Luke 9:51-62 * July 4, 2010 * Pentecost 6 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Many make the claim. By the grace of God we are among them. Most of us wouldn’t be here otherwise. But what exactly does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ?

Or let us put it this way. When we sing the words of the hymn, “Let us ever walk with Jesus follow his example pure” or, as we did a moment ago, “Jesus I my cross have taken all to leave and follow you,” what exactly are we pledging or saying or praying?

These are the matters which are taken up in our text for today. By both personal example and spoken declaration Jesus Christ Himself addresses these important issues.

We are continuing in our sermon series from the Gospel of Luke, but it should be noted that from a subject matter point of view we’re entering new territory today. That’s because the entire Gospel of Luke can be divided into three fairly distinct sections.

The first section introduces us to John the Baptist, records for us the birth of Jesus in chapter two, and then tells us of events that took place in the life and ministry of Christ in and around Galilee, the northern part of the Holy Land.

The third section is devoted entirely to the final week of His earthly ministry, Holy Week, and centers on all the things that culminated in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Luke is not alone in doing this. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is, of course, the foundation of the Christian faith, and this is the crescendo message that all the Gospels build up to and end with.

But today we enter into the middle – and longest – section of Luke. Beginning with this text we find Jesus methodically and purposefully making His way to Jerusalem where He will ultimately carry out God’s plan of salvation in our behalf. Within this journey Jesus provides His first followers – and us today – with a course of instruction on

THE WAY OF DISCIPLESHIP

What we learn from this text about the qualities of true discipleship can be reduced to these two statements:

1. It is undeterred like Jesus

2. It is undistracted for Jesus

⁵¹As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. This first verse is crucial to understanding the rest of this text.

Note well the descriptive word “resolutely.” In the original Greek language of the New Testament this literally means “he turned his face toward” Jerusalem. In other words, it denotes determination and an unwillingness to be blown off course.

It is always important for us to understand that Jesus didn’t just have some vague idea of what might happen in Jerusalem; he clearly knew what would happen. In an earlier conversation with his disciples he explained exactly what awaited him there and even laid out the upcoming sequence of events, telling them he would suffer, die and rise again. And while the disciples heard this, they didn’t really grasp either the spiritual enormity or the physical reality of what was about to happen.

It is also important for us to understand that this was not something Jesus was looking forward to. We know Jesus is true God, but he is also true man. As a man he had human emotions, just like us. This becomes clear later on in the Gospel of Luke (12:50) when Jesus, reflecting on what will be, says “I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!”

When difficult times come into our lives or the lives of our loved ones, we sometimes try to find comfort in comparisons. “It could be worse,” we’ll say. And usually that is true; we can find someone who in one way or another is undergoing a harder time than we are.

But this would not be the case with Jesus. What he was about to undergo really couldn’t be worse. Because he bore the weight of the sins of the world on his sacred shoulders and he suffered in his body the worst a godless world could offer.

And he did it all willingly and voluntarily. This was the plan through which a Holy God harmonized both his justice toward sin and his love for sinners. The solution was a cross; but the cross would not be easy.

Nevertheless and with full knowledge of what lay ahead for him Jesus was undeterred in carrying out his saving mission – not for himself, but for us. “By his wounds, we are healed.” Forever and eternally.

The extent of his determination can be seen as our text continues: ⁵²And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; ⁵³but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" ⁵⁵But Jesus turned and rebuked them, ⁵⁶and they went to another village.

The non-Jewish land of Samaria was located between the Jewish region of Galilee in the north and Judea in the south. Without getting into its history or background it’s enough to know there were deep and long-standing ethnic tensions between the Jews and Samaritans. So neither the Samaritans’ dislike of Jesus and the disciples traveling through their region nor the disciples’ dislike of Samaritans is especially noteworthy.

Some have suggested Jesus chose this route to give the disciples a taste of the opposition they would encounter as missionaries. Others see in Jesus’ rebuke of his disciples’ desire for retaliation a general object lesson on being patient with people, just as Jesus is patient with us. Both of these insights may indeed be true.

But perhaps as much as anything we see, once again, the single-mindedness of Jesus. Nothing physically or emotionally was going to deter him. He and his disciples would not be blown off course by the actions of others. This was a time to be committed and resolute.

Such commitment of Jesus toward us is now contrasted to three individual’s commitment toward Him.

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."  ⁵⁸Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."  ⁵⁹He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."  ⁶⁰Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." ⁶¹ Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." ⁶²Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

At first reading, do these words of Jesus seem a bit harsh, maybe unreasonable, even unkind? I’ve heard that sentiment expressed when this incident comes up in Bible class. The answer, of course, is no, with the recognition that Jesus knew what was on the hearts and minds of these individuals far better than we do.

The first man said he was ready to follow Jesus wherever he would go. Certainly sounds sincere enough. But Jesus obviously understood that what this man saw in discipleship was the desire to align himself with a winner. He saw the crowds, the miracles, the reception Jesus was getting and he wanted to be part of it.

Historians tell us the same kind of thing happened in the Civil War. In the early years – when being a soldier was cast in terms of parades and drills and reviews and glory and honor – there was a lot of enthusiasm. But as soldiering became hard work and the war dragged on, the number of deserters and defectors grew.

So this is the bottom line: Life in Christ and life with Christ provides a joy, stability and peace that can be duplicated by nothing else. But, as Jesus said, no servant is greater than his master. There are times when true discipleship will put followers of Jesus on the wrong side of people and issues and decisions and staying strong can bring repercussions. Life will not be all sweetness and light.

People looking at discipleship as some sort of superficial self-aggrandizing “experience” need not apply. That’s what Jesus told this first man.

Jesus also knew what was behind the second man’s request to bury his father. Did he mean his father was still alive and that only after he died – however many years that may be – he’d be ready to follow Jesus? Maybe.

Or was he truly in the middle of the funeral process and Jesus asked him to just up and leave and let this matter be attended to by others so that this man could devote himself to proclaiming the Word? (Actually Matthew’s account of this indicates Jesus and the disciples were about to cross the Sea of Galilee, which means it may have literally been an issue of now-or-never timing.) Again, maybe.

Whatever the circumstances, Jesus knew this man’s heart. And what he saw was a spirit of willingness, but willingness that was trumped by procrastination. In the life of discipleship many things are worthy, but only one thing is preeminent – Jesus Christ. That is what Jesus wanted this man to know.

The third man wanted to say good bye to his family. Once again not a seemingly unreasonable request. Perhaps Jesus knew that for this man it would not be a good idea; that his family would be opposed to his decision and that his present spirit of resolve would be undermined.

So using the illustration of a farmer and a plow, Jesus tells this man to look forward rather than backward. His point: those who plow looking backward cannot make straight furrows. In the same way, Jesus says, true discipleship cannot accommodate a divided heart.

Do we need to hear what Jesus said to these men? I do. I suspect you do as well. So many things vie for our attention. So many things challenge us for our time, our talents and treasures. So often we let the urgent crowd out the important. Too often we want the crown without the cross.

As the counterbalance to such thinking, this is the central message of our text. Jesus says: “As I have been undeterred in the love and devotion which led me to the cross for you, I now ask that you be undistracted in your life of discipleship in and for me. And while that may translate into conflict with the world around you, do not confuse it with sacrifice. Because the true sacrifice has already been made.”

And grateful hearts respond: “Jesus, I my cross have taken all to leave and follow you.” Amen.