Bonhoeffer's the Cost of Discipleship

Greg Ligon

• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Year: 1999
• Print ISBN: 9780805491982
• eBook ISBN: 9780805464863
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Shepherd's Notes- Christian Classics Series is designed to give readers a quick, step by step overview of some of the enduring treasures of the Christian faith. They are designed to be used along side the classic itself- either in individual study or in a study group. The faithful of all generations have found spiritual nourishment in the Scriptures and in the works of Christians of earlier generations. Martin Luther and John Calvin would not have become who they were apart from their reading Augustine. God used the writings of Martin Luther to move John Wesley from a religion of dead works to an experience at Aldersgate in which his "heart was strangely warmed." Shepherd's Notes will give pastors, laypersons, and students access to some of the treasures of Christian faith.

SECTION II: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

“In Christ crucified and in his people the ‘extraordinary’ becomes reality.”

SECTION-AT-A-GLANCE

Matthew 5: Of the “Extraordinariness” of the Christian Life

Chapter 6: The Beatitudes

Chapter 7: The Visible Community

Chapter 8: The Righteousness of Christ

Chapter 9: The Brother

Chapter 10: Woman

Chapter 11: Truthfulness

Chapter 12: Revenge

Chapter 13: The Enemy—the “Extraordinary”

Matthew 6: Of the Hidden Character of the Christian Life

Chapter 14: The Hidden Righteousness

Chapter 15: The Hiddenness of Prayer

Chapter 16: The Hiddenness of the Devout Life

Chapter 17: The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Matthew 7: The Separation of the Disciple Community

Chapter 18: The Disciple and Unbelievers

Chapter 19: The Great Divide

Chapter 20: The Conclusion

CHAPTER 6: THE BEATITUDES

This chapter is devoted to a discussion of the Beatitudes. At the onset, a picture is painted of the scene in which the Beatitudes were presented. Jesus, the crowds, and the disciples are gathered on a mountainside. The crowds see Jesus with the disciples, men who, until the recent call, had themselves been identified with those that made up the crowd. The disciples saw the crowds from whose midst they had come. And Jesus saw the disciples.

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Matthew 5:1-12

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (NKJV).

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Jesus called His disciples “blessed” as He spoke to those who had responded to His call. It is the call itself, said Bonhoeffer, that made them poor, afflicted, and hungry. The disciples were called “blessed” because they obeyed Jesus' call. For this call, and the promise of Jesus, they were ready to suffer even poverty and rejection. This alone justifies the Beatitudes.

The remainder of chapter 6 outlines the Beatitudes with associated brief commentary.

Hardship is the circumstance of the disciples in every area of life. They have no security, no possessions, no spiritual power, no experience or knowledge. They have given up everything for His sake. In this state they are blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:4 means to do without peace and prosperity as the world knows it. Jesus wants us to refuse to be “in tune” with the world or to adapt ourselves to its standards. Believers mourn for the world and its idolatry.

The meek are those that “renounce every right of their own and live for the sake of Jesus Christ.” They resolve to leave their rights and the protection thereof to God, and in turn they shall inherit the earth.

In addition to the renunciation of rights, disciples renounce their own righteousness. As a result, along the path of discipleship, they will become hungry and thirsty—"longing for the forgiveness of all sin, for complete renewal.” They receive, in turn, the gift of complete satisfaction.

The merciful are those that have an “irresistible love for the down-trodden, the sick, the wretched, the wronged....They are glad to incur reproach, for they know that then they are blessed.”

The pure in heart are “those who have surrendered their hearts completely to Jesus that he may reign in them alone....They are wholly absorbed by the contemplation of God.”

Peacemakers are those who “keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others.”

“The world will be offended at them, and so the disciples will be persecuted for righteousness' sake. Not recognition, but rejection, is the reward they get from the world for their message and works.”

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COMMENTARY

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In Section I, “Grace and Discipleship”, Bonhoeffer laid the groundwork for his understanding of discipleship, namely the requirement of “costly grace.” In this middle portion of the text (Section II), “The Sermon on the Mount,” he added further definition to this understanding. The commentary he presented on these well-known chapters of the Gospel of Matthew reveals his belief that “the Sermon on the Mount is there for the purpose of being done.” He made clear that the only appropriate conduct of men before God is the doing of His will and that Matthew 5-7 is a clear picture of what that “doing” involves.

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Beatitudes

For the next month, spend some time each morning reflecting on one of the Beatitudes. Create some journal entries and spend some time in prayer regarding the characteristics articulated in the Beatitudes.

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This second of the three works on discipleship contained in The Cost of Discipleship dispenses with the critical discussions, which have been the focus of other interpreters, and approaches the Sermon as a “concrete expression of discipleship that required ‘doing’ rather than ‘interpreting.’ Thus, in contrast to his times and since, his primary concern was the ‘practical’ rather than the ‘theological’ dimension of the Sermon studies. His exposition so strongly emphasizes the life and conduct of the Christian as set forth in the Sermon by Jesus that he could...be accused of surrendering his Lutheran heritage of sola fide for salvation by works of obedience.”

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Sola Fide

Sola Fide is Latin for salvation by faith alone. “Salvation, according to Lutheran teaching, does not depend on worthiness or merit but is a gift of God's sovereign grace. Lutherans believe that faith, understood as trust in God's steadfast love, is the only appropriate way for human beings to respond to God's saving initiative. Thus, ‘salvation by faith alone’ became the distinctive and controversial slogan of Lutheranism. Opponents claimed that this position failed to do justice to the Christian responsibility to do good works, but Lutherans have replied that faith must be active in love and that good works follow from faith as a good tree produces good fruit.”

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Section II is divided into three parts, each covering a chapter of the Gospel of Matthew contained in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5 is discussed in the first part of Section II entitled “Of the ‘Extraordinariness’ of the Christian Life.” “In Christ crucified and in his people the ‘extraordinary’ becomes reality.” The hallmark of the Christian life is this being “extraordinary.” Chapters 6 through 13 detail what this characteristic of being “extraordinary” involves—including blessedness, a visible life, a “better righteousness,” reconciliation, absolute purity, truthfulness, nonviolence, and a love for enemies.

As portrayed in the diagram, each of these qualities involved in being extraordinary is bound to the Cross. Again, we are pointed to the centrality of the Cross in the life of the disciple.

Chapter 6 speaks of the “blessedness” of the disciples. As Matthew 5 begins, we see Jesus on the mountainside teaching the disciples within view of the crowd. And in this setting, Jesus called his disciples “blessed.”

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Blessed

The true background for the word blessed is found in the Old Testament. It is often used as a translation of a Hebrew word meaning “deeply happy.”

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The word blessed is especially appropriate in this context where it “describes the nearly incomprehensible happiness of those who participate in the kingdom announced by Jesus. Rather than happiness in its mundane sense, it refer...

Table of contents

• Front cover
• Halftitle
• Titles Available
• Fulltitle
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• How to use this book
• Introduction
• Section I: Grace and Discipleship
• Section II: The Sermon on the Mount
• Section III: The Messengers
• Section IV: The Church of Jesus Christ and the Life of Discipleship
• Bibliography