Luke 9:57-62 (3)
The Gospel of Luke • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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-Well, we’ve come, at last...
…to the final section of Luke 9.
And, as always… I would encourage you...
…to turn there and follow along...
…in your own Bibles.
-What we have in these verses (57-62)...
…is Jesus’ conversation with...
....three would-be disciples...
…who illustrate to us, what are, perhaps...
…the three most common hindrances...
…to true and actual discipleship.
The JFB Commentary describes...
…the three categories like this:
The Precipitate Disciple
The Procrastinating Disciple
The Irresolute Disciple
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(Keep in mind that that’s an older commentary)
(We’ll try to simplify and explain those descriptions...
…as we go through it)
-But, I hope you can already see...
…that these are going to be convicting verses...
…for us all!
But, they’re verses that we need to hear.
And they’re verse that...
…we need to do business with...
...in our own hearts.
-Jesus was always clear...
…when it came to...
...the daunting demands of discipleship.
He was always transparent, about...
What it entailed
What they could expect to encounter as a result.
We had better make sure that we...
Have met that criteria for ourselves
Call others to the same manner of discipleship...
…that Jesus does!
We’re not being faithful to him...
…if we don’t.
Amen?
Alright, let’s read our text...
…and ask for the Spirit’s help.
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.”
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Pray
-As you can see at the beginning of Verse 57...
…this episode takes place...
…as Jesus continues on his way...
…down to Jerusalem.
-Remember that this new section had begun in...
Luke 9:51 (ESV)
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
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-Now, the first incident along the way...
…that Luke recorded...
…was the rejection of Jesus...
…by the Samaritan village.
Those people had had no desire whatsoever...
…to be in Jesus’ presence.
But now, we see a series of instances...
…where the opposite APPEARS to be true.
The three men (in today’s text)...
...all initially profess...
…to have a desire for Christ’s presence.
-The first of these men...
...is introduced at the end of Verse 57:
Luke 9:57 (ESV)
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
-Now, I underlined the word “wherever” . . .
…to emphasize to you...
…the man’s precipitate (Premature) (JFB) zeal!
In other words...
He volunteers to go
He initiates
He sets no limitations on it.
(At least in what he says).
But, the key word in his statement...
…is really the word “follow.”
It’s the theme of this whole section
And, it shows up in all three examples.
One Lexicon explains:
This word literally refers to following after someone physically . . . However, in the NT it is also sometimes used as a term for becoming a disciple...
These two concepts are not fully distinct; Jesus’ disciples did in fact literally follow him around, but they also left behind their former lives to devote themselves fully to him. — CHRIS BYRLEY
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They understood this connotation, brethren.
It wasn’t a knew concept to them.
This man probably knew that, too.
But, we can tell from...
...Jesus’ response to him in Verse 58...
…that he was probably assuming...
…the wrong destination.
He may have had in mind...
…an earthly Messianic conquest...
…that would have actually...
…IMPROVED the quality of his earthly life.
In other words...
…He may have thought that...
…becoming one of Jesus’ men...
…was going to bring him...
Glamour
Fame
Wealth
Status
-We don’t know his heart...
But, Jesus sure did...
And, look at the way he responds, in Verse 58.
I'm sure it was quite sobering to the man:
Luke 9:58 (ESV)
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.”
In other words...
The wild beasts...
They have their real estate
They have their comforts
But, the Son of Man...
(Their incarnate Creator)
(The Messianic King)
…He possesses neither (in his humanity).
And if you “disciple” him...
…you may very well be called to that as well.
-Now, this man appears to have two problems:
1.) He doesn’t understand the nature of...
Jesus’ Work
Discipleship
2.) He simply hasn’t counted the cost!
He has volunteered impulsively and prematurely.
He wasn’t going to...
…become a noble in King Jesus’ Court.
To be Jesus’ man...
…meant following his example of self-sacrifice.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
This wealth isn’t temporal and physical:
We know in vivid detail...
…what it was like for many of Jesus’ men:
Paul also wrote:
1 Corinthians 4:11–13 (ESV)
11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,
12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
-Brethren, Jesus doesn’t deceive.
He is open and up front...
…about what He calls his people to:
Luke 9:23–24 (ESV)
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
-Now, look at Verse 59.
There, we see the Procrastinating Disciple (JFB):
Luke 9:59 (ESV)
59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Notice:
This guy didn’t approach on his own
He was called by Jesus to follow him (What an honor!).
And... unlike the Samaritans...
…he doesn’t outright refuse the call.
He says, rather...
“Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
So, this is a very different scenario...
…than the first.
This guy isn’t hasty and impulsive.
He’s thinking it through a little more.
But, he wants to negotiate the terms.
He calls Jesus “Lord,” . . .
…but he put something else “first!”
Regardless of what that “first” ends up being...
…those are going to be contradictory positions.
“That dog won’t hunt” — Voddie Bauchum
-But, let’s be honest here.
The man’s request seems reasonable, doesn’t it?
When we first read it...
…we take it as saying...
The Man’s Father had died
He just wants to attend the funeral.
Right?
And the Moral Law commands the...
...honoring of father and mother...
And Jesus didn’t come to set aside the Law...
…but to fulfill...
Right?
This is where we must be careful...
…to not interpret the scripture...
Anachronistically (explain)
Philip Ryken explains this for us:
Here it helps to know the cultural background.
On a first reading, most people assume that this conversation took place sometime between the death of the man’s father and his proper burial.
But in all likelihood, his father was not yet dead.
In those days Jewish people buried their dead within twenty-four hours, and family members sat with the body of the deceased until it was laid to rest.
If the father had died already, his son would not have been talking with Jesus at all, but sitting at home with his family in mourning. — Ryken
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-You see, he’s not just asking...
…to go and attend a funeral.
He’s asking to delay his service to Christ...
…until it is a convenient time...
…for his earthly family.
That’s a little different, isn’t it?
Contrast this with...
…His call of previous disciples:
Matthew 4:18–22 (ESV)
18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew 9:9 (ESV)
9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
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This man is called… and he says...
Yes, sir...
I will...
Just later on...
When its more convenient for my family.
Don’t want to put any hardship on them.
After all, I’m covenanted with them.
-Look at Jesus’ troubling response in Verse 60:
Luke 9:60 (ESV)
60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead...
Is that a physical possibility?
So, what does he mean?
It’s a spiritual metaphor
He’s saying that his natural family...
...is spiritually dead.
Ephesians 2:1 (ESV)
1 ...dead in the trespasses and sins
(An Old Covenant family, mind you)
He’s describing them the way...
…Paul described the hedonistic widow in...
1 Timothy 5:6 (ESV)
6 but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.
-And, he makes a contrast between...
Those with a cold, dead orthodoxy
Those with a living faith...
…at the end of Verse 60:
Luke 9:60 (ESV)
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.”
He’s implying 2 Things here:
1.) The spiritually dead are quite capable...
…of caring for their physical households.
It doesn’t necessarily take the Spirit of God to do that!
2.) The Spiritual awakened (NC Believer)...
…has a GREATER priority in his life!
The Great Commission...
…Supersedes (Fills up and Surpasses)...
…The Original Creation Mandate!
-Am I saying… that Jesus was saying...
…that it’s okay to neglect your family?
Well, let’s see:
1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV)
8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
I’d say that’s a hard NO!
Mark 7:9–13 (ESV)
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)—
12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,
13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down...
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I’d say that’s a hard NO, too!
When ministers intentionally neglect their families...
…they’re not doing it out of the fear of the Lord.
They’re using their ministry...
…as an excuse to be lazy and selfish.
-So, how do we reconcile these statements?
By understanding the issue of ultimacy.
That’s the issue, here.
What is the ultimate duty?
Remember this passage?
Luke 14:26–33 (ESV)
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
He’s warning them to consider...
…the daunting demands of discipleship
What are they?
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Our text is saying the same thing:
Ryken’s Commentary again explains:
David Gooding comments: “If Jesus is God’s Son, our first duty is towards him. A man who considers that he has a prior duty to fulfill before he is free to become a follower of Christ, has no concept of who Christ is.”
Nothing is more important than following Jesus, not even the claims of our own families, which are the strongest of all earthly claims.
If it comes down to a choice—as it sometimes does—we must do what Jesus wants us to do, not what our family wants us to do.
In the words of Cyril of Alexandria, “the fear of God is to be set even above the reverence and love due to parents.” — Ryken
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I believe that that...
…is Jesus’ sobering point to the man.
-Alright… on to the third illustration!
The Irresolute (Wavering) Disciple:
Luke 9:61 (ESV)
61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
This seems even more reasonable...
…than the last, doesn’t it?
It sounds like he’s...
…just wanting to say goodbye.
30 minutes!
Remember, that Elijah had permitted Elisha...
…to do the same:
1 Kings 19:19–21 (ESV)
19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him.
20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”
21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
He Got his affairs in order
Blessed his family
Entered, without chance of return...
…into his new vocation.
Sounds like what the (assumedly) Jewish man...
…in our text, is wanting to do.
But, look at what Jesus tells him:
Luke 9:62 (ESV)
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
You see, the man’s not just...
…wanting to say goodbye.
He’s probably wanting to...
Go back
Get things in order
So that he has something to come back to.
He’s probably not planning to...
Kill and eat his oxen.
He’s wanting to keep one foot in each door.
Calvin said this:
It appears that he was too strongly attached to the world, to be ready and prepared to follow Christ
This is the true reason why Christ reproves him so severely: for, while he was professing in words that he would be a follower of Christ, he turned his back upon him, till he had despatched his worldly business. — Calvin
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-Brethren, what do you have to do...
…in order to plow straight rows?
You have to fix your eyes ahead...
…to the goal at the end.
(particularly, in a large field...
…not in a row garden)
What happens if you keep...
Turning around
Looking behind yourself?
Are you going to be fit to be a plowman...
…if you do that?
That’s what he’s saying here.
-You see, he knew the man’s heart.
He knew the real intent...
…behind the words.
And, he tells him...
It’s all or nothing...
…when it comes to the Kingdom of God!
That’s a fence that will...
…divide you asunder...
…if you try to straddle it!
The message really is that simple.
Paul shows us how we ought to plow:
Philippians 3:13–14 (ESV)
13 ...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
That’s our calling, brethren
-I love this simple summary from The BBC:
And so we have three cardinal hindrances to discipleship illustrated in the experience of these men:
1.Material comforts.
2.A job or an occupation.
3.Family and friends.
Christ must reign in the heart without a rival. All other loves and all other loyalties must be secondary. — Beliver’s Bible Commentary
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Does that take the Spirit of God?
Let’s ask for His help.