listed as a passage covered on rejection and the cost of discipleship
51 It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52 and sent messengers before his face. They went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, so as to prepare for him.
53 They didn’t receive him, because he was traveling with his face set towards Jerusalem.
54 When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?”
55 But he turned and rebuked them, “You don’t know of what kind of spirit you are.
56 For the Son of Man didn’t come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” They went to another village.
57 As they went on the way, a certain man said to him, “I want to follow you wherever you go, Lord.”
58 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s Kingdom.”
61 Another also said, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say good-bye to those who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.”
Elijah threw his mantle on Elisha who asked to say goodbye to his parents before following
1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don’t make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time!”
3 When he saw that, he arose, and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree. Then he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough. Now, O Yahweh, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”
5 He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat!”
6 He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.
7 Yahweh’s angel came again the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
8 He arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, God’s Mountain.
9 He came to a cave there, and camped there; and behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
11 He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.” Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice.
13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. Behold, a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
15 Yahweh said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
16 Anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel; and anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your place.
17 He who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.
18 Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.”
19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him, and put his mantle on him.
20 Elisha left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” He said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”
21 He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their meat with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and served him.
hold firmly to the confession of hope, encourage one another, not abandoning meeting together
23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.
24 Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message was part of an ongoing look at Jesus' journey from Galilee toward Jerusalem. The pastor walked through the moment Jesus set his face toward the cross and what that turn cost the people around him, including his own family. The question he kept pressing was whether those of us who have followed Jesus for a long time are any different from the brothers and disciples who kept missing the point.
What was said
The starting place was Jesus in Galilee just before the Feast of Booths, with his brothers urging him to go public in Judea if he really wanted a following. The pastor pointed out that those brothers did not believe in him, and that stings in a particular way. He drew a straight line from them to church people today who have been around Jesus their whole lives and still find themselves saying, "I don't get you, Jesus."
Jesus told his brothers that his time was not yet here, but that their time, and by extension ours, is always ready. There is always an opportune moment to humble yourself before God. The brothers had no such urgency because they were still moving with the world rather than against it.
When Jesus sent messengers ahead into a Samaritan village and the villagers refused to receive him, James and John wanted to call down fire on them. Jesus rebuked his own disciples for that, not the Samaritans. The pastor used that moment to press on how quickly followers of Jesus assume that rejection of him calls for immediate consequence, when Jesus himself treated it as a reason to move on and keep announcing grace.
The three encounters on the road gave the sermon its spine. A scribe volunteered to follow Jesus anywhere, and Jesus answered that the road would be harder than it looked. A disciple who was recruited said he needed to bury his father first, and Jesus told him to let the dead bury the dead and go proclaim the kingdom. A second volunteer said he wanted to say goodbye at home, which had solid Old Testament precedent in Elisha's call, and Jesus still said that no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom.
The pastor traced the pattern of looking back through Israel in the wilderness and Lot's wife, both of whom are held up in scripture as examples of what not to do. The point was not that family or tradition are worthless, but that Jesus is calling people into something that supersedes everything else, and that requires a commitment that does not keep one eye on the exit.
The sermon moved toward Communion through Hebrews 10, which calls believers to hold firmly to their confession without wavering and to stir one another up in love and good deeds rather than abandoning meeting together. The pastor tied that directly to the table, saying that every time we take the bread and the cup we are remembering that Jesus walked the painful way perfectly and then voluntarily gave that perfect record over to anyone who would trust him. The invitation to not look back is the same invitation that was on the table for the scribe, the disciple, and the second volunteer on that road.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
The pastor pointed out that Jesus' own brothers did not believe in him, even after watching his ministry up close, and asked whether we as church folks ever find ourselves in the same position, not understanding what Jesus is doing. Has there been a season in your life where you felt that way, and what did that look like?
When the Samaritan village rejected Jesus, James and John were ready to call down fire on them, but Jesus rebuked his disciples and simply moved on to another village. Where in your own life are you tempted to respond to rejection of the gospel with judgment rather than patience, and what does Jesus' response here say to you about that?
Speaker 1And going next weeks. We're going We might get a little yodeling going on today. I've got something going on up here. So sing like you mean it and cover me up on.
Speaker 2For sin and opened the life gate that all may go in. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice. Oh, to the father through Jesus the son and give him the glory. Great things he had done. Things he had taught us, great things he has done.
Some great how rejoicing through Jesus the son, but purer and higher and greater will be. Be. Our wonder, transport when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
Let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice. Oh, come to the father through Jesus the son and give him the glory great things he have done.
Speaker 1There. Okay. That's that. And that's all we have to say about that. Alright.
How about what a day that will be? Hymn number seven sixty two.
Speaker 2There is coming a day when no heartache shall come. No more clouds in the sky. No more tears to dim the eye. All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore. What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. When I look upon his face, the one who saved me by his grace always pricks me by the hand and leads me through the promised land. What a day, glorious day that will be. There'll be no sorrow there. No more sickness to bear.
No more sickness. No pain. No more parting over there. And forever I will be with the one who died for me. What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see and I look upon his face the one who saved me by his grace when he takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land. What a day glorious day that will be.
Speaker 1Amen. I've got a few announcements, and y'all, have a seat, and we'll go through them. Monday nights at First B is happening. Tomorrow night, down the hall, fellowship hall, Carl is covering the one of the opening chapters of Mark, and he's gonna be doing that. Felix and Guadalupe are preparing the meal, so it'll be a Mexican feast tomorrow night.
All right? They'll be here right at six. We start at six, and they'll have it set up and ready. So Felix and Guadalupe for the meal. Music will be the band, probably Florine and Carl and me and maybe Ryan too.
And then after that, music, there'll be a message and a meaningful gospel conversation afterwards. That's a good time. So I'm inviting you. That's where I go to church, and I love where I go to church. So come on in for Monday nights at First Bee.
That's good. It happens at the same time as Awana is happening in the rest of the church. So Awana starts out in this room but quickly moves and disperses into all other corners. They're not occupied, and we're pouring scripture into the minds of the kids to reach the hearts of the next generation, and that's a great program. Approved workmen are not ashamed.
I was trying to come up with that. Check the lost and found. In the back of the sanctuary, there are coats and all kinds of stuff back there. In the corner up under the coat rack, if you would, check the lost and found. On a brisk day like today waking up, you might have thought, I wonder where that jacket is that I got.
It's probably back there. So check that out. Food drive. We are doing a food drive, and there are on the backside of the vestibule on the, I'll say, west side of vestibule out there, there are some boxes that are labeled. So what they're looking for at 122 is labeled, and you can bring those things in, but they also will accept other things if you have some canned goods or stable stuff that you would like to give.
We're going to do that for a couple more weeks. You are invited. Friendsgiving. We've been doing this here for some time. Nick and Chris actually have been heading this up and a group of friends and kind of a small group, and then it's a gaining ground.
But we're extending beyond just those folks who are already friends to those folks who might become friends. All right? So Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving Day from four to eight Nick will help coordinate. He's up in the booth right now. And if you'd like to come, we would like to kind of last year, he said they had 12 pies left over.
And so there were lots of an abundance of pies and maybe not as many green beans, who knows, but we're going to try to coordinate it a little bit better this year. But just know that you are invited Thanksgiving Day from four to eight turkey and the traditional stuff that goes with it. But also afterwards, they'll play board games and kind of get to know each other. It's fun. It's a good time.
I usually come for the evening meal here. So you're invited, just so you know, friendsgiving. Boxes are already here and available in the entryway out there if you would like to give to a child somewhere in the world through Operation Christmas Child. There are kind of some instructions back there and on our website. November 16 is the packing party here.
And so if you have just stuff that you want to bring in, you're not necessarily putting in a box yourself, but you want to bring some stuff, please bring it on. November 16, there'll be a packing party to put it into boxes. But if you're packing your own and you want to seal it up and get it ready, we will take it to the distribution center from here on November 19. That's when they're due here. So we'll probably take them on the '20.
See firstbjax.org for packing restrictions and for anything else that should clear that up. We are getting ready for a children's Christmas choir on December 18. We'll have a combined service, one service at ten a. M. Lisa Landis is going to be heading this up.
So if you know of a child, a grandchild or if you know of a neighborhood child that would like to be involved, if you would, get in touch with Lisa Landis. There's her number, (215) 692-4297. I asked her this morning after the first service. She served in the nursery this morning, so she wasn't up here to point to. But I said, Did anybody talk to you?
She said, No, but I fully expect they'll show up next week anyway. Next week, they're going to start rehearsals between services. So nine a. M. Service after the nine a.
M. Service, they're going to start at ten a. M. Practicing right down here in the Youth Room. But if you'd like to sign somebody up for that, let her know.
Also though, Jackson Hole Women's Christmas luncheon is happening, it does look like it's going to be at the Snow King Ballroom. There was some question as to whether that would happen or not. But that's happening on December 7. So put that on your calendars, mark that, ladies, if you would like to go to that. There's not going to be any charge.
It will be open to the public, but there will be an RSVP coming up in the email soon. Connect hour and Monday Night Kitchen volunteers. If you would like to sign up to make a meal for the Monday night meal, that would be great. But also connect hour if you'd like to bring whatever you'd like to bring for that in between, that's good. There are sign ups hanging up in the fellowship hall.
And I think that's the last one. Is that the last one?
Speaker 2Yes, sir.
Speaker 1Okay. I took a miracle. Okay. I guess I did take a miracle. Actually, that's theologically true.
I took a miracle. It took a miracle. Would you stand up? We're going to sing hymn number four ninety four. You might not have heard this one lately, but this is one I remember from childhood.
I really like it.
Speaker 2Father is omnipotent and that you can't deny a god of might and miracles. It is written in the sky. It took a miracle of love and grace. Though her glory has been shown, we still can't fully see the wonders of his might. His throne will take eternity.
It took a miracle put the stars in place. It took a miracle to hang the world in space. But when he saved my soul cleansed and made me whole it took a miracle of love and grace The Bible tells us of his power and wisdom all the way through and every little burden flower are testimonies too. It took a miracle to put the stars in place. It took a miracle to hang the world in space.
But when he saved my soul, cleansed and made me whole. It took a miracle of love and grace. Amen.
Speaker 1How about the longer I serve him? Longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. Amen.
Speaker 2Since I started for the kingdom since my life he controls since I gave my heart to Jesus the longer I serve him the sweeter he grows each day. He's like heaven. My heart overflows the longer I serve him. The sweeter he grows. Every need, he is supplying.
Plant your grace, he bestows. The longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. The more that I love him, more love he bestows.
Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat, and I'm gonna invite the ushers to come forward. Would you pray with me? God, I thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning to gather in your name, Lord, to sing your praises, to look to you expectantly, Lord, for your mercy and for your grace and for your direction and for your power. Lord, I pray that you would lead us by your spirit, that that same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead would empower and quicken us, Lord, to do your will in your way as we walk in time and space on this earth.
In Jesus' name, Lord, I ask for your direction, for your power, and for your presence, Lord. We're very, very thankful. Would you bless and multiply these offerings, Lord, that are put in this plate? The financial resources, but also the time and the gifting that you've given to each of us, Lord. I pray that we'd be putting that in the plates metaphorically, that you'd bless and multiply it, that all of our kingdom efforts Lord, we know that they're not in vain, but I pray, Lord, that you would use them to do your will in your way today and into the future.
Thank you for this day and your mercies that were new this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. You, Judy. Oh, look at the title on this thing. My goodness, it's long.
From Galilee onwards. So we have been talking about for months now, Jesus' early and then late Galilean ministry. But a few weeks back, we talked about how Jesus had turned his face toward Jerusalem. That was Luke nine fifty one. It was a turning point where he's he has set his face toward Jerusalem.
I think he's referenced in Isaiah saying he set his face like flint. He is determined to go. And we're seeing the turn right here today. And in that time period, in the very end of his Galilean ministry, we see, in Luke especially, we see failure after failure after failure of the disciples to understand anything well or to do anything well. And then, as he turns, it continues.
And I think that this is something that for those of us who are followers of Jesus, who've been following him for a long time, I think there's a little lesson to be learned here. We're working our way. He's working his way towards Jerusalem. It's gonna take six months. Okay.
From where they are in the scriptures walking forward, it's gonna take about six months. We're only gonna take about twenty minutes probably before we get to the table here. Alright? But from Galilee onward, this is the turn, and there are a couple things. There's rejection and how to deal with that, and there's the cost of discipleship.
And this is what he's saying. And actually, he doesn't concentrate on who the person is who's asking, and he doesn't concentrate on what they did with what he said. But it does whenever that happens in scripture, when it's nonspecific, the person, and it's nonspecific, their response, I think it's an open question for the hearer now. Does that make sense? Okay.
So the journey towards Jerusalem, Jesus has set his face to go. He's headed towards the cross, and he's leaving Galilee behind. We saw this in John seven, the first verse. Actually, if I go back to this slide for a minute, if you've looked at it already, you saw Matthew eight nineteen to 22. Okay.
That's just four or five verses. No big deal. Luke nine fifty one to 62. Okay. That's not many verses either.
That's eleven twelve verse. No big deal. But then you saw John seven:two to eight thirty, you thought, oh my goodness, what have I signed on for? Two full chapters of John, and I sincerely thought that I was going to do that until yesterday. I'm going to leave off the two chapters of John.
I am still going to read one little transitional statement from where they are in Galilee right here after these things, and this is right after that a lot of his disciples walked away from him because this was a hard teaching. You remember that? John six sixty six says, yeah. And many of his disciples turned away from him. He he turned to Peter and the other disciples and said, are you gonna leave me too?
And Peter said, where else we're gonna go? You have the words of life. We're with you. So after these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee for he's unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him. So the last few months of this ministry have been in Galilee.
This was what I was looking to do that much at John. Not gonna do it though. I am gonna talk about this little portion. Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of booths was near. A few weeks back when we talked about the transfiguration, you remember when Peter said, let us build for you three booths right here, little tabernacles.
Let us build a place right here. And Jesus is like, no. That's not necessary. Elijah and Moses kind of vanish, and Jesus is left there. They're headed for that even at that point.
The feast of booths is near. That means this was mid to late October, maybe early November, and his brothers Jesus did have brothers, half brothers, earthly brothers. Joseph and Mary had other kids, and his brothers were saying to him, so that indicates he's probably in Nazareth. He's in Galilee, no doubt about that. Nazareth is in Galilee, so he's probably in Nazareth.
Now he's already his life has been threatened in Nazareth early in his ministry when he delivered his first recorded sermon we know anything about. They tried to throw him off the ridge. In this passage, we get a little insight into his family, and his brothers are saying to him, yeah. Move on from here, Jesus, and go on into Judea. This is this is penny ante stuff here.
This is Galilee. Nobody's paying attention to Galilee. Go on into Judea. So your disciples, those guys who are following you around, forgive me. I think this is the manor.
They seem to be mocking him. I've got it in the text later on. But move on from here, Jesus. Head on down to Judea so that your disciples may also see the works which you're doing. I'm sure you'd gain a following.
For no one does anything in secret in this little backwater town when he himself is striving to be known publicly. If you want to be famous and you wanna have glory for yourself, then get out there and go to the big show if you are doing these things because they don't believe it. They don't believe in it. I mean, it's hard to grow up in the house with Jesus, would imagine. And it's hard to not have a little bit of sibling rivalry going on.
You're always mom's favorite. No one does anything in secret while he himself is striving to be known publicly. They saw him as everything we've seen in his whole Galilean ministry looks like he was trying to find rest. He's going everywhere he's gone, it said, and seeking a quiet place. And then the crowd showed up and he saw him and had compassion on him.
He wasn't doing it for fame and notoriety. He kinda couldn't help it. If you're doing these things, which whatever, show yourself to the world for not even his brothers believed in him. Think about that. Isn't that sad?
To not have your home folks with you. To not have them show up for the games, to not have them show up for the shows. His brother's like, come on, Jesus. Not even his brothers believed in him. At that point now we do have the book of James that says James came to believe after the resurrection.
We do have the book of Jude. We've got different things that show that they came around or at least some of them came around. So Jesus says to them, my time is not yet here. How many times have we heard Jesus say this in John? He said it in John two to Mary at that wedding in Cana.
Was like, oh, I feel like he said, mama. But it was woman. This is way it came out. Woman, oh, what has this to do with me? My time has not yet come.
He says it over and over. My time is not yet here. This is with his brothers, his home folks, the people who are supposed to know him best and they don't believe in him. May I step aside here for just a minute? We're church folks.
Most of us have grown up in church our whole lives. We're the folks who are supposed to know him the best. And are there times where we're just like these brothers and going, I don't get you, Jesus. I don't understand what it is you're doing. Jesus says to them, my time's not yet here, but your time is always ready.
Jesus had a very unique a very unique a unique mission. Can't be very unique. It's one of a kind. He had a unique mission, and their time was whenever, at any point as a human being, you can humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. You can say, God, I don't know, but I trust that you do.
God, I don't deserve, but I'm asking for your mercy and your grace. Jesus says your time is always ready. There's an opportune time in front of you at all times. My time is not yet. I'm walking it out as best I can.
And in his case, it was perfectly. The world cannot hate you the way it hates me because you're part of it. You're part of the world. You act just like the world. It hates me because testify about it.
I am putting an objective standard up before it that is out of their reach. Now, consider this, his brothers and his disciples even did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them the way that it is available and present for believers today. So that's something we've got to take into consideration. But as believers today, we can humble ourselves to God and be walking in the spirit, or we can hold up the process in pride and be walking in the flesh. We have the possibility of doing either.
His brothers, no doubt about it. They were with the world, fleshly. They the world cannot hate you the way it hates me because I testify about it that its deeds are evil. Going up to the feast yourselves I'm not going up right now to this feast because my time has not yet fully arrived. It's coming and it seems to be the pace seems to be quickening in all of the gospels.
Excuse me. Now, having said these things, he stayed in Galilee. He hung back while they went on. They were good religious boys. They were doing the things that were supposed to happen.
They were heading down to go to the feast because it was one of the required times that they would do that. Okay. Let's switch over to Luke. Luke says, and when the days were approaching for his ascension. Now some folks argue that his lifting up was being lifted up on the cross, and that's a reasonable interpretation of this.
When the days were approaching for his being lifted up, some people would say for his ascension into heaven. Either way is fine. We don't have to argue over it. Both of them are coming. When the days were approaching for his ascension, he was determined.
He set his face toward Jerusalem, and being in Galilee, especially in Nazareth I put a map up. Sorry about that, Dave. I'll do that next time. We're looking at it. Sea Of Galilee is here.
The Dead Sea's down here, and we've got Jerusalem here. Normally, the way that the Jews would do it is they come down from Capernaum or say Nazareth, and they go down to the Jordan River Valley. They walk along the Jordan the whole way, and then they walk up the hill from Jericho to Jerusalem, which would be like walking from Wilson to the top of the pass. That's the normal thing. That takes three days longer to do it that way, and they're willing to camp out two extra nights at least, maybe three extra nights, in order not to walk through Samaria because they hate Samaritans.
He sent messages on ahead of him. Let's say he's starting out in Nazareth, and they went and they entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for him. Village of the Samaritans, really. And they did not receive him because he was traveling toward Jerusalem. Now, we have already seen in the book of John that Jesus had to go through Samaria.
He didn't mind walking through Samaria. He stopped at that well, and he offered living water to that woman at the well. He was received, and they stayed there. Even the disciples too stayed there for three days. We know that that's already happened, so there is some precedence for them being in Samaria.
He sent his messengers on ahead of him and said, Y'all go kind of prepare away. Get the accommodations in order, and I'll be right behind you. They went in and entered into a village of Samaritans to make arrangements for him, and they did not receive him because he was traveling toward Jerusalem. So it's not just that the Jews hate the Samaritans. The Samaritans also hate the Jews.
We know that the temple was destroyed in seventy AD, and that's a that's a big pivotal moment because the house of God is torn down, not one stone on top of another, and we remember that because we're Christians, and we see that as a prophecy that was fulfilled. Well, the Samaritan's temple had been destroyed in one twenty three BC, and they were still holding on to that temple destruction at Mount Gerizim, and they were still holding it against the Jews who said that you're supposed to worship in Jerusalem. And because he was traveling toward Jerusalem, it was negating their religiosity. And we're not gonna receive you. Why would we?
And this is fun because it's so so much like we do things. When his disciples, James and John, they're two of them brothers, right, sons of thunder. When his disciples, James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? Aren't we quick to get to that? Like, no, we're not accepting your master coming in here.
And he says, Jesus, we tried? And they said, no, and I think we should smoke them. And considering his last teaching that he's been doing to him was this. Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything, anything that you may ask, it shall be done for them by my father who's an ever. Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst.
If y'all both agree that they get smoked, they need to get smoked. But that's not what Jesus said. Jesus, it says, he turned and he rebuked them. He didn't turn and rebuke the Samaritans. Jesus is initiating the age of grace.
Right? He knows that his redemptive purpose is to die on the cross, and he knows that it's opening up an opportunity. And in a very physical sense right here, the disciples are going ahead of him and making his way known. And when he gets there, they have the literal chance to invite him in or reject him. They chose to reject him.
Now there are consequences eternally for that, but right now Jesus says, this is the time where we're announcing good news. This is not the time for judgment. He turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village. Like, there's something to be learned there for us. I think that we oftentimes, without even knowing it, we see ourselves as being on Jesus' team or in Jesus' family as being either a brother or a disciple of Jesus, and we know Jesus' way.
And when somebody rejects that way, we feel a responsibility to smite smoke them, to to smoke them with the word at least. Right? But Jesus is announcing the day of grace. And if someone rejects it, it's not an immediate consequence. They might not ever, like Billy Graham says, get any closer to receiving him than they were at that moment, but they might.
They might. And so he went on to another village. I think there's something to be learned there. And as they were going on down the road, someone said to him, and it's just someone in Luke. Matthew makes it more clear who it was, but as they were going on down the road, someone said to him, I will follow you wherever you go.
That's a bold statement. It is a scribe, someone who knows the scriptures, who has been trained in them, and understands the Old Testament, understands Torah. And it is typical for a student of Torah to find a rabbi and to live close proximity to him and to learn Torah from him. So a scribe came to him and said, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus responds to him this way, foxes have their holes, birds of the air birds of the sky have their nest, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.
This might be harder than you think it's gonna be. To apprentice from this master may be a more difficult road, and we don't know who it was. We know it's a scribe, someone who was interested in the scriptures. We don't know who is who he was, what his name was. We don't know whether he followed or didn't follow.
We don't know whether he turned away when he said the road's gonna get hard. Basically, the Via Dolorosa, the painful way has already started, and Jesus knows it. When he sets his face toward Jerusalem, it's common, and he knows that everybody that is with him is gonna be hated, persecuted, ridiculed, and they wouldn't have a sure place. He's going ahead and having them make preparations and looking for a spot, looking for a person of peace. But his pillow might be a stone.
The foxes have holes, birds of sky have a nest, Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Matthew says the same thing, exactly the same verbiage. And then he said to another so the first one's a volunteer. Out of the blue, out of the out of the blue, the scribe says, hey, I'm following you wherever. So he's volunteering that.
The second one here, it says, and and Jesus said to another, follow me. Now we have precedence for that too. In Matthew's gospel and in multiple places, we see that Jesus says, follow me to Peter and Andrew, and they drop their nets and they follow him. Right? We see him do the same for Matthew, the tax collector, follow me, and he follows him.
In this case, Jesus turns. So the first one's a volunteer. I'd say this one's a recruit. He said to another, and Matthew says it was a disciple, follow me. But he said, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.
Oh, this one can open up a can of worms a little bit. What does that mean exactly? Has his father already passed and he's just in between the death and the burial? Or more likely, his father's not passed, but he feels an allegiance to his family, honor your father and mother. He feels an allegiance that he feels like, I've got to serve out my purpose as a good son, and I need to hang here with dad until he's gone.
Then I have my life to live, and I can follow you then. That's probably more likely. He said to another, follow me. Jesus' command, follow me. And we have precedence for people just dropping their nets and going and following him.
This disciple said, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. And Jesus said, allow the dead to bury their own dead. Wow. That's a hyperbolic, kinda scary response. First of all, it can't be literal because dead people don't bury dead people.
It's gotta be metaphorical or spiritual. And Jesus is offering to them and to anyone else. He's offering to them life and life abundant. And if they are going away from that offer of life to, spiritually death, he's saying, just allow the spiritually dead to deal with their own stuff. You've got an offer here that supersedes all else.
If we see the scribe that came to him in Matthew and then we see another of the disciples, somebody who's in this throng says, Lord, allow me first to go bury my father. Jesus says, follow me and let the dead bury their own dead. This is something that is new in redemptive history. This is something that is worth your time and your effort. Actually, Luke goes beyond that.
It says, allow the dead to bury their own dead and says this, as for you, you're one of mine. You're a disciple. You're paying attention. You've already heard the message. You've already seen it authenticated with miracles.
As for you, you be going and you be proclaiming everywhere the kingdom of God. You go tell everybody what you have seen. Another. This is the third one in Luke. So Matthew only has two.
The third one in Luke is another volunteer. Another person volunteered up and also said, I'll follow you, Lord, but. That's a that's a great one, isn't it? I'll follow you, Lord, but I've got some parameters I wanna make make sure we get these things covered first. Another one also said, I will follow you, Lord.
I I wanna follow you, Lord, but first, permit me to say goodbye to those at my home. This one actually has biblical precedents. Do you all remember the stories of Elijah and Elisha? I haven't spent a whole lot of time preaching Old Testament stuff, but y'all know them. Right?
Elijah and Elisha. When Elijah's ministry was coming to a close, and he was to place his mantle on his, his follower, his person that was gonna, come after him, this is what it says in first Kings. And so Elijah, he point departed from there, and he found Elisha, the son of Shaphat. While he was plowing, so he's out minding his own business as it were. Elisha, the son of Shaphat, was out plowing with 12 yoke of oxen in front of him, and and he was with the 12.
And Elijah came over to him, and he threw his cloak or his mantle over him. The symbol of him taking on the ministry that had been Elijah's was now going to be Elisha's. And this guy that came to Jesus was saying, I wanna follow you. I want to be carrying on in your ministry. But biblical precedence here.
He left the oxen behind. He ran after Elijah and said, please, let me go home and kiss mama and daddy, then I'll follow you. And Elijah said to Elisha, go go ahead. Go ahead and do that. What have I done to you?
I haven't called you away from everything. Yeah. Go ahead and say goodbye to your mom and dad. So he returned from following, took a pair of oxen, and sacrificed them. He cooked their meat with the implements of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate.
And then he got up and he followed Elijah, and he served him. So that was that was the best that they knew. So the some of the best prophets that these guys would have known were Elijah and Elisha. It's not an unusual or it seems like not a bad request to say to Jesus, allow me to say goodbye to my folks at home. But Jesus said to that guy, nobody, after putting his hand to this plow and looks back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
He said this is a new and different thing. Yes. Elijah's ministry was important, and yes, passing it along to Elisha was important, but we have hit a new stage in redemptive history. And this is something that's gonna require complete commitment. There's a line in A Mighty Fortress is Our God that says, Let good and kindred go.
Right? Let good and kindred goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. Wow. Jesus is saying that the cost of discipleship is very high. It could cost you your life, and there's nothing else that compares to it.
Now, we have a history of God leading people out of a difficult enslaved position, and we have a history of God leading letting people out, leading and letting people out of difficult places. And it they are universally, decried when people look back. Are you with me? We get this a lot. Don't look back.
If you've signed on and you're one of Christ's, then don't look back. Don't let anything hinder you. It is gonna be difficult to follow. It is gonna be difficult to actually pay attention to what Jesus actually taught, to how he actually acted. Our normal human way of doing things is divide up in teams and fight it out.
Would you agree that's true? But if we all have divided up into teams, then we're against everybody else. And Jesus is calling his out of every tribe, tongue, and nation into one that will be different, that will act different. Don't look back. When God was trying to deliver his people out of bondage in Egypt, they looked back.
They looked back to Egypt. Why'd you bring us out here, Moses? Why'd you bring us back? We had food in Egypt. It was so great making those bricks.
Israel looked back to Egypt and they're universally decried throughout the whole New Testament. It's like, don't be like the wilderness generation, please. Jesus is better than us. The whole argument of Hebrews. Right?
Lot's wife. She looked back to Sodom. Oh, what a great place Sodom was. She couldn't imagine life anywhere else. She couldn't imagine anything better than that.
So she was torn and looked back, and that didn't go well for her. Israel looked back. Lot's wife looked back. Jesus is saying, yeah. I know you love your mom and dad.
I know that honoring your father and mother is important. He just taught about taking care of mom and dad to the Pharisees. But he's saying, this is the most important thing that there is, that you follow me, the way, the truth, and the life, and it's not gonna be easy. Once we commit to Jesus, we are supposed to hold fast to Jesus. That's what his expectation is of every disciple, not just pastors, not just priests, not just Levites, scribes, whatever.
He is saying for everyone who will trust in him to hold fast to him. So that reminds me of this. Hebrews ten twenty three to 25 says, let's and I'm saying let's. Let us. Let us.
Let us all hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering. Let's hold fast to Jesus. He is the one who has made the way. We're working our way towards the table here, like I said. He is the one who inaugurated the new and living way, the new covenant.
He is the one who walked it out perfectly. He walked the painful path. He stepped out of the glories of heaven into time and space, into a difficult road, and walked it out perfectly. He voluntarily sacrificed that perfect record for anyone who would come to believe. So let's hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering.
For he who promised is faithful, and let us all, as the continuing body of Christ on earth, let us all be considering how to encourage one another in love and in good deeds, stirring one another up in loving good deeds. Not abandoning our own meeting together, that's important as is the habit of some. But we are to be encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. I know that the days are evil. I know that the way is difficult.
I know that the world is against us. I know that, but we are to act different than they act. We are to be among ourselves a winsome example of the grace of God extended towards a lost and dying world. Every time that we celebrate communion, honestly, I think that it's every time we eat. I I feel like it's every single time we ingest anything, we are to be thinking of him and the sacrifice he made, that he walked it out perfectly.
But we're going to come to the table right now. I'm going ask the ushers to come forward. I want to pray, but we'll distribute a little cracker first, and then we'll take the time to distribute the little plastic cup of grape juice as a representation of the blood of Christ. Would you pray with me? Lord, I pray that you would show us, Lord, where we are lacking and show us our flaws and our faults, that you would show us where we have missed the mark, our sins, Lord, and that we would, in seeing that, agree with you.
And Lord, immediately upon agreeing with you about our sin, that you would cleanse it, that you would wash it. I pray, Lord, that as we take this, that we would take it worthily, recognizing that you are the giver of life, that an offer has been extended, that we have accepted, and we shall not look back. Lord God Almighty, may this matter to us. I pray, Lord, that we would remember your life that was perfectly lived and walked out in time and in space with all of the same kind of distractions that are still around. God, I pray that you would impress upon us exactly what you'd have us do.
Humble ourselves, recognize the walk. Prayerfully, pray that the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead would quicken us and empower us to walk in his footsteps in a way that's different from the world. In Jesus' name, Lord, I pray that you'd bless this bread as we distribute it. Amen. That Jesus was betrayed, that in itself says this is gonna be a hard path.
Right? The same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper and after he had given thanks, he broke it and he said to his disciples, this is my body which is broken for you. Take this and eat. Remember it. Remember how I walked it out and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me.
Thank you, Lord, for walking it out perfectly. Thank you for sacrificially and voluntarily giving that perfect record over to anyone who would trust in the redemptive blood that you was shed. Lord, a representative of that we're gonna distribute right now. I pray, Lord, that you'd bless each that partakes. And if there's someone in the room who does not yet believe or feels like they are unworthy at this point to take it, God, I pray that you would impress upon them through your continuing body.
Here are the members right here who are humbly and sacrificially living after you, that you would impress upon them through us, Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray your blessing on this as we distribute this little cup of juice. In Jesus' name. Amen. And just as he took the bread, he also took the cup and he said to his disciples there, his voice still rings to his disciples here, that this is the new covenant, the new covenant, the one that has been so expectantly awaited for so long.
This is the new covenant, Jesus says, in my blood. Take this and take it in, and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me. There's no greater love than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus did that. He expects for us to live life that way.
Wow. His was unique. Ours is following his example. Let's sing one more song. Would you stand with me?
I need thee every hour.
Speaker 2I need thee every hour most gracious lord. No tender voice like thine can be supper I need thee oh I need thee every high I need thee, oh bless me now my savior, I come to thee, need thee every hour, Stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power when thou art night. I need thee every hour I need thee oh bless me now my savior I come need thee every hour in joy or in pain come quickly and abide for life is I need thee every hour most holy one oh make me thine indeed thou blessed son I need thee oh I need thee every hour I need thee oh bless me now, my savior, I come to thee.
Speaker 1Amen. I think a worthwhile benediction is one that we used a couple weeks ago that Jesus says, a new command I give to you. It's the same time when he was doing this. Right? It's right before that.
A new command I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you, so you must be loving one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples. If you love one another, Lord God Almighty, would you unify us to the point that we would be loving one another so well that others would be drawn into this winsome family of God. In Jesus' name, we ask your blessing. Amen.
