Can You Pay the Cost, to Follow Jesus

Text

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.”

We proclaim tonight. . .

Salvation is free

Ephesians 2:8 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

Romans 3:23–24 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 5:15 “15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.”

This means tonight that you don’t have to figure how to be saved, BUT if you want to be saved

This means tonight that God doesn’t require your designs, just your decision

He does not need you opinions, just your obedience

He does not need anything from you to to save you, He just needs you to say yes to Jesus, and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ

God looked down on man, saw our condition, knew we needed a Saviour. There was no one here that was worthy, so He came down himself.

There is the challenge of saying yes to Jesus, obeying and being baptized

There is an even greater challenge in continuing to say yes

Meaning, am I ready to commit to a life with Jesus

Charisma is good, but Jesus wants committment

A following is good, but Jesus wants your faithfulness

Being in the crowd that cries out to Jesus is good, but can you stay connected?

Can you sacrifice? Can you devote? Can give things up? Can you relinquish your need to please and satisfy yourself

Can you pay the cost, to follow Jesus?

As we consider our text notice how Luke builds his narrative. Keep in mind Luke is writing to a Gentile beleiver, hoping to build his assurance in the faith letting him “know the exact truth about the things he had been taught” Luke 1:4.

Consider Luke 9.

The 12 went preaching the gospel, people were healed, they were causing a stir, crowds started following (1-11)

Over Five thousand people are following but now are hungry. Jesus feeds all of them with five loaves and two fishes. (12-17)

He explains his purpose to his disciples and challenges there williingness to follow him (18-27)

Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James and John and stirs their amazement (28-36)

Once again a large crowd is following Jesus, this time they witness the healing of a young boy tormented by an unclean spirit. They are amazed at His greatness (37-45)

Maybe this why the arguement arose of who’s great amongst them, Jesus has to check them (46-48)

They enter a Samaritan village, who did not receive Jesus (49-56)

Luke now comes to this section of the narrative that warrants our interest.

Jesus issues a challenge to those who wish to follow Him

[Analogy: Jesus always gives you the fine print]

Yes he wants disciples, but he’s not only interested in quantiy but quality

Being a DISCIPLE means:

The process of following and learning from someone.

Am I willing to be in a constant space of learning from Jesus?

A commitment to consistently walk in the footsteps of another.

Am I willing to remain determined to walk after Him and lean on my own understanding

Discipleship involves personal growth and helping someone else grow.

Am I willing to grow? Am I willing to share my new found faith with someone else?

#1 Forsake Your Comforts 57-58

Luke 9:57–58 “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.””

Jesus, confronts the enthuiasm and excitement to let this folower than offered to come with a reality check!

The disciples of Rabbis would follow the Rabbi and even live with him so they could increase their chances of learning and retention. Jesus is not like regular Rabbis, nor is His message.

Matthew identifies this person as a scribe. Scribes had many functions (Copyists, government workers, judges, Sanhedrin council) relevant to our text is the ones that interpreted and taught Torah.

Scribes are many times portrayed in the gospels in a negative light (questioning Jesus [Lk 5:27ff.] conspiring to kill Jesus [Lk 19:47]), however, this reference shows them in a more positive light: he is interested in following Jesus) – one might think Jesus should avoid anything that may turn him off, since this might be a rare opportunity to get a “SCRIBE”, but no!

There must be an understanding that following Jesus means that comforts will not always be available.

Following Jesus won’t always give you earthly stability.

2 Corinthians 8:9 “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 through His poverty might become rich.”

Philippians 3:7–8 “7 But whatever things were gain [profitable/advantage/benefit] to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”

Consider where Luke puts this vs. where Matthew puts it; it’s a topical placement, not a chronological placement

Matthew puts it at the end, Luke puts it near the beginning - There is a message of consistancy in my following that must carry me from the beginning all the way, to the end

Can I pay the cost for that length of time?

Am I going to begin with an aim to go to the end?

Or will I keep some escape routes in mind?

What will be my buy-out cost?

What would be that last straw?

What would be my point of no return?

Jesus is not asking you to do anything He’s not willing to do himself, keep in mind, He’s on His way to Die

He’s willing to pay the cost, are you?

#2 First Choice

(Make Jesus, the first choice)

Luke 9:59–60 “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.””

This verse might sound a bit insensitive but consider what’s happening.

We notice the immediate contrast, this time it is Jesus that invites someone to follow Him.

Imagine the King of Kings calls you follow Him. What an honour, a privelege, a grand occasion

But instead of immediacy, we see delay

This, is the tension in the text

The use of this cultural occasion is to highlight the sincerity and legitimacy of the reason/excuse - and it’s a good one

But the man says, “Lord, permit me first”

That word first is from the same word (protos) that gives us pre-eminence

This is the point, are you willing to make Jesus preeminent to everything else in your life?

We can debate

If Jesus alluded to some lengthy burial rite

If Jesus alluded to the fact that the man was waiting for his father to die

Burial rites were very important, only a Nazirite vow, and High Priest duties could have absolved a Jew from them, here comes Jesus with His radical self, put me and the Kingdom first

Regardless of where you land (I don’t think it changes the emphasis)

Jesus must command first place at all times - Can you pay that cost?

Or am I going to put Jesus on delay?

Is it your job?

Is it your education?

Is it your family?

Is it your “personal goal”

APPL. How do we do that today? Wait for the job, school to finish off, retirement, ducks in row, sort out myself, clear my schedule, time-off

Why delay Jesus, when He’s calling you to be saved?

We can find ourselves in a position like this man, “let me first”

Put Jesus first, and watch Jesus take care of everything else.

Matthew 6:33 “33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Philippians 4:19 “19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Are ready to put Him first in tomorrow’s trial and next year’s surprises?

Luke 14:26 “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.”

#3 Full Committment

Luke 9:61–62 “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.””

One more offers to follow but says, “me first”

The illustration of the plough is one that made an immediate impression. You cannot plough a straight line trying to look ahead and look somewhere else

Solid principle, Matt 6:24, (Rom 6:16-18) implications for the evangelist (2 Tim 2:4) – It’s hard to commit fully to discipleship when there are other things that have captured my loyalty.

Imagine what God could do if you fully committed to him?

Luke seeks to highlight that disciples should make a radical/drastic shift in our priorities.

This is what loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength looks like. We must have an unwavering loyalty to God that isn’t easily swayed.

It’s easy to trust God because he is trust worthy

Psalm 146:3 “3 Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.”

Jeremiah 17:7–8 “7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord. 8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.”

He paid the cost to save you, can you pay the cost to follow Him

Can you pay the cost to follow Jesus?