Our Gospel message comes to us today from the 9th chapter of Luke, beginning with the 51st verse.
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. 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, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 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 a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:51-62, NRSV)
All mighty God, we thank you for your word and the way that you in it revealed to us who you are and what you've done for us in Christ. Now as we open that word we pray that your spirit may be present, that all thoughts of worry or distraction may be removed and that the Spirit will allow us to hear your voice. And so, oh God, fill us with your spirit through the reading and proclamation of your word this day. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
“The Cost of Discipleship”
Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sometimes you just need to learn the value of a dollar. I remember when young boy was learning this at a local tourist area. We were downtown, where all the shops were, and he was given a dollar earlier in the day. Thinking that was enough money to buy something in a tourist trap, he began searching for something he could buy with that dollar. He would grab a toy and ask, “Is this a dollar?” And we would say, “No.” “How about this?” “That’s not a dollar, either.” At one point, as we would go into other stores, he would run in the middle of each one, pull out his dollar over his head, and shout, “Is there anything for a dollar here?” On one occasion, a cleric said, “Yeah, a piece of candy.” The boy was learning the cost and value of a dollar.
In the Gospel text, we encounter some Samaritans and a group of would be disciples, who want to follow Jesus. Jesus doesn’t have them learn the lesson, He tells them. Jesus openly and honestly tells them and us the cost and price of following Him. He tells us the cost of discipleship. He doesn’t want it to be a surprise or secret. He doesn’t want us to ever say, “Hey Jesus, you never told me about that!” Instead, He is upfront and honest about the price of following Him. Let’s hear what He has to say this morning.
Luke begins the Gospel text by saying that Jesus has His face set toward Jerusalem. He is determined and dedicated to going there. His eye is on the prize. Nothing will break His resolve or focus. He is going there to suffer for you, to die for you, to fulfill Scripture for you, and to rise for you. He is going there to save you! Nothing will hinder or halt Him from His mission. Jesus is serious about this, and is doing it for all people. And, so, on His way there, He goes through Samaria.
Most Jews would not cross through Samaria on their way to Jerusalem, even though it would be the easiest, quickest, and most direct way. It would be like heading to Indiana from Minnesota, but refusing to go through Illinois. Going through Illinois would be the easier, quicker, and most direct way. Sure, you could go through Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky to get there, but it would be inconvenient, and silly. Jews would avoid Samaria like the plague, and would travel east of the Jordan River to avoid it. It didn’t matter that it took longer and was out of the way. They didn’t want to cross through Samaria.
Why? Long story short, Jews and Samaritans have a long and messy history. They don’t like each other, they have racial animosity, and theological differences. The Samaritans only used the first five books of the Old Testament, and believed that Mt. Gerizim, rather than Jerusalem, was the preferred place of worship. Despite this, Jesus is intentional, and sends messengers ahead to prepare for His arrival in a Samaritan village. Jesus came for them, too.
However, the Samaritans reject Jesus. Why? His face is set toward Jerusalem. They don’t want a Savior Who would go there. That’s not the kind of God they want, or would believe in. So, they reject Him, and we see the same thing today. People reject Jesus and say that there is no God at all, like atheists. Others might struggle with the concept of God taking on flesh and dying, or that Jesus is God. These truths are unthinkable to Muslims and heretical groups struggle with these truths. Others reject Christ by saying, “I’m a good person. I don’t need saving. I’ll be in Heaven.” They think that they have no need for a Savior. To others, Jesus conflicts with what they want to do, or they reject Him because Jesus didn’t do something they wanted, as if He is a genie in a bottle. This rejection is a live and well in our day, sad to say. The cost of their rejection will be great!
Seeing this rejection, James and John are willing to call down fire from Heaven like Elijah, but Jesus says, “No.” and they move on to another village. But not everyone rejects Jesus. On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus meets three unnamed disciples on an unnamed road after leaving the unnamed village.
As they are on their way, the first disciple comes to Jesus and says, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Notice his address. He says, “I will follow,” “I will follow.” The Gospels never record an incident in which someone offers to follow Jesus and successfully becomes a disciple. It doesn’t happen! Both the invitation and the grace to follow are always a gift! We cannot come to faith on our own power. The man brims with self-confidence, and thinks he can follow Jesus. Jesus challenges this self-confidence. He says, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Jesus says, “Are you willing to follow One Who has less than foxes and birds? Are you willing to risk that? Are you willing to be like Him?” Is the man willing to give up all material comfort and security? Could give up everything, if it called for it? That’s the cost!
As they continue on the way, things change. Jesus sees a person and says, “Follow Me.” The person responds, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Notice his address. He says, “let me first.” “Let me first.” He adds a condition to it, right? It is not his first priority, although he means well. There is an old story of an English official in the East who met a very brilliant young Arab man. He was so brilliant, that he was given a scholarship to Oxford and Cambridge. However, the man refused it all, and said, “I will take it after I have buried my father.” At the time, his father was a little over 40!
Jesus responds, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Jesus says there is a crucial moment in everything, and if the moment is missed, the thing will most likely never be done at all. Wait for the father to die, and bury him? Sometimes following Jesus can push venerated duties and traditions to the background. Following Jesus will result in conflicting loyalties and priorities. In fact, it calls for them to be reorganized. That’s the cost!
There is one more disciple to talk about. This disciple tells Jesus, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” This man is a combination of the two. “I will follow…let me first….” Jesus responds to him by saying, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” To be honest, I doubt many, and any of us, have ever used a plow. An appropriate comparison would be to mowing. If you keep looking back when mowing, what will happen? Your line will become crooked and you will miss a spot. You could mow through your wife’s garden. You could hit the mailbox or decorative rocks. You can’t look back! It is the same for following Jesus. Jesus says to not look back. Leave the old (sinful) way of life behind, and never go back. Focus on the task ahead and at hand. That’s the cost!
The cost of discipleship is high, isn’t it? It is being willing to give up everything, reorganizing priorities and loyalties, and not looking back. But Jesus is straightforward. He doesn’t have us learn a lesson about cost like the young boy at the beginning of this story did. He tells us directly. Some will reject Jesus. Some will say they can follow Him, but cannot do it on their own power. Others will make excuses or conditions.
What would you say if you were among the unnamed disciples? How might you finish this sentence? “Jesus, I am happy and willing to follow you, as long as….” What is your blank? As long as I have time? As long as things are good financially? As long as I feel better and things are well? As long as I can still do what I want to do, or as long as things aren’t too dangerous.
What hinders your walk with Him? A lack of devotional time, if any? Priorities in the wrong places? Excuses or conditions? Peer pressures? We are unfit for His Kingdom. We wander, we stumble, we make excuses.
Fortunately, we have a great Savior Who makes us fit for His Kingdom. He makes us fit by faith and our baptism, where He calls us, washes us clean, forgives us, and gives His Spirit. He works in us, making us new each day, and reshaping our lives and priorities to make us like His Son. We follow Him to Jerusalem. We follow Him to the cross where He looks at us with His eyes of love, mercy, and care, paying the price to save us! We follow Him to the tomb, where He looks at us in victory, after defeating sin, death, and the devil. We follow Him to the hill, where He ascends back to God enthroned over all things and reigns for our good.
We are fit for the Kingdom because of Him and His Work. Our Lord graciously and continually invites us to follow Him through His Word, and will help us do it. Will this always be easy? No. The hymn “How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord” describes it well: “But if, forgetful, we should find Your yoke is hard to bear; If worldly pressures fray the mind, and love itself cannot unwind its tangled skein of care: Our inward life repair.” He will do it! The hymn continues: “In what You give us, Lord, to do, Together or alone, In old routines or ventures new, May we not cease to look to You, The cross You hung upon-All you endeavored done.” The cost of discipleship is certainly high, but Jesus has paid it all by His death and resurrection.
Let us pray: God, You know there are days when we see others not following you and we want them to be punished. We see people spreading hate and fear and know this isn’t your way. We see people mistreating each other and we are angry. We understand why James and John asked, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” And we know just like Jesus rebuked the disciples, you would tell us this is not your way. Forgive us for wanting to repay hate with hate and violence with violence.
God, we promised to follow you. And yet, so many other things pull at our time and attention. We will follow you as soon as our to do list is tackled, our house is clean enough for company, and we’ve cared for our family. Forgive us God, for not putting you first in our lives.
God, we ask that you give us righteous anger at the injustice in the world and that you help us to have our priorities in order, so we may follow you. Amen.
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Scripture taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)® Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Sermon contributed by Rev. Nickolas Kooi.
This sermon looks at the rejection of the Samaritans, and examines the excuses of the three would be disciples.
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