The Cost of Following Jesus

Following Jesus costs something. Sometimes it costs everything.

This isn’t a popular message in our comfort-driven culture, but it’s the reality that every believer must eventually face. The question isn’t if faithfulness will cost us something, but rather: Is Jesus worth that cost?

In Acts 5, the early church confronts this question head-on. Fresh off miraculous signs and explosive growth, the apostles find themselves arrested, imprisoned, and eventually flogged for preaching about Jesus. Their response? They rejoiced.

Arrested for Preaching the Gospel

The scene in Acts 5:12-16 shows a thriving church. Signs and wonders are happening. Multitudes are being added daily. People are streaming in from surrounding cities to be healed. Everything looks like success by any metric we’d use today.

But then opposition strikes.

The religious authorities, filled with jealous zeal for their own traditions, arrest the apostles and throw them in jail. This isn’t their first arrest—it’s becoming a pattern. The message of Jesus threatens the status quo, and those in power want it silenced.

Then something remarkable happens: an angel opens the prison doors and delivers a stunning command.

“Go Speak the Whole Message”

The angel doesn’t tell them to escape and hide. He doesn’t suggest they soften their approach or try a different strategy. Instead, he says: “Go stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this life” (Acts 5:20).

The whole message. Not just the comfortable parts. Not just “God loves you.” The complete gospel:

• Christ suffered and died for our sins
• He rose from the dead on the third day
• He ascended to glory at God’s right hand
• Repentance and forgiveness are proclaimed in His name to all nations

This message includes the uncomfortable truths—that we are sinners condemned before a holy God, that Jesus calls us to die to ourselves, that following Him means taking up our cross. The apostles are being told to go back and preach the very message that put them in prison in the first place.

And they obey immediately.

“We Must Obey God Rather Than Men”

When the religious authorities discover the apostles teaching in the temple again, they bring them in for questioning. The high priest’s frustration is palpable: “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching!”

Peter’s response cuts to the heart of every believer’s calling: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

Then, standing before the very council that wants him dead, Peter preaches the whole message again—directly, boldly, without apology. He doesn’t soften the edges or blur the lines. He tells them the truth: they killed the Messiah, God raised Him from the dead, and He now offers repentance and forgiveness.

The Privilege of Suffering

The council’s response? They want to kill the apostles. Only the intervention of Gamaliel, a respected Pharisee, prevents immediate execution. Instead, they settle for a brutal flogging—39 lashes with a three-stranded whip, designed to tear flesh and break spirits.

This was public humiliation. Severe pain. A warning to stop or face worse.

And yet, Acts 5:41 contains one of the most stunning verses in Scripture:

“So they went on their way from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

Rejoicing. Not just enduring. Not gritting their teeth and getting through it. Rejoicing.

They understood something most of us miss: suffering for Christ isn’t a punishment—it’s a privilege. They counted it an honor to be dishonored for Jesus.

What This Means for Us Today

The temptation facing the modern church is to preach a partial gospel. To talk about God’s love without mentioning sin. To promise that Jesus will make life better without mentioning He first calls us to die to ourselves. To stay silent when speaking up would cost us something.

We live in a culture that pressures Christians to keep faith private, personal, and inoffensive. And many of us have internalized that message to the point where we’re silent even when God opens doors for witness.

The reality is this: obedience to God isn’t contingent on the cost being low.

The apostles didn’t say, “We’ll obey you, God, as long as it doesn’t hurt too much.” They said, “We must obey God rather than men.” Period.

Three Challenging Questions

1. Are you proclaiming the whole message, or softening it to make it more palatable?

When we do speak about Jesus, do we include the uncomfortable parts? Do we talk about sin, repentance, and the call to take up our cross? Or do we present a watered-down version that won’t offend?

2. What are you afraid of losing if you’re fully obedient to Christ?

Is it respect at work? Relationships with family? Social standing? Comfort? What fear is keeping you from speaking when God opens the door?

3. Do you see suffering for Christ as a burden or a privilege?

The apostles had their thinking so transformed by the gospel that they could look at their bloody backs and say, “We have been honored today.” That’s a radically different way of thinking—and it only comes when we’re so convinced of the value of Christ that we count everything else as loss.

The Movement That Cannot Be Stopped

Gamaliel’s wisdom to the council proved prophetic: “If this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them” (Acts 5:38-39).

Two thousand years later, the gospel has spread to every continent. The church has endured countless attempts to destroy it. And it’s still here, still growing, still advancing.

Why? Because it’s the work of God. And when God’s people obey His command to proclaim the whole message, God Himself bears witness through His Holy Spirit.

The Call to Faithful Witness

Acts 5:42 shows us the result: “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

They didn’t stop. They didn’t slow down. They didn’t soften the message.

The same Spirit who empowered them empowers us. The same message they proclaimed is ours to proclaim. The same God who vindicated their witness will vindicate ours.

So the question remains: Will we be the generation that softens the message to avoid offense, or the generation that proclaims the whole message regardless of the cost?

The whole message requires whole obedience—and it transforms persecution into privilege.