The Almost Followers Of Jesus
I watched a video this past week of a table saw that would not cut through flesh. Have any of you worked with table saws? If you have you know how dangerous they can be. They can remove a misplaced finger in less than a second. But the video showed a recent invention that has some sort of sensor hooked up to it that will stop the blade before it comes in contact with flesh.
They demonstrated the function by first cutting through a piece of plywood. Then they took a hot dog and slowly brought it in contact with the blade. In less than a second the blade sensed the texture of the hot dog. A braking mechanism was engaged in the table saw and stopped the blade instantly. It was amazing. The hot dog was not cut. But if that wasn’t enough – the inventor was so confident in his invention that he volunteered to put his finger into the blade. Folks – that takes either stupidity or a lot of faith.
To my amazement the inventor took his hand – pointed his finger toward the saw – laid it on the top of the table saw and moved it toward the blade. (Do not try this at home.) He moved rather slowly – but right before his finger came in contact with the blade – the braking mechanism engaged and stopped the blade. No blood! No loss of flesh! Nothing! He did not receive even a scratch. He had faith in his invention. He believed it would work. What if Christians had that kind of faith? What if Christians had that kind of commitment in our Lord?
Today our passage tells about three men who Jesus met as He travelled with His disciples. Two of these men declared that they wished to follow Jesus – to become His disciples. The other was one Jesus called to follow Him. Let’s go ahead and read our passage this morning:
“As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." 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." And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 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." Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:57-62 (NASB)
The first thing I notice in this passage is that Jesus encountered three men – each one has a different level of commitment and each one receives a different response. The first man I would call:
I. The OPPORTUNIST
“As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." 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."
This man seems to be more interested in what he can get out of a relationship than what he needs to put into it. He has high expectations. He expected to get an easy life by following Jesus. I mean – if Jesus is the King of kings – shouldn’t there be the “good life” that goes along with it?
Many people think that following Jesus should be easy. But folks let me tell you a truth – following Jesus can be hard. There is a cost involved. That is why Jesus tells him: "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Have you considered the cost? Have you considered what it is going to take to follow Jesus?
Jesus could have talked about a mansion over the hill top – but he didn’t. He could have talked about streets of gold – but he didn’t. He could have talked about eternal life with no more sorrow and more pain – but he didn’t. And do you know why? It’s because – before there is a crown there is always a cross.
In the book of Matthew Jesus said this:
“And everyone who has left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit life eternal.” Mat 19:29
In this verse he gives us a promise. We shall receive a hundredfold – we shall inherit eternal life. But notice what happens first. First there is the leaving – then there is the receiving. First there is sacrifice – then there is reward. It cannot be any other way. This is a truth we need to understand. This is a truth we need to consider. There is a cost when you follow Jesus. "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
Folks we love our homes. We love our gardens – we love our lawns – we love our fireplaces – we love our recliners – we love our flat screen TVs – we love our kitchens – we love our comfortable beds – we love it all. And I – along with you am grateful to God for the home I have. But I hope and pray that it is not my home – not my stuff that ever gets in the way of following Jesus. I hope that commitment to Jesus is deep enough that I would be willing to give it all up in flash if I needed to – to get closer to Jesus – don’t you? Jesus said,
"He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” Mat 10:38-39 (NASB)
We need to be committed. We need to count the cost. Then we need to follow him…
The second person is:
II. The HESITATOR
And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 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."
In my way of thinking this is a fairly reasonable request of the man. Should he not be given permission to go and to bury his father? Should he not go and be with his grieving relatives? Should he not go and take care of his family responsibilities? Surely no one would be so harsh to say, “You can’t go. Let the dead bury the dead.” But that is what Jesus said.
To be honest with you this is one of those hard passages in the Bible to deal with. We have to do some interpretation here. When I say interpretation I am talking about some educated speculation.
Commentators tell us that it is unlikely that the man’s father was dead at this point. In fact he in all probability he was not even sick. In the culture of the day – when a person dies – he was buried the same day. There was no hesitation. There was no waiting around. When death came – the burial proceeded quickly. So in all probability father was not even sick or the son would have already been at his side. What he likely said to Jesus was, “I want to follow you but first I need to go home and work and wait until my father dies… then I will come and follow you.”
That puts this verse in a whole different perspective. Will the son wait for a week – for a month – for years? How long will it be before the father dies and how important is following Jesus in the meantime?
He does not say, “Yes I will follow you right now.” No – he says, “Permit me to go…” These are the words of a person who is not ready to make a commitment. “Lord – let me do this first – then…” If following Jesus meant he had to become a follower at that very moment – at that very second – he was not willing to do it. And if he didn’t it then – it probably wasn’t going to happen at all. That is why Jesus said, “Let the dead bury their own dead, BUT YOU – go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
William Barclays says that for this man it was a crucial moment of decision in his life. It was a moment that would define the rest of his life. It was a point where the decision he made would determine the road he would travel.
In Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” – the poet wrestles with deciding which road he would take and he even notes that despite the hope that he might one day get to walk the other road – he knows deep in his heart that doing so was not going to happen. He concluded that his choice would define his life forever – and that the choice he made – made all the difference.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Jesus simply laid it out clearly and plainly. Do you want to follow me or do you want to go home and wait for a more convenient time? You know – all of us could hesitate. But there comes a time when you must make a choice. The opportunity may not appear again. Choose quickly – choose Jesus.
The third person we are going to look at is:
III. The PROCRASTINATOR
Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
In our culture we love lots of things. We love Jesus – we love our family – we love sports – we love pizza – we love our dog – we love our hobbies – we love our lifestyle. But do all these loves have equal value – equal weight? I should say not. Jesus wants to have first place with our love.
Notice again what the procrastinator says, “I will follow You, Lord; but first…”
The procrastinator can come up with all kinds of “but firsts…”
Jesus said,
"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. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” Mat 10:37-39 (NASB)
Jesus did not blow off his own family ties. One of the last things he did before he died was entrust the care of his mother to his friend – John. Jesus is not anti-family. Jesus is not cult leader who would have his followers reject and disown their families. So what was Jesus getting at? Jesus wants us to love him first – to follow him – to serve him.
This is not the first time in the Bible that someone was called but first wished to say good-bye to his family before setting off to follow God’s leading. In I Kings 19:19-21 the Prophet Elijah saw Elisha plowing a field with a team of oxen. Elijah went up to Elisha and threw his cloak over Elisha’s shoulders and walked away. In that culture placing your cloak on another person’s shoulders meant that person was passing the torch to his successor. Elisha was to follow Elijah and learn to be a Prophet and eventually take the place of Elijah as the new Prophet in Israel.
Elisha left his oxen standing in the field and chased after Elijah and said,
"Please! Let me kiss my father and mother good-bye—then I'll follow you." "Go ahead," said Elijah, "but, mind you, don't forget what I've just done to you." 1 Kings 19:20 (Msg)
Elijah told Elisha to go on home and kiss is parents good-bye but “don’t forget about what I have just done to you.” You need to make an important choice in your life so think about it really – really hard.
Jesus said, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
When Jesus talked about plowing and looking back – everyone understood what he was talking about. If you want a straight row – you don’t look back behind you look ahead. Have any of you ever tried to mow your lawn by looking in a rearview mirror? Have you ever tried to mow you lawn by driving in reverse? Why not? Because it just won’t work. If you are going to follow Jesus – you must move forward – not backward. You must put him first and move on. He wants total commitment from you.
I heard the story of a young Buddhist man from South East Asia who found Jesus, “to be an impatient, intolerant, and a rude person. Who disregarded traditional family obligations.” His view was based on the scripture which we have been dealing with this morning.
Such a view has been held by many critics of Christianity down through the centuries. People have accused Jesus of being abrasive, insensitive, and unbearably egotistical. To put himself ahead of loved ones and our basic obligations to them, seems to some folk to be going too far indeed!
But Jesus brought a radical message to the world. He said,
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6 (NASB)
Folks if he is the only way to the Father – doesn’t he have the right to ask our total commitment to him? Jesus must be put first at all times. Top priority – even higher than our dearest friends and most precious family members. Jesus may not ask us to literally leave family responsibilities behind. Yet in certain situations we may have to make that difficult choice. Where any friend or family member tries to become more important to us than God – we must make the hard decision. Either God is top priority or we are just playing games with religion.
Jesus calls us to follow him – to commit to him completely.
Jesus said to the first man: “Count the COST”.
Jesus said to the second man: “Leave it BEHIND”.
Jesus said to the third man: “Don’t look BACK”.
What is he saying to you?
