First of all, let's establish what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. In the Greek language, the word used is Mathētēs, "a learner", from the root word math, indicating "thought accompanied by endeavor". I want you to remember that phrase. I'm going to return to it later. We can apply the following descriptors to Jesus's twelve Disciples in the New Testament. If we look at their example, they were described as "abiding" [staying] in His Word. They believed upon Him and confessed Him. They were not only pupils, but adherents [supporters, defenders, devotees]. And perhaps, most importantly, they were spoken of as imitators of their teacher.
We know of the twelve disciples within His inner circle, but remember that Jesus also appointed and sent out 72 [or 70, depending on which version of the Bible you are reading] to go before Him to spread His teachings that the Kingdom of God was near. We know that by the end of His ministry, only the original twelve [minus Judas] were still with Him. The rest had deserted Him. Many had avowed their allegiance to Him, but only a dozen were willing to pay the cost. He promised long, lonely days on the road, with no place to call home; they had to be willing to leave obligations to family and loved ones if they were to imitate Him. The cost was steep, and self-denial and suffering was to be their lot.
In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me". I want to make sure you understand the seriousness of that statement. When Jesus used the terminology of "taking up one's cross", He didn't mean our twenty-first century interpretation of suffering from some lightweight burden such as a bad relationship with your parents or spouse; a job you hate; high blood pressure, or some other annoying difficulty in your life. To the people He was addressing, "the cross" meant one thing: death by crucifixion. It was the maximum amount of shame, humiliation, and torture that the Roman government could devise. Victims would literally carry the instrument of their own torture and death.
Jesus made it very clear that any one who does not renounce all that he has [family, home, money, reputation, pride] cannot be His disciple [Luke 14:33]. All of that belongs to this world. Among what He offers His true disciples is tribulation, because He suffered tribulation. BUT, He also offers us [perfect] peace in Him. We can expect tribulation, distress, and suffering in this world. But He reminds us that He has overcome the world! Hallelujah! And so shall we if we can remain confidant, undaunted, and filled with the joy of His promise of everlasting life in His Father's Heavenly Kingdom! So, I ask you ... If you call yourself a disciple of Christ, have you counted the cost? Is He worth it?
Let me, once again, share the story of a man who counted the cost and was willing to pay the price. I have returned time and again to the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor during the rise of the Nazi regime in WW2 Germany. He became alarmed as he witnessed the German State Church acquiescing to Hitler's anti-Jewish propaganda, demanding that Jews not be allowed to worship in Christian churches. He increasingly saw the Church compromising the Bible's demands of obedience to Jesus in favor of meeting the requirements of German society and the Third Reich. His spirit was in turmoil as he began to witness the cheapening of the power of the Gospel message, while obedience to the Living Christ was being buried and lost to religious formulas and rituals.
In fact, one of the most defining quotes of Bonhoeffer is in regards to the distinction he makes between "cheap" and "costly" grace. According to Dietrich, "cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate." In today's world, do Western Christians give discipleship any of this thought, at all? Do they contemplate the cost, or even realize that there should be a cost for something so valuable?
Well, we are told by our Savior that it is the lot of a true Disciple! "If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master'. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My Word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of My Name, because they do not know Him who sent Me...".
As I finish up this post, I want to return to that earlier phrase I wrote ... the root of the Greek word for "disciple", meaning "thought accompanied by endeavor". It takes some serious thought on our part to decide to become a disciple of Christ, don't you agree? We must first count the cost, and if we have decided to follow Christ, we must imitate His work and his labor in the harvest of souls. We must be willing to pay the price of death to remain in His service. Are American Christians willing to do that? Or are they counting on getting "Raptured" out of here, with no pain, self-denial, or sacrifice.
Because I will tell you that Christians around the world are in the cross hairs of those who hate our faith and our Savior! In Nigeria alone, between 2019 and 2023, nearly 17,000 Christians have been reported killed; 7,000 victims in just the first seven months of 2025. According to Intersociety, the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (located in Eastern Nigeria), at least 52,250 have been brutally murdered over the past 14 years. This is just the tip of the iceberg. And according to Open Doors' World Watch List, more than 380 million Christians suffer very high or extreme levels of persecution. Christians have been targeted primarily in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; but Mexico, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Columbia are now added to the Watch List. With the increase in political and ethnic rhetoric and violence in our own nation, it's not hard to see that religious persecution could easily be coming to us, as well. Jesus says it will!
But rather than live in fear, let us walk in the truth and strength of our Christian faith. Let us become true Christian disciples, drawing strength from Jesus's promises that He is with us. And we must lean on one another in community, encouraging each other as we face the persecution and trying times together. God has given us His Word as the foundation (and weapon) to face persecution with boldness and courage. Let us pray for our Christian Brothers and Sisters in Nigeria and around the world, and join with them in the Spirit, as they face their trials, even unto death.
1 Peter 2:21 For [as a Believer] you have been called for this purpose, since Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow in His footsteps.
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