THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED (LUKE 9:57-62)
A man wrote to his pastor:
“Dear Pastor, you often stress attendance at worship as being very important for a Christian, but I think a person has a right to miss now and then. I think every person ought to be excused for the following reasons and the number of times indicated:
Christmas (Sunday before or after)
New Year (Party lasted too long)
Easter (Get away for holidays)
July 4 (National holiday)
Labor Day (Need to get away)
Memorial Day (Visit hometown)
School Closing (Kids need break)
School Opens (One last fling)
Family Reunions (Mine & wife’s)
Sleep late (Saturday night activities)
Deaths in Family
Anniversary (Second honeymoon)
Sickness (One per family member)
Business Trips (A must)
Vacation (Three weeks)
Bad Weather (Ice, snow, rain, clouds)
Ball games
Unexpected Company (Can’t walk out)
Time changes (Spring ahead; fall back)
Special on TV (Super Bowl, etc.)
Pastor, that leaves only two Sundays per year. So, you can count on us to be in church on the fourth Sunday in February and the third Sunday in August unless providentially hindered.”
Sincerely,
A Faithful Member
When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he met three potential disciples. Matthew 8:19-21 tells us that the first person is a scribe and the second a disciple. The first and third offered to follow Jesus, but the second was commanded to follow Jesus. In the end none was likely to go. In the road of discipleship many are called but few are willing.
Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus? Who is a follower of Christ? What does God expect from His people and followers? Why is following the ways of our Lord better than f0llwing the wisdom of the world?
Choose to Possess Christ Above All
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Luke 9:57-58)
Do you like to see soccer? One of my coworker has a Whatsapp image that impressed my wife too. A huge fan of Manchester United, his phone image is a club badge ablazed with fire on the sides. It was so striking that I searched for it on the internet in vain.
What is a fan? A fan is one who is devoted to a person, team or a thing in the realm of sports, entertainment or personality. Today’s fans display their affection to the object of their affection on the internet and other forms of social media. Fans buy their products, publicize their loyalty and drive the celebrities’ success. The problem with a fan is that the intensity does not last. After the glitter, glamor and glory fade, the fan transfers his allegiance and attention to another. Nobody follows a shooting star.
A follower, on the other hand, is there for the long haul. I am still a supporter of Leeds Football Club that played in the less glamorous Championship (one level short of the Premier League). They were great in the 70s but now they are stuck in the championship league for many years and even dropped two divisions at one time.
Jesus did not call us to be fans, but followers of Him. The Transfiguration in Luke 9 is the turning point of the book, separating and distinguishing fans from followers. The word “glory” appears three times in the chapter (Luke 9:26, 31, 32) - more than any chapter in Luke, and the city of Jerusalem is mentioned three times (vv 31, 51, 53) as well. Peter, James and John saw His glory (v 32), but Jerusalem was also the scene of Jesus’ suffering, rejection and death (v 22, 31). Jesus was “resolute” (v 51) or “steadfast” (KJV) to go to Jerusalem.
The first man offered to follow Jesus in the future tense (v 57), but he did not understand His resolve or requirement. Jesus was not going to Jerusalem to be crowned, but to be crucified. A cross, and not a coronation, awaited him. At the end of the journey was persecution and not popularity, rejection and not reception, execution and not exaltation
The verbs “suffer,” “reject” and “kill” (v 22) appear for the first time in the Gospel of Luke. The Son of man will not only suffer, but suffer “many” things (Matt 16:21, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22). It would not be light, lenient or likable. It was a “must” (v 22), not a maybe.
Fox holes (v 58) are a certainty in the wild. Foxes are not picky or particular. They are known to make homes from other animals’ dens. Foxes have caves, cubs and choices. Birds, on the other hand, have nests. Do you know when sparrows can nest in sand, banks and roads. On the road to Jerusalem, Jesus was not afforded the same kind of shelter, safety or security.
Commit to Proclaim Christ Above All
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
The pastor always used the phrase, “It might be worse,” when some calamity would come his way. One day a friend said to him, “I've something to tell you, and you won't be able to use your favorite phrase. I dreamt last night that I died and went to hell.” “It might be worse,” said the preacher. The friend came unglued: “man alive, how could it be worse?” to which the pastor replied: “it might be true.”
Most people have a fair amount of excuses, emergencies and exigencies. The second man had the mother of all contingencies, the death of a parent to answer Jesus’ imperative for him to follow– Follow me (v 59). A contingency is not actual, but a potential or possibility.
Jesus’ “follow me” imperative is always in the present tense in the Bible. It is continuous, not ceasing, a commitment and not for convenience, a command and not a conjecture. It is to follow fully all the way, not halfway or midway. What he says is an order and not an option. When he says jump, you say how high. As a friend once remarked, “Where He leads, I will follow. What He feeds, I will swallow.”
The second man had other ideas. He countered Jesus with an imperative of his own – “suffer me” first to go bury my father (v 59.) The Jewish law is clear and uncompromising on contact with the dead. Nearing or touching the dead makes one unclean for seven days and purification must be done on the third day (Num 19:11-14). The man had no business running around if his father was truly dead. His unclean status made him a transmitting disease and a traveling infection best to avoid. Making Jesus wait for him seven days, or more if purification was delayed on the third day, was not acceptable.
To the second person, Jesus commanded him in the imperative to care for actual souls in need of salvation. The verbs “let” and “proclaim” are imperatives. The man’s father, if alive, was a thing of the indefinite future; if dead, it was a thing of the irreversible past. Nothing could salvage the past and save his father. Proclaim Christ, however, is preventive. We cannot save a person from physical death; we can only save them from eternal death.
In China many believers have joyfully joined the campaign to encourage each believer to give a dollar a day to missions. A Chinese believer once told me why she donated a dollar a day to missions. She was touched by her visit to Myanmar where she visited people with little to eat She said, “People in Hong Kong eat well. We in China eat full, but folks over there barely eat.”
Continue to Pursue Christ
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
The last person had two differences from the first. First, the title Lord is added to convey respect or command attention. Second, the condition “wherever you go” is dropped to narrow the options or neutralize the doubts. His acknowledgement of Jesus as Lord seems sensible and his removal of the condition seems wise. The next lines, however, were problematic. Even though the second and the third person used the adverb “first,” the last person placed it smartly before the imperative “go,” implying he would not go unless Jesus gave the order and before the action was proposed. The last person did not want to run the risk of a verb uttered. Also, the last person did not want to make the mistake of limiting himself to his father, so he included the ones in his house. The family farewell tour would take forever.
Ploughing is a balance of person, animal, object. The farmer (person) has to steady the ox (animal) and steer the plough (object). There was enough juggling for a famer without having to look back. Turning around or looking back strays the animal, sidetracks the plough and strains the back.
The noun “fit” (euthetos) appears for the first time in the Bible. On one other occasion, Jesus said, “Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither FIT for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out.” (Luke 14:34-35, KJV). Literally it means “well-placed.” It implies not the “best” condition, suited or placement.
No chapter in the Bible has more references to the phrase “kingdom of God” (vv 2, 11, 27, 60, 62). Jesus is contrasting house (v 61 “oikos”) with kingdom. A house is small, but a kingdom is sizable. A house is adequate for subjects, but a kingdom is appropriate for sovereignty. A house has rooms, but a kingdom has mansions. A house is for residence, but a kingdom is to reign. A house allows few to enter, but a kingdom accommodates more people. A house comes with payments, but a kingdom with privileges. A house is for humans, but a kingdom is for heirs. Best of all, membership in God’s kingdom is secured, sealed and steadfast. It is not purchased by the sweat of our strength, but the sacrifice of our Savior. A house is obtained out of merit, but God’s kingdom is by His mercy. Earthly houses are for consumers, but His kingdom is for converts. The first is from purchase, the latter is His pardon.
Conclusion: Jesus called us to count the cost, carry the cross, and continue in commitment, not to follow only when the weather is fine, when the times are good and the passage is smooth. Are you a Sunday Christian, a spineless disciple, a Christmas and Easter Only believer? Do you follow our Lord when there are opposition and obstacles, struggles and setbacks? Jesus is calling you today to be with Him and to be like Him, to love, follow and serve Him wholeheartedly.
Victor Yap
Bible.ryl.hk (Grammar Bible)
Preachchrist.com (sermons)
