After Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) and started to depend the times to His arrest and crucifixion, the Gospel of Luke tells us of three males that He and His disciples encountered “as they have been going alongside the street” (9:57). We don’t know who these males have been, nor do we all know what their historical past with Jesus was. However we all know that they have been at a second of choice: Would they comply with Jesus, or would they go house once more?
Every of those three males acquired a putting phrase from the Lord, and it shortly grew to become obvious that to comply with Jesus includes value. The discipleship that Jesus calls for is neither a type of unfastened affiliation nor a marginal curiosity from the periphery. It means the sacrifice of our comforts, our pleasures, and even our most valuable relationships for the sake of God’s kingdom.
The Keen Would-Be Disciple
The primary man Jesus encountered was keen: “As they have been going alongside the street, somebody mentioned to him, ‘I’ll comply with you wherever you go.’ And Jesus mentioned to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, however the Son of Man has nowhere to put his head’” (Luke 9:57–58).
When folks see a crowd, it’s straightforward to get caught up within the motion. Our feelings can run away with us, main us to make commitments we don’t absolutely perceive. After all, Jesus deserves such a dedication. That in itself is just not incorrect. However a spur-of-the-moment promise is just not the identical factor as Christian religion.
To comply with Jesus includes value.
Jesus says to this man, in impact, “In case you suppose you’re going to comply with Me wherever I am going, you need to know the place I’m going.” There’s a value to following Jesus. It isn’t a pleasure cruise. In truth, it means giving up lots of life’s “fleeting pleasures” (Heb. 11:25).
When Jesus mentioned this, did He forbid house possession (or pillows) for all of His followers—or, as His reply to the following man will recommend, funerals? Does His reply to the third man contradict Paul’s instructing about caring for relations (1 Tim. 5:8) or remaining trustworthy to unbelieving spouses (1 Cor. 7:12–13)? Completely not! Jesus usually gave solutions tailor-made to the person and the state of affairs, and that is no exception. His days have been numbered, and He was on His path to the cross. The occasions to return would shortly flip again the would-be disciple.
But these phrases are recorded in Scripture for the advantage of all Christians, they usually have one thing necessary to show us: We don’t stroll within the footsteps of Christ anticipating worldly comforts to be the outcome. In truth, we must count on the alternative. On condition that, will we comply with the one who has “nowhere to put his head”?
The Accountable Would-Be Disciple
The primary man had been a volunteer. The second was a conscript. As with Peter and Andrew, James and John, and the remaining, Jesus prolonged His private invitation: “Observe me” (Luke 9:59). These earlier disciples had “instantly left … their father and adopted him” (Matt. 4:22). However this man mentioned, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (Luke 9:59).
The person’s father could not have been lifeless. He could have been forty-five and anticipating to stay one other thirty years, in order that the person was saying, “I’ve a life to stay with my household first. I’ve a accountability to take care of my father.” In trendy parlance, one may say to Jesus, “If I comply with You now, my father would go proper by way of the roof. My spouse will go utterly nuts. My youngsters gained’t make it to their soccer follow.”
To such a sentiment Jesus replies, “Go away the lifeless to bury their very own lifeless” (v. 60), telling the person that he shouldn’t let the truth that his household gained’t comply with Jesus stop him from changing into a disciple himself.
Maybe extra possible, although, the daddy actually was lifeless. The delay could be only some days, and the matter was of maximum urgency. If that’s the case, then Jesus, in a dramatic and chilling name, made it completely clear that following Christ is even extra pressing. When the decision comes, even probably the most urgent and intimate household obligations should take second place.
The Sentimental Would-Be Disciple
The third man mentioned, “I’ll comply with you, Lord, however let me first say farewell to these at my house” (Luke 9:61). This isn’t so momentous a necessity as a household funeral, nor does it represent a lot of a delay. It appears to be an inexpensive request—and Jesus’ reply once more appears harsh against this: “Nobody who places his hand to the plow and appears again is match for the dominion of God” (v. 62).
In different phrases, neither one thing as momentous because the demise of a beloved one nor one thing as fast as a easy goodbye should be allowed to intrude with what it means to comply with the Lord Jesus Christ. What issues most is just not the character of the excuse however the reality of it. The offending phrases on this case have been “however … first ….”
Real Christian discipleship leaves no room for excuse, no room for compromise, and no room for half-heartedness.
Jesus tells the person that nobody ever plowed a straight furrow whereas trying again over his shoulder. Within the flight from Sodom, Lot’s spouse failed by trying again (Gen. 19:26). Within the flight from Egypt, Israel failed by trying again (Ex. 16:3). So, too, if we have now determined to comply with Jesus, we should be able to say, “No turning again, no turning again.” Real Christian discipleship leaves no room for excuse, no room for compromise, and no room for half-heartedness . We should guard towards feeling a surge of emotion and supposing that to be nearly as good as truly setting out on the trail of obedience.
Pilgrim’s Flight
John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress begins with a memorable scene that will assist us to grasp Jesus’ solutions to the three males. Within the allegory, the person who will likely be known as Pilgrim, and later Christian, hears that he could also be freed from his burden of sin and demise by setting out on a journey. His response is dramatic:
The person started to run. Now he had not run removed from his personal door, however his spouse and youngsters, perceiving it, started to cry after him to return; however the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on crying, Life! life! everlasting life! So he appeared not behind him, however fled in the direction of the center of the plain.
Did he not love his spouse and youngsters? After all he did! But the salvation of his soul was of better urgency than any household tie. (Certainly, in the middle of the story, it’s going to imply the salvation of his household too.) It’s this sense of urgency that confronts a person or lady when the decision comes from Jesus: “Observe me.”
Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for sin, and God raised Him from the lifeless as a pledge of recent life for all who consider in Him. He calls on everybody to show from sin and honor Him as Lord. Do you consider? Will you comply with? Or will you say, “However first…” This very night time, your soul could also be required of you (Luke 12:20). Don’t delay!
This text was tailored from the sermon “Following Jesus” by Alistair Begg.
