Luke 9:57-62

Luke chapter 9 and verses 57 through 62 for our text and study this morning. And it came to pass that as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes, and birds of the air have. nests, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, let the dead bury their dead. But go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee, but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. And God blessed to us his sacred and holy word this morning. When Paul proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ, to Felix, the Roman governor, he listened to the message. He seems quite moved by the message. But as Paul pressed Felix about the need of salvation in Christ, the governor’s response was a common one. He procrastinated. Go thy way for this time when I have a convenient season. I will call for thee. However, scripture does not reveal to us that he ever did repent or turn in faith to Jesus Christ. He did not seize the opportunity to be a disciple of Christ. Sometimes, in our Lord’s ministry, nobody appears to be coming to Christ. And at other times, many kinds of God’s ministry, nobody appears to be coming to Christ. and desire to be numbered among his disciples. And we have a situation here this morning with regard to this. Now, our text is a case in point of three potential disciples. Now, you’re not told the names of these individuals. It’s not really important to us. I would say that the reason it is recorded is that even in a general way is that it’s applicable to everybody, to every generation. Nor do we know the exact effect of all Christ’s words on each one of them. Ultimately, we’re not told that. But you can be certain of this. The Savior made sure with his answers to be specific in meeting the needs the needs of each one of these young men that he spoke to. Knowing their hearts, Jesus tests them and he warns them before receiving any of them as potential disciples. This passage, I think, is intended for us to do some of our own self-inquiry. Are we like any of these potential disciples of Christ? It’s provided for our admonition today. because you too are to ponder carefully what Christ has to say in this text of Scripture. I want to look at this this morning, considerations for potential disciples from this passage. And let me begin by saying this. As a potential disciple of Christ, you must count the cost. Now you notice in verses 57 and 58, it came to pass as they went in the way, a certain man said, unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nest, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. Now, you may be resolved to become a disciple of Christ. This man was, seems to be. You may, however, make a hasty decision about this matter. as Jesus departed from the area around the Mount of Transfiguration, a potential disciple comes to him, approaches him, and he boldly proclaimed, dear Lord, I will follow thee thither soever thou goest. Now, this must be the resolution of every true disciple of Jesus Christ. We read in the book of Revelation that they fall. the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. And so, indeed, that is what every disciple should be doing, Revelation 14.4. This may, however, entail persecution, prison, and even death. This commitment sounded good, and perhaps many would have just embraced this young man as a genuine disciple at this point. But Jesus, knows the heart of this man, and so he detects a problem, which he immediately addresses in verse 58. This man did not weigh the cost of being Christ’s disciple. His decision seems to be made very hastily. This is a common problem. If you look back at chapter in chapter 8, of Luke. In verse 13 in the parable of the sower, we read this, then they on the rock are they which, when they heard, receive the word with joy. These have no root which for a while believe in a time of temptation fall away. Initial enthusiasm wanes. And then eventually these individuals fall away. and quit following Jesus Christ. So you may make a hasty decision to follow Christ. You may be confident in your ability to follow Christ. I will, he says. He solemn declares that he will follow Christ. He is confident in his ability to do so. Proverbs 2826 says he that trusteth in his own heart as a fool. You may make a public resolution about following Christ without realizing how unable you were to do so without divine grace. Without an inward, effectual call, the gift of faith. You are incapable of following Jesus Christ. But the Bible says that no man can come unto me except that we’re given to him of my father. You can’t come to Christ unless Christ first comes. to you. Gives you a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Causes you to mourn your sin and cry out, God be merciful to be a sinner. Enables you by a God-given faith to lay hold of the Savior and to lay hold on eternal life. Sadly, some people are great at making resolutions, but when it comes to following through, they lack what it takes. in this case, evidently repentance in faith. You may be confident in your ability to follow Christ. Now, you may expect earthly gain in following Christ. It seems from the Lord’s response here that this man had an idea that he would experience some kind of great gain when Christ set up his temporal kingdom. He’s totally mistaken about the kind of kingdom that Christ is going to set up. and is going to establish on this earth. But he seems to envision the idea of honors, the idea of perhaps riches, lands, prestige, and so forth, that would be associated with Christ King. Yes, I want to follow you Christ. He thought he would be a great deal better off materially. In the carnal things of this world, if he were one of Christ’s life. disciples. So he expects to follow Jesus Christ at Jerusalem, see him crowned king, experience it when everybody is waving the palm branches and casting their garments in his path and so forth, inhaling Jesus as the son of David. Palm and glory awaits, and he wants to be parted. He has no clue about Gassimony in the sweat of great drops of blood that fall. He has no clue about Gabatha and the cry of the people, along with the rulers, crucify him. And he has no clue about Galgotha and the agony of the cross. Friends, following Christ is not about personal gain. It is not about earthly pleasures. suffering just like your master the health and wealth gospel that some pedal is a complete lie because you know what it’s all about, don’t you? It’s all about gain. Feeling better, being in good health, gaining wealth. Isn’t that the problem? This is why so many are attracted to such a gospel because their focus is on earthly game. So he may be resolved to become a disciple of Christ here. But you have to weigh the matter carefully, the cost of it. He tells us here in verse 58 about this. Foxes have holes in birds of the Arab nest, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. You may discover when you start following Christ, things are not as you expect them to be. Christ had no place to lay his. He had no fixed abode. He had no house to call his own. This statement was directly calculated here to dissipate the dream of this young man who thought he was going to gain so much by following Christ, it seems. He’s an earthly-minded man. But following Christ means that you’re going to have to share in the sufferings of Christ and he had nothing. Expect no earthly ease. Prosperity. prestige or glory. This was all meant, you see, to challenge this man’s resolution and awaken him to what it really means to be a disciple of Christ. You know, when Christ died, all we read that he had were the clothes that he had on. And they parted his Raymond and for his best year they cast lots. That was it. How many today believe that being Christ’s disciple is going to be the way to resolve all their earthly troubles. If you come to Christ, it’s going to solve all your financial woes. It’s going to solve all your marriage problems. Your interpersonal dealings with other people. Your health issues. All this is going to be taken care of. You just come to Christ. Friend, following Christ is not the cure-all that many have proclaimed it to be. Don’t be misled by such teaching. This is unbiblical. Take a good look at the Lord’s situation while on earth. Do you expect to fare completely differently from him? When I was growing up, we had a neighbor boy in the street. His name was Charlie. Now Charlie wasn’t too bright. He was illiterate. He couldn’t read and he couldn’t write. Sad as that is. He never learned as far as I know to read or write. When he was in high school, yes. How he got there, I have no idea. When he was in high school, some military recruiter signed him up to join the Marines. And he went around bragging to everybody on the bus, how he was going to be a marines. That sharp-looking uniform, the instant respect, the glamour and prestige all appealed to him. You can understand that. So he goes off the boot camp filled with ideas of earthly grander that he would be one of the few, one of the proud, a U.S. Marine. He had no idea, I don’t think, of the heavy price. there is the pay to be a Marine in the U.S. military. And I put on that uniform. He flunked out rather quickly. He was back within a week of going. That’s how fast they dismissed him there. It was a very short-lived dream. Friend, fallen Christ is like joining the Marines in a sense. Don’t expect glamour, prestige, and the world’s respect. You got the wrong focus. You do expect hardship, trials, suffering, adversity, because you’ve got to go through that before you get to wear the uniform. And my friends, we must suffer before we reign with Christ and enjoy the glory. So you may discover things are not as you expect. There is a cross for you to bear. Now, in chapter 9, Versus 22 to 25, we read this in our earlier study. We read here, The son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and chief priest and scribes and be slain and be raised the third day. And he said unto them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it. And whosoever will lose his life from my faith. say the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul or be cast away? Since we’ve recently looked at this passage, I’m not going to spend much time reiterating this same point again. But you learn from Christ’s words on this occasion that being an disciple means a bearing cross here. You can expect to be despised. You can expect to be deserted by friends, and tried, just like your master. And I’ll say this much. The closer we walk to what Christ walked on this earth, the more you’re going to feel that. Instead of earthly gain, expect the opposite, even to the point of times of losing all your earthly possessions, so that you have nowhere to lay your head. Don’t enlist with the false ideas of what you think you’re going to get like this man seems to be doing. It would be good if Christ’s warning were heated by the church, all found through church history, that these kind of words would be clear in our minds. Christian warfare involves watchfulness, warring, and getting wounded. Don’t enlist in Christ’s army then ignorantly. If you’re not ready to take part in the afflictions of Christ, you can’t expect to share in the glory. So as a potential disciple of Christ, you must count the cost. Secondly, as a potential disciple of Christ, you should not attempt to postpone your commitment. Now notice verses 59 and 60. And he said, unto another, follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first. to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. Now here’s a man seeking to delay his discipleship. The first potential disciple was too hasty. The second potential disciple was too slow. This man was directly commanded to follow Christ or the Lord himself. And he ought to have obeyed immediately, But at first, we read, he hesitated. I believe that after Christ’s rebuke, he would actually obey, because whoever Christ directly calls in the Bible always ends up following him. So there’s no exception to that, and I don’t think this guy would be different. But in this case, you’ll notice that he’s also calling him to preach. He’s not just to follow him. So here, we assume. that he is one who does know the Lord, and hopefully he does comply. But his argument is, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Now, we can imagine he had a father well advanced in years, and he perhaps will not live too much longer, and he says, let me stay with my father until he gets buried, and then I’ll be sure to follow you as soon as he dies. This man wished to delay his following of Christ until his family obligations were first met. But who knows how long his father would live? We don’t know. I’m always reminded of Jacob in dealing with his old age and he’s going to die, and he says, I’ve got to pass on the first right blessing and so forth, and firstborn blessing. So he’s going to give it to Esau and so forth. Jacob steals it. Jacob goes back to, you know, runs away, you know, with regard to Laban’s house and so forth. We know he was there at least 14 years. He comes back. His father’s still alive. You ever notice that? I’m going to die, but he’s still alive when he gets back. Matters. of far greater importance demanded this man’s immediate attention. And thus Christ admonishes him in verse 60. Christ called him to preach, not merely to be a general disciple. Jesus means here, this somewhat cryptic statement, let the spiritually dead bury their own physical dead. That’s what he means. Let the dead bury the dead. I need laborers to proclaim the gospel now. This takes priority. Now, Christ does not mean to say here, well, you can’t be around your father or you can’t bury your father. But this takes priority. You don’t wait around. You do what he commands you to do. Maybe your father does die. Maybe you have to bury him later. But that’s not your priority. He is focused on what is important in the kingdom of God. God is that be put first. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And when Christ calls you to the ministry, we can’t entangle ourselves with all the things of this life and then expect to be serving the Lord. So here’s a man seeking to delay his discipleship. You have to put Christ first. Too many say, well, suffer me first to do this or that, and then I will follow you. Or then I will follow you. will preach the gospel. Many are willing to follow Christ if they can put other things as priorities in front of that. You’ll be a businessman and only then a Christian. Or you will give your business the priority and not your Christianity, unless the order. I stated it in. You can be like the man whose child was asked is your father a Christian. And the little girl replied, he is a Christian, I think. But he hasn’t worked much at it lately. Yeah, it’s not first. It’s not a priority, is it? Some are willing to be a family man and then a Christian. Or a company man and then a Christian. As long as a Christian comes second. But you are no Christian unless following Christ comes first. Beware of a Christian. allowing family and social duties to interfere with your duty to Christ. With regard to the unbeliever, beware of delaying your duty to follow Christ until a more convenient season. Years ago, there was a great awakening and many people were being converted in New England. A revival was sweeping through the University of Princeton at the time. Aaron Burr. came to the president of the university with a question. And he asked him this. Mr. President, I’ve made up my mind to consider the claims of Christ. Now, Mr. President, what would you do? The old, well-respected president gave him this advice. Burr, if I were you, I’d wait until the excitement of the revival had subsided, and then I would carefully think it out. and Burr paused for a moment, looked up at the present, and he said, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Sadly, it can be stated as fact that he never again in his life expressed a desire to become a Christian. His moment of conviction, and he lost interest in falling Christ. And as far as we can tell, he perished his sins. Don’t foolishly make the same grave mistake. As a potential, disciple of Christ, you should not attempt to postpone your commitment here. Lastly, as a potential disciple of Christ, you must be willing to forsake your former life. Versus 61 and 62. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee, but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. You must not be indecisive, Jesus says. The answer this man received indicated his heart was not really being a disciple of Christ. It wasn’t in it. Perhaps he looked more seriously at falling Christ and realized that maybe this was going to be a sad, troubled, filled unpleasant duty to follow Christ. He’s reluctant to take it up. He acts as if he will never see his family and friends again. He has to bid them farewell. Sever these old pies. This despite the fact that Christ warned that a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me. It is not worthy of me. often one’s own family that would hinder your commitment to following Christ and being his disciple and try to persuade you against it. They’ll beg you not to do it. Do you love Christ more than father and mother, family, and friends? This man evidently did not. Listen to Christ’s command as it’s given in Psalm 45 to His people, the church. Harkin’O daughter, and consider an incline thine ear, forget also thine own people and thy father’s house. Forget them. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him. Put me first. Friends, it’s impossible to serve Christ with a divided heart. When you’re thinking of leaving the world to follow Christ, you ought to be afraid of all this. farewells dragging them out. They have been the ruin of many hopeful disciples. When we drag out our farewells, it means we’re reluctant to leave the world. It shows a lack appreciation for Christ because he is not being followed as he should be. Now, your heart must be thoroughly engaged in Christ’s service. We see that in verse 62 about the place. plowman. The farmer starts plowing the field and he keeps his eyes on a fixed point ahead of him so that when he plows the field, the furrows are straight. That doesn’t seem, I mean, this is well-known fact. Have you ever seen anybody plow a field? I once went to Amish country and they were using horses to plow. But boy, he was plowing really straight furrows in the, in the, ground. But if you’re, try constantly looking behind you and see if you’re not start zigzagging as you go along. Perhaps you can relate to this. Try cutting your grass by by looking back all the time. See how that turns out. If you’re going to follow Christ, you have to keep your eye on the task. You can’t be looking behind you. If you’re looking back, then you’re just like Lotts wife who was still in love with her life in Sodom, if you’re going to be Christ’s disciple, you must be focused upon living for him, laboring for him, suffering from him, and if need be dying for him. Otherwise, you’re not fit, you’re not well-placed, well-disposed, or why even say you’re not suitable for the king of God? Friends, looking back is the first step to drawing back, which is fatal. Commit yourself to Christ and never look back. Search your heart. Ask yourself, is this the kind of disciple I am? I’ll conclude. People often make excuses when it comes to following Christ. Don’t be like the individuals found in our text. Christ will not give you a sympathetic ear. May God bless his word to us. Let’s have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your goodness and grace to us. and the warning of the text. Give us strength, Father. Help us to do what’s right. Help us to follow your ways. And when you have called us, now let us commit ourselves to the work. We ask these things in Jesus’ precious name with Thanksgiving. Amen. This morning, I invite you to turn with me to the book of Song of Solomon, Chapter 2. We’re going to come to the Lord’s Supper. sorry I’m blacking out a little bit here. Let me get my breath. I want to read the first two verses of chapter 2. I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. Now these verses teach, verse 1, teaches us the loveliness of Christ, your Savior that we looked at last time. Verse 2, Your Loveless. as the bride of Christ. Now in these two verses, Jesus Christ is the speaker. He is the eye of verse one. The bride is my love of verse 2. Jesus is the rose of Sharon. He is the lily of the valley. We talked about Christ’s beauty and sweetness to his people. The rose is red. It speaks of the blood of Christ. It cleanses us from all sin. He’s also the lily. He’s white, the righteousness of Christ that gives us perfect righteousness. But let’s move on now to the second verse. You are the object of Christ’s love. My love is openly declared. Among all the daughters of men, Christ loved His own which are in the world. His elect people that were mixed in among the people this earth. There’s nothing here about the universal love of Christ for every human being. It’s an unbiblical idea. The Bible says thou hateest the workers of iniquity, but the Lord loveth the righteous. Christ loves the church, which is his bride, and none other. Let this truth dwell long and sweetly on your mind as you meditate upon this idea, that Jesus loves you as a member of his brother. bride. Let us occupy our hearts with this thought. You are the object of Christ’s love. Secondly, you bear Christ’s likeness. As a lily, he says. Christ is the lily of valleys. His beloved people are like him. This is the difference. He is the lily. His bride is as or like the lily. Now, you’re beautiful to Christ because you are conformed to his spiritual image. And you have a perfect righteousness granted to you. Remember in chapter 1, verse 5, he says, the bride says, I am black. Well, that’s a far cry from being a white lily. Isn’t it? It’s evident that the Lord Jesus Christ takes the light and the beauty in which he has clothed his church with a perfect righteousness. Let us bless and love Christ because he deigns to think so highly of us, and we owe everything to him. So you bear Christ’s likeness. Thirdly, you enjoy Christ’s love and favor while in the place of affliction. As a lily among thorns. The daughters of men are likened unto thorns because of their hostility toward the people of God. Ezekiel found that out, and Ezekiel chapter 2 verse 6, where they are briars and thorns, God calls those people. The saint must be expected to find himself while in the world among unfriendly and even hateful people. You cannot pass through this world without cuts and lacerations. In other words, we come back to the same old theme you have to take up the cross. Now, because you were in such a precarious place, you might think, well, Christ doesn’t love me or he wouldn’t place me in such a situation. But the Lord wants you to know you are dearly beloved by Christ, despite being placed among thorns. Never doubt this. Let me close by saying this. Every time you partake of the Lord’s Supper, remember, it signifies that Jesus Christ loves you. He loved you. He loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2.20. Secondly, Lord’s Supper’s reminder that you are like a white lily because you’ve washed your robes and made them white in the blood of Jesus Christ. First Christ’s blood cleanses you and then he credits you with his perfect righteousness. He shall be called the Lord our righteousness because that’s where it all comes from. Thirdly, the Lord’s Supper remind you of God’s promise to his people. He regarded their afflictions when he heard their cry and he remembered them to for them his covenant. Now think of this because we are in the new covenant that’s associated with Christ’s blood as he tells us here in the Lord’s Supper. It speaks of our ultimate deliverance that one day we will be delivered from all this. So when we take of the supper, Let us not think that Christ has forgotten us and doesn’t care about us. Let’s remember that he does care about us. And ultimately, he will deliver us. Well, may the Lord bless to us of this passage this morning as we ponder these things. At this point, I’d like to have Mark come and we’ll partake of the Lord’s supper. We always ask you to have Mark come and we’ll partake of the Lord’s supper. evaluate your own heart, come to the Lord with a loving heart before your Savior. And may the Lord bless you as you protect this morning. Mark with your word of prayer. Mark, would you go ahead with it.