The Cost of Following Jesus

Luke chapter 9, verses 57 to 62.

Luke 9:57–62

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.

This is the word of God.

One thing that really annoys me, people,

one thing that really annoys me is when you commit to something

and there's a hidden little sentence,

a hidden cost, something they didn't mention.

But now that you've signed a contract,

now that you've committed to that thing,

you have to deal with it, you have to pay it.

For example, you buy a house or a car.

I've never bought any of those things,

but I imagine it's a bit like that.

Or you subscribe, maybe.

Okay, you subscribe to Amazon Prime

and you think, Okay, now I can watch whatever movie I like

and then you find the movie you want to watch

and you have to still pay for it.

I hate that.

Maybe some of you hate that too.

You know who also hates this kind of dishonesty?

Jesus.

The Bible.

Which is why Jesus is always up front,

very straight to the point,

very clear about any cost that is involved.

And to be honest, it's a bit paradox.

It's a bit of an irony in our Christian faith

because on one side we teach that grace is for free.

There is nothing you can do,

nothing you can bring to the table.

And yet on the other side,

we teach that it'll cost you everything.

It'll cost you your whole life.

And that is very difficult to hold together.

It's very difficult to make sense of that sometimes.

But I think in this passage here this morning,

we can see a little bit of what Jesus means.

This is, by the way,

not part of any sermon series

that is happening at the moment.

I think Corey didn't want me to let me mess up

his Genesis series.

Instead, I'm doing a standalone sermon.

But it's a very important topic.

And we're here in Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

It's a big chapter.

There's a lot happening in that chapter.

I recommend you go home this afternoon and read it.

There's a lot happening.

But in between these events,

Jesus is teaching what it means to follow him.

For example,

in chapter 9, verses 22 to 24,

he says,

The Son of Man must suffer many things

and be rejected by the elders

and chief priests and scribes

and be killed

and on the third day be raised.

And he said to all,

If anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross daily

and follow me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it.

But whoever loses his life for my sake

will save it.

That is a hard saying.

And then, of course,

we have today's passage.

It's a passage that I have often wondered about

because the responses of these three people

that Jesus is interacting with,

they are weird.

And they're strange.

And they seem really, really harsh.

And I've struggled with that.

And maybe some of you have struggled with that.

So let's look at that.

Let's look at these three people

that Jesus is talking to.

And the passage starts with the verse

as they were going along the road.

So just for context,

Jesus and the disciples are on the road,

on the road to Jerusalem,

to be more specific.

And on this kind of road,

you would have met a lot of different people.

It's a bit like in the UK,

every road leads to London.

In Europe, every road leads to Rome.

And I guess in Israel,

all the roads lead to Jerusalem.

And it would have been a main road.

Jesus would have talked to a lot of people.

So not all of these interactions

are written down in the gospel for us.

Luke is very specific

about what he writes down to make a point.

So let's look at this first encounter

that Jesus has with that person on the road.

So the first person here comes and asks Jesus.

Oh, not really.

He doesn't really ask.

He makes a statement.

He says, I will follow you wherever you go.

I'll be there.

I'll go with you wherever you go.

Why is he saying that?

I think it's pretty obvious.

Jesus is a fascinating guy.

He's very, very interesting,

to say the least.

You know, people would have wondered,

did you see what that guy did?

Did you see how he healed that person?

Did you see the way he preached?

Did you see his disciples?

They were given authority to even cast out demons.

It's no surprise that people want to follow Jesus.

He's very, very special as a person,

very polarizing.

And that person says,

I will follow you, Jesus, wherever you go.

It's interesting.

If we know the gospels,

if you've been a Christian for a longer time

and you've read the gospels,

then you will know that Peter says a similar thing later on

and just before he betrays Jesus.

I will go wherever you go.

And it's something,

if you're a Christian,

that you maybe have struggled with before,

wanting to follow Jesus,

come what may,

but not actually being aware of everything that entails,

of the consequences that such a decision

or such a commitment could have on your life.

Sometimes we say things,

we do things without knowing

what it will actually look like.

And that's fine.

I think part of that is very normal.

How many of you got married

without knowing how much work

a healthy marriage includes?

How many of you committed to a job

without knowing how much work

there actually was to do?

How many of you have committed to things

that you weren't really prepared for?

That is fine.

Jesus is not saying,

you have to be perfect to follow me.

It's the opposite.

Jesus wants you to know

that you will learn a lot

and it'll be hard.

Jesus' response here

is actually not very inviting.

It's strange.

But he wants to make sure

that you know what you're asking for.

He doesn't just say,

all right, no problem.

Just walk with the other 12 guys.

If we have a 13th guy, that's fine.

That is not what he says.

Instead, he says,

foxes have holes,

birds of the air have nests,

but the son of man

has nowhere to lay his head.

A very strange way

to answer a question like that.

But the point is that

even a fox,

even a bird,

have a place that they can call home,

a base where they are safe,

where they can lie down to rest,

where they can sleep.

And Jesus doesn't have that.

In the chapter before,

in the scene before,

we read that Jesus

was just rejected

in a Samaritan village.

So Jesus is saying

not necessarily

that he will never have a place

to stay at,

but he is saying

that he will be rejected.

He is on his way to Jerusalem.

We know what happens in Jerusalem.

He's got his eyes

fixed on the cross,

on the mission

that lies before him.

This is not an easy way for him.

Even the animals

have a secure space,

but Jesus says,

I'm in the open.

I'm vulnerable.

And he already has said

what needs to happen.

The Son of Man

must suffer many things

and be rejected

by the elders,

chief priests, and scribes

and even be killed.

And note how he talks

about himself

as the Son of Man.

Now, this person

that he would have talked to

would have been a Jew.

They would have been

probably fairly familiar

with the Old Testament.

In Daniel chapter 7,

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

it says,

Behold,

with the clouds of heaven

there came one

like a Son of Man.

That's where this term

comes from.

And he came to the

Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

And to him was given

dominion and glory

and a kingdom

that all peoples,

nations,

and languages

should serve him.

Now, that's very remarkable.

We read this

and we,

as New Testament believers,

in the 21st century,

we understand

why Jesus was saying

these things,

that Jesus actually

did achieve all these things,

that he did bring

the kingdom of God,

that all peoples,

nations,

and languages

should serve him.

But for the person

standing there

in front of Jesus,

this must have been weird.

This must have been strange.

Jesus,

a rejected leader?

I thought to you

belong dominion

and power.

But now you say

you will be rejected

and killed?

So this is not just about

having a hard time yourself,

it's about

following a rejected leader.

We don't know

why exactly Jesus

chooses this picture

of the fox

and the bird,

but he probably knew

he was talking to,

he knew the person,

and he's saying,

you can't just turn around,

you can't just go back home

when you've had enough.

We are on the road,

we are doing this.

This is either

you're in or you're out.

There's no

half-heartedness in this.

So Jesus is saying,

I want you to follow me,

but I want you

to mean it.

If you want to follow Jesus,

then mean it

and do it.

The second encounter,

the second guy,

the second guy

is a little bit different.

Jesus actually goes to him

and Jesus asks him a question.

He says,

follow me.

So this time

Jesus sees someone,

he commands him

to follow him.

And the man says,

sure,

but I need to bury

my father first.

What would your reaction be

if you were Jesus?

I think 99.9%

of all of us here

would say,

your father died?

Okay,

you go home

and you go

mourn with your family

and you bury him

and you take your time.

And Jesus doesn't say that.

And it's really hard

to understand

why Jesus doesn't say that.

And I think most of us

probably struggle with that.

It's difficult.

Why does Jesus,

out of all people,

respond like this?

I thought he valued family.

I thought he wept

even when his friend

Lazarus died.

Surely he understands.

And one thing

that really helped me

to understand this passage

better is

to read a little bit

about the context

of Middle Eastern culture.

There is a scholar

called Kenneth Bailey

who has lived over there

for many, many years

and he's been teaching

over there

and he writes

about this phrase,

let me go

and bury my father.

And this phrase

to the Middle Eastern person

means something like,

let me go

and serve my father

while he is alive

and after he dies

I will bury him

and come.

So he says

the father might be

perfectly healthy.

He still has another

20 years to live.

But the phrase means

let me go and serve him

and once he dies

I can follow you.

An Arab commentator

writes this,

he says,

if his father

had really died

why then was he not

at the very moment

at home

keeping vigil

over the body

of his father?

In reality

he intends to defer

the matter of following Jesus

to a distant future

when his father dies

as an old man

who knows when?

Little does he know

that Jesus

in a very short time

will himself

give up his spirit.

Now that changes things

doesn't it?

Now if that's true

then Jesus is actually

not rude to this man

not allowing him

to mourn

over his dead father

but actually

this is about

something else.

Jesus is asking

this man

to follow him

but this man's family

is holding him back.

His cultural traditions

and customs

are holding him back.

His parents

would be angry

with him

if he went

and followed Jesus.

His neighbors

would say

oh what a bad young man

so selfish

doesn't even care

about his own father.

It's about

peer pressures.

This is very

applicable to us

not necessarily

because we have

the same culture

but

what are your

peer pressures?

What is holding you

back

to follow Christ?

What is holding you

back

to proclaim

the kingdom of God?

Will your work colleague

laugh at you?

Will your friends

think that you're weird?

Might they even be

angry?

And of course

we hear all the things

that society is

throwing at Christianity

and it's really

really hard

to stand for

what you believe

in all of that.

We can see that

in decisions

that are being made

in politics

and we can see it

in what we

watch and consume

in the media.

is that hindering

you

to follow Jesus

wholeheartedly?

It's very

very difficult.

The third encounter

we have the third guy.

Third encounter

verse 61

it's a bit like

the first one

again

he's offering

he's volunteering

to follow Jesus

but he has

some conditions.

He says to Jesus

let me first say

farewell

to those

at my home

and again

we think

okay

surely this is allowed

surely

surely

he can go home

and say goodbye

to his family

and then catch up

with Jesus

and the disciples

on the road.

Especially

if you've read

the Old Testament

there is a very

similar scene

in 1 Kings

1 Kings 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19

we read about

Elijah

the prophet Elijah

calling Elisha

Elisha

I don't know

how to say his name

what happens there?

Elisha

he is asked

to follow Elijah

and then he

asks him

can I first

kiss my parents

goodbye?

Can I first

say goodbye

to my parents?

And Elijah

says yes

that's fine

and Elisha

goes home

and he butchers

a pair of oxen

and they have

a wee barbecue

and everyone's

happy

and they say

goodbye

and it's all good

and then

Elisha

follows Elijah

and in this scene

Jesus doesn't

allow it

why?

That is strange

it's very harsh

and I think

the first thing

to say is

that Jesus

is more important

than Elijah

that is one

thing to say

that he needs

him to follow

him now

but again

the cultural

background

we need to

take that into

account

the importance

of family

saying goodbye

here means

not only

to say goodbye

but also

to ask for

permission

you see what

the problem

here is

the person

is saying

to Jesus

can I first

ask my father

if he actually

allows me

to go with you

the authority

of his father

is greater

than Jesus

authority

and in that

culture

the father

is supreme

and the

relationship

between parents

and the son

is so much

much more

closer than

here in our

21st century

western world

where people

don't even care

about their parents

very much

sometimes

that

would not

be the case

back in

Jesus day

Kenneth Bailey

he taught

a class

of Middle

Eastern

seminary

students

this very

text

and he

explained

to them

that

Jesus

authority

is higher

than the

father's

authority

and they

all were

just

shocked

they

couldn't

believe

it

so again

is Jesus

the highest

authority

in your

life

or is

there

someone

else

something

else

that has

a higher

authority

in your

life

Jesus

responds

to the

guy

by

giving him

a picture

Jesus

uses an

illustration

here

he talks

about

a plow

what's

that all

about

you see

a plow

I've done

my cultural

background

research

a plow

in that

time

would have

been quite

difficult

to handle

in one

hand

you hold

the plow

in the

other

hand

you

you

have

a

goat

like

a

little

stick

two

yards

long

with

an

iron

spike

and

you

use

that

to

spike

the

oxen

so it

goes

and

then

you

have

to

look

between

the

legs

of the

oxen

to watch

the

furrow

and all

of that

obviously

needs

attention

you need

to do

all of

that

at the

same

time

all

hands

on

if

you

look

around

the

whole

time

then

you're

not

going

straight

anymore

you need

straight

lines

because

you

would

plow

the

field

multiple

times

and

if

you

look

around

the

lines

they

wouldn't

be

straight

anymore

you

would

do

damage

to

the

field

that

is

what

Jesus

is

saying

in

that

moment

this

is

about

having

maybe

greater

authority

in your

life

than

Jesus

but

it's

also

about

looking

back

over

your

shoulders

maybe

you've

been

following

Jesus

for a

while

now

and

you've

been

looking

back

over

your

shoulders

looking

back

to

things

that

seem

more

attractive

to

you

more

desirable

things

that

are

old

sin

patterns

maybe

you've

gone

back

to

that

walking

away

from

God

and

the

lines

are

going

well

crooked

not straight

anymore

I

don't

know

if

any

of

you

watch

Clarkson's

Farm

I

like

Clarkson's

Farm

I

think

it's

a

good

show

I

am

not

getting

paid

to

say

this

but

I

remember

in one

of the

episodes

he

buys

this

Lamborghini

tractor

and

he

hasn't

quite

figured

out

how to

go

in

straight

lines

and

I

don't

know

if

Flynn

is

here

this

morning

but

he

would

probably

laugh

at

this

because

he's

probably

very

good

at

that

he

does

that

kind

of

stuff

and

he

totally

gets

what

this

is

about

you

can't

just

look

around

you

have

to

go

and

set

your

eyes

in

front

of

you

and

see

where

you're

going

in

order

to

not

ruin

the

field

so

is

this

about

family

maybe

but

it's

more

about

the

kingdom

of

God

if

you

follow

Jesus

then

he

demands

your

whole

life

all

of

you

your

whole

heart

if

there

are

any

conflicts

in

your

life

right

now

and

that's

something

to

think

about

to

pray

about

to

reflect

on

are

there

situations

where

you

substitute

Jesus

authority

with

somebody

else's

authority

or

with

something

else

these

are

hard

sayings

that

Jesus

is

giving

us

here

to

say

the

least

but

Jesus

is

interested

in

your

commitment

often

we

talk

and

emphasize

which

is

very

good

the

love

of

God

the

grace

of

God

his

kindness

and

that

is

the

very

basis

everything

that

follows

is

built

on

that

but

in

this

passage

we

also

learn

that

following

Jesus

comes

at

a

great

cost

there

are

multiple

there

are

many

examples

of

people

who

experience

that

one

that

I

like

a

lot

is

a

man

called

Dietrich

Bonhoeffer

he

was

a

German

theologian

during

the

Nazi

regime

in

Germany

he

actually

was

involved

in a

plot

against

Adolf

Hitler

and

there

was

a

book

he

wrote

which

is

called

The

Cost

of

Discipleship

and

he

writes

this

he

writes

when

Christ

calls

a

man

he

bids

him

come

and

die

most

of

you

will

not

have

to

go

through

that

but

if

you

look

back

over

the

course

of

the

last

2000

years

there

were

many

many

many

who

had

actually

they

had

to

endure

that

it's

still

happening

today

a

couple

of

weeks

ago

in

Congo

70

Christians

beheaded

we're

very

privileged

here

that

we

don't

have

to

experienced

that

but

they

have

and

so

did

Dietrich

Bonhoeffer

it's

a very

extreme

example

I know

that

and

we

also

have

to

emphasize

that

God

gave

him

the

strength

to

do

that

I

don't

want

to

scare

you

away

I

don't

want

to

scare

myself

away

I

don't

want

to

make

our

faith

unattractive

but

Jesus

is

so

so

honest

here

following

Jesus

is

no

part-time

business

and

yet

it

is

so

so

worth

it

because

apart

from

Jesus

Christ

there

is

no

life

there

is

no

truth

there

is

no

way

John

14

6

I

think

it

is

talks

about

that

okay

let's

think

about

this

more

practically

let's

apply

this

what

makes

you

look

back

when

you

plow

the

field

what

makes

you

turn

your

head

around

what

distracts

you

from

kingdom

work

what

has

more

authority

in

your

heart

than

Jesus

sometimes

maybe

that's

just

me

but

I

like

this

chair

behind

me

and

everyone

has

this

chair

in

their

lives

it's

the

chair

of

your

heart

okay

everyone

has

this

big

old

throne

okay

you

with

me

naturally

you

want

to

sit

on

that

throne

okay

when

you

become

a

Christian

Jesus

says

I

want

to

sit

on

the

throne

I

want

to

call

the

shots

because

look

where

it

has

led

you

you

are

not

fulfilled

you

are

not

happy

you

are

still

struggling

with

your

addictions

and

your

insecurities

and

your

doubts

Jesus

wants

to

sit

on

the

throne

every

time

we

turn

our

head

around

it's

like

we

take

Jesus

and

drag

him

away

from

that

throne

and

we

want

to

sit

on

there

that

is

the

picture

we

are

getting

here

what

is

it

for

you

!

your

!

family

pride

the

list

could

go

on

and

on

and

on

and

we

have

to

be

very

careful

and

consider

this

and

reflect

on

this

if

you

have

been

watching

back

over

your

shoulder

recently

or

are

you

more

like

the

second

guy

let

me

first

bury

my

father

let

me

first

do

this

Jesus

and

then

I've

got

time

for

you

let

me

first

finish

my

degree

it's

so

busy

and

maybe

then

I've

got

time

for

you

let

me

first

enjoy

my

life

and

then

maybe

when

I'm

old

and

weak

I

will

follow

you

let

me

first

be

successful

and

popular

let

me

first

let

me

first

or

are

you

the

first

man

you're

excited

to

walk

with

Jesus

you

want

to

follow

him

and

suddenly

you

realize

people

are

offended

by

Jesus

and

because

you

are

following

Jesus

they

might

even

be

nice

hobby

or

perhaps

you

started

reading

the

Bible

and

it

was

fascinating

but

then

you

realized

wow

Jesus

says

really

uncomfortable

things

here

and

now

this

has

become

difficult

that's

the point

of the

passage

let

me

say

being

a

disciple

of

Jesus

following

Jesus

comes

with a

cost

and

that

hurts

and

it

seems

paradox

because

we

talk

about

grace

being

free

but

grace

is

not

only

free

it

is

costly

and

just

like

Jesus

experienced

suffering

and

rejection

his

disciples

also

experienced

suffering

and

rejection

but

not

out of

their

own

willpower

depending

on

the

Holy

Spirit

Peter

you

remember

Peter

he

said

Jesus

I

will

follow

you

wherever

you

go

and

then

he

betrayed

Jesus

when

a

servant

girl

asked

him

if

he

knew

him

a

few

weeks

later

Peter

goes

and

preaches

to

thousands

of

people

and

later

gets

executed

for

following

Jesus

that

doesn't

come

just

out

of

your

willpower

that

is

something

God

gives

you

that

is

something

God

helps

you

with

and

it

still

happens

today

Bonhoeffer

had to

experience

this

too

his

cost

was

his

life

again

that

can

happen

probably

won't

happen

which

is

a

good

thing

but

for

him

it

was

worth

all

the

trouble

I

think

we

can

look

at

these

examples

and

just

stand

in

awe

and

be

inspired

by

that

and

say

wow

Dietrich

Bonhoeffer

realized

one

thing

grace

is

costly

and

he

writes

this

in

his

book

he

says

such

grace

is

costly

because

it

calls

us

to

follow

and

it's

grace

because

it

calls

us

to

follow

Jesus

Christ

it

is

costly

because

it

costs

a

man

his

life

and

it

is

grace