Being a Christian is not something that many people are going to want.  That might sound odd, but that is what we learn when we listen to Jesus and some of His closest followers.  In Matt. 7:13, Jesus said that most people would not enter the narrow gate that leads to eternal life(which would necessitate following Him as His disciple).  Instead, most people would choose the easier path(the broad way) and the wider gate, which leads to destruction(eternal).  And many of Jesus’ teaching were perceived, by His closest disciples, as difficult to understand or follow.  Let’s look at a few.

Marriage

In Matt. 18:3-9, Jesus told people that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman, unless that divorce was for sexual immorality, that person would be committing adultery.  Jesus’ own disciples responded in verse 10 by saying that based on what Jesus said, it sounded like it was just better not to even get married in the first place.  Jesus’ response in verse 11 was that not everyone could accept His teaching about marriage.  There should be little surprise that Jesus was right.  In our current culture, the divorce rate is about 50%, with 41% of first marriages ending in divorce.  The percentage of marriages ending in divorce increases as the number of times a person has been married increases.

Wealth

You might not think that wealth would affect one’s decision to follow Jesus, but it can.  In Prov. 30:8-9, the writer asks God that He not allow the writer to become too rich, or he might disown God, or allow the writer to become too poor, and the writer might turn to theft and dishonor the name of the Lord.  Having too much wealth can be a bad thing; and having too little can also be a bad thing.  Instead, the writer simply asks that he would have enough to eat for that day, a sentiment echoed by Jesus in the sermon on the mount(Matt. 6:11). 

Only having enough to eat today and not knowing what we will eat tomorrow probably sounds like a scary thought to many in the US, but both the writer of the proverb and Jesus are trying to stress the importance of our dependence upon God.  If we have too much, we start to feel self-sufficient, not needing God.  In doing so, we can turn away from God even though we might feel that we are still worshipping Him.

Spiritual Vs. Physical

Jesus’ closest followers thought that He was going to restore the physical kingdom of Israel both before and after His death, burial and resurrection(Acts 1:6).  Israel had been a powerful nation under kings David and Solomon(over 900 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem).  The people looked for a restored kingdom.  But when Jesus came to this world, He was going to usher in a kingdom WAY better than the kingdom of Israel had ever been, even during the peak of its power under David and Solomon.  Jesus’ kingdom was going to be a kingdom not made with hands(Dan. 2:44), meaning it would be spiritual, not physical.  Jesus would be the only king of His kingdom, and He would be the greatest of all kings ever(Rev. 19:16).  His kingdom would be eternal(no end to it ever) and His followers would live forever(i.e. have eternal life - John 20:30; Matt. 19:29).  Too many people focus on the “here and now,” looking only or predominantly to the physical.

Conclusion

For this and other reasons, many people do not want to be followers(i.e. disciples) of Jesus.  Many will claim to be His followers, but they will not follow Him.  Instead, they will cherry-pick those things about Jesus that are appealing(e.g. love others) and ignore those things that are displeasing or unpleasant(e.g. sacrifice of self).  All of this can be very discouraging when we look out at the world and see so many people who need to be saved.  Many think they are, but are not.  Others do not think about it or even want to think about.  But some do think about it.  Some care.  We just need to find them.  At the same time, we need to be careful not to assume we know how others will respond to Jesus.  In the first century, many of the people who followed Jesus were the last people you would think of, while many who were viewed as very religious turned their backs on Him.  We just never know who will listen, so we have to keep sharing[Him].