Faith is not intellectual consent or agreement about Jesus. To believe in Jesus means to follow Jesus, to live with Jesus, and to be united with Jesus.
OT says, “love your God with all your heart.” Jesus says, “follow me.” What is to follow Jesus?
Luke 9:51 – 62
51 Now when the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set out resolutely to go to Jerusalem.
52 He sent messengers on ahead of him. As they went along, they entered a Samaritan village to make things ready in advance for him,
53 but the villagers refused to welcome him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem.
54 Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"
55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them,
56 and they went on to another village.
57 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
58 Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
59 Jesus said to another, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
61 Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family."
62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Follow Jesus’ way (vv 51-58)
Follow (ἀκολουθέω): to come/go behind or after someone else. To follow Jesus, we should know where Jesus went and which way Jesus went.
Where did He go?
Verse 51 first part. “Now when the days drew near for him to be taken up,” What does it mean? It is time for Jesus to return to Heaven. He came from Heaven to earth to show the way. Jesus went to Heaven. He is with the Father God right now. If we follow Jesus, we will meet Jesus one day, in Heaven. That’s our journey.
Now, which way did Jesus go to heaven? Verse 51 second part, “Jesus set out resolutely to go to Jerusalem.” Jesus needed to finish his mission in Jerusalem before He go to Heaven. What was waiting for Him in Jerusalem? Crucifixion on the Calvary. It is the same for us. We all have our missions to enter Heaven. It is not required for us to enter Heaven. It is our pathway to Heaven. Are you scared of this saying? What if my mission is to die for the name of Jesus? Don’t worry. Jesus will not lead you to such a circumstance unless you are ready for it. Also, even though you are in danger, He will help you and protect you. Remember Psalm 23:4 “even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me.” Furthermore, after all that dangerous paths, He will lead you to Heaven.
Our mission is to be Jesus’ witnesses. We need to proclaim what Jesus has done. That is the reason Jesus left His disciples on the earth. That is the reason Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us.
- Following Jesus leads us to Heaven in participating in our mission.
When we follow Jesus, however, we might encounter difficulties. V52-53. “He sent messengers on ahead of him. As they went along, they entered a Samaritan village to make things ready in advance for him, but the villagers refused to welcome him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem.” Why did they not welcome Jesus? Samaritans and Jews hated each other. When Jesus was going to Jerusalem, they didn’t provide places to sleep. (they did hear about Jesus. Some of them might experience Jesus’ power of healing, but they didn’t welcome Jesus when they are required to serve Him.)
- As we follow Jesus, we might experience rejection of the world. (v53, v58)
Someone came to Jesus and said, “I will follow you wherever you go.” If someone comes to our church and say, “I want to be a Christian. And also I want to help with the praise team.” Isn’t this awesome. We will definitely welcome that person. But do you know what Jesus said to that person, who volunteered to become His disciple?
V58, “Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."”
It means this. ‘you saw miracles of Jesus. So you want to follow Jesus? But know this, following Jesus doesn’t guarantee wealth and blessings. You might suffer with Jesus if you follow Jesus. The world hates Jesus and rejects Jesus. If you want to follow Jesus, you’d better to know this first’
Someone might say, “don’t we have the power of God? When they persecute me, I will show them God’s power and God’s punishment.”
Verse 54, “Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"
This is pretty much what we want to do. But, Jesus was different.
Verser 55-56, “But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village.”
Not because we deserve persecution and suffering, but because we have more urgent task, more important mission.
- Don’t be disturbed by rejections of the world and move forward (v 56).
They went on to another village.
We don’t need to make judgments for every unfair situation and unfair treatment against you. Leave the judgment on God’s hands and God’s time, we need to focus on our mission. We need to move on.
Evangelism to your friend: one friend rejects you? Don’t be discouraged. Keep praying for him/her. But you need to move on to next friend. Don’t waste your time.
Are you facing rejections from the world? From friends, culture, and yourself. Don’t focus on rejections. Don’t care about it. Rejections are in our way to Heaven. 1 Peter 4:4 “SO they are astonished when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you” Because of rejections, we tend to give up following Jesus.
Don’t look back when you follow Jesus (vv 59-62)
- Double-minded doesn’t work in following Jesus
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."
Do you know what plowing is? In the old days, when they don’t have a tracker or plowing machine, they hold the plow and made an animal pull it. When you are plowing a field, it is very important to go straight. If you look back to see you did good or not, you will go zig-zag. You should look straight forward, then you can go straight.
Verse 62 says, when you follow Jesus, you should focus on him, otherwise, you won’t get to Heaven. A little scary, isn’t it?
What is looking back? I would say, it is double-minded. Then what is it?
- Desire for wealth (vv 59-60) concern for family (vv 61-62) cannot be a higher priority than following Jesus.
Read v59-61, “Jesus said to another, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
Isn’t Jesus so strict and harsh? It seems, but it is not.
We don’t know why this man wants to help his father’s burial. Maybe, he was interested in the sharing of inheritance. We don’t know, but Jesus knew it. For him, the desire for more money became a hindrance in following Jesus. That’s why Jesus said, “let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
There was another man who said, v61, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” Jesus didn’t just reject his considerate heart for his family. Jesus knew his heart. He didn’t make his mind to follow Jesus. He just wants to have more time to think about following Jesus. If you haven’t decided yet in following Jesus, take time, but not so much.
- However, once you decided to follow Jesus, don’t look back, fix your eyes on Jesus.
- Therefore, a firm resolve is required (v51).
Strong resolution to face the cross:
Literal translation of verse 51, “He set His face forward to Jerusalem.” Jesus set his face toward the cross. He didn’t turn away his face from the cross. Not like most people who tend to escape from coming difficulties or task, which they must go through. Jesus constantly keep reminding Himself of this mission, crucifixion. ‘He Himself’ (autos to prosopon) is emphasized. Jesus was heading directly to Jerusalem, did not detour.
Jesus is determined to accomplish God’s will wherever it leads.
This should our attitude to follow Jesus Christ. This should be our confession of trust, “Whatever it leads, I will follow Jesus. Whatever cost it demands, I will love Jesus” This is faith.
To believe in Jesus means to follow Jesus. Even though He goes to the valley of death, we go because we know the destination is Heaven. Jesus warns us of possible persecution and rejection in following Jesus. We should not be discouraged when we encounter rejections. Our jobs and our family, nothing can take a higher priority than following Jesus. Are you following Jesus? What make you hesitate you from following Jesus?
Know the Love. This road of salvation. Jesus has gone for us. Also, He calls us to follow Him, it is from His love… It is for our benefit. Trust in His love and power
Make your mind to follow Jesus wherever He leads you. It is the only way.