The passage is one that begins with us as we are, reveals the sin in us and then it brings us the solution - the hope - what life could look like.

We’ve got to that part of the Gospel where Jesus is intentionally preparing the disciples, in order for them to carry on after he has gone. But for this to happen - there are few significant issues that need to be dealt with.

If we are honest with ourselves - we have to acknowledge that we ourselves have similar problems…so what are they?

Being self-absorbed

They had been arguing about who was the greatest amongst them. They were following Jesus, they had hung around with Him, they’d figured out who He was. They had started to see themselves in an elevated position as a consequence of their relationship with Him. Many of us are self-absorbed.

Judging Others based on our own insecurities

This may look wise at first glance. It’s possible that this exorcist hadn’t been with Jesus, didn’t know Jesus, and wasn’t a Christ-follower - not like them, at least. They weren’t one of them. The real issue is revealed - he was not part of the gang, he didn’t have that special status that the disciples had. The irony, of course, was that the disciples had just failed to cast a demon out of a boy a few short verses ago, and here is this man, who wasn’t one of them, casting out demons successfully. And the disciples weren’t happy about this and their insecurity was shown.

The overriding characteristic of Jesus' desires for His church is love. But are we any good at doing it? We are really good at naming other groups that claim to follow Jesus and we can even identify what is wrong with them. We can sound good and noble. But is it just a cover for our own insecurity?

This isn’t just about churches but can apply to us as individuals - especially when people are threats to our identity.

Not Taking Sin Seriously

The other issue we see here is that they didn’t take sin seriously. There is a lot of over-the-top-language that is being used. You wouldn’t really expect to hear this from Jesus. We do know that it is not meant to be taken literally. Scripture, for example, forbids self-mutilation.

The language is here to expose the severity of sin. Jesus was making it clear that no sin is worth going to hell for. It’s far better to deal with sin at the root cause rather than head down the path of self-destruction.

As people, we tend to minimise the effects of sin. Sin will always cost you more than you are willing to pay. We think it’s not a big deal, and take the necessary steps to irradiate sin in our lives, yet if there is one thing that is clear from this Scripture - dealing with it is more important even than the things that are indispensable.

Let’s not tolerate the things that can destroy us, and that destroys others.

What's underneath it all?

Let’s look at what is underneath all the sins that this passage has identified. Jesus isn’t dealing with a shopping list of sins - but rather one thing that is under all of them…

… a failure to understand that we serve a Saviour, who went to the cross, and invites us to follow Him, and suffer.

One of the largest theological blindspots that the western church has at the moment is a balanced view of suffering.

We have lots of teaching on how to avoid sin and get free from it. There is counseling. There is therapy. But we don’t really through resources into the theology of suffering.

We should expect suffering as followers of Jesus Christ. Suffering is actually one of the key things we need to grow as healthy Christians.

Maybe the disciples had to deal with all of these things because they hadn’t yet grasped what Jesus was going to do. They thought that Jesus was going to come as a victorious conqueror. They had no category for a Messiah that would suffer and be killed.

When you are marching to a cross…you stop pushing to get to the front of the line.

This was their undying issue…they hadn’t grasped the cross. When you are marching to a cross…you stop pushing to get to the front of the line.

It’s when we understand the cross, and enjoy the benefits of it by living as a sacrifice to him that we see freedom in these areas.

This really works itself out in our relationships. The understanding of cross shapes our lives and how we live in community because when we understand how Christ has welcomed us, then we will be ready to welcome others as well.

Jesus calls each of us to live our lives in the shadow of the cross; a life of humility and a life of service. We could say that there is so much wrong with us. We could have a shopping list. But we will never really deal with them until we deal with the underlying issue of coming to the cross.

Don’t settle for anything less when God has an amazing plan and purpose for your life - in Him.

It’s when we understand the cross and enjoy the benefits of it by living as a sacrifice to him that we see freedom in these areas.

This really works itself out in our relationships. The understanding of cross shapes our lives and how we live in community because when we understand how Christ has welcomed us, then we will be ready to welcome others as well.

Jesus calls each of us to live our lives in the shadow of the cross; a life of humility and a life of service. We could say that there is so much wrong with us. We could have a shopping list. But we will never really deal with them until we deal with the underlying issue of coming to the cross.

Don’t settle for anything less when God has an amazing plan and purpose for your life - in Him.