Lose the Excuses
Luke 9:57-62
Good morning, this is already the fourth Sunday in Lent, a time when Christians focus on discipleship, denial and self sacrifice. It is the hardest part of following Jesus. During the Lenten season, we deal with these habits and put them into practice as we journey to the cross. In Latin, the word for cross is crux. The phrase “That’s the crux of the matter” means the intersection of our priorities and life commitments. The question for us during Lent is this; are our decisions and priorities truly following Jesus in the way of the cross? Jesus’ last journey to Jerusalem took approximately three months. It is recorded for us beginning in Luke 9. During this time, Jesus became increasingly aware that his death was near and so he set his focus on the cross, preparing himself and the disciples.
Our Scripture today records Jesus’ encounter with 3 men as he began his journey to Jerusalem. The key word in each of these encounters is “follow.” It appears three times. Anytime in scripture you see repetition, that’s the key point of the passage. Jesus is making clear to us is that a commitment to follow Him is more than a desire or a profession of belief. It is a radical, life altering of commitment to follow or live like him.
In the crowds gathered for Jesus, we see three kinds of people. They are the same three kinds of people who are here in church this morning. First, on the outward fringe of the crowd, are the curious. They’ve heard some stories about his miracles and his teaching and so they come to check and see what he is about. Could Jesus be the unique son of God who has come into the world? The second group is the convinced. They’re the most dangerous because they believe Jesus is the Messiah and profess it with their lips but they don’t live it. They think they are right with God but the danger is they confuse believing in Jesus with being a follower of Jesus. The third group is the smallest but they’re the truly committed. They know it’s not only about believing like Jesus but living like him as well and seek to do so every day.
So what group are you in: the curious, the convinced or the committed? We need to be honest with ourselves about which group we’re in right now. Why? Because it not only impacts your life but your relationship with Jesus. John 2:23 says, “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name, but Jesus would not trust himself to them for he knew what was in them.” In Matthew 15:18 Jesus says, “They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” When we think of the heart, we think of emotional attachment. But when the Bible talks about heart, it is not talking about the center of your emotion but rather the center from which you set your priorities and make daily commitments. It’s the place of decision, what today we call the mind. Jesus says the problem is that the convinced who were following him have an emotional attachment but they are not willing to make the decision and commitment to follow Him and live like Him.
As Jesus encounters these three men and invites them to follow Him, we hear three excuses. They are the three excuses Jesus challenges in our lives. First, Jesus challenges our comfortable lifestyles. “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him’ I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes, birds have nests but the son of man has no place to lay his head.’” Luke 9:57 When you make a decision, the convinced say, “I will do anything, my life is yours, use me for your will? Your will not my will be done.” You started enthusiastic, and did whatever you had to do. You went to Bible studies, attended conferences and seminars, and served faithfully. You would take days off to go on mission. Then you come to a point where you felt pretty comfortable and content and started to slow down. That is called the death zone. But in this encounter with this young man, Jesus is saying I will always challenge you in your place of comfort. I will never allow you to stay where you are. Following Jesus will always lead you to new challenges in your life. We are a people who are always on the move.
It is so easy to get comfortable. We see this when Jesus takes Peter, James and John with them up the mountain to meet with Moses and Elijah. As he does, Jesus’ face shown and his clothes became radiant. And Peter, James and John just soak up moment. They not only saw Jesus for who he really was but they were in the presence of the two greatest figures of the Jewish faith. And Peter said, “ “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters…” In other words, let’s just stay here. But instead, Jesus has them keep moving because there was work to do and lives to transform. And when they came from the mountain, a large crowd met them and Jesus started healing people. Have you ever been at a place in your life where you just wanted it to last forever? When we get in a good place, get comfortable and want to stay there awhile and enjoy the moment, we leave the mission of Jesus behind. One of the things we have to understand and embrace is that comfort, convenience and personal preference have nothing to do with Jesus’ call on our lives. Jesus will always challenge us in our place of comfort. Jesus demands your unrestricted availability. He calls you to keep moving in mission and growing on the spiritual journey. We are called to be a people on the move so Jesus will always challenge us when we get comfortable.
The second excuse is procrastination. “He said to another man, follow me, but he replied, ‘Lord first let me go bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.’” Luke 9:59 Jesus is challenging our tendency to postpone or put off until tomorrow what God is calling us to do today. I’ll start the diet tomorrow. I’m going to exercise tomorrow. We’re procrastinators, especially when it comes to our relationship with Christ, to put off until tomorrow what God is calling us to do today. I’ll join a Bible study, start praying daily, fasting, attending worship more frequently next week, next month or next year. Jesus uses an illustration of the son who asks, “Can I go to my dad’s funeral?” I would call that a good excuse, but what Jesus is saying here is that our allegiance to Jesus Christ must supersede every other priority in our life. We have noble excuses too, such as, “As soon as I get past a certain life stage, or as soon as this event is over, I’ll serve. Or “as soon as I get to making more money, I’ll be able to tithe.” Jesus challenges us is in any area of our life where we are postponing or putting off what God is calling us to do today.
Third, Jesus challenges our emotional ties. “Still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family. No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God.’” Luke 9:61 What often happens in life is that our earthly relationships get in the way of our heavenly relationship with Jesus. I see it all the time. A Christian starts dating a nominal Christian or non –Christian and before you know it, they stop coming to church. A Christian loves to golf or fish or hunt and so they do that instead of connecting and worshipping God. A person claims they’re too busy to go to Sunday School after worship because they need to get home to their family. A person gets older and they slow down and suddenly its too much for them to get up a half hour earlier to be able to get to church to worship the Creator of the Universe. We have all types of relationships and emotional attachments which we use as an excuse to be with God, worship God, serve God and grow in our relationship with God.
There are three things we learn about the cost of following Jesus. First, the follower of Jesus has no earthly ties. The first individual makes a bold statement: “I will follow you Wherever you go!” Jesus replies that to follow Him “Wherever He’s going” will not be an easy road. It’s to the cross. When Jesus stepped off His throne in glory to come to the earth and live and die for us, He left behind all that He had. He exchanged rulership for servanthood, wealth for poverty, service for servanthood and comfort for sacrifice. And those who follow Him must be prepared for the same road. To follow Jesus means you have no earthly security. Now note, I didn’t said “No security”. There is security in following Jesus all right but it’s not any earthly security. It’s not the security of possessions, money, or homes. It’s a security in God’s faithfulness, and the promise of eternal life, something no one can take away!
Second, the follower of Jesus has no earthly priorities. Jesus says, if you’re going to follow Him then the claims of His Kingdom come before anything and anyone else. Jesus said elsewhere that, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me”. Matthew 10:37 Now you get the picture of the kind of devotion that He is calling for! He’s not calling for us to dishonor our parents, or shirk our responsibility to family. But if we are pressed into a choice between the two, Jesus comes first! And pressed to choose between the values of our culture, power, prestige and possessions, and the values of the Kingdom of God, Jesus comes first. You can’t have your cake and eat it too!
Third, the follower of Jesus has no earthly distractions. In other words, Jesus not only has to be the first priority of your life, He also has to remain that way. The reality is that life is full of distractions. It’s too easy to vear off course. Distractions impact not only our relationship with Jesus but also our work in the kingdom. The problem with distractions is that they’re not necessarily bad things. They can include: friends, work, hobbies, spouse, children and the list could go on. The complicating issue with distractions is they are usually things we enjoy. So we don’t want to give them up. But to follow Jesus means like Jesus we are to set our face toward Jerusalem or the cross, that is, in following Him. Psalm 119:15 says, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” Paul calls us to “undivided devotion to the Lord.” 1 Cor. 7:35 So who or what are the distractions from Jesus and serving Him in your life?
Follow Jesus will cost you. If you’re going to follow Jesus - and walk His road - it may well cost you everything! So count the cost! But remember the words of Jesus: “ Whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it!” It will cost you everything. He calls for us to commit ourselves completely to Him, and hold nothing back. There are no acceptable excuses and there is nothing earthly which should get in the way. And that is the picture of the authentic follower if Christ. Jesus said to the first man: “Count the cost”. He said to the second man: “Leave it behind”. And He said to the third man: “Don’t look back”. Amen.
