Serving the Lord is a great privilege, yet also a great responsibility. It can be easy after or even during a long season of service to start to feel weary or even resentful. Yet in our text today, John reveals where both our strength and motivation for service come from.

The sacrifice that each of us might be asked to give in our service for God will be different, it will be personal. Cost and sacrifice are something we feel. For Abraham, the most precious thing to him was his son, a child he had waited years for, long promised by the Lord Himself (Gen. 15:4).

Luke chapter 18 reveals an encounter between Jesus and a wealthy young man. Like many biblical stories, various emphases have been placed on this interaction, ranging from the barrier of wealth to spiritual matters, through to consideration and care for the poor. 

The act of following Christ is exercised through obedience. This is demonstrated in a familiar, yet often misinterpreted parable that Jesus told about the wise and foolish builders. Within this parable in Matthew chapter 7 (also found in Luke 6:46–49), Jesus speaks of two men, one who built his house upon sand, the other on the rock.

When the apostle Paul preached the gospel within the Galatian church, there were some who were concerned that Paul was preaching a ‘new gospel’. This caused some to criticise Paul and to slide back into their old, legalistic, religious ways.

God’s call to discipleship is not a New Testament phenomenon. God has always called a people to Himself, yet not simply to personally follow, but to participate in His redemptive kingdom plan for humanity.

A hidden danger of discipleship is that as someone who disciples others, we can think we are the ones that should have all the answers or, as someone being discipled, we can look to the person helping or spiritually guiding us to give us the answers. 

In our reading today, we see Jesus inviting Peter, James and John into His ‘come and be with me’ space. As the fulfilment of the law and the prophets, Moses and Elijah appeared alongside Jesus, where Jesus was suddenly transformed so that ‘his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning’ (v29).

Beyond Jesus’ ministry to the crowds, there were those who were called to ‘come and follow’. Some were directly called, like Simon and Andrew (Mark 1:17), others sought Jesus out, like Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–10). This group of people represent those whose interest and enquiries move beyond general interest.

At the beginning of His ministry the Gospels tell us that Jesus began to teach, ‘proclaiming the good news of the kingdom’ (v23). In addition, in line with Old Testament prophecies about the signs of the incoming kingdom reign of God (Isa. 58:6; 61:1–2), people were being healed from various diseases, pain and demon-possession (v24).