No Turning Back

All right, well we are continuing on with the story of Jesus as told by Luke.

I know I start that way almost every Sunday.

Some of you are probably tired of hearing that.

It's a long series, but there's so much in here in the Word of God, and it's worth our attention.

So if you have a Bible with you, you can open it up to Luke chapter 9, is where we are in the story.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

And we've covered much.

We've gone all the way from before the birth of Jesus, all the way up to this moment when Jesus is in the midst of Jesus.

And we've heard all kinds of wonderful things, and we've got a few more things to hear this morning.

So we're going to pick up the story here in verse 51.

Just as a reminder, last Sunday we heard about a variety of things.

We heard Jesus tell His disciples for the second time that He would soon be handed over.

We heard about how the disciples had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

We heard about how Jesus used a little child as an example of what makes for greatness in the kingdom of God.

And then we heard about an unnamed guy casting out demons in Jesus' name.

Let's pick up the story here in Luke chapter 9, verse 51.

Luke 9:51

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

Now these words might be surprising at first.

Is Luke already talking about Jesus' final trip to Jerusalem here in chapter 9?

It kind of sounds like that, doesn't it?

And the answer is yes, but maybe not how we would expect it.

This is the beginning of a new section in Luke's gospel.

It's been called the travel narrative, or the Jerusalem journey, as one commentator put it.

This section is 10 chapters long.

And if we read it carefully and we watch for some of those place names,

those little mentions of where they're going,

and if we compare with John's gospel,

we see that this Jerusalem journey is not Jesus' final trip into the city of Jerusalem.

At least, maybe not the way that we usually think of trip.

For one, Jesus does not travel in a straight line or take the most direct route.

He seems to be visiting towns all over the place.

It has more of the feel of a meandering ministry tour through the region,

which eventually ends up in Jerusalem.

Second, if we compare closely with John,

we actually see that Jesus enters Jerusalem itself, the city,

at least once, if not twice, during this period,

leading up to the Passover when he's crucified.

And so it's probably best to understand this moment in Luke

as Jesus completing the Galilean phase of his ministry.

He has been ministering up in the north in Galilee,

and now he's beginning the Judean phase down in the south where Jerusalem is.

The scholars, of course, will point out the Hebrew idiom,

he set his face towards Jerusalem.

That that means, it's a figure of speech,

that means he has a strong determination to go there

in order to complete a task.

Jesus has this strong determination,

but his goal is not to get there as quickly as possible.

It's just really a shift in his focus towards that city

and the people of that region,

where things are going to culminate in him being taken up to heaven

after his crucifixion and resurrection.

One other thing to mention about these next ten chapters

is that we will hear from Luke a little bit less

about the miracles that Jesus was doing,

and we'll hear a little bit more about the teaching of Jesus

and the conversations that he had with people.

And so, we're looking forward to that.

By one estimate, about one-third of the content in this next section

is only found in Luke's gospel,

not even mentioned by the other three.

So, with that all on the table, let's carry on.

Jesus sort of closes this chapter on the ministry in the north,

in Galilee,

and now his attention and focus shift to Jerusalem

and the Jews living in the south.

Verse 52,

And he sent messengers on ahead

who went into a Samaritan village

to get things ready for them.

So, there's a little map.

It's probably hard to see from where you're sitting,

but there's Galilee up in the north.

There's Judea and Jerusalem down in the south.

And this area in here is Samaria.

He's got to either go through Samaria

or, as often happened in those days,

go around Samaria.

As we'll read about in a second,

there's a massive rift between the Samaritans

and the Jews at this time.

So, he sent messengers on ahead

who went into a Samaritan village

to get things ready for him,

but the people there

did not welcome Jesus

because he was heading for Jerusalem.

So, there's this conflict going on

between the Samaritans and the Jews.

In the words of another guy,

a New Testament scholar,

the Samaritans were a mixed race

of Israelite and non-Israelite blood.

They were despised by many pure-blooded Israelites

because they believed that the Samaritans

compromised the faith.

The Samaritans worshipped at Mount Gerizim

rather than at Mount Zion,

and they recognized only the first five books

of the Old Testament.

Even though it took three days

to pass through the region,

many Jews preferred to lengthen their journey

and go around it.

So, if you know the story of

the woman at the well

in John's Gospel,

you can really feel the tension there

and the differences between the Jews

and the Samaritans.

Things are quite frosty

and even hostile between them.

And yet, even though the Jews

despised the Samaritans,

Jesus did not.

The good news of God's love

and His kingdom

was not only for the Jews,

but for all people.

Even those hated Samaritans.

In John's Gospel,

we see a wonderful response of faith

by the Samaritans in the town of Sychar.

It says,

there are many in that town

believed in Jesus.

But here,

as Jesus is coming towards this town,

Jesus is not welcomed.

And the reason is because

He's headed for Jerusalem.

So there was that big difference

of where God should be worshipped.

And so probably that came right to the forefront

as Jesus was on the way through.

Maybe even for one of the annual festivals

at this time.

I want you to imagine

for just a quick moment

that you were one of the messengers

that Jesus had sent

into this Samaritan town.

Go ahead into the town.

See if you can find some lodging

for us for the night.

You're looking for a place

for Jesus

and for the rest of the 12 disciples

to spend the night.

Imagine explaining to them

as they ask you,

where are you headed?

Well, we're headed to Jerusalem.

And all of a sudden

the expression on their faces

just says it all.

No.

You can't stay in our town.

If you're headed for Jerusalem,

then you're not welcome here.

Well, when the disciples

James and John saw this,

they asked,

Lord, do you want us

to call fire down from heaven

to destroy them?

But Jesus turned

and rebuked them.

Then he and his disciples

went to another village.

So James and John,

two of Jesus' disciples,

are really upset by this.

And I'm not really sure here.

It's possible

that they themselves

were the messengers

that were sent by Jesus

and the ones

who were initially rejected.

It says when they saw this.

And I'm trying to put myself

into their mindset.

We don't know

all the details

of what the day

has been like

for James and John

leading up to this moment.

perhaps they're exhausted

from an entire day

of traveling on foot.

Maybe this is the nearest town

that they can reach

before it gets dark.

And who knows

how hungry they are.

Who knows exactly

what the Samaritan said to them

when they asked.

Did it turn into

a verbal fight

and insults?

All we know

is this question

that they asked Jesus.

and we can tell

by the question

that they are fuming.

They are mad.

Lord,

do you want us

to call fire down

from heaven

to destroy them?

That sounds a little extreme,

doesn't it?

Pretty vindictive.

And yet,

as I said,

we don't know

what all they experienced

leading up to this question

being asked.

you know,

it's kind of ironic.

We've been talking about

just recently here

in Luke chapter 9,

Luke 9 · chapter mention

there was that demon-possessed boy

and they lacked faith

to drive the demon out.

They lacked faith

about what they could do

in Jesus' name.

Well,

here it almost seems

the opposite.

It seems like

their confidence

is restored

about the authority

that Jesus has given them

to do miracles

in his name.

They ask,

do you want us

to call down

fire

from heaven

and destroy them?

So they've,

in this moment,

it seems,

got the faith

that Elijah had

when he prayed

and God sent fire down

on the altar.

They seem to believe

that if they call on God,

he will do this

to this town

just like he did

long ago

in the days of Sodom

and Gomorrah.

So they have faith,

it seems,

and yet Jesus

rebukes them.

And I would have loved

to have been there

to hear what Jesus

said to them

in this moment.

All we have,

though,

is this word,

these words,

but Jesus turned

and rebuked them.

Now,

before we write

James and John off

as completely crazy

or just wicked,

let's stop

and think about this

for a moment.

Why would they have

suggested this

to Jesus

in the first place?

Was it just

their tempers

getting the best

of them

after being

humiliated?

Was it just

deeply wounded

pride

as they walked

away from this

town?

Or were there

things Jesus

had said

which might have

even got them

thinking in this

direction?

What did Jesus

tell them to do

the first time

that he sent

them out

when a town

did not welcome

them?

Just back up

earlier in the

chapter in verse

five,

Jesus had

given them

instructions

if people

do not

welcome you

leave their

town

and shake

the dust

off your

feet

as a testimony

against them.

And as we'll

hear in the

next chapter

Jesus is about

to send them

out again

this time

with some

others

and give them

very similar

instructions

and these are

some of the

instructions that

we read in

that next

chapter

chapter 10

verse 10

he'll say

when you enter

a town

and are not

welcomed

go into

its streets

and say

even the

dust of your

town

we wipe

from our

feet

as a warning

to you

yet be sure

of this

the kingdom

of God

has come

near

I tell you

it will be

more bearable

on that day

for Sodom

than for that

town

woe to you

Chorazin

woe to you

Bethsaida

for if the

miracles that

were performed

in you had

been performed

in Tyre

and Sidon

they would

have repented

long ago

sitting in

sackcloth

and ashes

but it will

be more

bearable

for Tyre

and Sidon

at the

judgment

than for you

and you

Capernaum

will you be

lifted to the

heavens

no

you will

go down

to Hades

so that's

what Jesus

is about

to say

before sending

them out

again

and possibly

he said

similar things

to them

before

and so

maybe

this is

part of

what led

the disciples

to ask

such an

outrageous

question

as this

do you

want us

to call

fire down

from heaven

to destroy

them

but even

with these

serious warnings

for towns

that would

reject him

Jesus

was not

being vindictive

or vengeful

these are

statements

about justice

about

about

what the

people

in these

towns

truly

deserve

and how

one day

God will

give them

what they

deserve

but

this is

not

that day

is what

Jesus is

saying

to James

and John

he rebuked

James and

John

for asking

a question

like this

I

try to

imagine

how Jesus

would have

phrased it

to them

maybe something

like this

have I not

told you

love your

enemies

and do

good

to those

who hate

you

bless

those who

curse

you

pray for

those who

mistreat

you

Jesus said

that to

them just

back in

chapter 6

yes there

will be

serious

consequences

for their

actions

and their

rejection

of you

is a

rejection

of me

but

James

John

has it

been

given

to you

to

execute

judgment

to

punish

them

for

their

sins

again

look back

at what

Jesus

said

in

chapter

6

in

his

sermon

to

the

crowd

verse

35

he said

but love

your

enemies

and do

good

to

them

then

your

reward

will be

great

and you

will be

children

of the

most

high

because

he is

kind

to the

ungrateful

and wicked

be

merciful

just

as your

father

is

merciful

I'm

reminded

here of

what it

says right

after

John

3

16

one of

those

most

famous

verses

precious

verses

for

God

so

loved

the

world

that

he

gave

his

one

and

only

son

that

whoever

believes

in

him

should

not

perish

shall

not

perish

but

have

eternal

life

for

God

did

not

send

his

son

into

the

world

to

condemn

the

world

but

to

save

the

world

through

him

Jesus

didn't

come

the

first

time

to

execute

judgment

to

bring

everything

to

its

right

end

he

came

to

save

people

and

so

James

and

John

though

they

may

understand

the

seriousness

of

rejecting

Jesus

in

this

moment

with

this

question

they

needed

to

be

reminded

about

mercy

what

about

you

ever

get

angry

because

of

how

someone

has

treated

you

or

because

of

how

someone

has

treated

someone

you

love

do

you

ever

find

yourself

wishing

that

God

would

just

give

someone

else

what

they

deserve

already

we

can be

deeply

hurt

by

others

and

our

pride

can

be

deeply

wounded

but

we

are

to

love

our

enemies

and

leave

the

judgment

part

to

God

we

should

also

remember

that

if

we've

done

anything

good

in

our

lives

it

hasn't

been

of

ourselves

it's

only

been

because

of

God

working

in

us

to

do

those

things

we'll

hear

about

this

soon

from

Jesus

himself

in

chapter

13

but

all

of

us

deserve

the

shocking

and

tragic

death

that

some

have

suffered

we

are

all

guilty

we

have

all

sinned

every

one

of

us

falls

short

of

God's

glory

!

and

just

like

for

the

disciples

Jesus

has

asked

us

to

show

others

the

mercy

that

we

have

been

shown

well

let's

carry

on a

few

more

verses

here

we'll

just

finish

up

the

chapter

here

Luke

Luke 9:57

9

verse

57

as they

were

walking

along

the

road

a man

said

to

Jesus

I

will

follow

you

wherever

you

go

Jesus

replied

foxes

have

dens

and birds

have

nests

but the

son of

man

has no

place

to lay

his

head

he

said

to

another

man

follow

me

but

he

replied

Lord

first

let me

go

and

bury

my

father

Jesus

said

to

him

let

the

dead

bury

their

own

dead

but

you

go

and

proclaim

the

kingdom

of

God

still

another

said

I

will

follow

you

Lord

but

first

let

me

go

back

and

say

goodbye

to

my

family

Jesus

replied

no

one

who

puts

a

hand

to

the

plow

and

looks

back

is

fit

for

service

in

the

kingdom

of

God

so

as

they're

walking

along

the

road

this

topic

of

following

Jesus

comes

up

of

being

one

of

his

disciples

and

this

man

this

first

man

says

to

Jesus

I

will

follow

you

wherever

you

go

and

Jesus

with

his

next

words

seems

to

challenge

that

commitment

will

you

really

follow

me

wherever

I

go

are

you

willing

to

spend

some

nights

outside

sleeping

in

the

cold

on

the

bare

ground

that's

probably

one of

the

realities

of

Jesus

ministry

and

for

his

disciples

too

not

that

they

spend

every

night

outside

but

they're

traveling

all over

the

place

and

as

we

just

heard

not

everyone

has

been

welcoming

they

probably

had

many

nights

outside

in

the

cold

in

the

elements

they're

certainly

not

going

home

and

sleeping

on

their

comfortable

beds

at the

end

of

every

day

and

getting

a

warm

home

cooked

meal

following

Jesus

cost

them

those

things

it

was

physically

and

tangibly

one

or the

other

but

as often

happens

with

Jesus

there's

more

in

his

words

than

just

the

physical

and

the

tangible

foxes

have

dens

and

birds

have

nests

but

the

son

of

man

has

no

place

to

lay

his

head

this

is

proverbial

language

it's

the

language

of

principle

what

is

Jesus

saying

by

this

following

him

requires

something

of

us

it

requires

that

we

be

willing

to

let

go

of

the

comfortable

life

this

is

just

part

of

what

it

means

to

follow

Jesus

he

does

not

lead

us

into

the

comfortable

life

where

is

Jesus

headed

now

he's

headed

to

Jerusalem

which

is

the

headquarters

of

those

who

oppose

him

the

fiercest

he's

on

his

way

to

suffering

to

the

cross

to

death

foxes

have

dens

and

birds

have

nests

but

the

son

of

man

has

no

place

to

lay

his

head

it's

as

though

Jesus

is

saying

to

him

are

you

willing

to

abandon

the

comforts

of

this

world

in

order

to

follow

me

what

would

your

answer

be

if

Jesus

were

asking

this

to

you

how

have

you

been

answering

this

question

of

late

well

then

there's

the

second

man

Jesus

speaks

to

this

guy

first

and

says

follow

me

and

he

replies

with

Lord

first

let

me

go

and

bury

my

father

and

Jesus

says

to

him

let

the

dead

bury

their

own

dead

but

you

go

and

proclaim

the

kingdom

of

God

now

a

surface

level

reading

of

this

might

give

us

the

impression

that

Jesus

lacks

compassion

and

that

he's

really

really

strict

this

guy

just

wants

to

bury

his

dad

and

so

we

might

assume

that

his

dad

just

passed

away

the

funeral

should

be

a

matter

of

a

week

or

so

and

then

this

man

should

be

free

to

follow

Jesus

after

right

but

is

Jesus

that

heartless

that

he

would

not

allow

one

of

his

followers

to

go

to

the

funeral

of

his

dad

well

Jesus

has

already

demonstrated

time and

time again

that he

is more

compassionate

than

anyone

and so

it's

likely

that he

is

challenging

this

man's

willingness

to

follow

him

we

know

from

other

accounts

that

Jesus

knew

exactly

what

was

going

on

in

people's

hearts

even

as

he

spoke

to

them

and

for

this

man

this

was

likely

an

excuse

that

he

was

making

some

suggest

that

probably

his

father

had

not

even

died

but

was

older

and

so

it

was

likely

a

matter

of

well

Jesus

I

would

like

to

follow

you

but

my

dad

is

older

and

we

don't

know

how

long

we

have

left

with

him

but

once

he

passes

I'll

be

more

in

a

position

to

follow

you

there's

kind

of

an

indefinite

time

period

maybe

later

now

certainly

the man's

father

is

important

in fact

it's

even

one

of

the

ten

commandments

honor

your

father

and

mother

but

even

more

important

than

family

is

the

call

of

Christ

to

follow

him

our

relationship

with

God

and

our

obedience

to

his

son

should

take

the

highest

priority

in

our

lives

think

about

this

this

man

has

an

invitation

from

the

very

son

of

God

to

follow

and

it

seems

he's

making

an

excuse

and

brushing

it

off

trying

to

say

a

good

excuse

something

that

should

be

acceptable

surely

Jesus

I'm

to

honor

my

father

in

these

last

days

of

his

life

and

see

that

he

has

a

proper

burial

and

that

his

wishes

are

carried

out

so

I'll

have

to

decline

I

can't

follow

you

Jesus

response

is

very

strange

to

us

anyway

he

says

let

the

dead

bury

their

own

dead

but

you

go

and

proclaim

the

kingdom

of

God

now

this

is

a

difficult

statement

to

understand

what

does

this

mean

there's

two

different

ideas

about

what

it

means

I'll

just

give

you

both

of

them

because

to

be

honest

I'm

not

really

sure

first

obviously

we can't

take this

literally

because

it's

impossible

for

dead

people

to

bury

dead

people

and

so

it's

obviously

a

figure

of

speech

one

idea

is

that

Jesus

is

saying

let

those

who

are

spiritually

dead

bury

the

dead

but

you

go

and

proclaim

the

kingdom

of

God

in

other

words

let

those

who

don't

believe

in

the

gospel

of

the

kingdom

or

care

about

following

me

let

them

bury

him

they

can

look

after

that

but

you

come

and

follow

me

so

that's

one

idea

the

other

idea

is

that

Jesus

words

are

purely

rhetorical

like

let

the

dead

bury

themselves

but

you

go

and

proclaim

the

kingdom

of

God

in

other

words

that's

the

sort

of

thing

that

can

look

after

itself

somebody

will

bury

your

father

don't

let

that

keep

you

from

doing

what

you

need

to

do

it

might

be

similar

to

what

Jesus

said

in

the

sermon

on

the

mount

when

he

said

don't

worry

about

tomorrow

for

tomorrow

will

worry

about

itself

of

course

tomorrow

can't

really

worry

about

itself

but

it's

it's

it's

a

rhetorical

statement

the

dead

can't

bury

themselves

but

you're

making

excuses

man