To Be a “disciple of Jesus”

July 3, 2010, 1:19 pm by dc-agape.

Chapter 10:13-31

Two stories in this section describe what is required to become a member of the Church.  First, everyone must become like children.  Yeap, everyone must be childlike…moldable, naive, and susceptible to authority.  Second, following all the laws is required and giving up everything that might get in the way of following Jesus.  That’s right, get rid of everything that is a link to this world.

The disciples got high and mighty and started sending children away.  We get to see a not so rare moment:  Jesus gets angry.  In fact:

Mark 10:7 When Jesus saw this he was indignant.  He said to them, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Indignant (dictionary.com) means feeling wrath.  Why Jesus feel wrath at his disciples…Jesus did not open their minds until after his resurrection:

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scripture.

So basically Jesus got angry with his disciples because he did not teach them what they need to know.  How “righteous” is that?  It’s his fault that his disciples at in that fashion yet Jesus allows his human emotions to get angry at the wrong people.

But this is the section of the Gospel where we are told that we must be like children to enter the kingdom of God (the Church):

Mark 10:8 I tell you the truth, anyone you will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

To join the church, a person must suspend logic, reason, and wisdom, and relay on a child’s imagination.  That’s right!  To become a Christian one must give up everything that you know.  Well that certainly explains why it is so difficult to communicate logically with many Christians.

The second story is about a rich man who had followed all the Jewish laws.

Mark 10:20-21 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”  Jesus looked at him and loved him.  “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”

Notice that Jesus did not tell him that following the Jewish law was not required!  What Jesus said was that he lacked one thing…giving up everything he owned in the world.  This is not specific to rich people or to Jesus’ life time.  Take a look at what happened when Jesus called his disciples:

Luke 5:11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Like I said, it was not just in Jesus’ time.  Look at the first Church in the Book of Acts:

Acts 2:44-45 All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

No one owned property…is this the first description of Socialism or Communism?  It certainly is not Capitalism!  But it goes further than this read Acts 5:1-11.  This is the story of Ananias and Sapphira.  The Holy Spirit killed two people not just for lying about the amount of money the property was worth (bad enough) but they sold the property to fulfill the requirements of Acts 2:44-45.

So to be a True Christian (or better phrase “disciple of Jesus”) one must be two things: like a child and a socialist.  Being like a child is dangerous because we have seen over and over how the authority of the church leaders has put our children at risk.  Being a socialist is so antithesis to US christians.  Isn’t odd…the very people who should be concerned about other people, like the poor, are united with the Republicans who believe in personal wealth.  Yet, Jesus told people to be “disciples of Jesus” one must be the exact opposite of most of the “Christians” in the US!

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