Message
Hard Sayings of Jesus - Luke 9:57-62
“The Truly Committed Don’t Look Back”
In America there is a mountainous forest called the “Bridger Wilderness Area”.
Let me say that again the Bridger WILDERNESS Area.
The idea is to go there and have a genuine wilderness experience. After you visit the park you are encouraged to hand in a comment card about your experience. Here are some of the comments that have been handed in over the years.
• Too many bugs, leeches, spiders and spider webs. Please spray the forest to get rid of these pests.
• Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to walk to them.
• A small deer came into my camp and stole my jar of pickles. Is there a way I can get reimbursed?
These comments make it very clear that some of the people who visited the park did not really understand what it means to have a "genuine wilderness experience". They wanted a wilderness experience, as long as it was convenient and comfortable.
And sometimes we want our Christianity to be like that as well – don’t we.
We say we are ready to run the race.
We say we are eager to count the costs.
We say we are prepared to suffer.
We say we are willing to carry the cross.
We want the “Christians in the wild experience”.
BUT DO WE?
DO WE REALLY?
As we think about this question let’s read a passage from Scripture.
Luke 9:57-62
As Jesus focuses on the issue of what it means to be a disciple we firstly read about a very unique man in verse 57.
He is one of only a few people in the New Testament who come up to Jesus and initiate the discussion by saying, “I want to follow you”.
The disciples were asked by Jesus to follow.
Others follow Jesus after they see a miracle.
Many follow Jesus because they are just curious.
So we have a disciple who takes the initiative and seems really enthusiastic.
But is he serious?
To find out Jesus makes a statement of fact.
Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.
Jesus is not saying, “I can never find a place to sleep”. We know for example that fell fast asleep in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus not saying, “No-one cares for Me”. Lazarus was a great host and Jesus would stay at his house when He was in town.
Rather Jesus is making an important point about His place in this world.
The world is not my home – I am just passing through.
If a house is your home you settle in in, don’t you.
You paint walls. You rearrange furniture. You fill it with your stuff.
You settle in and relax.
When you are a visitor you don’t do any of that.
You don’t become attached and you act appropriately.
Following Jesus means knowing that this world is not our home.
“Home is where your heart is”.
That is the saying we use in Australia.
If our heart is with God … then our home is in heaven. That is how disciples live.
So a challenge is being put before us all.
Do we really want the “Christians in the wild experience”?
Where we stand out because people see our heart for Jesus and our commitment to God.
Or have we been content to just settle in and act like we are home.
Where we just fit in, and settle down?
Think about it as we look at the next man.
The man in verse 59 is invited by Jesus to be a disciple.
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
You would have to say that this seems like a very reasonable request.
Every culture in every part of the world has some sort of ceremony which marks the death of an individual and not doing so can be seen as an act of disgrace.
Indeed burial is of such significance that priest who served at the temple were given special permission to be at the ceremony.
1 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, 2 except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother, 3 or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean. (Leviticus 21:1-3).
This man is not asking for anything more than the special permission that was given to priests.
In response Jesus says, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” That is a hard passage to hear. And it has created a lot of discussion.
Some try and get around it by saying that what Jesus really means is, “Let the spiritually dead, bury the people who have died.
Ok, maybe that works, but does that means Christians should never go to a funeral and we just leave it all up to not-yet-believers?. I don’t think so.
Something else is going on here. And there is an episode in the life of Ezekiel which may help us to see what that “something else” is.
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. 17 Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your moustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded. (Ezekiel 24:15-18)
Ezekiel can’t even mourn the death of his wife?
That is hard isn’t it. But what we are being reminded of here of the ultimate priority of following God and bring the Gospel.
For Ezekiel bringing the Gospel,
… which in his context meant, showing the people that God was angry with them and that their sin was causing them to come under the wrath of God.
for Ezekiel that moment was of greater kingdom importance than mourning the death of his wife.
Because there is nothing more that Ezekiel can do for His wife.
But, by bringing the message of God, Ezekiel could do something for those who are still alive. The message could bring about repentance.
For the second man in our passage, like Ezekiel, there is nothing more he can do for his father. But there is much that can be done for those who do not know Jesus.
Can you see the issue?
Often we look at a passage like this and say, “This person is postponing a decision of faith”.
But that is not the primary issue … at least not in this passage.
Three people are mentioned here. Two of they come to Jesus and say, “I will follow you”.
They have commitment in the sense that they have faith.
But what Jesus is doing here is helping them to understand the real cost … the cost of discipleship.
You don’t have to be Christian for long before you hear about the cost of following Jesus.
But there is also another dynamic
Not following Jesus, as a committed disciple, also has a cost.
If we don’t go and make disciples … who will?
If we are not willing to make sharing the Gospel a priority … who is?
If we allow life to get in the way of making connections with not-yet-believers … then how will it be possible for them to know Jesus.
There is a cost … possibly an eternal cost … when it comes to our commitment to discipleship.
So when Jesus says, “Let the dead bury their own dead” He is not saying to a seeker, “Your faith is of no value unless you ignore the need to bury your Father”.
This verse is not about condemning those who postpone a confession of Jesus as Lord.
Our salvation does not depend on our ability to share the Gospel will not attending the funeral of a loved one.
What Jesus is doing here is getting us to examine our understanding of the depth of the Jesus has for us.
Do we understand the cost?
Do we understand that our ability to become a disciple came at a great cost to Jesus?
Just look back a few verses to Luke 9:51
As the time approached for Him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
This is the turning point in the Gospel of Luke. From here on the focus is the work Jesus is going to do to enable us to be part of the family of God.
The cost of our discipleship.
Our discipleship cost Jesus the glories and splendour of heaven, which were exchanged for a life of suffering, humility and lowliness.
Our discipleship cost Jesus the praise of the angels in heaven, which were exchanged for a life of ridicule, mockery, doubt and scorn through the mouths of unrighteous men.
Our discipleship cost Jesus unity with the Father, which was exchanged for a time when Jesus had to suffer the wrath and anger of God as God turned His back on His own Son.
Our discipleship cost Jesus His very life, which was exchanged for an agonising death on the cross as He submitted to death.
Jesus was willing to pay that cost for us. That is how valued we are.
What costs are we willing to endure so that others may know that Jesus also values them?
Are we willing to put that above all else?
That is the “Christian in the wild experience” isn’t it.
Which brings us to the third man.
He is in vss.61-62 (read). Being a disciple means not looking back with regrets.
Again Luke is continuing the focus on helping us to understand the full extent of what it means to be associated with Jesus.
Because as we read these verses, those of us who are more familiar with the Bible, may have noticed a similarity between this section and a story from the Old Testament.
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.
1 Kings 19:19-21
Elijah let’s Elisha go back and say goodbye. But Jesus doesn’t give the same allowance.
Again the point here is to show us how important discipleship is.
It is not that Elisha was more patient than Jesus.
The issue is one of motive.
Elisha is going back to close that old part of his life and open a new chapter.
The man in our text obviously has a different motive. It is as if he is working on a plough, but always looking backwards.
And that can happen in our Christian life.
We look back thinking others are having more fun
They take in all the world has to offer.
Somehow we are missing out
We look back thinking others are having more freedom
They don’t have to give up so much.
Somehow we are making a greater sacrifice.
That’s having the hand on the plough but looking back.
But by looking back we are saying that we don’t want to really count the cost.
That we don’t want to have a clean break.
And the result of looking back when you try and go forward is obvious.
You crash.
It can cause you to question your spiritual commitment.
For some people it has caused them to not follow Jesus any more.
Again, the issue here is not “Do we have faith or not”.
The issue is, “Do we really understand what we need to give up”?
If even our families come second to service Jesus, then we can be sure that discipleship will call for us to radically prioritise our lives.
Jesus gets priority over our career … our leisure … our money … our goals … our entertainment … our status … our relationships.
Jesus gets priority over all.
That is the “Christians in the wild experience.”
So the big question here is not … do you have faith?
The big question is … Do you want to experience radical extreme Christianity?
Discipleship is not just about “getting saved” … it is a life-style.
Discipleship is not a fly-by-night affair … it is a radical world-view.
Discipleship is not like working a second job … it is our foundation.
Discipleship is not a summer cruise … it is a battle and a race.
Discipleship is not about joining some new group … it is taking our place in God’s kingdom.
Discipleship is not about being a good person … it is having a new identity.
Discipleship is not merely another commitment … it is the commitment.
Discipleship is not just about the acceptance of the teaching of the Master.
But it is an identification of ourselves with the way of the Master’s life and it gives us a destiny to imitate.
Discipleship is literally about walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
We can be on the same road, in the same footsteps, as Jesus.
That is the invitation.
The same invitation each of these three men got.
But notice we don’t know what happens.
We are not told how each person responded.
It’s as if the text has been left open … waiting for each of us to fill in the ending.
The invitation is to could the cost and walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
How is it going to end for you?
Prayer
