A chicken and a pig were walking down the street one day and noticed some poor children who looked as if they hadn’t eaten anything for days. Moved with compassion, the chicken said to the pig, “I have an idea! Let’s give those children a nice breakfast of ham and eggs.” The pig thought about the chicken’s suggestion and said, “That’s good for you, since it would only be a small sacrifice, but for me it would involve total commitment.”
Today it seems that to be a Christian is relatively common. It seems that all it means is that you go to church and claim to believe in God and that Jesus died on the cross. It’s a lot like this chicken here. But at the time of Jesus, when Jesus called someone to follow him, it meant a lot more than what it means today. It involved total commitment.
This morning as we look at this brief conversation of Jesus with this man, we discover what Jesus means when he says follow me. Following Jesus is more than a small sacrifice, it’s a total commitment.
1. A follower of Jesus is called
In first century Israel, a disciple would always find the teacher and ask him if he could be his student. It would be like applying for a college. Paul did this as a young man and was accepted to study under the great Jewish Rabbi Gamaliel.
And so we find in our story this morning a similar man seeking to follow Jesus. He’s putting in his application by saying “Teacher, I will follow you…”
But Jesus is not like the rest of the Jewish Rabbis. He acts contrary to popular thinking. Every one of his disciples he calls himself. They don’t seek him out.
And so that is with every one of his disciples – his followers. It says in Isaiah 49:1 “The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.” God has the policy: Don’t call me, I’ll call you. The very fact that you trust in Jesus in faith and worship him as your Lord is not of your own doing, it is in answer to the call of Jesus on your life. He found you as the lost sheep. He brought you to himself and you became his disciple.
And yet here in this account, we find a man approaching Jesus and asking if he can be his disciple. In his mind, he was worthy. He was an expert in the Scripture. He was ready. And yet Jesus knew better. It’s not those who are ready and have prepared themselves for Jesus who can follow him. It’s those who have been broken and realize that they are unable to follow Him. Like simple fishermen, like a tax collector, like a prostitute. They KNOW they can’t follow Jesus but Jesus calls Peter, he calls Mathew, he calls Mary Magdalene. Are you in that category?
2. A follower is NOT at home in this world
Let’s take a closer look at this man who Jesus talks to - this “wanna be” follower.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, he is called a scribe. A scribe was someone who was an expert on the Word of God. His profession was to interpret the Old Testament and the teachings of the ancient Rabbis. Many scribes were also Pharisees who were the enemies of Jesus. But this man is different. He isn’t an enemy of Jesus but wants to follow him and be his disciple.
This is wonderful and we must admire this man for taking a stand in the midst of all his colleagues who were Jesus’ enemies. We have no reason to think that he doesn’t mean what he says: “I’ll follow you wherever you go!” To be a disciple was a major commitment and he knew that. But Jesus’ response reveals that this man didn’t realize how much he had to give up to follow the Lord.
Foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests. Actually the word here is not nest but roost. It referred to a permanent home and not just a temporary nest. But the Son of Man, Jesus, has no such permanent home.
His home is not Nazareth where he grew up. His home is not Capernaum where he spent most of time of ministry. His home is not Jerusalem where the Temple stood. His home is not on this earth, whereas the foxes and the birds ARE at home here.
Let’s go back to the man who wants with all of his heart to follow Jesus. What is Jesus telling this man who wants to follow him? If you want to follow me, you can’t be like the fox and the bird. You have to give up your connection to this world. You have to let go of your clinging to the things of this world and cling to me!
In the parable of the soils, Jesus talks about how his word is like seed and the soil is like our hearts which receive his word. Some seed falls on thorns. (Matt. 13:22) “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” This world is like a magnet to us. We are drawn to it and all that it offers – wealth, fame, power. We want all that for ourselves because that is the way we are born. We naturally want what this world has to offer us. That’s why we are so tempted by them.
It’s like this man (see drawing) who thinks he’s a sailor because he has sails. But he never sails. Why? Because his roots are deep in this world. He can’t let go!
But Jesus comes along and says: “If you want to be a part of my kingdom, you have to give up this world. Confess that way as sin. And confess ME as your Lord. You cannot live in both worlds! You can’t be a fox and a follower.” This scribe wasn’t ready to give that much up. He wasn’t ready to be a follower. Are you?
3. A follower is always free to follow Jesus
“but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Is Jesus complaining? I’ve often read this verse and felt sorry for Jesus. He’s homeless wandering from place to place. People are always around him, asking him for help. He never has any rest. If only he had a home like a fox or a bird.
This morning let’s look at this as Jesus great statement of JOY and of freedom. It’s as if Jesus is saying: “I’m not tied down to any place. I am freed by my Father to travel wherever and do whatever he calls me to do. I’ve cut my permanent ties to Nazareth or any other place. I follow the lead of my Father because my home is with Him and not of this world.”
Canadian Pastor Mark Buchanan in his book Your Church is Too Safe points out the radical difference between a traveler and a tourist. “A traveler literally means ‘one who travails.’ He labors, he suffers, endures. A traveler – travailer - …immerses himself in a culture, learns the language and customs, lives with the locals, imitates the dress, eats what’s set before him. …He is gone a long time. If ever he returns, he returns ever altered.”
“Tourist means literally, ‘one who goes in circles.’ He’s just taking an exotic detour home. He’s only passing through, sampling wares, acquiring souvenirs. He tastes more than eats what’s put before him. He retreats each night to what’s safe and familiar. He picks up a word here, a phrase there, but the language, and the world it’s embedded in, remain opaque and cryptic, and vaguely menacing. …He returns to where he comes from with an album of photos, a few mementos, a cheap hat. He’s happy to be back. He declares there’s no place like home.”
Which was Jesus? Was he a traveler or a tourist? When Jesus says that he has no place to lay his head, it’s more than just not having a bed and being a vagabond. Jesus is saying that he’s not tied down to one particular place. He is free to travel when and where his Father tells him to go. He’s a traveler.
My friend Steve is a traveler. Last year he was in India for several weeks. Refusing to be a tourist, he slept in the same places as the Indians. He ate the same food and drank the same water as the Indians. He traveled by bike from village to village. And he had an open door into the heart of those precious people as he shared the gospel. They told him: “You’re not like other Americans.” No he isn’t. He’s a traveler.
I’m not trying to say this morning that tourism is wrong and we should all be travelers. Not all of us are able to live this kind of life and we’re not necessarily called to do that. I’ve lived in Europe many years and countless times been a tourist to different countries and cities.
But let’s transfer this idea to our calling as Christians. Does being a follower of Christ mean that we are following Jesus as a tourist or following him as a traveler and what does that mean?
Tourism is safe. We arrange ahead of time where to stay and have everything more or less planned. We have a certain budget and travel is pre-arranged. We buy our plane ticket, rent a car, set sail on a ship and have a wonderful time.
And isn’t that what we as Christians often like to do? We want everything safe and tidy and neat. We want to be completely under control. We want everything to fit nicely and work out perfectly. We want a peaceful and perfect existence.
But if we as followers of Jesus are Christian travelers, when Jesus calls us, we’re on a wild ride of a trip and we don’t know where he will take us. For one thing, it’s not just a journey, it’s a battle. The enemy is everywhere around us and it gets messy. If we follow Jesus, we will find ourselves in spiritual battles.
When Jesus called his disciples – Matthew for example – and said “Follow me” – he didn’t give Matthew a brochure and a tour itinerary of their three years. He called him and Matthew was completely in the dark. Matthew had to cut ties to his job, to his home, to his relatives, and simply follow wherever Jesus led.
And that was RISKY. It wasn’t safe. He didn’t know that he would end up in Jerusalem with his leader arrested. He didn’t know that he also would end up getting killed for his faith. But he also didn’t know of the thousands that would become saved through the disciple’s ministry. He didn’t know that he would be healing the sick and raising the dead.
What is taking a risk like that called? Faith. Dropping your life into the hands of the Lord takes a huge amount of trust. Jesus says to each of you: will you trust your life into my hands and follow me?
Now here is where the rubber hits the road. Do you want to be a follower or just a believer? The safe way is to believe in Jesus and occasionally go out and do some Christian tourism. The safe way is to believe that Jesus died and rose again for your sins and keep your roots at home in the world.
But the Lord has much greater plans for every one of you.
He calls to you: “come follow me.”
He calls to you to cut your ties to this earth – let go of your possessions, your earthly goals and ambitions. Let them all go and give it all up to the Father.
He calls to you to take a wild leap in the dark after Jesus not knowing where he will take you and what he will have you do. Follow him without any inhibitions. Why? Because he IS trustworthy and he has GREAT PLANS. There will be suffering involved. There will be sacrifices. But there will be greater fruit than you can possibly imagine.
Let’s not stay in our foxholes. After all, we’re not foxes – we’re disciples! Let’s head out where the Lord calls!
