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Following Jesus – Ready To DIE! (Sermon Audio)

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This is the audio from the September 7, 2025 sermon, “Following Jesus: Ready To Die!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Matthew 27:27-66

 

“But Peter declared, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’  And all the other disciples said the same.” 
Matthew 26:35 (NIV)

As one called by Jesus to “Come, follow me”, Matthew gives us great teaching on what it looks like to live a life which follows Jesus.  The death we are called to as Christians is not a physical death, but rather a death to self so that we may truly live in Christ as He lives in us.  As we look at the crucifixion of Jesus, we find for our self a time to . . .

  • Declare:  Matthew 27:37-46

    • Being ready to die begins with a declaration of separation.  Sin brings separation, and it was our sin which separated Jesus from His Father to such an extent that He declares a forsaking which had never taken place before.  When we choose to die to self, we must declare a forsaking of our sin in a way which completely separates us from it. 

  • Invite:  Matthew 27:50-53

    • Jesus was ready to die because He knew doing so would fully open the invitation to His kingdom for all to enter.  When the temple veil was torn in two, that which had been off limits to the average person became open to all.  When we choose to die to self, we allow the curtain which surrounds our life to be torn open as we invite the presence of God’s Spirit to dwell within.  In so doing, we also remove the barrier between us and others as we invite them to know of the goodness of God through us.

  • Embrace:  Matthew 27:54-61

    • It was the manner in which Jesus lived and died which brought with it the embrace of an unlikely collection of people.  From the soldier who verbally embraces the deity of Jesus to the women who embraced a position of caring for Him to Joseph who embraced the task of providing a place for the body, we find people who chose to embrace the One they knew as Jesus.  When we choose to die to self, we discover an embrace that flows from Christ to us and from us to those around us and from those around us back to us.

 

Today, how will you be ready to DIE?