The Discipleship Test Jan. 29, 2014 Luke 9.51-62
Luke 9:51-62 (NASB) 51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"55 But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 6 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."] And they went on to another village. 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." 59 And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." 61 Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." 62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
ETS: Jesus stressed the necessity of total commitment in being an effective follow of His.
ESS: Following Jesus is the absolutely most important priority in the life of a Christian.
PQ: What do you think Jesus would say about how well you’re following Him?
OBJ: I hope you will decide to follow after Christ regardless of the personal cost.
UW: Questions
TS: Let’s look at 3 tough questions that test the depths of discipleship.
aa I What’s in it for me?
bb II Can I follow You later?
cc III Do I really have to put You first, Jesus?
I What’s in it for me?
Luke 9:57 (NASB) 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go."
A Matthews gospel tells us this man was a scribe who would have been familiar with the relationship between a Rabbi being followed by his students.
Matthew 8:19 (NASB) 19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."
1 The students were cared for by their Rabbi. (physical & spiritual)
a The scribe was most probably a new convert with the zeal of a new Christian.
aa Set the world on fire, called to preach at the biggest crowds.
bb Got accolades, assets, accommodations, acknowledged!
b The man assumed that following Jesus as a disciple meant he’d be on easy street.
2 Jesus never had riches or reservations.
Luke 9:58 (NASB) 58 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
a Matthew 10:24 (NASB)24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.
aa I don’t have a home... don’t expect to be comfortable.
bb Matthew 10:22 (NASB) 22 "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Matthew 24:9 (NASB) 9 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
John 15:18 (NASB)18 "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
b Jesus said, if you’re gonna follow me wherever I go, know it’s going to be a hard road to hoe.
B When we choose to follow Him we must set aside any idea of great things in this world.
1 Luke 9:23 (NASB) 23 And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
a If we’re going to follow after Jesus we can’t do it from a distance or at large, but be willing to give up everything to follow Him.
b I’ll follow if...
aa He takes care of me, provides, heals me.
bb I don’t have to change.
2 Following Jesus won’t cost you something, it will cost you everything!
a If you can’t handle it, don’t pretend to follow.
b Discipleship promises difficulties... that’s why there are only a few.
C Matthew 10:16-22, 25 (NASB) 16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 "But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 "But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.20 "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 21 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.25 "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
1 When you commit to following Jesus your signing away your own life.
a A scribe or a follower would have added “credibility” to his ministry amongst the Jewish community.
b He wasn’t looking for flashiness - but for faithfulness.
Numbers 12:7 (NASB) 7 "Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household;
2 We follow faithfully because He’s good - not for what we can get.
II Can I follow You later?
Luke 9:59 (NASB) 59 And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father."
A Some scholars believe the man’s father was ill - when the daddy died the man would come to follow Jesus.
1 Jewish custom is to bury the deceased on the day they die.
a This man wanted to wait for his dad to die so he could get his inheritance!
b There was nothing wrong with the man’s request, the wrong was found in his motivation for the request.
aa Good/noble thing to bury your folks.
bb Jesus knew the man was procrastinating, putting discipleship off.
2 He was wanting to “follow Jesus” but only on his own terms.
a “Dead bury the dead” isn’t a harsh saying.
Luke 9:60 (NASB) 60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."
aa The spiritually dead have different priorities then those who are alive in Christ.
bb Jesus said, “You wanna really do some good - go preach the good to the dying... now!”
b This is the most pressing, pertinent thing you can do!
B As a disciple our most important task is not burying the dead; it’s preaching to them!
1 Following Jesus isn’t a hobby we do in our spare time.
a I get asked, “what’s your work hours? Day off?” - I’m on 24/7!
b Your pastor isn’t the only person in this church who is “on call” 24/7!
aa Every disciple is on perpetual assignment.
bb If you treat discipleship as a hobby you’ll never discover it’s blessing.
2 Your relationship to Jesus takes prescience over every/all other relationships in your life.
a We can’t afford to delay following Him:
aa When I get a different job, more money I’ll tithe, wide/husband gets saved... then I’ll serve Him.
bb Romans 13:11 (NASB) 11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
1 John 2:18 (NASB) 18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.
b Many of us treat our relationship to Jesus the way we approach diet/exercise.
aa Tomorrow, after I finish this bag of chips.
bb Jesus didn’t call us to follow Him starting tomorrow - but TODAY!
III Do I really have to put You first, Jesus?
Luke 9:61 (NASB) 61 Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home."
A This third man just wanted to go say, “Good-bye” to his family... what’s so wrong with that?
1 Kings 19:19-20 (NASB) 19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him.20 He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, "Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?"
Elisha did and there was no problem.
a The ministry Jesus was giving this man was more pressing/urgent than the ministries of Elijah & Elisha combined.
b This man had likely already said “farewell” when he lft home to go see Jesus.
aa Jesus gave a harsh warning about looking/going abck to where the man had came from.
bb Similar to Lot’s wife looking back on Sodom.
2 Jesus knew if the man went back home he ran the risk of being talked out of leaving again to follow Jesus.
a (IL) NOBTS, the greatest deterrent to missionaries going to the mission field were grandparents.
b The man couldn’t hold onto his old life relationships & be a disciple.
Luke 9:62 (NASB)62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
aa Looking back made the rows crooked, field kattywompus.
bb Jesus is saying discipleship requires sacrifices & tunnel vision.
B We cannot serve Jesus with a dived heart/loyalties.
1 (IL) Ever notice how our cars tend to go in the direction we’re looking?
a James 4:4 (NASB) 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
1 John 2:15-17 (NASB) 15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
b We can’t chase after Jesus while we’re looking back!
2 he must be the most important person, relationship in our lives.
a Until we’re prepared to let go of this world, we’re not ready for the world to come.
b Philippians 3:13-14 (NASB)13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Conclusion
A ETS: Jesus stressed the necessity of total commitment in being an effective follow of His.
1 ESS: Following Jesus is the absolutely most important priority in the life of a Christian.
a TS: Let’s look at 3 tough questions that test the depths of discipleship.
aa I What’s in it for me?
bb II Can I follow You later?
cc III Do I really have to put You first, Jesus?
b OBJ: I hope you will decide to follow after Christ regardless of the personal cost.
2 PQ: What do you think Jesus would say about how well you’re following Him?
B I wish I knew what decisions these men made.
1 Were they part of Jesus’ 70? Upper room at Pentecost?
2 The bigger curiosity, for me, is what decisions will you & I make about following Jesus.
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