Luke 9:51-62 - The Spirit & Path of the Cross

Introduction

[READING - Luke 9:51-62]

Luke 9:51–62 NASB95

51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village. 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, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

[PRAYER]

[INTER] Do we understand the way of the cross? Do we understand the way of following Jesus?

We sing, “Wherever he leads, I’ll go,” and that certainly should be out impulse, but is it true?

What if he leads us into unfamiliar, uncomfortable places? Dangerous places? Lonely places?

What if he won’t let us set the agenda?

What if he demands to be the focus?

Will we follow him then?

[CIT] In this passage, Jesus reminded James and John of his purpose and informed some would-be followers of the cost of discipleship.

[PROP] Let us pay attention and make sure we understand the spirit and path of the cross.

Major Ideas

#1: The Spirit of the Cross (Luke 9:51-56)

Luke 9:51–56 NASB95

51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.

[ILLUS] Bryant and I playing music / me playing the wrong chord, still in the band but not on the same sheet of music // James and John are in the band not on the same sheet of music as Jesus, not of the same spirit

[EXP] At this point in Luke’s narrative of the life of Christ, Jesus’ ministry in Galilee has come to a close, and Jesus begins his journey to Jerusalem.

There he will ascend or be taken up—first to Calvary, then to the cross, and then up to heaven after he is taken up from the grave.

But although he knew what lay ahead of him, he was determined to go—he had set his face to go to Jerusalem, and nothing could stop him.

He sent messengers ahead of him. If Jesus and his followers showed up unexpected, it could exhaust the resources of the Samaritan village they intended to pass through. Preparations had to be made.

But the Samaritans did not welcome Jesus because Jesus was a Jew headed to Jerusalem.

The Jewish historian, Josephus, recorded that the Samaritans sometimes killed Jews who were on the way to Jerusalem.

James and John, nicknamed the sons of thunder because of their aggressive temperament, wanted to call down fire from heaven and consume the inhospitable Samaritans.

Perhaps when Jesus spoke to them about being taken up, they pictured something like Elijah being taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire, and now like Elijah on Mt. Carmel, they thought they would call down fire from heaven to destroy the opponents of Jesus.

But this wasn’t Mt. Carmel.

Jesus was headed for Mt. Calvary.

He rebuked James and John.

He had come to save people not destroy them.

James and John were operating from a spirit of condemnation but the spirit of the cross is salvation.

[APP] Do you know this? Do you know that Jesus is not out to condemn you but to save you? Although, like the Samaritans, you rejected him, he didn’t call fire down on you but went to the cross to be condemned in your place.

In John 3:17-18, Jesus said…

John 3:17–18 ESV

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.

Your sin against God has condemned you.

Jesus has gone up to the cross to save you.

Do you know this?

Will you believe?

Will you communicate this? The spirit of the cross is salvation, but so many people live with a spirit of condemnation.

They may not realize it, but people sense their condemnation. It makes them angry at and condemning of others.

It makes them want to call down fire from heaven—not righteously as Elijah did—but self-righteously as James and John desired to do.

And some who sense their condemnation are not only angry with others but also with themselves. They would call down fire to consume themselves if they could.

In either case, what people need to experience is the forgiveness poured out in blood for us at the cross.

At the cross, Jesus took our condemnation upon himself and gave us his righteousness; he gave us peace with God, peace with others, and even peace with ourselves if we believe.

This is the good news that we get to tell if we believe.

If you think God is out to condemn you, look to the cross and believe that Jesus, the Son of God, was determined to save you.

If the sense of your condemnation has made you angry with others or with yourself, look to the cross and be angry no more.

You are forgiven.

There is no fire coming down from heaven for you.

God isn’t angry with you.

And if he isn’t angry with you, there is no need for you to be angry with yourself or anyone else.

[TS]…

#2: The Path of the Cross (Luke 9:57-62)

Luke 9:57–62 NASB95

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, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

[ILLUS] Children saying “Ii can do that.” / Neighbor kid spinning basketball on his finger

[EXP] Along the road to Jerusalem, some volunteered themselves as disciples of Jesus and some others were called. In either case, the volunteers and the called had to learn what it mean to follow Jesus to the cross—to follow him in the way of sacrificial love.

There was MR. I WILL FOLLOW in vv. 57-58. He made a bold claim. He said that he would follow Jesus wherever he went, but he had not considered that Jesus wasn’t not be headed for a throne in Jerusalem but a cross.

There was discomfort up ahead for Jesus, which he communicated by saying, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Then there was MR. BURY MY FATHER in vv. 59-60. He had the wrong priority. He was concerned about burying his father, a process that, according to Jewish tradition, could’ve taken up to a year if the father had just died. If the father was still alive, who knows how long this man would have put off following Jesus.

Jesus gave him the priority along the path to the cross, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

Then there was MR. SAY GOOD-BYE in vv. 61-62. He had the wrong focus. He wanted to follow Jesus but was focused on saying good-bye to those at home. Was he looking for a big going away party? Was he genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of those left behind? We don’t know.

Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The spirit of the cross salvation through sacrifice, and for the disciples who follow Jesus along that path there will be discomfort, the priority will be the proclamation of the kingdom, and the focus will be on what remains to be done for the kingdom.

[APP] Perhaps we have a lot in common with MR. I WILL FOLLOW.

We are eager to name Jesus as our Savior but less eager to risk our comfort even for his glory.

Perhaps we have a lot in common with MR. BURY MY FATHER.

We call Jesus Lord but we want to set the priorities for ourselves.

Perhaps we have a lot in common with MR. SAY GOOD-BYE.

We look forward to his return but we don’t look to what remains to be done for the kingdom.

The Kingdom of God refers to the rule and reign of God that stepped into this broken world in the person of Jesus Christ.

It is the outworking of God’s rule as the disciples of Jesus follow Jesus into uncomfortable places to proclaim the message of the kingdom, the Gospel.

Are you willing to follow him into those uncomfortable places and tell his good news?

[TS]

Conclusion