Latest / HBCWestminster / 10.4.20 Luke 9:57-62 Pastor Danny Gardner

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10.4.20 Luke 9:57-62 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  If you guys have your Bibles, you can open to Luke chapter 9 and verse 57. As you recall, it is the first Sunday of the month, and so we will be celebrating communion in just a few moments, as soon as the sermon is done, as Sam mentioned. But let's get to the text first. Luke 9, beginning in verse 57. Our text actually concludes chapter 9. The title of our sermon this morning is When Following Fails. When Following Fails. Allow me to read our text. We'll pray and begin. Beginning in verse 57.
• 0:29
  It says, 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.
• 0:57
  And Jesus said to him, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. And Lord, we would ask you to save us from ourselves. We are your sheep and in that we rejoice, but like sheep, God, we often go astray. Each of us has turned to our own way, but you, oh Lord, are the good shepherd.
• 1:20
  You are the one who refuses to let even one of us get away, and so we ask you to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus so that we may interpret your word accurately and so be at peace. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, in our passage this morning, Jesus has three disciple prospects, and yet he erects three barriers which cause them to reconsider their desire to follow.
• 1:47
  And so they leave, apparently, without salvation. And Jesus appears to, in this morning's text, actually make it more difficult for his followers to become disciples. And kind of a fun thing happens this morning that hasn't happened in a while. Today, I turn a page. It has been three months since we flipped a page. But what a page Luke chapter 9 has been.
• 2:13
  We began our chapter when Jesus empowered and sent his apostles out to gather as many followers as possible before his ministry to Galilee would end. In chapter 9, Jesus fed thousands and then walked on water. Twice in Luke chapter 9, Jesus prophesied about his own death. In Luke chapter 9, Jesus was gloriously transfigured. In Luke chapter 9, Jesus redefined discipleship as denial of self.
• 2:38
  self. In Luke chapter 9, he healed a demon-possessed boy and then had to rebuke his apostles, you recall, for proclaiming themselves little Muhammad Ali's. I am the greatest. For the last several Sundays in Luke chapter 9, we have studied the failures of the disciples in several areas. A failure of faith, a failure to understand, a failure of humility, and now this morning, a failure to follow. And at the end of Luke 9, the crowds would have been massive.
• 3:08
  Many followed Christ for a whole host of reasons, his teaching, his power, his provision, and yet we find that the following crowd were not all followers.
• 3:21
  in fact it says in verse 57 as they were going along the road as they were going along now we said last sunday that jesus had departed from galilee that he was heading toward jerusalem where he would teach and heal and minister for about six additional months before being crucified and along the way it says on the road along the road and you say well wait on the way to where on the way to what don't forget the context church
• 3:49
  It wasn't just along the way to Jerusalem, but rather along the way to be crucified. That's where he's going. He knows he's going to be crucified, and as he's going to bear the cross, he's calling people to follow him. The call of God, although necessary for salvation and indeed necessary for purpose, satisfaction, and even joy in this life, is not always a comfortable call.
• 4:19
  he is actually going to look at people and say follow me follow me that command is in the present imperative a present imperative meaning it is an ongoing command it implies a future it implies continuity it implies commitment and devotion
• 4:38
  It implies an expectation beyond the moment, and with that understanding, the implicit, what is implied, becomes explicit. And by that I mean that Jesus' call could just have easily been translated, From now on, follow me every day of your life and in every aspect. Jesus' definition we find in Luke chapter 9. Jesus' definition of discipleship, therefore, took place over the course of a lifetime.
• 5:08
  Discipleship was not merely conversion as we often define it. It was not a moment in time experience with the Lord involving conviction of past sin and a brief one-time cry for mercy. It could not be boiled down to walking down the aisle to receive Jesus at a crusade. That might be conversion, but that is not discipleship. It cannot be boiled down to praying a prayer when you're seven or feeling kind of a feeling of shame following a powerful sermon. Rather,
• 5:37
  Jesus' definition of discipleship was all-inclusive. In fact, never in the New Testament did Christ attempt to move people to a sudden emotional crisis where he could convince them to pray a prayer to receive him, which is oftentimes what modern evangelists attempt to do. One pastor has said he didn't want a moment. He didn't want just the emotion of a moment. Christ wanted the carefully thought-out, understood commitment of a lifetime.
• 6:07
  Repentance from sin, confession of Jesus as Lord, obedience from the heart to the word and the spirit, that was for a lifetime. And for many in our country, their Christian faith is a two-day-per-year experience. Many people in our country who claim to be Christians are really only Christians two days a year, Christmas and Easter. That's it. For many other people who claim the name of Christ in our country, their faith is a 52.
• 6:34
  day per year experience. They're Christians every Sunday. The other six days per week, they're not. But that's not what Christ demands of his followers. Christ wants the whole thing every day and every aspect. And you say, well, what's the problem? The problem seems to be a lack of understanding of true discipleship within the church. True discipleship, we find in Luke chapter 9, is not seasonal. It's not even weekly.
• 7:02
  If you were to go back in Luke 9, back to verse 23, he actually defines discipleship as a daily laying down of your life. Luke 9, 23, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, it says, and follow me. Now I need to issue a disclaimer here before we get too deep into our text. I kind of feel like Luke chapter 9 has become a sermon series of hammer blows.
• 7:29
  every sunday i feel like i'm swinging another hammer striking the hearts and minds of our people but church although i am bound to preach the inspire words of god i also don't want you to become discouraged no doubt hammers are sometimes necessary and no doubt the holy spirit has a lot of work to do in our hearts and no doubt there are many listening even today who need to repent of sin and follow jesus no doubt but i also want to commend you highland for doing what the scriptures say
• 7:59
  Praise God. And I thank the Lord that I do not have to pastor a church where it is hard to convince people, to convince our members that this is God's word is sufficient and has authority over our lives. Praise God. You just receive God's word for what it is, the words of God and not the words of man. How many times people will visit our church and make a remark to me? They really do. This happens all the time. There's something different about the people here.
• 8:28
  The difference is simply that you, Hyland, are a church who is already doing it. You're already doing it. And so I would say, good job. Keep it up. Don't become discouraged with the fact that these sermons, one after the next, just feels like a sledgehammer pounding away. Because church, you've already figured many of these truths out. And in that, we rejoice. But it does seem like we live in a national Christian culture.
• 8:55
  that has every intention of living their own independent lives, just with a little bit of Jesus sprinkled in. No sacrifice, no struggle, no devotion. It seems as though we live in a church culture, nationally speaking, where actual commitment to Christ and obedience to his word is very low on many Christians' to-do lists. In other words, it sure seems like our churches are filled with people who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk.
• 9:25
  And even our secular society, those outside the church, could very well have a clearer understanding of evangelicalism, although they very much criticize it. They've got a clearer understanding of what true Christianity actually is than many so-called evangelicals. Listen for a moment to how our current society defines religious fanaticism and Christian radicalism. Buckle up here for a minute, church.
• 9:54
  as we take a brief cultural carpet ride together you're going to hear that our culture's definition of a religious radical follower actually is pretty much in line with how jesus defines it in luke chapter 9. i enjoy a certain podcast called the briefing by a guy named albert moeller and albert moeller is the president of southern seminary in louisville kentucky and a few weeks ago
• 10:19
  He mentioned an article he had found, and I went and found the same article and did some additional research, but an article he had found called The Rise of Evangelical Christianity, and the article comes from France's largest and widest read publication called Le Monde Diplomatique. In fact, their name, Le Monde, actually suggests that their intention is to voice their French opinions to the world.
• 10:44
  an agenda that they've been promoting since the conclusion of the second world war when this particular publication began as at as one reads the article they will find that evangelical christianity is actually cast in a poor light at every turn that their influence christians evangelical christians influence on the nations in which they live and especially on that nation's politics they believe will ultimately be poor for that nation's people and so in other words the more evangelical christians you have in a nation
• 11:14
  the worse off it will ultimately be for that nation's people. Listen to how evangelicalism is defined. And granted, they have a hard time differentiating between Protestantism and Pentecostalism, but listen to how Christianity is defined. And I quote, evangelical missionaries spread the principles of Protestantism around the world. Here are the principles as they define it. Beginning with new life through personal conversion.
• 11:42
  In other words, you must be reborn. We would say, well, yeah, that's exactly what it is. John chapter three, that's even how Jesus worded it. Second, undergoing what they call a second baptism. Now, I know that there's some confusion around that term, but I think what they mean is indwelling by the Holy Spirit, being indwelt by or filled by the Holy Spirit. We would say, well, yes, upon belief, a believer after being reborn is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And then third, putting the Bible.
• 12:08
  which they regard as literal truth at the center of daily life. So in other words, if you believe the Bible to be actually true, if it's literal as it speaks, and you believe that you should live your life accordingly, then we would define you as an evangelical, and that is how they are spreading that agenda around the world. Now, the article continues with a quote from a man who is a Brazilian theologian and professor of politics, and here's what he says, and I quote, What evangelicals are trying to do...
• 12:37
  is perform a U-turn against the secular state, against the autonomy of science, against the importance of universities, against free thinking, against women's rights, against gender issues, and against minority rights. What are you talking about? The Bible actually contradicts almost everything he just said. We're not trying to destroy rights. We're actually trying to give freedom in Christ.
• 13:06
  liberate people from sin and things that will harm them but then he ends his quote this way the evangelicals are medieval in the worst sense the evangelicals he says are medieval now what does he mean by medieval the medieval times the middle ages were also known as the dark
• 13:28
  ages and that is because by and large the vast majority of humanity during the dark ages were uneducated and unenlightened and church that is exactly what he means when he calls us medieval congratulations highland if you believe boys are born boys and girls are born born girls
• 13:51
  If you believe that scientific discovery actually comes from God and so must also be viewed through the lens of God's word. So for instance, if you believe in creation rather than secular evolution. If you believe in absolute truth and morality. If you believe in the Bible's definition of marriage as described in Ephesians chapter 5. If those are the things that you believe, then you are nothing better than a modern day Neanderthal. You're basically a caveman.
• 14:19
  What he's saying and you say oh pastor Danny you shouldn't get political you shouldn't do that You shouldn't get bullet, but church listen these are not political issues. These are moral Biblical issues just because these moral issues have been dragged into the realm of politics doesn't make them political issues These are moral issues about which the Bible speaks
• 14:41
  And if our world is going to define modern enlightenment, as so they use that phrase, as the flat-out denial of God's word, the embracing of every human religion is equally true, as the forced acceptance of the sexual and gender revolution, and as the celebration of the termination of unborn life, then you know what? You can call me medieval all you'd like. In fact, I will wear that badge with pride.
• 15:09
  The reality is, church, that we live in an age where you and I who believe in a loving creator God and who believe that his word is inspired and authoritative and who believe mankind must actually believe that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead in order to be saved, we who believe those things are considered absolutely bonkers. You are out of your mind. In fact, many would even consider us to be dangerous. Dangerous.
• 15:34
  That French publication actually said it will ruin your country. Don't let them take control, those evangelicals who believe the Bible to be true. We are being told, we are being told that we can believe whatever we want as long as we don't actually believe it. Believe whatever you want. Show up to church once in a while.
• 15:59
  Mouth some words, parrot some prayers, even write an occasional check. Consider your faithfulness complete. But that is exactly what Christ responds against in this morning's passage. Does the Lord actually have expectations on his followers? Yes. Can we not just mouth the words? Can we not just pay lip service, lip sync our way into faith? Can we not just claim the name, receive the benefits, and forego the difficulties?
• 16:28
  Can we not just do what we do with a little bit of Jesus sprinkled on top? Jesus here in our text issues three statements, which are kind of rubber meets the road statements. Statements which will show Christ's expectation that if we are genuinely to become his disciples, will dramatically change the way in which we live.
• 16:49
  peculiar note in these statements is that nothing is known of the addressees that never names them it never even talks about their responses and so we must therefore conclude that luke's inclusion of these three was not for the purpose of describing these three men but rather very much intended specifically for us this morning's passage is a heart check it's a passage
• 17:16
  which J.C. Ryle says is intended to promote self-inquiry, he says. It's meant to make us examine ourselves, and that's very much appropriate as we come on a communion weekend, which is a sacrament designed for self-inquiry, self-
• 17:33
  examination and spiritual reflection and so let's go through our passage you'll notice first christ's call to follow him into discomfort and it says in verse 57 as they were going along the road someone hollers out so you can imagine this big faceless nameless crowd and somebody hollers out to christ i will follow you wherever you go
• 17:55
  In the first of Christ's calls, we will notice that Christ doesn't actually initiate the conversation. Jesus is approached by a man, and Matthew's parallel account actually says that he was a scribe. It was a scribe who yelled that phrase. I will follow you wherever you go. Now, a scribe was an expert in the law. What a kingdom prospect this man would have been. Intelligent, educated, gifted.
• 18:24
  qualified and he doesn't just say i will follow you he vows an undying unconditional loyalty and devotion to christ in his kingdom wherever you go i will go now he would have as a scribe been considered a rabbi himself and now he declares jesus to be his rabbi you say wow
• 18:48
  You listen most churches would have hired that guy on the spot and yet look how Jesus responds in verse 58 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 in other words foxes have homes birds have homes. I'm homeless Jesus didn't fall for it. He knew what was in this man's heart and by Jesus's response We also can deduce
• 19:19
  what was in his heart this man was seeking notoriety he was seeking prestige possibly even fame turn with me if you would to the left let's go and look at this together matthew chapter 20. matthew chapter 20 there's a kind of a similar offer is made by jesus's apostles not just a nameless face in the crowd but rather by jesus's 12 in matthew chapter 20 and verse 20
• 19:48
  They're arguing again among themselves about who would get the best seats in the kingdom Do you recall allow one of my sons to sit at your left and the other at my right and they say you don't know what you're asking and They say no, we really would do this for us. And then Jesus says in verse 22. You don't know what you're asking He says are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? Are you able to drink the cup? Now what he was making reference to we find out when he is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before he dies
• 20:17
  What he's making reference to there is actually his crucifixion. He cries out to his father, if there's any other way, Lord, let this cup pass from me. Don't make me drink it. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done, he says. And so what he's making reference to is crucifixion. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? Go back to Matthew 20. They said to him, we are able. We are able. Okay, they don't know what they're talking about. By the night before the crucifixion, they couldn't even stay awake.
• 20:47
  Now Jesus concludes this passage in verse 26 when he says, it shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant. Whoever is first must be your slave. The son of man didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And so he concludes this little portion by saying, if you wanna follow him, you've gotta become a servant, a slave. You've gotta become the lowest. Okay, now let's go back to the gospel of Luke.
• 21:16
  and verse 58 he says here foxes have holes they've got homes to go to birds of the air have nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head i'm homeless i'm homeless i have nowhere to go and he even uses this title in verse 58 the son of man now this title was his favorite to use of himself he called himself the son of man more than he called himself anything else the son of man that title comes from daniel chapter 7
• 21:46
  It was meant to emphasize his role as Messiah. Daniel chapter 7 is a messianic prophecy about Jesus and what he would accomplish. But it was also meant to remind his hearers of his humanity, his humanness. Don't forget, I am the son of a man. You who are married will recall that it was really easy. It was easy to be married on your honeymoon.
• 22:14
  right that first week of marriage it was bliss i mean nothing went wrong on your honeymoon everything was great on your honeymoon but how long did that perfection last how long did it take for that ease to eventually wear off it's very easy to follow christ when it's easy much harder jesus would say when you begin laying your head down on a rock and if you are considering following christ
• 22:45
  Don't expect it to be comfortable. He says it will not be easy. One pastor has said, Jesus was saying that if you want to follow me, there is a crown at the end. There is a crown at the end, but there's a cross along the way. There's a cross before you get there. So first, if you're going to follow Christ, it's a call to discomfort. But notice also, Christ's call to follow him was a call to no excuses. Christ's call to follow him to no...
• 23:14
  excuses look at verse 59 to another he said follow me now jesus turned immediately to another person in the crowd and pointed him out and just told him to follow and this man's response again reveals his heart look at verse 59 lord let me first go and bury my father and what a reasonable response
• 23:35
  Let me first go and bury my father. And you assume that his father had passed away, that his father's body was probably still laying in his living room. Let me first go and bury him and then I'll follow you. And why wouldn't Jesus grant that request? But look at verse 60. And Jesus said to him, leave the dead to bury themselves. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. What a heartless rebuke. But again, Jesus knew what we cannot.
• 24:06
  Burial in ancient Israel took place immediately after death when they would wrap bodies and place them in the grave, which means that if this man was already following Jesus, following along with Jesus, it means that his dad had not actually died yet.
• 24:25
  Because if his dad were already dead, he would have already been buried. They buried them immediately. They did not embalm them. They did not delay. There was no open casket. There was none of that. You wrap them, you put them in the ground immediately. That's how they did it. And so for this man to say he's nowhere near his dad, for him to say, let me first go and bury my father means he wasn't actually dead yet. We'll come back to that. Jewish custom allowed for 30 days of mourning.
• 24:51
  And it certainly would have been a son's responsibility to care for his father's arrangements. That's what a son would have done. The only way for a son to get out of that responsibility was if that son was a high priest. If he was the high priest of Israel, then of course he could not touch a dead body and so would have been excused. And since there is no indication at all that this man was the high priest, it seems like Jesus would grant his concession. One of my favorite and often used proverbs.
• 25:20
  is proverbs 18 17 that says he who states his case first seems right until the other comes and cross-examines him how many times have i sat in my office and heard testimony about discord division mistreatment i've gotten angry and fired up and i've called the accused only to find out that much of the testimony i had heard was either grossly exaggerated or entirely made up there was more to this man than meets the eye it turns out the man's father wasn't actually even dead yet
• 25:51
  The man was not saying that he as a faithful son must attend to his deceased father. Jesus certainly would have granted that, but rather that he wanted to wait for his father to die. Let me wait for my father to die. That could have been many months, years, even decades. Who knows how old his father was and in what kind of health? And why would he wait for his father to die? Why would he want to do that before following Jesus?
• 26:19
  Listen church, he has just heard Jesus say, if you're gonna follow me, you're gonna be homeless. There's no money in it. Let me first wait until my father dies so that I can receive my father's inheritance. I gotta bury my father.
• 26:37
  first this became a coined phrase in ancient israel let me first bury my father and what they meant by that was let me first get my inheritance and this attitude actually still persists in the middle east i i called uh you know beloved friend member elder at our church henry salia and i just asked him henry because he is from the middle east he grew up in and lived in israel
• 27:01
  is this still an attitude is this still a phrase that they use there in the middle east he says they don't use that phrase but a phrase they do use is i need to stay near my father i need to stay near my father and what they mean by that according to henry what they mean by that is i need to stay close enough to my dad i can't do anything drastic because i need to stay close enough to my dad to make sure that i stay in my father's will i need to wait for my
• 27:28
  inheritance and the man had just heard that jesus was homeless he thought i've worked too hard and for too long to just leave this inheritance behind and this guy wanted something to fall back on in case the jesus thing didn't really work out now listen if you're if you're hearing this and you're considering jesus but then you're bombarded by all of the reasons not to by all of the excuses don't
• 27:56
  cave to them because they are unlimited. They are never ending. There are so many excuses. My former senior pastor, Chris Johnson, said once, nothing will ever be accomplished if every possible hurdle must first be overcome. Nothing will ever be accomplished if every possible hurdle must first be overcome. And if you are waiting for all possible excuses to be overcome, you'll never follow Christ. Notice finally last.
• 28:27
  Jesus called to follow him to focused dedication. Look at verse 61. Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord. I will follow you, Lord. Again, immediately another chimed in. These just happen one after the next after the next. And you can hear almost his voice. Lord, I don't mind being homeless. Lord, I'm not concerned about worldly wealth like the elementary know-it-all kid with his hand in the air, right?
• 28:57
  Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me, Jesus, pick me, Jesus. And then he says this, but I will follow you, Lord. But let me first say farewell to those at home. This guy must have had long apron strings attached to his mom. One commentator has speculated that the man may have been thinking, I don't need my.
• 29:25
  full inheritance the way that other guy i don't need to bury my father i'll just return home i'll get a little bit of support i'll pack a bag i'll pack a lunch maybe a little farewell party and if someone happens to slip me a few hundred bucks that wouldn't be a bad thing the bible never gives his reason for returning home but whatever the man's reason was it would delay his discipleship he prioritized something above following
• 29:53
  christ and look at how christ responds in verse 62 jesus said to him no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of god in other words you can't plow while looking backward the backward-looking man or woman is not fit he says for the kingdom and that word for fit could literally mean he is not well
• 30:17
  placed or he's not suited for kingdom work if you're going to put your hands to the plow of the kingdom but you're going to look back at what you left you're not fit you're not suited for kingdom work you're no good to the lord jesus stated here emphatically that if you're holding anything back then following christ is not going to work in other words you cannot cling to the cross with one hand all the while firmly clinging to your past like the story of sodom and gomorrah
• 30:47
  We must forsake all that lies behind and strain toward that which lies ahead. And even to glance back, as we learn from Lot's wife, even to glance back yields nothing but burning salt. This entire passage, again, according to J.C. Ryle, this entire passage teaches that the grand fault with these would-be disciples
• 31:19
  to do something first before doing christ's work and if you're listening to this this morning and considering christ strike while the iron is hot don't wait don't delay because the iron of our hearts cools down so fast and becomes less pliable with every passing moment the church the road to heaven ends with a crown but there is a cross along the way
• 31:48
  We are called not merely to play at faith. We are not spiritual lip-sinkers. We are called instead to wholehearted devotion all of our lives, every day of our lives, and in every aspect to follow Jesus. Let me pray, and then we'll take communion together. Lord, thank you for your word, and thank you for its truth. God, I pray that we would reflect.
• 32:19
  On our wholehearted devotion to you, I pray, Lord, that if there are aspects of our lives that we have never wholly given over to you, if we are clinging to the cross with one hand and clinging to our past with the other, then Lord, I pray that we would let go by your grace and by the courage that you provide, that we would let go of things in the past and cling with both hands to your cross to put both hands to the plow and not look back. Lord, thank you for the joy that we find in communion, that we can be saved.
• 32:48
  Because of the blood of Jesus and it's in his name we pray amen