Ashamed of Jesus?
Daily Reading: Genesis 36, Psalm 36, Mark 8, Proverbs 5
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38
Jesus wasn’t subtle.
Throughout his time here on earth there was never an attempt to sugarcoat his message, sand down the edges to make it easier to accept, or water it down in the hopes of broader appeal.
When Jesus addressed the crowd in Mark 8 today, he didn’t say, “Listen, I know it is difficult to follow me and to be open with your faith. I understand that there will be some circumstances where it will be ok for people to know you are one of my followers, and some situations where you will need to keep it to yourself. Just do your best navigating these complex situations.”
Jesus said:
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Oof.
I have never been ashamed of Jesus and his words.
However, if I am being honest, over the last several years there have been lots of times where I have been ashamed of being associated with “Christianity”.
I know I am not alone.
There are a large number of people in today’s world that claim to be Christian, and yet in their words and actions have done some truly terrible things on the most public of stages. This is true of politicians, prominent figures in the media, business tycoons, influencers, pastors, and more.
We have also seen an overwhelming amount Christians defending words and actions that are indefensible and completely counter to everything Jesus stood for during his time on earth.
As a result, for a lot of people that do not yet have a relationship with God, they can begin to think, “That is Christianity.”
And for followers of Jesus that are appalled by what they are seeing, it can be easy to be ashamed. We can quickly decide that is not something we want to be associated with.
Jesus warned us back in Matthew 7:15-20:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Our world is full of ferocious wolves. Jesus told us that wee can recognize them quickly by their fruit if we guard our hearts and stay focused on God’s word.
When we see flocks of Christians following these false prophets like sheep to the slaughter, it can be natural to want to distance ourselves from “Christianity”.
Here is the thing, we don’t worship other Christians.
We don’t serve influencers and media members who claim to be Christian to grow their own personal brand.
Politicians who claim Jesus when it is convenient, but their fruit would suggest otherwise, are not our salvation.
Our hope is not in “Christians”.
Our hope is in Christ.
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
Jesus never promised that continuing to follow him would always be easy. In fact, he told us multiple times to expect quite the opposite.
We still need to be willing to take up our cross.
The world needs followers of Jesus who are willing to be seen, who are unashamed of the gospel, and who are willing to say, “The words and actions you see from some of these wolves in sheep’s clothing don’t represent me, and certainly don’t reflect the message of the gospel.”
There are millions of people all over the world that need to hear the good news of Christ. We all have people in our own sphere of influence that we can have a positive impact on.
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
We can be ashamed of the words and actions we see in other people, who claim to be Christian.
We can never be ashamed of Jesus.
Send us out to the harvest Lord.
Daily Reflection & Dialogue
In which area of life do you feel least comfortable being open with your faith?
