Follow Jesus resolutely (Luke 9:51-62)

Follow Jesus resolutely

Luke 9:51-62

Key verse 9:51

The other day I talked about yellow melons that accidently grew in my backyard. After that my wife found another kind of melon growing in the backyard. They were bitter melons. Bitter melon is known as good supplementary for diabetes. Since my glucose was a little higher than average, I tried to eat bitter melon. But when I tasted it for the first time, I felt like I was dying because it was really bitter. I had never tasted such bitter stuff in my life. So, I tried many different ways to reduce bitterness from it and then found the best way to overcome its bitterness. I will let you know it shortly. The reason I am talking about bitter melon is that following Jesus is like eating bitter melon. Following Jesus is not always sweet, but involves difficulties. What difficulties are involved and how can we overcome them? That is what we are going to talk about today.

In today’s passage, Jesus headed for Jerusalem. This was his final travel to Jerusalem and the last chapter of his life on earth. It might have taken a few weeks or even two or three months, but it was relatively shorter in comparison with his entire life. Yet, the author Luke allocated lots of space (from this passage to chapter 19) to give detailed accounts on what happened during this period of time. In today’s passage, he faced rejection from the Samaritans and then he met three disciple candidates who were promising but did not know what was ahead of Jesus. Jesus taught them how they should follow him and why. I pray that through this passage we all can be encouraged to follow Jesus resolutely.

I. Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

It was time for Jesus to go to Jerusalem. Since Peter’s confession, Jesus had taught his disciples how he would accomplish the Messianic work – with emphasis on his suffering and death in Jerusalem.  (9:22,44) Verse 51, however, refreshed the notion that Jesus would not end with death but actually he would go back to heaven in glory. Jesus looked forward to his ascension. However, the way to Jerusalem was of suffering and death. Regardless, Jesus resolutely (steadfastly) set out for Jerusalem. As a human, Jesus might have had burden, anxiety, and anguish. Yet, he was not afraid of his death in Jerusalem. He did not try to avoid it, either. Rather, he resolutely faced and embraced his upcoming death. He was ready to take any suffering to accomplish God’s salvation work. He was willing and determined to take his cross. And Jesus also wanted his disciples to follow him in the same way, which is the highlight of today’s passage.

⁵² And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him;

Jesus wanted to stop by a Samaritan village on his way. To go to Jerusalem from Galilee, Jews usually crossed the northern part of Jordan River and traveled down on the east of side of the river and crossed the river back and then entered Jerusalem, passing through Jericho. In this way, they avoided Samaria because they hated Samaritans and thus did not associate with them. (John 4:9) However, Jesus was going through Samaria, likely to preach the gospel to them for the last time.

He sent messengers ahead of him. It was unusual for Jesus to send messengers ahead of him. Probably, Jesus wanted the Samaritans to prepare housing and food for his company. According to 10:1,8,9, and 11, however, it seemed that Jesus wanted to prepare their hearts before he went there so that they might accept Jesus and the kingdom of God. In ancient times, two messengers were sent ahead of time before a very important person like a king came so that the people would be prepared for the person. Jesus was heading for Jerusalem to be taken up to heaven as king. (51) When sending messengers ahead of him, Jesus meant that the Samaritans should be prepared to welcome King Jesus and receive the kingdom of God. (10: 9,11) By the way, from this time on Jesus made his trip public and preached the gospel more vigorously than ever. (10:1-12) Now Jesus publicly declared his kingship, which meant people should make a choice either by welcoming him or by rejecting him. What was the response of the Samaritans?

⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 

The Samaritans rejected Jesus, knowing that he was heading for Jerusalem. The Samaritans hated Jews and thus could not entertain Jesus who was going to Jerusalem through their territory. But they missed their last opportunity to welcome King Jesus and his kingdom upcoming. It was embarrassing to be rejected by them. Seeing this, James and John got furious.

⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 

They said, “How dare these guys reject God’s Messiah our king?” They could not stand such a great dishonor and rebellion to Jesus their king. They thought that such people must be punished for sure. So, out of anger they asked Jesus to allow them to call fire down from heaven and consume the Samaritans. “Lord, let us consume them all with fire!” I am not sure if they had power to bring down fire from heaven. When they said this, however, they showed their pride in themselves, their hatred toward Samaritans and their misunderstanding of Jesus’ Messianic work. Anyway, from the beginning, Jesus’ travel to Jerusalem got bumpy. How did Jesus deal with this?

⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

Jesus rather rebuked John and James and then moved to another village. Why? Jesus was going to Jerusalem not to destroy them but to save all people, including Samaritans. As it turned out, his first stop on his way to Jerusalem was somewhat bitter and unpleasant. However, Jesus took it as part of his suffering for the salvation of people. He had already resolved to bear suffering and so he did not bother with their opposition. He was ready to embrace any suffering, any opposition, and any humiliation to fulfill the will of God. And he also wanted his disciples to know what was ahead of them – not hospitality but opposition. Then, Jesus continued his way to Jerusalem and moved on to another village in hope that they would receive him and accept the gospel.

 

II. Jesus’ disciples must make a full commitment to following him.

While Jesus was going along the road, he met three disciple candidates. They were willing to follow Jesus but they had some problems. What were their problems and how did Jesus help them?

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

This man was so determined that he was willing to follow Jesus wherever he would go. What a good disciple candidate! I wish I could meet such a person. What did Jesus say to him, however?

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

What did he expect from Jesus? It was unlikely that he did not know difficulties at all in following Jesus, a rabbi. In Jesus’ time, rabbis were not allowed to have jobs. They traveled a lot with his disciples to teach people. So, they had to depend on people’s support wherever they went. Since they traveled a lot on foot, they were covered with dust. That was the image of rabbis at that time. And everybody knew it. The same was true with Jesus. He had no home like any other rabbis. Why did this man want to follow Jesus then? Though rabbis were poor, they were respected the most by people because they taught the word of God. However, all rabbis were not equally respected. Some rabbis were better than others. So, “Who is my teacher” was very important to disciples because they would be rabbis later and their rabbi’s fame and reputation directly had to do with their successful career. It is much like a Ph.D. student needs to meet a famous professor as his advisor. This man heard Jesus’ fame and wanted to be his disciple, expecting recognition from people and promising future for himself.

But the man did not know what was involved in following Jesus particularly at this point. As shown just before, some people would reject him and provided no lodging and so he would have no place to lay his head. As we will see later, all of sudden people, even his disciples, would turn their faces away from him. And he would be delivered into the hands of evil people and killed. Here, Jesus was not discouraging the man from following him. Rather, Jesus wanted him to know that he would face much more difficulties than he expected and that he might not get what he wanted.

As such, following Jesus is difficult and may be more difficult than expected. And you may not be able to get what you want because Jesus does not guarantee success or comfortable life to you. Some people are willing to follow Jesus but with desire for recognition and fame among people. So, they search for famous pastors or big churches so that they can have a “successful” Christian life. But following Jesus has little to do with such a successful Christian life. If you truly follow Jesus, you may not be recognized or appreciated. But here is one thing Jesus guarantees to you for sure; that is, the kingdom of God after your suffering. That is what Jesus wanted to give to the man here and to us as well.

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me. ”But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Jesus saw another man and called him to follow him. It was honor and privilege to be called by Jesus. However, he seemed to hesitate because he wanted first to go and bury his father. The burial of his father was his obligation as a son of his father and so his request was reasonable on the surface. When he was crucified, Jesus himself was concerned about his mother and entrusted her to John. (John 19:26-27) But this time Jesus demanded him not to go to his father but to follow him and proclaim the kingdom of God instead. Why?

In Jesus’ time, burial often involved a yearlong period from the time when the body was first buried and then when the bones were collected into an ossuary. We don’t know exactly how long it would take him to bury his father. But it would be too late to follow Jesus when he would come back from his father’s burial, because soon Jesus would go back to heaven.

So, Jesus told him to let the dead bury their own dead. The dead here refer to those who are spiritually dead and put their priority to human’s affairs. They can take care of their own dead. Now the man needed to put aside his human affairs and instead put his priority on following Jesus and preaching the kingdom of God particularly at this point when Jesus needed him. If the man had gone to bury his father, he would have had no opportunity to see the kingdom of God and proclaim it. Saving life is more urgent and important than burying the dead. The man was not aware of the urgency of proclaiming the kingdom of God versus burying his father. Normally, burying his father was reasonable and priority, but that could not have precedence over following Jesus to proclaim the kingdom of God.

These days, not many people want to be Jesus’ disciples. Even a few disciple candidates put other agenda over following Jesus. Some people say, “I will follow Jesus after finishing my school.”  After graduation, they say, “Let me get a job first and then I will surely follow Jesus.” And after getting a job, they say, “Let me marry and I will follow Jesus. I mean it.” And after marrying, they still make an excuse, “Please let me make some money and buy a house and raise my children, and then I will serve him.” But soon they will realize that they already get old and have not much time and strength to follow Jesus. Now when Jesus is calling you, follow him immediately without hesitation. Do not be wishy-washy. Put your first priority on the kingdom of God and follow Jesus now. Otherwise, you would miss the most important thing, kingdom of God.

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” ⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

This man decided to follow Jesus and knew that he would not have a chance to say goodbye to his family. Even though we live in the smartphone age, it is still good or necessary to say goodbye to your family in person when you are leaving for a long journey. So, this man wanted to go back and say goodbye to his family. But Jesus knew what was deep in his mind. The man had strong desire to follow Jesus and also strong attachment to his family, which hindered him from moving forward. Jesus compared this to plowing.

If anyone puts his hand to the plow, he has to keep looking forward to guide the plow. Otherwise, the plow will quickly veer off course and mess up things. What if you look back while pushing a lawn mower? What if you drive, looking at the back mirror constantly? If anyone decides to follow Jesus, the person should not look back and be distracted by his human attachment. If so, Jesus said that the person is not fit the kingdom of God.

What is something that pulls you back from following Jesus? The most difficult thing I had to overcome was when I left my parents to be a missionary. But I entrusted them to God’s hands and pushed my plow forward to the kingdom of God. Then, God blessed me to serve college students here in America and he also blessed my parents to depend on him, not on me. Do not look back but move forward to the kingdom of God.

So far, we have learned about three disciple candidates.

·         The first man looked for success or recognition by following Jesus. I would say that he is “a famous-pastor-and-church seeker.” But following Jesus involves rejection and an uncomfortable life. Such difficulties can be much more than you expect.

·         The second man was “a wishy-washy disciple.” He could not tell what was the priority and hesitated to follow Jesus. Jesus’ disciples should put the kingdom of God over human affairs.

·         The last man is “a back-mirror person.” He should not let his human attachments pull him away from following Jesus. Instead, he should move forward.

As such, following Jesus involves rejection, uncomfortable life, sacrifice, cost, and commitment.

This is what Jesus meant when he said in 9:23, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” 

How can we deny ourselves and take up our cross then? At the beginning of this message I talked about bitter melon and promised you to tell the best recipe to eat bitter melon. My wife and I first steamed it. And we fried it. We mixed it with some other stuff. And we dried it and powdered it. They somewhat reduced bitterness. But the best way is to just eat it resolutely, not trying to reduce the bitterness and not thinking too much about it, but believing the bitterness is good for your health. Then, you will be used to it over time and even can enjoy it. That is the most effective way to fully benefit from bitter melon.

Likewise, we should not try to avoid or reduce the difficulties in following Jesus. There is no such way to do so. Just face it and take it resolutely. Our Lord Jesus himself did not avoid suffering or have any tinge of hesitation. He took it resolutely. Let’s read verse 51 one more time.

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

Jesus resolutely denied himself and took his cross to fulfill the will of God. He resolutely embraced rejection, humiliation, suffering, and even death. He made a full commitment to God without saving anything for himself. It was because he looked forward to the glory in the kingdom of God, which would come after his death.

Jesus also wanted his disciples to follow him in the same way. On the course of his travel to Jerusalem, Jesus continually taught his disciples that he would die and then be taken up to heaven in Jerusalem and that they should also follow in his footsteps. We should remember that suffering is not all about following Jesus. When Jesus spoke to the disciple candidates, he mentioned the kingdom of God twice. (60,62) In other words, following Jesus is the way to the kingdom of God. And that is why we can also resolutely follow Jesus, denying ourselves and taking our cross.

The way of the disciple of Jesus is bitter. We should deny our desire for recognition, our priority, and our attachments. If we do so, we can taste the sweetness of the kingdom of God. May God be with you at each step all the way throughout your life until you enter the kingdom of God.

Let’s read key verse one more time.

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

By David Yun