Good Intentions

Introduction

The road to hell is paved with _______________

Good intentions

The phrase can be traced to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1150): He wrote "L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés ou désirs" (Hell is full of good wishes or desires).

Example: New Year’s resolutions for 2026

Have you done any?

how many of you have a treadmill (or other exercise equipment gathering dust?)

Biblical examples of good intentions:

Peter - even if I must die with you! (Matt 26:31-35)

• ⁃ Rich Young Ruler - (Matt 19:16-22)

We will see three people with good intentions 

Most commentaries call these three the “would-be” disciples.

In Matthew 8, we have what seems to be the same account - at least of the first two “would-be” followers. Luke add a third “would-be” follower.

“three instances, which I think are typical of many more of those who seemed to be true followers of Jesus, who, nevertheless, did not continue with him, and were not really converts”

• Spurgeon, C. H

While I don’t believe I am looking at a room of “would-be” followers who do not follow Jesus at all, I suspect there are some things we can learn from these “would-be” followers that might show us if and how to follow Jesus with our ALL.

Luke 9:57–62 “57 As they were going along the road,

The Context of the passage: Luke 9:51

Luke 9:51 ESV

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

The road on which this encounter takes place

Jesus will encounter three men unwilling to give their all to follow him as he is on his way to give his all for them.

Jesus was not about to let anything distract him from dying for you!

The clear message of the passage: Follow Jesus!

Used three times throughout passage

FOLLOW Jesus means you are willing to let him have control of your life. 

Follow JESUS means you will walk with the Savior who loves you. 

The implications from the passage: Jesus knows if our heart matches our intentions

If it were not for Jesus’ reply to these three men, their statements and concerns would seem valid.

ILLUST - If you have kids, you can usually guess their intentions.

But Jesus sees a little deeper. Jesus’ reply to each of the three will reveal what is hindering them from truly following Jesus.

Many of us have the good intention of being a fully devoted follower of Jesus, but there are some “would bes” in our hearts.

The road to follow Jesus is not paved with good intentions. It is marked by intentional steps. 

Three ‘would be’s’

I would be but that’s too far.

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.”

Matthew tells us he was a scribe:

Jewish professional

preserved the Law by copying the OT

also preserved oral law - sometimes prioritizing these traditions over the Scriptures

Also served as teachers and sometimes judges

“The public accorded them extraordinary respect, honoring them with the title “rabbi” (meaning “my lord”), granting them more honor than parents received, and they dressed in distinctive long robes while seeking prominent social positions”

He comes to Jesus and says, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

This was a good intention! I plan to leave my job to follow you, Jesus!

Matthew’s Gospel says the scribe addresses Jesus as “Teacher” or Rabbi. 

The Scribes were usually called Rabbi. He’s humbling himself. 

This sounds great! I would take this!

But Jesus knows this man’s heart

He knows this man is willing to follow Jesus while Jesus is interesting. But is he willing to follow Jesus when Jesus becomes uncomfortable?

Jesus told the scribe he is not sure he’ll even have a place to sleep. Following him may become uncomfortable 

“Back in verse 51, He was going down to Jerusalem and sent messengers on ahead of Him and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans. And He sent them into the village of the Samaritans to make arrangements so that He could sleep. And they didn’t receive Him. The Samaritans wouldn’t even let Him stay in their village. They wouldn’t let Him sleep there. James and John were so mad they wanted to call down fire and brimstone.”

 MacArthur, John F., Jr. 2014. John MacArthur Sermon Archive. Panorama City, CA: Grace to You.

There are those who like the idea of following Jesus until they realize the cost to follow him.

*Maybe even as you are following Jesus you’ve felt something similar.

You finish the latest episode of the Chosen and you say, I’ll follow you wherever you go!” But then. . . you realize following Jesus will:

take more time than you want to give.

dig into your wallet.

apologize to your spouse.

reach out to that person.

and you think “that’s just too far.”

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.”

I would be, but my responsibilities and relationships. . .

You might have compassion for this man thinking his father has just died and they have yet to bury him. 

It was the duty of the son to bury his father

burial of the dead was took precedence over all other things even the study of the Law

Likely not the case that his father was already dead - he would already be there 

If is the case that his father had not yet died, then the man’s good intentions to follow Jesus could be years until potential fulfillment

How old was his father? 

Still an honorable thing to want to care for your father

Perhaps he wanted to make sure he received his inheritance. 

“The expression remains in use in parts of the Middle East today. A missionary once asked a young Turkish man to travel to Europe, and when the man replied that he must bury his father, the missionary offered condolences, only to learn that the father was alive and healthy—the phrase simply meant staying home to fulfill family responsibilities until his father’s death and inheritance distribution”

This man is saying, “I will follow you. . . but first:

Let me take care of my responsibilities.

Let me wait until this relationship is over.

Let me deal with the urgent

But Jesus points out that the work of the Kingdom of God is the most urgent - more urgent than any earthly responsibility or relationship.

Luke 14:26 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.

Jesus is NOT saying we should hate our parents. He is not diminishing the importance of honoring our parents; instead, he is explaining the priority of our relationship with him.

Jesus says, Let the (spiritually) dead bury the (physical) dead

Let those who are only a part of the kingdom of this world take care of the affairs of this world

Don’t allow the affairs of this world to pull you from the work of the Kingdom of God

ILLUST - kids modeled this - we gave them the option - stay in PA or go to IN

ILLUST - Parable of the Sower Mark 4

Sower sows the Word

The Path - Satan steals before it can affect any change

Rocky soil - sprouts quickly but no roots

- Thorns - hear the Word,

Mark 4:19 ESV

19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

Good soil - takes root and grows

*Do you suffer from ‘but first’ obedience?

First let me finish school then. . .

First let me see if I can change this relationship.

But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Time is short

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

Again, someone with good intentions, and the request seems reasonable

1 Kings 19:20 ESV

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?”

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

ok, true, but what does this have to do with saying goodbye to mom and dad?

Likely from a proverb of a Greek poet, Hesiod (8th C) - States a plow driver should be someone who is not going to be easily distracted.

It revealed:

I would be, but I’m not ready to take that step.

He wanted to go back until he was ready to take the big step of obedeince.

too many distractions that could pull him off course

A divided heart is an undecided heart. And and undecided heart is a divided heart.

Today we might say, “You can’t move forward while looking in the rear view mirror”

You can’t long for the old life while living the new. 

You need to cut ties with that which distracts you from taking your next step in following Jesus.

*What do you need to let go of in order to accomplish what God is calling you to do?

Even and up to your family Jesus says

Interestingly, this is a good thing. Sometimes, a good thing can distract us from the best things — following Jesus.

work schedule?

Friends?

These are the idols of our lives. Things / relationships we believe will be good for us and others, but they end up requiring more from us.

Obedience to Jesus does not wait on comfort or convenience.

Maybe your excuse is not that you need to wait until your parents pass away before you’ll commit fully, but it is still an excuse of “not yet”

Conclusion

Where in your journey with Jesus have you had good intentions but have not followed through?

controlling anger, lust, careful with words?

What responsibilities or relationships hinder you from walking with Jesus completely?

cares of the world choking your spiritual life?

Do you suffer from a ‘but first’ obedience

Remember the road on which the “would bes” take place - The road that exposes the excuses of these men’s hearts is the same road that reveals our Savior’s heart.

While we might feel it is too far . . . He would NOT let the cost of the cross stop him from saving you.

While we might let our responsibilities and relationships get between us and Jesus. . . He would not let his family, friends, or seemingly unfinished ministry divert him from the accomplishing the mission.

While you and I might not be ready to take that next step in becoming more fully devoted, Jesus would not let anything distract him from taking the next step to make sure you could follow him.

The closer you follow Jesus, the closer you are to Jesus. 

The way to move from good intentions to a godly life is to identify and take that one next step.