented or gifted? Once again, no. No one stood out as having exceptional ability, almost the opposite. For example, none of the five fishermen managed to land a single fish in the Gospels without Jesus having to do a miracle!
They had shown dedication though. They were already following him. They were already serving, already responding to him. Jesus chose leaders who had a track record of commitment. This is really important.
The Jesus way of growing leaders is to look for and discern what God is doing in someone’s life and say, “the Holy Spirit is clearly raising you up and giving you favour and authority; people can see that in you, so we want to formally recognise that.”
There is really only one thing that they all had in common. They were all willing to leave everything and follow Jesus, to obey him as their leader and mentor, no turning back.
Mark gives us two very important details about being on Jesus’ team. In v14 it says “he appointed twelve, that they might (a) be with him and (b) that he might send them out.”
Discipleship is relationship, then leadership. Jesus wanted his team to be learners first, then labourers.
Well, what a team. Some are single. Some are married. Most are northerners but at least one is from down south. Simon the Zealot is an anarchist who hates the government. Matthew has just been working for the government. Some have business expertise (Judas Iscariot for example), some are manual workers, some have political experience.
Some are higher profile than others. In the Gospels and Acts, Peter’s name appears 189 times. John is mentioned 50 times. Philip, 17 and Thomas just 11. Bartholomew is mentioned only once. Some of them, we know nothing about at all except their names. It seems that they probably gravitate to more servant roles behind the scenes.
All Men?
I shouldn’t ignore the obvious fact that they are all men. This naturally raises eyebrows in our diversity-obsessed society.
Shouldn’t Jesus have picked six men and six women, with a quota for those who aren’t sure what they are, plus guaranteed places for ethnic minorities like Samaritans and Romans, not forgetting homosexuals, vegetarians, registered disabled, and other religious groups not forgetting atheists (because you mustn’t discriminate)? All 12 are Jewish men. Why the lack of “inclusivity”?
Did he choose only men for cultural reasons? Probably not. Jesus certainly lived in a very traditional, conformist culture. But where in the Gospels is Jesus ever bothered about cultural sensitivity and political correctness?
Was it perhaps for practical reasons? Again, probably not. We know Jesus had women followers too. Luke 8.2 says women travelled with Jesus in a larger circle of disciples who served alongside him. But none was chosen among the twelve.
Was it for theological reasons? Once again, probably not. Women were the first witnesses of the resurrection and, according to Romans 16, were quite prominent in leadership teams in the early church.
So was it for missiological reasons? Here’s what I mean; I came across some research once which showed that, in our society, when a married woman becomes a Christian, 20% of their husbands subsequently become believers too. But when a married man becomes a Christian, 80% of their wives become believers in turn. Is that why Jesus chose only men as apostles? I’m not convinced.
The answer lies, I think, in what happens to the twelve in the days of the infant church that they are appointed to build.
Peter was crucified upside down at his own request, saying he was not worthy to die the same way Jesus did. James, the brother of John was beheaded. John died in a labour camp.
Philip was stoned and buried with his daughter. Matthew was killed with a spear. Simon was crucified. So was Andrew. Bartholomew is said to have been beaten and beheaded. Thomas was killed in India, we don’t know how.
When the Titanic went down, the decision about who filled the lifeboats and who went down with the ship wasn’t made on alphabetical order or casting lots. Overwhelmingly, the men laid down their lives to save and protect the women and children - not the other way round. No man could, with a clear conscience, climb into a lifeboat and watch a woman drown. It’s just not the way it should be.
For what it’s worth, I believe Jesus appointed twelve men as apostles to lay the foundation of the church principally because that involved living dangerously, suffering greatly, and dying violently. Well, that’s my theory. Whatever the reason, I am not prepared to say Jesus was mistaken, ignorant or restricted by public opinion.
Ending
Every person, one way or another, makes a judgement about Jesus: whether to love him or leave him out of their lives; whether to accept and follow his word or ignore it and go their own way.
And God has fixed a day when he will call to account each of us for the judgement we made about him.
What do you think about Jesus? Have you decided to follow him? No turning back?
I am going to end by telling the story of Stephen Lungu. Steven is the oldest son of a teenage mother from a township in Zimbabwe. She was trapped in a difficult marriage to a man over twenty years older. She dealt with the pain by drinking heavily.
One day, when Stephen was three years old, his mother took him, his brother and baby sister into town. She said she needed the toilet, and left Stephen holding his sister in the busy town square, while his brother played on the ground.
Two hours later she had not returned. She had run away, leaving the three children in the care of an aunt. By the age of eleven, Stephen had run away as well and lived on the streets.
He became bitter towards God. He found his way into a violent gang, called the Black Shadows. When a travelling evangelist came to town to speak to thousands of people about Jesus, Stephen planned a firebomb strike. He carried a bag full of explosives. He wanted to attack the event because of his rage against God.
As he waited for the right moment, a South African evangelist called Shadrach Maloka took to the stage and announced that the Holy Spirit had warned him that many in the audience may die soon without Christ. The Black Shadows panicked and ran, thinking someone had learned about their plan.
But Stephen experienced God’s presence and was captivated by the speaker’s words about God’s grace and peace which drew him into an encounter with Jesus.
He staggered forward to the stage, grabbed hold of the speaker’s feet and began to sob. That evening, he decided to follow Jesus. No turning back.
The next morning he turned himself in at a police station and confessed his crimes. The desk sergeant listened to his story, looked at the long charge sheet and released him.
Stephen now speaks about Jesus to crowds all over Africa. At an event a few years ago, a woman came forward saying she too wanted to follow Jesus. It turned out it was his mother who had abandoned him all those years ago.
· Some of you might need to reconcile with parents or children. You can’t change the past, but Jesus can change the future.
· Will you take a stand for Jesus today?
· Will you decide to follow him?
· Though none go with you, will you still follow?
· Like the twelve, will you commit to be with him?
· To spend time with him? To learn from him?
· Will you go where he sends you?
The world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back.
Let’s stand to pray…
Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 23 July 2017
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