The Challenge of Following Jesus! Reading: Luke 9:57-62

The Challenge of Following Jesus! “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head…”

…He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God…” The Challenge of Following Jesus!

…Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” The Challenge of Following Jesus!

What is the Challenge? 1.TO COUNT THE COST – The follower of Jesus has no earthly security. 2.TO LEAVE IT BEHIND - The follower of Jesus has no earthly ties. 3.TO NOT LOOK BACK – The follower of Jesus has no earthly distractions. The Challenge of Following Jesus!

1. TO COUNT THE COST (Vs 57-58) The follower of Jesus has no earthly security. “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head…” The Challenge of Following Jesus!

He makes quite a bold statement “I will follow you WHEREVER you go!” Can you say that without any idea of where Jesus may be headed? What will the journey involve? Jesus replies that to follow Him “WHEREVER He’s going” will not be an easy road. The Challenge of Following Jesus!

JESUS COUNTED THE COST: when He stepped out of His throne in glory to come to the earth and live and die for us, He left behind all that He had. He exchanged wealth for poverty - out of the ivory palaces into a dirty cattle shed. He exchanged rulership for servanthood. He said, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head”. What an irony the King of glory - heir apparent to the throne of the Universe - doesn’t even have a place to call “home”. The Challenge of Following Jesus!

He had no earthly security. He borrowed a coin to tell a story. He borrowed a donkey to ride into Jerusalem and fulfil prophecy. He was even buried in a borrowed tomb! The Challenge of Following Jesus!

Although the Christian may have nothing to his name in this life, yet he is more secure than the richest, most powerful of men. The Challenge of Following Jesus!

2. LEAVE IT BEHIND (Vs 59-60) The follower of Jesus has no earthly ties. …He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God…” The Challenge of Following Jesus!

Let us cast a little further light on this conversation perhaps. When this man says, “Let me first go and bury my father”, it might help us to have an insight into Jewish funeral procedure. An initial burial took place shortly after a person’s decease. This man is not locked away in ‘mourning’, so we may assume that that burial had already taken place. The Challenge of Following Jesus!

…but then ONE YEAR LATER, after the first burial, (and I won’t go into the graphic reasons for it!), the son would return to re- bury the bones in a special box in a slot in the tomb wall. If that’s the situation here, and it seems reasonable to assume it was, then this man who has been called by Jesus could be asking for up to a YEAR’S delay before following! Jesus says, “Others can take care of that, my friend - the demands of the Kingdom are more urgent - MY call cannot wait!

3. DON’T LOOK BACK (Vs 61-62) – The follower of Jesus has no earthly distractions. …Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” The Challenge of Following Jesus!

Again, this seems like a reasonable request. Would you deny a soldier going to war one last chance to bid his loved ones farewell? But again, Jesus clearly spells out the cost of following Him. “Sir, you’ve already declared you are ready to follow me - YOU’VE PICKED UP THE PLOW - “DON’T LOOK BACK!” The Challenge of Following Jesus!

When Peter, James and John followed Jesus, they literally “DROPPED” their fishing nets to go after Him. And right when it looked like business was picking up too! (Jesus had just got them a bumper catch!) They went back for nothing. The Master had called. Some have looked back when God called them forward. Let me list some of them for you: LOT’S WIFE. JUDAS ISCARIOT. DEMAS. The Challenge of Following Jesus!

If we are going to follow Jesus, there must be no going back. Another reason why we count the cost FIRST! The true follower of Jesus allows NO EARTHLY DISTRACTIONS. If Jesus is first we will not look back for anything or anyone. The Challenge of Following Jesus!

CONCLUSION: Jesus’ words are strong, aren’t they? Here is what it will cost us to follow Jesus. EVERYTHING! He calls for us to commit ourselves completely to Him. Jesus said to the first man: “COUNT THE COST”. He said to the second man: “LEAVE IT BEHIND”. And He said to the third man: “DON’T LOOK BACK”. The Challenge of Following Jesus!