Deciding for Christ
Matthew 10:17–42
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39

The last verses of Jesus’s discourse (vv. 17–42) focus on a person’s relationship with Jesus in two ways. First, they focus on the disciple himself and whether he remains true to Jesus or not. Second, they focus on people who receive or reject his followers.

Jesus says that a person who would be his disciple must value him more than:

• A favorable judgment by this world’s rulers: “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (vv. 32–33).
• The love of one’s own family: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (v. 37).
• Even life itself: “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (vv. 38–39). There is no higher demand or more exalted calling.

The point of all these verses is the necessity of deciding for Christ and remaining faithful to Christ until the end. We cannot drift along and expect that everything will turn out all right. To fail to decide for Christ and live for Christ is to be against him. It is to perish.

What extraordinary teachings these are! They show Jesus’s amazing selfunderstanding, for who but a man who knew himself to be God could make such statements? If Jesus is not God come in the flesh, this is either an example of an incredible insanity or else a hideous attempt to deceive other persons. Which is it? If Jesus was insane, ignore him. It is the only rational thing to do. If he was attempting to deceive other people, expose him. Fight his lies for the sake of those who might be taken in and harmed by them. On the other hand, if Jesus is who he claimed to be—if he is the true Son of God—then Jesus speaks the words of God and must be both believed and obeyed. If Jesus is the Son of God, these are the most important words you will ever hear since your eternal destiny hangs on your acceptance or rejection of them.

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.