The Way of the Cross:
The Cost of Discipleship: Admirers or Followers?
by Don Bromley

ADMIRERS TO FOLLOWERS

Today doing the fourth in our Lenten series, “The Way of the Cross: How to Win Friends and Influence People.

story: Michael Phelps.  Admire him, but not doing that. Practice, coaches, eating. 5 hours a day, 6 days a week. Not me. I’m an admirer.

But someone out there is a kid watching, saying, “I can do that.” I will do that. Becomes a follower.

That’s the difference between an admirer and a follower.

An admirer is impressed. A follower is devoted. An admirer applauds. A follower surrenders his life. A lot of people admired Martin Luther King. Some marched with him. Not many went to jail with him. Not many got their houses bombed like he did. A lot of people admired Mother Theresa. Not many people followed her to live among the destitute and dying.

It’s the difference between admiring and following.

Last year in our vision series we talked about the difference between a “bounded set” church and a “centered set” church. In a bounded set church there’s a clearly defined boundary (behaviors, beliefs, doctrine); which you were either on the inside of or the outside of. The group is defined by the boundary.

In a “centered set” church, the center is clearly defined and the group is made up of those who are drawn to that center, moving toward that center.

We defined ourselves as a group of people drawn to a common center, which is the Pearl of Great Price, the Treasure Hidden in the Field---Jesus.

In the centered set, the crucial question is which way you’re facing, which way you’re moving.

Think about it a little bit like the orbit of objects around the sun. Crowd, Intrigued, Admirers, Followers. How close are you to the center? Which way are you heading?

But how do we move toward the center, and what does that entail?

How do we move from Admirers to Followers?  It’s been a question from the beginning.

As Jesus healed and preached, he drew large crowds.

The crowds admired Jesus, but while he was teaching, something happened in the hearts of a few of them that went way beyond admiration: their hearts started pounding, minds started racing.

“This is it. This is what I have been longing for my whole life long without even knowing it, without being able to name it. I have to have this. Rather have this than everything else. Pay any price. Give up anything. I’m leaving the crowd, not just an admirer anymore. I’m going to follow this Jesus.”

Jesus knows that his actions, his words, his presence, will have a profound impact on some in the crowd. People become impressed, fascinated, intrigued. But he wants more. And so he regularly presses people to decide whether they will move from being an admirer to being a follower. He’s giving people a choice.

In John 3, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a religious leader, comes. We are told he, “came to Jesus by night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could do these miracles if God were not with them.’” He is an admirer of Jesus. “You must have come from God. Nobody could do what you are doing if God wasn't with you.” But he came to Jesus by night.

Why do you think the text tells us the Pharisee Nicodemus came to Jesus by night? He didn't want to be seen. He didn't want to risk losing his status among the religious leaders of Israel. He was an admirer. Jesus says, “Nicodemus, you must be born again. You must become my follower. You must allow my spirit to remake you. You must publicly identify with me. You are going to have to give up what you want the most.”

And eventually Nicodemus does. When Jesus dies, Nicodemus publicly claims His body, places it in a tomb. He goes from the night into the light to become not just an admirer but a follower of Jesus.

One day, somebody who became known as a rich young ruler came up to Jesus. We are told, “He ran up to Jesus and fell on his knees. ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” He is an admirer of Jesus. He falls on his knees before Him. He calls Him “good teacher.” Jesus says one thing. “Go and sell all your possessions. Radically change your lifestyle. Give away everything you have to bless the poor. Come and follow Me.” This rich young ruler turned and walked away very sad. He was ready to admire Jesus, but following Jesus…that would interfere with his financial life. That is where he drew the line.

It says that Jesus loved this young man.  But—he—let—him—go.  He did not run after him and offer him a 50% deal.  It’s a journey, just give half.  Or start with 10%.

Jesus recognizes that there are crucial turning points in our lives, where we either choose go move toward or away from him. And when we decide not to follow, we stop moving toward him, we stop moving toward that center, we stop following. Jesus always does this with people. “Are you going to follow me or just admire?” (I like to think that the rich young ruler eventually changed his mind.)

Jesus says, “I’ve talked about how to live the Kingdom life. How to be forgiven, how to drink and not be thirsty, eat and not be hungry. How to be blessed. Now if you want this life, here is how you obtain it. Enter in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it, but small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life and only a few find it.”

What is the narrow way? It’s not a doctrine, not a creed, not the Bible, not Christendom, not morality. It is Jesus. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Love Jesus. Surrender to Jesus. Trust Jesus. Abide in Jesus. Devote yourself to Jesus without reservation and holding nothing back.

What is the broad way? It’s the alternate path. It’s a path that admires Jesus from afar, but when the chips are down, when push comes to shove, it’s a path that involves pursuing our own interests, agendas, desires and priorities. It’s a path of calling Jesus “good teacher,” but not being willing to offer up everything, because that’s too risky. And it seems reasonable, but it’s the path that Jesus warns his people is going to lead to their destruction.

Jesus repeatedly paints these vivid pictures with his stories, and every one of them involves a stark contrast designed to force people to choose.

There is a narrow gate or there is a wide gate. No third gate.
There is a narrow road and a broad road. No third road.
There is a good tree and a bad tree. No third tree.
There are true disciples and false disciples. No third category.
House built on the rock, house built on the sand. No third house.
People who do what Jesus says and people who hear and know but not seek to do.

It all comes down to this: Will you be wholly devoted to Jesus from your heart or will you not? Follow or just admire?

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a wonderful thing to be an admirer of Jesus. I think part of what our mission is as a church is to present the Gospel of Jesus in such a way that people become admirers of Jesus. And if we’re doing our job, they will, because Jesus is admirable. If you don’t at least admire Jesus, you can hardly follow him. But Jesus makes it pretty clear that he’s after more than that. It’s fine to be in orbit, but that orbit is either moving in or it’s moving out. So Jesus will continually present you with opportunities to follow, to make a move toward him, no matter how far away you are.

There isn’t just one decision to follow; it’s a lifetime of deciding to follow, with every element of our being. Sometimes we talk about faith in Jesus, or being a disciple, as this one-time decision that we make. We crossed over that line; back when we were 12 years old; said that prayer. Now we’re saved; now we’re followers; now we’re disciples. That’s it. And everyone who hasn’t crossed that line isn’t following, is unsaved. That’s the bounded set mentality. In or out. It’s what Dallas Willard calls bar-code Christianity. When you got save you got a bar-code, which gets scanned when you die.

In reality, it’s a lifetime of following. A lifetime of answering Jesus’ call, “follow me.” As Proverbs says, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” It’s not all at once, a one-time decision, but involves countless steps forward.

[examples: sitting down with people who have been following Jesus for some time; faced with an opportunity to follow, to obey. Money. Family. Friends. Relationships. Addictions.]

For some admirers, the road to discipleship begins with obeying Jesus in one little area of their life. Maybe it’s how they’re spending their money, or what they’re doing with their time, or their bodies. And as they begin to obey that call, Jesus continues to say “follow me.” And soon it involves following Jesus in how we relate to our families, friends, coworkers. It involves following Jesus in our jobs and careers. It involves following Jesus in what we do with our money and our sexuality. Sometimes we choose not to follow. Sometimes we say “no.” [Peter, choosing not to follow Jesus to crucifixion & death] And we stop moving toward Jesus. Sometimes we move away. But Jesus comes back again and gives us another shot. [Peter on the shore]

So, are you a follower of Jesus or just an admirer? Where are you at in that orbit? And what does it mean to follow? How do we get closer?

[illustration: Charles Blondin, tightrope walker. Niagara Falls. 1100 feet across, 160 feet up. 100,000 people gathered to watch. Took pictures. Cooked an omelet. Wheelbarrow. “Do you think I can do it again?” “Do you believe I can do it again?” “Then get in.” One guy, Harry Colcord, knew Blondin, worked with him, saw him do it. He got in. What a ride!]

Jesus teaches the most amazing sermons ever heard. Heals the sick. Raises the dead. Crowds flock to him. Everyone is amazed, but Jesus not interested in just amazing the crowds. Jesus never went to people and said, “admire me.” He only said, “follow me.” He said, “Whoever wants to be My disciple, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Me.”

Jesus is saying, now you’ve heard what I’ve had to say—you agree that nobody has ever taught like this. You get a chill down your spine. You’ve seen me heal and do many wonders. So now I’m asking you, are you ready to follow me? Are you ready to get in the wheelbarrow? Do you trust me?

He doesn’t downplay what following him means. He’s not saying it’s safe, or without risks. Jesus is saying, “Deny yourself and take up your cross.” In other words, your life isn’t to be about you any longer, it’s to be about him. Not about pursuing the satisfaction of every appetite, or of every selfish ambition, of pursuing retribution for wrongs done against us by our enemies, or pursuit of our own agendas and plans.

But instead to follow his agenda: of peacemaking, of forgiveness, of humility and willingness to suffer for the sake of others. To love our enemies, to be generous with what we have, to live humbly. To do so even when it means humiliation, shame, or persecution.

It’s not a call to maximize your potential. To be everything you can be. To be successful. Yes, Jesus offers life to the full, but I think there are a lot of illusions about what that looks like.

[Shane Claiborne, Irresistible Revolution; “Jesus wrecked my life.” (41-42).]

And he wants all of us. Jesus isn’t just asking you to put some of your stuff in the wheelbarrow. Possessions, or your career, or your sexuality, or your relationships, or your free time. He’s asking you to get in, because he wants all of you. You don’t get to keep any of it back. The good, the bad, the ugly. As you are.

It’s not safe, not at all. But Jesus is saying, this is the best way to live. In fact, it’s the only way to live a genuinely human life.

The fundamental question is, do I trust this person? Do I have confidence in this person? Does this person really know what they’re talking about? Are they really who they say they are? Is Jesus really the smartest, wisest person who ever lived? Is he for real?

So many of us who say that we believe Jesus is Lord, that he is in his very being the second person of the Trinity, God in the Flesh… don’t think he’s very smart.  Don’t think he understands the way the world really works. That he’s actually quite foolish and naïve. We don’t even give him the basic respect to believe he really means and believes what he says.

If you’re around Jesus for very long, he’s going to ask you to follow him, to trust him, to believe in him. To get in that wheelbarrow. Make no mistake. He’s not interested in crowds for their own sake. He’s looking for followers.

The question is, have you made the move from admirer to follower? Are you in a permanent orbit, or are you moving toward the center?

There’s a reason people refer to marriage as taking the plunge. It’s a risk. It’s abrupt. Out to in. Are you willing to take the plunge? To jump in?