On the Way to Jerusalem
TRANSLATION
(51) As the days approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set his face to go to Jerusalem. (52) And he sent messengers ahead who entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his coming. (53) But the people there did not welcome him because his face was set toward Jerusalem. (54) When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” (55) But he turned and rebuked them. (56) Then they went to another village.
(57) And as they were going along the road, someone told him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” (58) And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (59) And he said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first to bury my father.” (60) But he said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” (61) And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but allow me first to say farewell to those at my house.” (62) But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit to serve in the Kingdom of God.”
OBSERVATIONS
Giving top priority to following Jesus has always been a point of contention for those who would become his disciples. Two important repetitions marked this segment. “Set his face to go to Jerusalem” and “face was set toward Jerusalem” are each found in the same two verses (vss. 51 & 53). “Follow” because of its three occurrences was clearly the subject of the second paragraph (vss. 57, 59, & 61). Jesus wanted his disciples to be aware of their destination and what they would face when they reached Jerusalem. Following him as a committed disciple was about to turn into a far more challenging venture than it had been up to this point.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. (51-56)
II. Jesus set before those who would follow him the costs of discipleship. (57-62)
IDEA STATEMENT
Now that Jesus was moving toward the climax of his earthly ministry in Jerusalem, he wanted those following him to realize how demanding this commitment would soon become.
APPLICATION
In three interactions with three would-be disciples, Jesus effectively outlined what following him would require of those accompanying him to the place where he would be crucified. First an unnamed person declared, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus’ response communicated, “Have you counted the cost? Do you understand what becoming my disciple will demand of you?” In the second interaction, it was Jesus who invited an individual to follow him only to have this person offer an excuse regarding his family responsibilities. Jesus challenged him to examine his priorities and recognize that following him should take precedence over all other relationships. In similar fashion, the response of the third individual elicited from Jesus a warning that divided loyalties are incompatible with the life of discipleship.
Following Jesus has always required sacrifice. Those who would become his disciples must learn to value their master more highly than anyone or anything else, whether it be material possessions, personal ambitions, or family relationships. In fact, we who follow him must consider Jesus as of greater worth than life itself, for he must become our life and all that we could ever desire or cherish. Paul phrased it this way in 2 Corinthians 5: “For the love of Christ compels us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor. 5:14 & 15). When we reason like this, we are left with no alternative but to forsake everything and follow him wherever he might lead us. Eternal life is a gift of grace granted to us when we trust in Christ alone. Discipleship will cost us everything we have and demands our complete commitment.