No One Can Look Back
Pastor Zach Pummill • February 14, 2021
Sermon Overview
LUKE 9:51–62
In this passage Jesus teaches that no one can look back and be fit for the kingdom of God. Jesus has three short conversations on the nature of discipleship and what it means to follow after him. True discipleship calls for single-minded devotion and direction.
Sermon Transcript
Good morning to you, friends. We're glad that you joined us, and especially if you're a guest with us today under these strange weather circumstances, we're glad that you logged in. We're glad that you took time to spend it with our church family. You find us in the middle of a sermon series called "No One Can", where we're looking at some of the hard statements that Jesus makes in his ministry. And today we're looking at discipleship and taking a closer look at what it really means.
And so when you think about the word 'discipleship', what comes to your mind? Discipleship is a word that's so familiar to us. If you've spent any time in the church, it's just part of the Christian lingo, the Christian vocabulary, that we use. And sometimes as a result of that familiarity it's a word that we can water down in our minds over time. We over simplify it and we think of it as something less than it actually is. And when that happens, problems can occur.
And so if we think about it from another angle, think about marriage. So it'd be like thinking of marriage as simply having a roommate with whom you shared finances. Okay, well, that's true, but there's a lot more to it. If someone did think about marriage in those terms, what do you think would happen? Well, most likely one of those roommates is sleeping on the couch, right? There'd be a person that didn't appreciate what it was that they were really a part of. And even deeper than that, it means they'd miss out because they'd never really come to know the beauty of relationship, intimacy, fidelity, and the freedom that marriage offers. There are certain things that when we think of them too simply it creates problems and we miss out. The same is true of discipleship. When we define it too simply in our minds, even unintentionally, then we fail to experience the beauty and the power and the freedom that it offers, because Jesus becomes something less than he's supposed to be. He becomes a roommate, a financial assistant, a best friend, a pal, a teacher, and we place him in the sidecar of life.
So whenever you thought of discipleship, what is it that you think of? I think a common way that we can think of discipleship and think of it too simply really comes at the beginning of every new year. We begin to reevaluate and think about our own faith and our own personal journey with Christ. We think of new beginnings, new possibilities, new hopes, and so what do we do? Well, we look at our schedule. We try to work in Bible reading and prayer. We maybe try to work in some deeper commitments at church, but in the end, what are we doing? We're thinking, where can Jesus fit? Where can I find room for Jesus in my life?
And in our passage today, you find some of Jesus's hardest sayings on discipleship that challenge how we think about what it means to follow after him. And you probably already picked up on the abruptness with which Jesus speaks to these three individuals. And we're taken aback because he doesn't leave any room for negotiation, does he? And we think, goodness, where's that patient, gentle Savior that I like? I don't see him here in these three conversations. And we can say, well, yes, God is patient beyond measure, but he's also utterly and urgently devoted to his mission. And discipleship will always get watered down whenever we detach it from the mission and purposes of God. And that right there is why Jesus's statements in this passage can be so off-putting. Why? Because we think of fitting Jesus into our agenda, and these statements remind us that it's really about us fitting into his. And so it's in this passage that Jesus asks each of us a question, are you really on mission with me? Do you really know what it means to follow after me? And you see Jesus' commitment to his mission.
At the very beginning of our passage in verse 51, it says, "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." He set his face to go to Jerusalem. And that's referencing more than just a geographical destination that Jesus pulls up on Google Maps. It's referring to his single-minded devotion to his purpose and his mission. He sets his face towards Jerusalem because the time has come for him to suffer, to be rejected, to be crucified, and buried. His hour has come and he's beginning his journey towards the cross. And he invites you to join him. And that provides the backdrop for these three short conversations we see in verses 57 to 62.
These three conversations are sandwiched between two sending passages. If you look at the beginning of our passage this morning it says that Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem. And as he began that journey, he sends out his disciples into a Samaritan village to announce that Jesus is coming. He's about to pass through and to make way for him. And then right after our passage this morning, immediately after, Jesus sends out the 72 to go into even more villages that lie ahead on the way to Jerusalem. The 72 to go out and present the gospel, to proclaim that the King has come, the King is about to pass through, and to make way for him. And right in between those two sending passages, you find these three conversations that Jesus has. Because these three conversations are about seeing discipleship as joining Jesus on his mission and recognizing what that really means.
And so we see this first conversation come up with the first person, but really who are these three people? Who are these three people that Jesus has these conversations with? Well, they're the ones that had been following Jesus already. They're to be seen as a part of this larger group of followers that were with Jesus. They're not just three random individuals. Everywhere Jesus went he was followed by a large group of people. It wasn't just the 12 disciples. He was constantly surrounded by an entourage everywhere he went. So these three people are part of this group that are supposed to be those that are the most committed and devoted to following Jesus. And yet we see Jesus go right after their pretense. He challenges the ways in which they were okay following Jesus up to a certain point. But now that his mission and his purpose are starting to become more than they signed up for, they start to reconsider and they start to turn back. And that's where Jesus goes right after them.
But these statements aren't about Jesus saying things that discourage us from discipleship. He says things that are intended for us to be drawn in deeper into discipleship, to know what it means to follow him, but also to know who it is that we're following.
And we see this first interaction in verse 57. It says they're walking along the road and the first person steps up and says, "Jesus, I'll follow you wherever you go." And Jesus says, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head." The son of man has nowhere to lay his head. What's he saying? He's saying, "Do you really know who you're following? Do you really know who I am? There's no place in this world that I call home. Are you still on board?" Discipleship is about becoming like Jesus, learning to pattern your life after his life. And so when you look at him, what do you see? Do you see someone that's committed to trying to live life according to worldly standards of success and wealth and power? Do you see someone who's trying to give you worldly status and influence? Do you see someone who's committed to giving you the life that you want for yourself? Do you see someone who's living a life that is trying to avoid suffering and filled with privilege? When you look at Jesus, what do you see?
And so Jesus is saying, "If that's what you're after, then I am the wrong person to follow. I'm not going to teach you how to make your home in this world."
Jesus is questioning and calling to question what we value. And in saying that, we have to see that discipleship isn't just about knowledge, where you just think the right thoughts and you have the right theological ideas, and then you go on your merry way. Discipleship is more than knowledge. Discipleship is also about living out of the new nature that you were given. Because you are given a new nature. You're given a new nature where the life of Christ is in you by the power of the Spirit to conform and shape you more and more into the image and likeness of Jesus. To follow Jesus means your life looks like Jesus.
And all that's very theological, so what does it look like in real life? Well, it means that as you learn to follow Jesus, then you will find that you are increasingly uncomfortable in this world. You, too, find no place to rest your head in a world that's devoted to success and wealth and excess and power, you become increasingly devoted to righteousness, justice, love, peace, holiness, and goodness. You live in this world as one that belongs to another world. You live in the kingdoms of this world as a citizen of another kingdom from another world with other values and other priorities. To follow Jesus means that you will find that you are increasingly uncomfortable in this world. And so what does that actually look like?
Well, I was talking with someone a couple of weeks ago about their job, and really the history of their career. They'd largely spent most of their career in sales, and they were telling me about the changes that had taken place in them and how it affected their career over the course of decades. And they told me about how, at the beginning of their career, they did a lot of traveling. They traveled all over the country, and since they were in sales, they would have to go and make the pitch to different companies for different partnerships. And part of what you did was you'd have to take out these companies, the representatives, and make your pitch. You'd take them out for dinner and you'd wine-and-dine them. And then after you wine-and-dine them, he would say that things typically lead to dinner and then drinks, and then going out, staying out late into the night, going to places that he shouldn't go. And all of it was very indulgent and filled with excess. And they were saying at that time in their career they just viewed it as that's the price of doing business. That's just how you played the game. If you wanted to secure these contracts and these partnerships, then that's how you had to play it. It was just a part of doing business. It's just part of how their life looked.
But then over the years they actually transitioned to another company. And during those years they began to give their life more to Jesus. They became more and more of a disciple. And then years later they got a phone call and it was from an old colleague that was with that old business, that old company they were with. And this colleague said, "Hey, I'd love for you to come back because we have this opportunity to make this sale with a company that you know well. You know them, they know you, we know you, it's a win-win for all of us. I wanna make you an offer you can't refuse." And so they talked about it and what it would look like to come back. And then it got down to base level, and this person said, "Look, I can come back, but I want you to know it's gonna be different. I'm not gonna do things the way I used to do it. I can't live that life anymore. I can't go out and do the things that we used to do. And so for me to come back it means that I'm going to be in bed by 9 p.m. I'm not leaving the hotel. And whenever I have to get up and leave when the night starts to go a certain direction and a place I'm not willing to go, then I'm just going to excuse myself and you're gonna cover for me. You're gonna tell him that I had to go finish up some paperwork, had to go make some phone calls. And I want you to know I'm not gonna live life that way anymore."
What happened? Well, they found that as they gave their life more and more to Jesus, they found themselves uncomfortable in the way that life used to be. Because to follow Jesus means that you will find yourself increasingly uncomfortable in this world.
The same is true for you. Maybe it looks like no longer feeling comfortable around a certain group of friends. They gossip or they're just negative all the time. They talk about one another. And you know that you better show up to the party because if you don't, then you're the one they talk about and you don't feel comfortable around that group anymore. Or maybe you feel uncomfortable around colleagues because you don't share their stories of conquest and excess and lifestyle. Make no mistake, when Jesus says, "the son of man has nowhere to lay his head," it means that as you become more like Jesus, neither will you. Do you know who it is that you're following?
The second man comes up to Jesus, and Jesus says to him, "Follow me." But the man says, "I will follow you, but first let me go and bury my father." And Jesus replies, "Let the dead bury their own dead. But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Woof. Sounds harsh, doesn't it? It sounds like this poor guy just wants to go bury his father who's just died, but Jesus says, "Nope, sorry, buddy. Are you committed to following me or not?"
And a lot of times the way you'll hear this response explained is as though it's just about how one's commitment to Jesus should be greater than one's commitment to their own family. And sure, Jesus does talk about those things, and he does teach that. That's very true. And there are situations where that applies, but it doesn't here. That's not what Jesus is talking about. Because one, remember the context we discussed earlier. He's talking with people that have already been following him thus far. And so, sure, it's been great following Jesus around in their own geographical backyard, watching him perform all of these miracles, doing all of these signs and wonders, but now it's different. Now that Jesus has set his face towards Jerusalem, things have started to get real. Now these followers have an opportunity to re-up and to learn to follow Jesus in a new way with new responsibilities and new commitments. Now it got more costly.
So as they're going along this man is recognizing what's happening and now he starts to reconsider, and he says, "Let me go and bury my father, and then I'll follow you." Now, if this man's father is dying on his death bed, then one, why isn't this man by his father's side already? And two, let's just say this man's father did in fact just die. Well, then you have to ask, how would this man have even come to know that? Because in ancient times burial happened on the same day that someone died because they couldn't preserve the body. And so if they're out traveling towards Jerusalem, then how would this man have come to know so quickly that his father had passed in the first place? And secondly, how would this man even be able to entertain the idea that he'd be able to get back in time to oversee the burial of his father on the same day while he's traveling on foot?
No, the truth is this man's father may be old and it may be a concern for this man, but his father isn't dead, and his father isn't on his death bed. It's because this man has different motives. Now that following Jesus is going to take him to places he never expected and require him to do more than he ever intended, now he's beginning to reconsider. His question about burying his father gives the appearance of family devotion, and in part that may be true. But what happens when this man's father dies? He gets an inheritance. He's set up for life, and he wants to secure it. What he's really wanting to do is to go back and to get his affairs in order, saying, "Jesus, I'll follow you, but first, let me get life just situated how I want it. I'll follow you, but let me get squared away financially." Let me take care of this situation so that, what? So then I'll be all the more freed up to follow after you. No doubt as he's reconsidering following Jesus in his own mind, he's sitting there thinking, “Jesus has no place to lay his head. That sounds frighteningly un-secure. So I need to take matters into my own hands, I need to hedge my bets. I need to set myself up so that I am secure.”
And we know that line of thinking, we all do, where we think, "I just need to take care of this, or I just need to get this in order first." Or we think about a situation where if the situation was just how I wanted it then I would really be freed up to follow Jesus. So discipleship can wait until my career is how I want it. And so I need to invest my energy there to get it how I want it to achieve those goals, and then I'll be freed up to follow Jesus more and really invest in the kingdom. Or we want to focus on raising our kids and get their education squared away and get them set up for their future before we ever focus on their salvation. or we think we'll get serious about discipleship as soon as the church isn't filled with people that can hurt me. Or we'll get serious about church whenever it's filled with people that finally appreciate me how I want. Let life be this way, and then I'll follow you, Jesus. Once I feel safe, once I feel secure, once risk is minimized, then all follow. And whatever those things may be, in the end we're saying, "First things first, Jesus, let me have this and then you'll have me. Let me have this how I want it and then I'll give you my life."
And Jesus reminds us that discipleship isn't about fitting Jesus around an ordered life. It's ordering our lives around Jesus. And if you're waiting for life to reach a certain point before you fully devote yourself to Jesus into what he calls you to, then honestly, you'll never reach that point. Why? He doesn't have your heart now, so why do you think he's going to have your heart then? We often think we have to have a certain situation before Jesus can receive our full devotion. And then Jesus says to this man, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead." Leave the dead to bury their own dead. What's he saying?
Well, it was Jewish custom to place the deceased in a family tomb. And then after they were in the family tomb, after the body had decomposed, they would go back one year later and they would gather up the remains and they'd put them in an ossuary box, which is really just what we would call an urn. And this process took an entire year, but it's not prescribed by Jewish law. It was really just customary culturally, but it also wasn't something that Jesus cared much about. In fact, he didn't care about it at all. So Jesus is saying, "Leave the dead with the dead." He's answering this man on his own terms with his own argument and saying, "Brother, you don't have the time. What you think needs to get done, what you feel is necessary, is not. Whatever it is that you think you need to get done first is going to cost you far more time than you have. Come and follow me."
Discipleship will always challenge what we feel is of necessity before we're willing to follow.
And lastly, we see this third man come up to Jesus, and he says, "Lord, I'll follow you, but let me first go and say farewell to those at my home." And Jesus says, "No one who puts their hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." No one can look back. And he's giving a farming reference here, how when you plow a field you wanted to try and cut straight rows to plant crops. And as you're trying to cut those rows you can't turn around and look back because you'll start to veer off course. It's for the same reason when you're driving, you don't turn around and stare at the person in the back seat. You'll veer off the road and you won't end up where it is that you're trying to go. It's a very simple metaphor, and yet Jesus is simply saying that, just like him, you have to set your face forward. Discipleship requires that, like him, you set your face forward towards the kingdom. And he's challenging this man, because what's really going on with his request?
Well, again, remember the context, remember that this is someone who's been traveling with Jesus, they followed him thus far, but now that Jesus is going to a new place with new requirements, they start to turn back. He says, "Jesus, I'll follow you, but first let me go say goodbye to those at my home." And then Jesus' response, he's saying, "You didn't say goodbye already? What have you been doing all this time? Did you really set out to follow me in the first place?"
Life will always throw situations and circumstances that test our devotion and commitment to Jesus. We come to a new season or situation of life where following Jesus gets harder and it reveals the depths of our commitment and devotion to him. And typically when you think about someone turning back from following Jesus, it's not like they just wake up one day and just decide I'm done. No, if you dig deeper, it's usually because of a circumstance or a situation in which following him got difficult. It's when life throws you that curve ball, it's when unexpected things happen that people turn back.
How many people have you seen turn back from following Jesus when life requires them to follow him through grief? How many people have you seen turn back from following Jesus when their career goes under, or it didn't turn out the way they wanted it to? Or the opposite, how many people have you seen turn back when they're successful and they come into wealth and privilege? How many people have you seen turn back when marriage got hard and it was one you thought could never possibly end in divorce? They start to turn back in those moments, and what happens? It's the same question that Jesus had for this man. "Did you really set out to follow me in the first place?"
And look, discipleship is hard. Of course, it is. We all know that. You can find that out just from trying to follow Jesus for five minutes, yet alone a lifetime. We all fail. We're all imperfect. We're all broken. But Jesus doesn't require perfect obedience from you. Jesus doesn't require that you never mess up and you never make a mistake. If that were the case, no one could stand. It's not like as soon as you sin and you mess up Jesus pulls the bus over and makes you get out. That's not what Jesus is talking about here.
Jesus is saying that real, single-minded discipleship isn't about perfection, but it is without condition. It clings to Jesus, regardless of unexpected circumstances. It clings to Jesus, regardless of situations that arise. It clings to Jesus, no matter how hard it gets, because a disciple is one that says, "You are my life. I can find it nowhere else. Who else heals the blind, the lame, and the sick? Where else do I have to go? You have the words of life. This world isn't my home. Jesus, you are my home."
It's in these three conversations that show us how the decision to follow Jesus is one we make and remake over and over and over again throughout life. And if we simplify it and we water it down as though it's just a one-time decision, or because we filled out a card, or because we set a certain prayer, or we think of discipleship as something that can run parallel with the real life that I actually want to live, or if we think of ourselves simply as safe because we've been in church a long time, then we need to remember who it is that we're following. We need to remember the urgency of his call.
And we need to remember that he doesn't just, in these hard sayings, he doesn't just call us to loss. He calls us to life. Life everlasting, life eternal, and life now. And maybe this morning you can identify with one of these individuals, or maybe all three. You consider your life in the face of these hard sayings of Jesus and you realize that somewhere along the way you turned back. Other priorities have gotten in the way. And you've struggled to make Jesus' purposes for your life central in your life. And so you look at what Jesus says here and you just think to yourself, "Man, I've blown it again. Maybe I'm just not fit for the kingdom. Maybe the opportunity to follow him has actually come and gone." And you think, there's no way I could measure up to Jesus's standards here.
If that's you, I want to say this, that the enemy will whisper all sorts of things in your ear, and that's one of them. And it is not true.
If you look at the beginning of our passage this morning, what do you see? You see Jesus setting his face towards Jerusalem. And he sends the disciples to a Samaritan village to announce that he is coming, that the King is about to arrive. But Jews and Samaritans hated each other. Centuries of bad blood and violent hatred. And it says that they rejected Jesus. Why? Because his face was set towards Jerusalem, which really is just Luke's way of telling us that in other words, they weren't jiving with his message. They weren't buying what he was selling, and they rejected him. They didn't want anything to do with him.
So as a result of that, James and John go cancel culture real quick. And they say, "Lord, should we call down fire from heaven right now?" Judgment right here right now, because how dare they do that. What's Jesus do. He rebukes them. And he says no. But really the question is, has their chance come and gone to follow Jesus? Even though he doesn't call down fire, is Jesus done with these people in his heart like James and John, and they are dead to him?
Well, if you fast forward to Acts 8, after Jesus finally made that journey to Jerusalem and he was crucified, rejected, resurrected, and ascended into heaven, he sends out his disciples again. He sends his disciples back to these same Samaritans, and it said that they received the gospel with joy and everyone marvels and rejoices.
Why? It's because Jesus is a God of mercy. He extends his hands to us continuously, even when we continuously reject him. And as he extends those hands to us, he says, "I still want you to follow me," because he is a God of mercy. Being a disciple means that you know the mission of God, but it also means that you know his mercy.
It's knowing that we fall short and we fail time and time and time again at being the disciple that we are called to be and devoting ourselves to the mission and purposes of God with that single-minded devotion. The part of that single-minded devotion means that we learn to cast ourselves upon his mercy and upon his grace, because he is a God with a perfect mission and he is a God with perfect mercy that abounds for you.
Today and tomorrow and into this week, you're most likely gonna be shut in at home, and life's gonna slow down. Take some time to stop and to listen to the one who's calling to you. The one who is rich in mercy and has a mission and purpose for your life.
And that invitation comes over and over and over again in three simple words, "Come follow me."
Let's pray together.
