Following Jesus — No Picnic A Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Following Jesus — No Picnic Keyword: "suffering” Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19 * 16:21. From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 17:22. And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; 17:23. and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day." And they were deeply grieved. 20:17. And as Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, 20: 18. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 20: 19. and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up." Questions 1. The three passages (from Matthew chapters 16, 17, and 20) all describe what event?   2. Why do you think Jesus went out of His way to tell His disciples about His coming crucifixion three times?   3. What does His suffering and death tell you/me about what following Him will entail?   Practical help Jesus made lots of promises to His disciples about the rewards that would come from following Him. He promised joy, fruitfulness, abundance, and more. He also promised that what He experienced, we, His followers, would also experience. From such statements as these that follow, we understand that persecution and suffering will not be the exception, but the norm, for the Christ-following disciple: "It is enough for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the slave as his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! — Matthew 10:25 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. — John 15:20 All of this is to say that many believers who struggle with addictive, sinful urges to various temptations mistakenly think that following Jesus will somehow make life easier. Nothing could be further from the truth. "Suffering for Christ" will sometimes mean taking a bullet for the Lord. And sometimes it will mean enduring an ache to do something that is clearly outside the will of God and saying, "No!" Can you believe that every time you resist the temptation to view porn you are "laying up treasure in Heaven"? It's true! Can you believe that when you live with an unfulfilled desire for the illegitimate — and fleeting and empty — pleasure of porn, you are suffering for Jesus? And can you remember that Jesus said that those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness will be rewarded later? Following Jesus is no picnic. It involves suffering, and part of that suffering involves saying "no" to tempting, off-limit pleasures. Stand firm. God knows how to reward His followers! eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2003 by eXXit *Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. ----