Luke 9:51-62
Eads and Haswell United Methodist Churches
July 1, 2001
“no way, yeah but, and whatever you say”
I sat down to write this sermon and found myself almost finished with it,
When it dawned on, man, even I am bored.
Those poor people who have to sit and listen to me preach.
There really is nothing new here.
This is not the most dynamic story I have ever heard in Scripture.
No one dies, nothing gets blown up,
There is nothing really all that life changing.
What am I supposed to do with this thing?
Then God spoke to me.
John, did you bother to ask me what I think of this story?
Well God, no not really.
Maybe I should.
Yes John. Maybe you should.
So I prayed about it,
And saw something here that I have never seen before.
What a great story!
I mean it.
There is a lot more here than meets the eye.
Okay, so maybe it really isn’t all that enlightening from our own human perspective,
But from God’s point of view, there is really a lesson here for us.
I call it…
“no way, yeah but, and whatever you say”
These are the three types of people we run into this mornings Scripture.
And they are also the three kind of people that God has to deal with on a regular basis.
Let’s take another look…
Scripture tells us that Jesus was on a journey to Samaria.
Actually, in the literal Greek,
It uses the word journey 6 times.
This is obviously important to the story.
Jesus is going somewhere.
He is not a drifter.
He is not a vagrant.
He is not a wanderer.
Jesus is the man with a plan.
He even has his own VIP PR team that he has sent out ahead to make
Reservations for the Ramada Inn where they will be staying,
And the largest football coliseum that he can address as many people
As possible.
Here we come to our first response that God often hears from us.
No way!
Get out of town.
Pack it up and leave us alone.
Like I said, this is the first response that God is used to hearing from people.
No way God.
You are not welcome here.
We do things around hear the way that I want.
Keep on going.
Adios.
Now take a look at the response…
The response of the disciples is complete indignation to the point of absurdity
And great amusement.
Jesus, let’s call fire down from heaven and nuke these ingrates
Back to the stone age.
We’ll show them.
I have to tell you that I laughed out loud when I read this for the first time.
I can only imagine Jesus’ reaction.
Scripture tells us that he rebuked them.
I wish someone was there taking notes that day
So we could all here what a scolding from the Son of God
Would sound like.
The second time I read the story though,
I did not find it to be quite so amusing.
Even as absurd and ridiculous as this request was,
It tells us something else…
Those who were the closest to Jesus, still had no clue who he was.
That makes me sad.
Jesus was truly alone among these people who did not understand him.
This is a point that I will revisit later in this sermon.
Rather than responding according to the disciples wishes,
We find that Jesus shows us the way that God responds to people who are not interested
In him… The “no way” folks, He passes right on by.
He does not stop…
He does not with them…
He does not punish them…
He does not go out of his way to proselytize them.
He just says, okay, if that’s the way you want it for now,
So be it…
And he keeps right on going.
Why?
Remember, we are on a journey here.
Jesus is the man with the plan.
He is not going to beat the door down to go
Where he is not wanted.
Jesus is a gentlemen in this story
Just as he still is today.
He does not force himself where he is not wanted.
Then we come to our second type of person in this story.
I will call them the “yeah, butter”
Their motto…
Yeah but this…
Yeah but that…
Yeah but, yeah but, yeah but.
This is another person that God has become well aquainted with.
In Scripture, it looks like Jesus is well aquainted with them too.
Let’s look again…
Luke 9:57-62
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, first let me go and bury my father." 60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 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 a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." (NRSV)
Now, on the surface we have three very reasonable requests from potential disciples,
And three completely unreasonable responses from Jesus.
We do not really know what the first guy was angling for,
We just know that Jesus let him know that he was going to end up homeless
If he did indeed follow.
Yeah, but… And that was the end of him.
The second guy Jesus said,
“Follow me.”
Very short, very direct.
His response was,
“yeah but,” let me go bury my father.
A perfectly reasonable request, but it is not what Jesus had asked of him.
For all we know,
If the man had agreed, Jesus would have led him back to his father and
Who knows what would have happened.
Funny things happened when Jesus got around dead people.
Remember, dead folks had trouble staying dead around him.
Jesus is not insensitive around those who grieve,
He in Scripture has a way of turning their
sorrow to joy.
Jesus said “follow me.”
He yeah butted, and he was gone.
The third guy makes the perfectly reasonable request of
Going home to say goodbye to his family.
Perfectly reasonable.
Can you imagine trying to explain to your family why you took off for 3 years
Without saying goodbye?
Don’t bother.
They are not going to be interested in your explanation.
We are on a journey here.
There is a time table.
Jesus is the man with the plan.
Are you in or out.
Yeah but, I need to go home first.
“yeah but” is not good enough
even if it is for a great reason.
You are the weakest link. Good bye.
I want you to notice that all three of our yeah butters
In this story had excellent reasons to resist.
Yet, what do we find?
Jesus is consistent.
Your “yeah but” gets you a “don’t bother.”
Why?
I think God is trying to tell us something here.
He is not interested in our excuses.
He is interested in our obedience.
He will take care of the rest of the details if we will just let him.
I wonder how many folks who call themselves Christians
Are truly followers of Christ?
This is where it gets a little hairy,
Because we are no longer talking about what you believe,
But the way you live.
Here is a story of people approaching and wanting to follow Jesus,
But they flat out won’t do what he is asking them to do.
How can you follow someone if you are not willing to do what they ask of you?
It doesn’t work.
He is on the journey.
He is the man with the plan.
Do you want to come along or not?
Let your yes be yes or your no be no.
I do not care what you believe if you are not willing to do what
I am telling you to do.
God gets this person a lot.
In fact, if I read my statistics correctly,
That’s just about each and every one of us.
What are the two greatest commandments?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.
And Love your neighbor as yourself, or better yet, as I have loved you.
Wow…
There goes a lot of us right there.
Those are supposed to be the easy two.
That is the bottom line.
That is the limbo stick set at 6 feet tall.
It shouldn’t be too hard to get under that one.
Yet, here we are…
Yeah but, what about my neighbor?
Yeah but what about my family?
Yeah but what about that trouble maker in the church?
(why do I get the feeling everyone is staring at me right now? )
Errrrrrr.
Yeah but gets you nowhere.
God does not want to hear an excuse,
Even if it is a great one.
God wants our obedience and trust.
He will figure out the details.
Okay, let’s lower that limbo stick a bit.
How many people honestly give a tithe to the church?
That is 10% of you income as a sacrifice to God?
Why not? You have been told to in God’s word?
Yet only 2% of Christians tithe.
Yeah but I have a great reason not to!
I am sure you do.
So do I!
But God is not interested in our yeah buts.
God is interested in our obedience and trust
Knowing that he will take care of us.
I heard of one church that offered a money back guarantee on people’s tithes.
If after one year, you do not believe that God is honoring his part of the deal,
We will give you back your money.
If you do not see with your own two eyes that ninety percent of your money blessed by God
Will go farther than 100% that you hang on to yourself…
We will give you back your money.’
In all the years they have had this policy,
not one person has ever asked for there money back.
Why?
God is faithful.
Are we willing to follow what he asks us to do?
Or do we stand and find all the many excellent excuses to
Yeah but him, in Jesus case, literally to death.
Now, I have only given you 3 cases of where we “yeah but”
God, but there are far more ways than that.
Each and every one of us has done it,
And many of us will continue.
That is the difference between a follower and a disciple.
A follower is willing to give God a little bit of their lives,
Probably out of guilt, and then a bunch of excuses
For all the things that God has asked of them that seem unreasonable.
People of God,
God is not reasonable.
At least, not to our human way of understanding.
God does not ask us to reason with him.
He asks us to follow us on the journey that he has set out for us.
Now, I told you there were three types of people.
We have heard from the “no ways”
And we have heard from the “yeah butters”
Both of these people got similar responses from Jesus.
Goodbye.
But then there was the third type.
The “whatever you say” folks.
Now, are these great and powerful people of God
Who understand the greatest mysteries of the universe, spirituality,
And God himself’s very mind heart and soul?
Hardly.
The third type in this story is once again the bumbling disciples
Who do not have any clue what Jesus is about or what he is up to.
Once again they get it all wrong.
“Shall we cause fire to fall down from heaven?”
No John, don’t even go there.
“Shall we have the fire consume them”
No James. And quit playing with matches.
I told you earlier that I would come back to talking about
Jesus being completely alone,
Even in the midst of his closest friends.
They did not understand him.
They didn’t have the slightest clue.
In fact, when we repeatedly keep seeing the most outrageous and bizzare
Responses from these people.
Why on earth would Jesus surround himself with this band of idiots?
We have already heard the answer several times this morning.
To be a disciple, a true follower of Christ,
We are not asked to be great thinkers or reasoners,
We are asked to be obedient.
The disciples did not have a clue who Jesus was,
They did not have a clue where they were going,
They did not have a clue of what waited in store for them.
All they knew was that this was the man with the plan.
He is on journey here, and I want to go with him.
Whatever you say Jesus.
Whatever you say.
And from this group of meager peasants, fisherman, a tax collector, and some farmers,
The church was born.
2000 years later we still sit here in awe of the magnificence of what
God did in the lives of these men through his Son Jesus Christ.
And we still wait, hope, and pray that he will do it again,
Through us.
So how ‘bout it?
Who are you in this story?
There are probably a few “no way” folks here who were drug in by a family member
Or friend.
But most of us here are the “yeah butters”
Yeah, but God, there are all these reasons that I cannot lay
My life at your feet and follow and trust you.
Yeah but God, I cannot really do what you have asked
Me to do because I have all these great reasons.
Yeah but God, if you just wait a little while longer,
My life will be in a place that I can do what you ask of me.
It doesn’t work.
Jesus goes on with his journey without you.
It does not have to be like that.
It is a choice you make.
Obedience and trust.
Doubt and excuses.
What will it be?
Is there anyone who will follow?
Is there anyone who is willing to look into the eyes of Jesus
And say to him…
Whatever you say Lord, I will follow.
If there is one here
Who wants to truly be not just a follower full of excuses,
But a disciple who is willing to do what they are told
And follow the teaching of Jesus and the Word,
Then just pray with me now…
Lord Jesus Christ…
I want to be your disciple. I will do whatever you ask of me. Holy Spirit, convict me of my excuses. I ask that my life testifies to my beliefs. I covenant that I will listen and follow when you speak to me. Open my heart and my ears to hear what you have to say. I will follow you even if I do not understand. Create a new disciple in me O Lord. Amen.
