"Tests of Discipleship"

Luke 9:57–62 ESV

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 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.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:57-

The Impulsive Volunteer

Luke 9:57 ESV

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

This guy was as enthusiastic about following Jesus as you could possibly be. This is what you usually look for, right? Somebody who is gung-ho! Someone who is ready to charge hell with water pistols! Now, this is not to say that enthusiasm and being “on fire” for Jesus is a bad thing. It’s not! I actually wish the church was filled with more people like this!

I had a friend one time who got saved and was on fire. He was volunteering for everything, he was witnessing to everything that moved, etc. He had one older member of the church say, “Somebody needs to lock you in a closet so you’ll cool off a little!” He replied, “Is that what happened to you???”

Here’s the problem, though. Sanders says that Jesus discerned that while this candidate was genuine, he was not yet ready for service. Jesus saw in him a too fast follower. He saw that this enthusiasm would be likely to evaporate in times of testing. He was like Peter whose mouth got ahead of him at times. But, look what Jesus tells him:

Luke 9:58 ESV

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.”

Sanders - In effect, Jesus asks him, “Do you realize where your enthusiasm may lead you?” Jesus was completely honest. He was saying, “Do you realize what following me really means? Are you ready to be homeless? Are you ready to live a lower standard of life?

“Discipleship is a whole time job and a whole life job.”

“Our modern emphases are so experience-oriented, and so centered on happiness and warm feelings instead of holiness and hard thinking, that some Christians’ faith is nearer to the Buddhist’s search for peace in the environment than to the message of the cross in history.”

Abraham’s call - leave your home, everything, and follow me.

“There is indeed a cost in loyal discipleship, but there is also assurance of abundant compensation. It is impossible to out-give God. We may lose in material things but never in terms of joy and fulfillment here and eternal bliss hereafter.”

HOW DOES THIS LOOK IN EVERY DAY LIFE?

The Reluctant Conscript

Luke 9:59 ESV

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

This guy didn’t volunteer. He responded to “Follow Me,” but he responded with reservation. What he meant was, let me take care of some really important things first. This guy was too slow. To him, discipleship was a matter of only secondary importance. He was dragging his feet. His devotion was casual not vital. He was not willing to burn all his bridges behind him.

It’s not that family and loved ones aren’t important. Jesus is saying that if this guy would put God’s interest’s first, his family interests would not suffer.

“Seek first the kingdom of God...”

HOW DOES THIS LOOK IN EVERY DAY LIFE?

The Half-Hearted Volunteer

Luke 9:61 ESV

Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”

“I will follow you but....” It was “me first.” It’s a willing commitment but with a catch. It’s a convenience willingness.

Luke 9:62 ESV

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Those who keep looking back will eventually go back. It’s kind of like those survival shows. The more they think about what they’re missing out on, the more likely they are to bail out when it gets real tough. The backward pull is really strong.

1 Kings 19:19–21 ESV

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. 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?” 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.

HOW DOES THIS LOOK IN EVERY DAY LIFE?