Luke 9:51-62 - Are You Determined to Follow?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
The word determination means firmness of purpose or resolve. Those who are determined are not thrown off by outside influences. They are focused on the task at hand.
Yesterday was Veterans Day. We are appreciative of those who have had the determination and fortitude to fight for our nation in the past and for those who continue to do so in the present. It is imperative that those in the military have determination. They cannot be worried about civilian matters. They must be focused on the battle at hand lest they fail at their task at hand.
Today we are going to see Jesus’s determination to follow the path that God had laid out for Him, and then we will see His call to us to follow God’s path for our lives as well.
The Christian life is a difficult one. While there are abundant spiritual blessings in Christ, there are certainly trials for the follower of Jesus. Although many of today’s megachurch pastors often make following Christ attractive by peddling a false gospel that requires no sacrifice or hardships, Jesus does no such thing in the Scripture.
Join us today as we ask and answer this difficult question to ourselves…
Are you determined to follow?
Read Full Scripture:
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him.
But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
But he turned and rebuked them.
And they went on to another village.
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Prayer
Today we will see three ways that disciples of Jesus must follow Christ with determination. The first is…
I. True Disciples Follow Jesus With Determined Focus (51)
I. True Disciples Follow Jesus With Determined Focus (51)
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
As we have gone through this Gospel, Luke has provided us with information in the first couple of chapters not completely paralleled with the other Gospel writers. Yet for the past few chapters, we have had plenty of accounts of Jesus’ Galilean ministry that had parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark. However, for the next 10 chapters, we will have many accounts that are only seen in Luke. There are, of course, still some interspersed parallels, but much of this information is brought to us by Luke alone.
And this verse is our pivot point in Luke’s Gospel. We now see Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem. The Greek word for set in the phrase ‘set His face’ is stērizō (stare-ee-zo) which means determined, steadfast, or fixed firmly in place. We see Jesus determined to see the will and plan of God come to fruition. Now starts His long journey to the cross. We will have much happen during this journey. Jesus will still do some miracles and teach many parables. But the end of the road is the cross.
So as we continue going through the rest of the book of Luke, remember that Jesus has now moved past His lengthy ministry in Galilee and now is on the road. After being rejected in Nazareth, He chose Capernaum as His new home and ministry hub. But He is now setting out from there and heading out on a long journey to Jerusalem.
We also see here that Luke tells us that the days drew near for him to be taken up. This speaks of the death, resurrection - and even more-so the ascension of Christ.
Acts 1:9-11 tells us of this great ascension that is to come. May we be encouraged by this wonderful event.
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
I love this account of the ascension by Luke in the book of Acts. It reminds us that we can follow Jesus with determined focus because we know what is to come. As the angels told those who witnessed this ascension:
He will come back in the same way He ascended into heaven.
May we find determination and strength through the power of the Holy Spirit as we contemplate such a wonderful truth that has been revealed.
He is coming back again for His Church!
Amen! Let it be so!
Next we see that…
Scripture References: Acts 1:9-11
II. True Disciples Follow Jesus With Determined Faith (52-56)
II. True Disciples Follow Jesus With Determined Faith (52-56)
And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him.
People today read this and might not fully understand the uniqueness of what Jesus is doing. He is sending some messengers to make preparations for Him in a Samaritan village.
This was a big deal because the Samaritans were despised by the Jews and despised the Jews in return. The Samaritans, although monotheistic like the Jews, broke away from the nation of Israel and rejected Jerusalem as the temple. They made their own Bible consisting of a new editing of the Torah - the first five books of the Old Testament - and rejected the rest of the Bible. They also set up a temple on Mount Gerizim because they rejected Jerusalem as the place they were to worship. They also had intermarried with the Assyrians and thus broke God’s command of being holy and set apart.
Because of these great differences, by the time of the New Testament there is a much division and hatred between these two groups.
And it is in this atmosphere that Jesus sends messengers to a Samaritan village.
Now if we look at this map, it practically makes sense for Jesus to travel toward Samaria from Galilee. If you are wanting to go to Jerusalem with the most direct route, you would go directly south and end up there if you went through Samaria.
Yet, because of the hatred between these groups, almost all Jews would go the long way around Samaria.
And we are about to see why in the following verses…
But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.
Interestingly, Jesus is not received by this village because Luke tells us that His face was set toward Jerusalem. Obviously, we know that the Samaritans rejected Jerusalem and thus they ended up rejecting Jesus here. By the way this is written, their rejection is not as much personal toward Jesus as it is the fact that He was going to Jerusalem. Their problem was more with where He was going than with who He was.
Verse 54 shows us that racism is much older than the past few hundred years. The ‘sons of thunder’ as they were affectionately known - James and John - respond with rage.
Do you want us to call down fire from heaven and consume them? It doesn’t take long to see their opinion of this people group!
However, in their defense they had recently come down from the Mount of Transfiguration where Elijah and Moses were meeting with Jesus. If you recall back in 1 Kings 1:1-14, the apostate king Ahaziah sent soldiers to bring Elijah to him. The first two soldiers, accompanied by fifty men each as well, all died after Elijah called down fire from God to consume them.
James and John were ready to replicate this event immediately!
Jesus rebukes James and John after this comment. You see, Jesus had a different plan for these people. Jesus was not done with this group that had rejected Him because of their disdain for Jerusalem. In fact, Jesus was not pleased with Jerusalem at this point as well. In fact, later in our Gospel, in Luke 21:5-6, Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem which came to fruition in AD 70.
Interestingly, we actually see that the Samaritans are some of the first converts to Christianity after the Ascension of Jesus in Acts 8! Who knows if some in this community came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ later!
Don’t be so quick to give up on people. Sometimes, even the most hateful of people are only moments away from being broken and saved by Jesus.
Scripture References: 1 Kings 1:1-14, Luke 21:5-6, Acts 8
III. True Disciples Follow Jesus With Determined Fervor (57-62)
III. True Disciples Follow Jesus With Determined Fervor (57-62)
This last point is broken into three different sub-points. This is because we are given three different men who have reasons that hinder them from following Jesus Christ. Interestingly, we are not told what the final response of each of these men were to Christ’s comments. This is likely intentional because we all must face these hindrances and decide whether or not we are truly determined to follow Christ.
The first determination that we need to confirm is if we are… willing to live selflessly.
… By Being Willing to Live Selflessly (57-58)
… By Being Willing to Live Selflessly (57-58)
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
This first interchange introduces us to someone who actually approaches Jesus. This isn't someone who Jesus had to go and approach. It is actually someone who expresses a desire to follow Him and says that he will follow wherever Jesus goes. Matthew lets us know that this is actually a scribe (Matthew 8:19). You would think at this point Jesus would be excited. You would think that the disciples would be excited. This is the easiest kind of evangelism. This is the kind of evangelism that doesn't happen very often. Someone actually coming up to you and wanting to follow Jesus.
Have you ever had that happen to you? Have you ever had someone come and ask how they can follow Jesus?
Maybe a better question is, do you know how to share the Gospel with someone who would? If not, let me know and I would be happy to train you in evangelism. We will actually be having an evangelistic training in January to go through how to share the Gospel. We also will likely be doing an evangelistic outreach in December and handing things out to our community looking for Gospel opportunities.
Yet we come to verse 58 and Jesus’s response is unique and not what we would expect. You see, Jesus recognizes that this scribe does not understand what it takes to follow Jesus. Scribes of this era would mainly sit under a teacher and learn. They would find their popularity based on the popularity of their teacher. So they would seek to find someone who they thought would help them advance their own career. However, to follow Jesus, there was great sacrifice ahead. Jesus told this man in essence, to count the cost.
John MacArthur, when speaking about this gentleman, states:
“The Lord saw through his professed commitment driven by his desire for comfort and confronted him with reality.”
John MacArthur
Following Jesus requires selflessness. One must be willing to give up pride, selfish ambition, and the praise of the world in order to follow Christ.
Next, we see that true disciples follow Jesus with fervor…
… By Being Willing to Live Sacrificially (59-60)
… By Being Willing to Live Sacrificially (59-60)
To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
In this next interchange we see Jesus doing the calling. Whereas the last guy approached Jesus, now we see Jesus approach this man. He urges the man to follow Him. Yet the man says that he must first go and bury his father. Jesus's response to him appears harsh from the outset as He tells the man to let the dead bury their own dead but as for him, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God. In essence He is telling the man to allow those who are worldly (meaning spiritually dead) to deal with worldly things. The Kingdom of God is at hand. The time is drawing near. And this man must be laser focused on ministry and the road to the cross if he will be able to follow Jesus. Time is of the essence.
Again this seems harsh as taking care of burying a loved one is not a bad thing. This was one of the few times where ceremonial uncleanliness was approved. When touching a dead body, one would be unclean for at least seven days as seen in Numbers 19:11.
Many commentators have differing views of this interchange. It is obvious that the father had not actually died yet though as he would have already been in the process of burying him. Because of ritualistic cleanliness issues, dead bodies were buried the day the loved one passed away - often within hours. So this man's father was possibly ill or getting close to death. It could have been days or weeks or months before the father had passed away. Some commentators even go so far as to say the man’s father may have just been aged and death was not imminent and this man just wanted to stick around until his father died to be sure to get his inheritance. Whatever the case, Jesus urged the man to make a decision now.
So often people will say that they will make a decision to follow Christ in the future. Right now just isn't a good time. Maybe it is a time that they want to have freedom in what they do and make their own decisions. Maybe they what to focus on their own plans and don't want to consider anything else at this time. Maybe they have a lot going on and don't want to deal with anything else right now. Whatever the reason, we are not promised a second chance. We are not promised tomorrow. We must respond to Christ in His time.
The Bible does not assert that God will always be drawing or calling us. We are told that He offers salvation freely to all. But we were told that no one can come to Him unless he is drawn by God (John 6:44).
My friends I pray that this is not you. I pray that you are not putting off following Christ for another day. Today is the day of salvation as the Bible says (2 Corinthians 6:2). Don't let another minute go by without fully following Christ. He requires His followers to be all in. He demands all of us.
Following Jesus requires selflessness and a willingness to sacrifice.
Lastly, we see that true disciples follow Jesus with fervor…
… By Being Willing to Live Single-Mindedly (61-62)
… By Being Willing to Live Single-Mindedly (61-62)
Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Now we come to our final interaction in this section of Scripture. Another man approaches Jesus but asserts that he needs to say farewell to those at his home. Jesus responds by referencing the account of Elisha. Listen to this account in 1 Kings 19:19-21:
So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”
And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
We see in this account a great parallel to Jesus’s response. We are not told in this account if Jesus allowed the man to tell his family goodbye or even if the man actually followed through with following Jesus in the first place.
But we see in the case of Elisha that he did go back and say goodbye to his family. And when he went, we are told that he cut up the yoke and made a fire and sacrificed his oxen and had a feast with his family before leaving his former life behind and accepting his call as a prophet of the Lord.
When he went back, it was not because he had doubts about following God and being a prophet of the Lord. When he went back, it was to completely sever ties with his past so that he could move forward by being completely focused on what the Lord had for him.
By burning the yokes and sacrificing his oxen he was in essence saying, “I am not looking back at my former life.” I am all in. As the old song goes:
I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.
Note here that Jesus isn't saying that we can't tell our family goodbye or that we shouldn't value our families. What He is asserting here is that this man may not be ready to go all in. He is requiring a single-mindness from this man. If he was to follow Jesus, he needed to be focused on the call of Jesus and nothing else. To exemplify this, Jesus brings up plowing in verse 62.
Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
When one would plow in Biblical times, one would need to keep his eyes looking forward fixed on a certain object or location. If they took their eyes off of that object even for a moment, the plowing would be ruined. If one was to look back and take their eyes off of the point of focus, the straight line would also be ruined.
Using this analogy, Jesus encourages this man to be single-mindedly focused on following Him. Just like the last two interchanges, we are not told in this third interchange what this man did. We are not told whether he decided to follow Christ with all of his heart or if he turned and walked away.
Each of these three interchanges show us the hindrances that can so often befall those who are called to follow Christ. We are all offered salvation through Jesus Christ. But there is a cost to following Jesus. Yes, salvation is a free gift of God and not by works so that no man can boast as Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us so clearly. Yes, Jesus Christ paid our penalty on the cross and if we repent (or turn away) from our sins and place our faith and trust in Him, we can be saved.
However, Jesus is clear that there is a cost to following Him. There will be persecution. There will be trials. There will be spiritual warfare. There will be a dying to self that is needed. There will be a sacrificial life that is poured out as a drink offering as Paul states in 2 Timothy 4:6 either literally or at least figuratively. He must become greater and you must become less.
My friends, is there something hindering you from following Christ? Are you determined to follow?
When you think of these excuses given by these three men, is there one or two that stand out to you?
Are you hindered by comfort?
Are you hindered by a worldly duty?
Are you hindered by personal relationships?
All three of these can hinder us from following Christ the way we should.
The first question I asked was regarding comfort. This is an extremely difficult issue for the American church. We live in a world that practically worships comfort. We do everything that we can to try not to struggle or face difficulties.
Do you need to repent that your love of comfort is greater than your love for Christ? This is a form of idolatry friends.
Next, are you hindered by worldly duty?
There are many things we must do on this side of eternity that are Biblical but may take much of our time. Work, caring for children and family, among many others.
Yet there are some things that we are not commanded to do that take up much of our time.
We need to be be sure that we are not being hindered by wordly duties that God has not called us to. Even good things, if not single-mindedly done for Christ, can hinder you from following Christ well.
And finally, are you hindered by personal relationships. Personal relationships are important. We are made to be in community as the body of Christ.
However if God calls us to do something that our family and friends do not approve of, we must follow Christ. Yes, we need to attempt to be peaceful and graceful as much as possible, but our final decision must rest upon Christ and His Word and not the opinion of our family and friends.
We must love Him above anyone on earth.
Church, may we be like Elisha when God calls us. May we be willing to sacrifice the oxen and burn them with the wood from the yoke.
If today you are sensing the call of salvation from Christ - I pray that you repent and follow. I pray that you are willing to lay down your old life and allow it to be burnt up like Elisha’s oxen in order to receive new life in Christ.
If you are sensing a call to a form of ministry - maybe it is preaching or teaching, maybe it is being a deacon or elder, maybe it is being a women’s ministry leader or teacher, maybe it is being a missionary locally or regionally or even internationally, maybe it is being a mother or father, maybe it is a job change, maybe it is starting a new ministry or outreach, maybe it is becoming an evangelist, maybe it is just taking that first step of joining as a member of a local church. Whatever it is that Christ is calling you to do - go all in. Be determined to follow Him.
Scripture References: Matthew 8:19, Numbers 19:11, John 6:44, 2 Corinthians 6:2, 1 Kings 19:19-21, Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Timothy 4:6
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, I pray that you answered these questions truthfully. I pray that you are determined to follow Jesus Christ. I pray that if there are any hindrances in your way, that you prayerfully ask God to remove them from your heart. Ask Him for wisdom on how to handle each and every situation that may come your way. He will guide and direct you.
Church - are you determined to follow?
Prayer