“What does it mean to be a genuine disciple of Christ?”
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Good morning, turn with me to Luke chapter 9. The title of our message today is what does it mean to be a genuine disciple of Christ? We live in a time where many people call themselves Christians or followers of Christ. I hear people tell me all the time I go to this church and that church and I am a Christian and yet they don’t live any differently than the rest of the world. So, what exactly does it mean to be a genuine follower of Christ? What exactly does a true disciple of Christ look like. Can people love the world and be in the world, more than they love Jesus? Can they do all of that and still be a genuine disciple? Can someone pray a prayer, walk the church aisle and live however they desire and still be a Christian? These are the same questions that many folks have wrestled with down through history. In fact, Martin Luther the great reformer wondered the same questions when he famously nailed his 95 theses to the church doors in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther said, “When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ said repent he called for the entire life of believers to be one of penitence.” This meant that there was a total change of heart, mind, and will. A person was no longer the same as they once use to be.
After Jesus talked about picking up our cross and following Him, there were many who saw how difficult it really was to be a Christian so much so that many no longer followed Jesus.
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
In verse 51 and 53 of chapter 9 we see that Jesus was determined to go up to Jerusalem and give his life as a sacrifice for many. What we come to see church is that the Lord’s own determination to do His Father’s will, to accomplish the task that was given to Him whatever the cost, must be an example to all His followers. So, we see a connection of verses 51-56 with our text here in verses 57-62. The Lord gives us this passage to help us examine our own lives and see whether or not we are genuine disciples.
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.”
I want to share with you 3 important lessons when it come to following Christ.
1. Be Prepared as you Follow Jesus.
1. Be Prepared as you Follow Jesus.
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.”
As Genuine disciples of Christ there is a cost that comes with Discipleship.
We must be prepared to face hard times or difficult times. Paul writes this to Timothy.
3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
As we begin to learn here from our text this man tells Jesus that he will follow him wherever Jesus goes. We learn from the gospel of Matthew that this man that came to Jesus was a scribe.
19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
It is interesting that this religious leader comes to Jesus because typically scribes were generally hostile toward Jesus. We know that scribes were men who were experts of the law and so it is surprising that this man comes to Jesus and tells him that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. I think there are many folks who get excited to follow Jesus initially and we can sing songs about where Christ leads we will follow but eventually as time goes on and difficult times come in our lives do we really mean this? Will you follow Jesus wherever the path takes you? Will you follow Jesus even if it means a difficult life?
This man may have witnessed the amazing miracles of Jesus and saw the large crowds that Jesus was attracting and this may have been the reason he desired to follow Jesus, however the Lord’s response to this man in verse 58 quickly shows us the true intentions of this man’s heart. It seemed good or perhaps easy to be closely associated with Jesus who was in the center of all the action, but this man failed to understand what true discipleship was all about.
Notice here the Lord’s reply. “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” What in the world does that mean???
-The first illustration that Jesus gives was of a fox. Foxes were plentiful in the country when Jesus was traveling around. Their holes or dens were often burrows in the ground. At night these foxes would set out and go hunting for a rabbit or bird and then return to their den and they would sleep in that place until they were refreshed and strengthened once more to go out and hunt.
-The second illustration was of birds. The same thing could be said of them. A bird would come and set up their nest. They would set out on their majestic flight soaring high about the clouds and trees. They would gather up food and then return to their nest. They were tired from their journey. It would be there in their nests that they would receive rest and refreshment until the next mourning when they would set out to do the same thing all over again.
-Now Jesus speaks of the Son of Man which was the Lord’s favorite title for Himself. Jesus was the Messiah, God incarnate, and He now tells us that He had no where to lay His head. Jesus had no den or nest. He didn’t have a house. He had nowhere to lay his head. As Jesus wonders from place to place with His disciples they did not always know where they would be spending the night. The point here that Jesus is making to this man is that if you want to follow Jesus don’t count on staying at the plush accommodations of a nice home. Jesus is saying are you sure you want a life like this? If you want to follow Jesus there is not any glamour and fame or fortune in doing so.
What we see here is that the Creator of the Universe had fewer comforts than the animals did. We also learn that not only did Jesus not have a place to lay His head, but that the places Jesus visited did not want Him there. The cities where Jesus spent time healing and teaching and doing wonderful miracles these were the places that He was asked to leave.
a. Judea rejected him. (John 5:18)
b. Galilee cast him out. (John 6:66)
c. The area of the Gerasenes district asked Jesus to leave because they were gripped with fear. (Luke 8:37)
d. The Samaritans refused Jesus lodging. Luke 9:51-53)
e. Eventually the nation of Israel would reject Jesus all together and the crowds would shout out, “Crucify Him.”
The Lord’s point in sharing these illustrations with this man were not only to help him, but also to help us see that there is a high price or cost to following Jesus. When difficultly comes your way will you follow Jesus? When affliction, persecution, or when no one around us is following Jesus will we too fall away? Ultimately this man, this religious leader was not prepared to deny himself, pick up his cross and follow Jesus. He wanted all the glory and benefits of following Jesus, but not the sacrifices and difficulties that came with it. We must count the cost to follow Christ!
2. Be Attentive as you Follow Jesus.
2. Be Attentive as you Follow Jesus.
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.”
As Genuine disciples of Christ we need to be attentive by watching out for the cares of this world and even personal gain. Here is what I mean.
So often we want to follow Jesus on our own terms.
While the first man offered to follow Jesus, we now come to the second individual. This man is asked by Jesus to follow Him. This man must have belonged to the large group of people who were already following Jesus and who were impressed by all of His works. In the wider sense of the term this man would have been considered a disciple of Jesus. He was a steady follower. However, what we begin to see here is that he wasn’t quite ready to go all in. Why is that? Because this man asks Jesus to postpone his following Jesus because of a family emergency. His father has just died or is getting ready to die. So, this man asks Jesus to allow him some time before he came and followed Jesus, because he needed to go home and bury and take care of his father. According to Jewish custom, burial generally took place right after death so this request would have seemed reasonable. Of course we should take care of our loves ones, but this was not the root of the problem.
The problem behind all of this was that this man was really delaying or putting off following Jesus until he recieved his inheritance from his father. This man was not willing to leave everything including his share of his father’s estate and go and follow Jesus. Unlike the 12 disciples who did leave everything for Jesus this man cared more about the worries, riches, and pleasures of life that Luke chapter 8 talk about.
Notice in verse 60 the Lord’s response to this man. “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Jesus replies here with a strong rebuke of this man’s wrong priorities. Now of course this does not mean that it is wrong for believers to attend or take care of peoples funerals. However, it is important for us to understand that when the Lord responds to this individual He says, Leave the dead to bury their own dead. The first dead here means those who are spiritually dead. The second dead is talking about those who are naturally dead. Jesus is helping us to see that there will be issues that are priorities for the spiritually dead, but not to those believers who are alive in Christ. The Lord’s challenge here was to leave the temporal earthly matters to worldly people and go tell others about the kingdom of God no matter what it might cost you. My question for you today is how are your priorities? Are you concerned with the cares of this world more than following Christ? If so, ask the Lord now to begin to change your heart and mind so that you are focused on Christ.
3. Be Committed as you follow Jesus.
3. Be Committed as you follow Jesus.
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.”
We must be fully committed to our Lord. Be submissive to the Lord’s calling in your life. In other words, don’t follow Christ by giving Him certain conditions. This man’s heart was not truly devoted to Christ.
We learn here that there was one more person who desired to follow Jesus. This man said that he would follow Jesus, but not today. I think that there are many people who can relate to this. Many desire to follow Jesus but they underline that by saying first I need to do this before I follow Jesus. In other words I have other things to take care of before I follow Jesus.
-I need to finish college first.
-I need to get married first.
-I need to get a job and establish myself first.
-I need to get a career, have some kids and have some money in the bank before I go all in.
So, at the moment Jesus is not my top priority! Let me remind us today of what the Lord demands from His faithful followers.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Jonathan Edwards the great New England pastor once said, “The seeking of the kingdom of God is the chief business of the Christian life.” It should never ever be a secondary matter. It’s not a postscript to your devotion. You see there are many Christians today who only follow Jesus halfheartedly. Their devotion to Christ is just an add on, but it is not what defines their lives. Church a genuine disciple of Christ is all-in. Jesus defines who they are as a person.
What we learn here from the Lord’s response is that it is impossible to serve Christ with a divided heart. Keep plowing straight ahead because if you are looking behind you, can you see where that plow is going to go? Jesus is saying, don’t turn your eyes away from the goal. If we are looking back to the things of this world, or holding on to the things of this world than we are not fit to be the Lord’s disciple. Remember that the Lord’s focus here was that He set his face to go up to Jerusalem. Jesus didn’t tell his disciples let’s go back. No, Jesus was determined to fulfill His mission to the cross and die for our sin. There was no turning back for Jesus.
It is interesting here that the word “fit” in verse 62 means literally (well placed or well disposed) What it implies is that a person is wanting to go home to take leave of his friends is not rightly disposed for gospel work or being the Lord’s disciple, any more than a person looking behind him is rightly placed for plowing or farming.
The point here is don’t desire to do something first or before doing what God had called you to do, and that is to faithfully follow Christ and be His disciple. You can’t put God’s Kingdom off until another time or another day. No seize the day, follow Christ today while you still have time. There is nothing more important than living for Christ and following Him. So many folks today get sidetracked by one more thing, by one more worldly possession, by one more pleasure, by one more relationship, or one more job and before you know it you look up and your whole life has passed you by.
Conclusion: Our desire for comfort and security often hinders our obedience to follow the Great Commission.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
There are so many people today who find it difficult to follow Jesus because they are in love with the world. Is this you today? And what happens is that loves, pleasures, and securities smother out our sacrifice to God. Let me ask you today what is it that you are holding onto? What attitude adjustments are most necessary in your life? May you seek to be a genuine disciple of Christ.
(Close in Prayer)
(Lead into Communion)
