Morning Message Text: Luke 9: 51-62
Samaritan Opposition
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him;
53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.
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 ?”
55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them.
56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
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.”
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.”
Morning Message:
How much? We learn at a very young age that there is a cost to almost everything in life. As children we learn very early on that we must pay for the things that we want. At first this takes some getting used to because we are accustomed to our parents taking care of us and giving us everything that we need. I remember a story from my childhood. I was too young to recall the incident, but as I grew up my family repeated this story to me so many times that it felt like I was actually remembering it. I don’t know how old I was, but I am guessing 3 or 4. My mother and my aunt took me to the five and ten store, G. C. Murphy’s. As the story goes, at some point I needed to go to the restroom, so my aunt took me. As she was helping me to get my pants down, I looked at her and in my broken English said, “Your gonna mess around and make me wose it.” She said, “What are you going to lose Bobbie?” At that point candy started to fall out of my pockets. Yes, I had been helping myself to all of the penny candy. I would like to think that I didn’t know any better, but the way I was trying to hide it indicated that I knew it wasn’t free for the taking. Everything has a cost and deep inside, from a very young age, we know that.
How many offers do you get through the mail, on TV, and over your phone that tell you that they have a free gift for you? We all get pulled in at least once in our lives. You might turn down a hundred offers because you know that nothing is free, but then along comes that one offer, that one thing that is very appealing to you, and you decide to take a closer look to see if, just maybe, this could be real. At that point they’ve got you. You might spend an hour reading everything that they want to tell you about this miracle product that is going to completely change your life only to find out at the very end that it’s only free if you agree to buy more. Many years ago, while shopping at Walmart, a voice came on the PA system and said, “We have a free gift for anyone who will come to the produce section and watch a short demonstration.” I got my free piece of a junk knife sharpener after an hour of my time and refusing to buy knives a hundred times.
Our reading today focuses on Jesus at the end of his earthly ministry. Jesus has a determination about him at this point. He knows that he doesn’t have much time left, and he seems to take on a very serious tone. He teaches two of his disciples, James and John, a lesson about mercy. Jesus did not come to destroy people and places. There was no earthly cost to people rejecting him. There would be a spiritual cost, an eternal cost, but it was not up to the disciples to judge. Did you hear that? Jesus would rather have a complete rejection than a half-hearted following. We need to hear that today. Pick a side. Don’t try to balance discipleship and worldliness. If you are going to reject Jesus, then do it all the way. Don’t play games with God. Don’t come and play church and think that you can just slide buy, that no one will notice, that it won’t make a difference. I know that I am no longer that little boy that can stuff my pockets with stolen candy, and God knows the intentions of every heart. You might just as well go out of here and get everything that you can from the world, because that’s all that you will have.
There is a cost to following Jesus, and the truth is we have too many so-called Christians that are looking for a free lunch. Don’t get me wrong, the rewards far outweigh the cost; heaven and eternity far outweigh the spoils of this life, but this life is the cost of following Jesus. We have homes and cars and things; Jesus had nothing. Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but while he was on this earth Jesus was not guaranteed a place to lay his head at night. The excuses that these two potential followers gave to Jesus seem like legitimate requests. Burying a father and saying goodbye to family members doesn’t seem like a lot to ask, but Jesus knows the intent of their hearts, and he knows the intent of ours as well. How many of you, when you were growing up, wanted to ask your parents’ permission to do something? Let’s say borrow the car for the evening. You went to your parents with the most legitimate reasons to get their approval. You didn’t tell them that while you were out you might go and pick up your friends and spend some time just cruising around. The same thing is happening here, but Jesus knows that they are just looking for excuses, permission to lessen the cost. Constantly looking back at the life that you had before you came to Jesus will cause you to go sideways and eventually backwards. The cost of following Jesus: understand it and stop wavering.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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