JUST JESUS: CHAPTER BY CHAPTER THRU LUKE
Expectations of Jesus
Luke 9:57-62
#JustJesus
INTRODUCTION… THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT DO HALF-WAY (P)
There are some things in life that we should never do halfway. Most things in life we should give our best effort, persevere, and see to completion.
* Giving half-effort while swimming means that we drown and die.
* Giving half-effort when running away from a wild bear results in you being eaten.
* Giving half-effort when walking I believe is called “tripping” and you can get hurt and never get where you are going.
* Doing a test in school only halfway means you get 50% or lower which is an F, a failing grade.
* Wearing only half your clothes means the other half of you is naked which no one wants to see.
* Wearing half of your shoes makes for an awkward day with you hobbling along.
* Only working half the amount of hours you should means you will get fired.
* Washing only half your body means you stink.
There are of course more serious things that we should never do halfway, but that list will get us thinking. There are some things in life that we should never do halfway because the normal thought is that “you finish what you start.” The normal thought is that when doing something, we should give “our best effort” all the time. A normal attitude in sports, board games, fundraising opportunities, and working is that we finish what we start and give our utmost while doing it. At least that seems normal to me.
This morning we are going to look at discipleship. The word “discipleship” simply means “following Christ.” “Discipleship” means (a more complicated definition) the process by which someone grows in faith and practice in Christ and is equipped by the Holy Spirit to live life faithfully to God. The passage that we are going to dig into this morning is Luke 9:57-62 where we will see that Jesus is calling us to full lifetime effort with Him when it comes to following Him as a disciple. Jesus specifically targets, in this passage, the excuses we might use to give half-effort when being His disciple. Jesus does not want half-effort from us.
READ Luke 9:57-62 (ESV)
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, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 To another He said, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow You, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
In this passage, people are following Jesus from town to town and they want to be His disciples. They want to be His students. They want to be like Him. They see Him heal the sick and drive out demons and they want to be close to this miracle-working Man. They hear His parables which confound them and push them towards God and they want to be near this wise Teacher Who teaches and preaches about God. In our passage, Jesus encounters three different people who want to follow Him, but really, they only want to do it halfway.
EXCUSES IN THE SCRIPTURE
First, we have a guy (verse 57) come to Jesus and he claims to want to follow Jesus “wherever” He goes. That is the actual words the fellow uses… “wherever.” Being a Christian is following Jesus in all things wherever Jesus leads. Jesus replies to this first man that following Him is not always easy. Specifically, Jesus points out that Jesus’ travels are non-stop and they don’t call anywhere home. There are no breaks. Jesus and His disciples spend day and night traveling and teaching and ministering to growing crowds of people. I think Jesus divinely looks into the heart of this man and knows that constantly following Him is not something he can do or is actually willing to do. The man wants comfort. Jesus doesn’t have that.
So, the first excuse given not to follow Jesus in this Scripture is that following Jesus was tough, not what the person expected, and so he opted out.
Second, we have another man (verse 59) who comes and Jesus gives him the same command He gave His disciples. When Jesus gave the command “follow me” (Matthew 4:18, Mark 1:17) to fishermen Peter, Andrew, James, and John; they dropped their nets and followed Jesus full-time. When Jesus gave the command “follow me” to Matthew the tax collector (Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27), Matthew left his life of tax collecting and followed Jesus full-time. When Jesus told the rich young ruler “follow me” (Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 18:22), he did not because he did not want to give up his wealth and had other priorities. Jesus told Philip “follow me” (John 1:43) and not only did he follow Jesus full-time, but he went and found his friend Nathanael who also followed Jesus.
Jesus said to the man “follow me” just like He said to all these other people. Notice there is nothing added to that. Being a Christian means that we follow Jesus. We follow Jesus… period. There are no phrases after and no “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts.” This particular man has an excuse of why he cannot follow Jesus. He says that he has to bury his father. That is definitely not a bad thing! The English wording in this verse is a little misleading. The situation that the man presents is that his father is ill and is about to die. He asks for time to go home, wait for his father to die, and then he will bury him. Once his father has died, then he will follow Jesus. All of that sounds good, except, to be honest, it puts family before God. A Christian is someone who puts the will of God and faith in Jesus Christ first.
First means first.
First does not mean after important people we love.
First does not mean after a job and all its demands.
First does not mean after sports or hobbies.
First does not mean after our wants and desires.
First does not mean after politics or social beliefs we might hold.
First does not mean after we spend our money on what we want.
First means first.
So, the second excuse given not to follow Jesus in this Scripture is that following Jesus meant that He would be the priority over all other relationships. This was not what the person wanted and so he opted out.
Third, a man (verse 61) comes to Jesus and pledges that He will follow Jesus. This is such a great thing. The desire is there! The faith is there! The willingness and obedience are there! Yet, the man has an excuse that he needs to go and say goodbye to his family. Like the man with an ill father, this also does not seem like a bad thing. The man is stating that he is willing to follow Jesus, but wants to go home and talk it over with family first. Why is that an issue? It is an issue because following Jesus is a whole life transformation. Following Jesus changes everything. Once at home, this man would be tempted to stay there with them and not leave. They might convince him not to go. Jesus encourages the man that he is to follow and not look back. Backwards or yesterday is often a temptation. Faith in Jesus Christ is keeping Jesus as the priority and not allowing any other tempting path to get us off track.
So, the third excuse given not to follow Jesus in this Scripture is that following Jesus meant a total life change in all things and this was not what the person wanted, and so he opted out.
In this passage, three people declare their willingness in one form or another to follow Jesus with their whole hearts. They declare they believe in Jesus with their mouths. Jesus shows us, by His interactions with these folks, that following Jesus as a believer is much more than just words, but also rests in our actions in keeping Jesus as first priority and following Him in all things. These folks had excuses as to why they could not follow Jesus. They had obstacles in the way that they were willing to keep.
SUMMARY
* The first excuse given not to follow Jesus is that following Jesus was tough and not what the person expected.
* The second excuse given not to follow Jesus is that following Jesus meant that Jesus would be the priority over all other relationships and the person was unwilling.
* The third excuse given not to follow Jesus is that following Jesus meant a total life change in all things and this was not what the person wanted.
ILLUSTRATION… HALF-WORDS ARE NEVER GOOD (www.idioms.thefreedictionary.com)
We started out this morning talking about how doing things halfway never seems to go well. You know, words with “half” in them also never seem to be good. Putting the word “half” with something usually makes it a word that describes something undesirable.
Half-Baked: not thought out or planned carefully
Half-Cocked: to be totally unprepared
Half-Crocked: to be drunk
Half-Lit: to be drunk
Half-Sprung: to be drunk
Half-Stewed: to be drunk
Half-Under: to be drunk or unconscious
Half Way Up the Pole: to be drunk
Half-Hearted: lack of effort or lack of enthusiasm
Half-Pint: a small weak insignificant person
Half-Way Decent: somewhat good, but not really
Half-Wit: someone who is not very smart
None of these words are good! None of them you would want said about you. None of these we would want to be said about someone we love. “Half” of anything seems to be not a good idea.
EXPECTATION OF JESUS
As we look at this passage and others in the Scriptures, we find a consistent expectation of God and Jesus when it comes to following Him. Jesus Christ wants us to follow Him full-time with full effort and will all our hearts. God does not want our half-hearted half-baked half-cocked half-witted effort in following Him. God wants our total worship on Him because He deserves it.
READ LUKE 6:46 (ESV)
46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
READ 1 JOHN 2:3-6 (ESV)
And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know Him” but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps His Word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him: 6 whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.
What do all these verses tell us? They tell us to wake up and smell the perseverance. These passages along with the Gospels tell us that following Jesus is not a half-hearted part of our lives. Jesus has real expectations of us when we decide to follow Him.
EXCUSES WE GIVE
I was thinking about this issue and I think we still give Jesus excuses about why we cannot fully follow Him with all our heart. All of us are different in our excuse skills, but I am sure that we all probably fall into one of the categories that Jesus describes or some related categories I came up with.
Do these apply to you? Do these apply to me? Do these apply to us? What are the three excuses Jesus describes? I can even add a few more.
#1 (from the passage) TOUGH DEMANDS
In the passage, following Jesus would have been physically demanding and tough. What about us? Are there commands or ways of living that we feel are too high and is not what we expected?
Example: When it comes to money, maybe we feel tithing 10% to God is too high and is a tough expectation. We didn’t realize God directs our finances and we don’t really want to follow Him in this area.
Example: When it comes to marriage, maybe we feel we should get to pick the person we love or maybe love just happens. We didn’t realize God’s will and even His commands extend to our marriages and our bedrooms.
We end up giving God half-effort because the demands are too tough.
#2 (from the passage) GOD IS THE FIRST PRIORITY
In the passage, following Jesus means He takes priority over all other relationships. What about us? Are there relationships we feel should be above God?
Example: Our child or grandchild who lives in our home doesn’t want to come to church with us on a regular basis. We want to love them and let them find their own way so we give them the choice. We don’t realize a relationship with God comes first and we need to teach that no matter the consequences.
Example: We are single and have the opportunity to date and great guy or girl. They are not a Christian. We are. We let that relationship have priority over God’s commands because we want to love who we want to love.
We end up giving God half-effort because we just don’t want to put Him first over others.
#3 (from the passage) TOTAL LIFE CHANGE
In the passage, following Jesus means a total life change. What about us? Are there habits and elements of our lives we are unwilling to give up because we want them?
Example: We like to have a beer every day after work, with meals at home, at parties, and when we go out to eat. We do get drunk sometimes. Yet, it is not something we really want to give up because it makes us feel normal.
Example: A new TV show comes on that everyone at work, at school, on the team, and at the tractor knitting club is talking about. The TV show is just about as anti-God as you can get. We want to watch the show to fit in even though we know we shouldn’t. We want to watch TV and be entertained.
We end up giving God half-effort because we just don’t want to totally change.
#4 TOO MUCH TIME
Our lives and world are increasingly busy. Children and grandchildren make our lives busy. Organizations we are a part of make us busy. Places we volunteer make us busy. Working makes us busy. Following Jesus means giving time to God in Bible study, prayer, worship services, serving in the church, serving others, and being part of the Body of Christ. We might have the excuse that we just don’t have the time. Sundays are for sleeping in and family time. Bible study takes up too much time. Prayer before meals is good enough. We hear the minister say regular attendance is 4 Sundays of the month and we just disagree and we do what we want. We hear the minister say Sunday School and D-Groups or Wednesday nights should be a regular part of our week and we just don’t want to give those extra hours.
Does this apply to you? Does this apply to me?
#5 NOBODY ELSE IS DOING IT
It is possible for us to look around in our lives and wonder if we are the only one who takes our faith seriously. Other people who claim to be Christians live together unmarried. Other people hold grudges and oust people from their lives. Other people just drop a couple of bucks into the offering plate. Other people who claim to be Christians just go to church once a month. Other people leave their Bible in the back seat all week and grab it on the way into church. Other people watch that TV show or that movie or download that album. It is possible for us to be sucked into the lifestyle choices of the people around us that draw us away from God and put us into part-time mode with God.
Does this apply to you? Does this apply to me?
#6 I LOVE GOD, BUT NOT ORGANIZED CHURCH
Over and over I hear the excuse that people love God, but they don’t have to be a disciple of Jesus that is part of His Church. An organized church gives an opportunity to grow in faith with other believers, pool money for God’s Kingdom, keep us accountable, worship together, and mentor others in faith. God calls His Church the Body of Christ. He uses those words. What happens to a foot if it is separated from the Body? What happens to any body part when it is separated from the Body? It dies. This excuse is our pride and our preferences and perhaps bad teaching that influences us away from full-time following Jesus.
Does this apply to you? Does this apply to me?
THE CHALLENGE: MEET EXPECTATIONS
Jesus Christ had people who followed Him regularly and wanted to be part of His ministry. They wanted to see the miracles and hear the teaching. They wanted to feel good about being in the presence of Jesus. We should not miss the Truth that Jesus has expectations of us. If I lay out for you seven steps to be a good Bible study girl or nine ways of Biblical manhood, then I am being a Pharisee in many ways. I want to encourage you and be helpful and definitely don’t want to be a Pharisee.
So, how about this? How about we start by looking at 4 hours out of the 168 hours you have in 1 week. I am asking you to think about 5.5% of your week. This takes out all sleeping hours assuming 8 hours a night and 40 hours for work, I am asking you to think about the 5.5% of the 72 hours left over. That 5.5% a week is based mostly at church and not counting any personal Bible study or prayer you may have with God because this is just a starting point to get our minds and hearts examining ourselves. This is an imperfect human thought exercise.
How about this? In 1 week of 168 hours: Worship 1 Hour, Study 1 Hour, Serve 1 Hour, and Share Faith 1 Hour. Those four items are 5.5% percent of your entire available week. We are talking bare minimum here.
Do we do the bare minimum?
Do we give excuses?
Do we meet the barest of expectations?
PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL
It occurs to me that not everyone listening to me is a believer in Christ. Not everyone has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We have talked about excuses this morning. There are plenty of excuses when it comes to not believing in Jesus and all of them should be cast aside.
Excuse: I need to get my life in order before I come to Jesus.
Excuse: God can’t forgive what I have done.
Excuse: I don’t need Jesus to forgive me.
Excuse: It’s too late for me to do that.
READ JOHN 3:16-18 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.
PRAYER
CONCLUSION
