Scripture reading: Luke 9:51-56

 

Introduction

  • This account, beginning with v. 51, is the hinge point of Luke’s Gospel.
  • Today, we will unpack this story, then consider three brief conversations Jesus had with people surrounding the subject of being his disciple.

Jesus rejected by Samaritans

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.

  • “taken up to heaven” – a reference to his resurrection/ascension in Jerusalem at least six months away (now before Feast of Tabernacles, Dedication, Passover).
  • “resolutely set out” – lit. “set his face,” Heb. idiom: “unwaveringly committed.”
  • “Samaritan village” – Many Jews would not go through Samaria even though it was the most direct route. Reason?
  • “did not welcome him because he was heading for Jerusalem” – because he was playing for the wrong team.
  • “James and John” – Mark 3:17: “Sons of Thunder” epithet acquired here?
  • “Jesus…rebuked them” – Why? They were quick to destroy (cf. Ezk 33:11). But Jesus is not averse to violence per se. He pronounced violent judgment (e.g., Lk 10:13-16; 19:41-44). Later, he brought violent judgment (AD 66-73). But now Is not the time. Now is the time for sowing seed, not reaping.
  • Why does God delay judgment? (2 Peter 3:9). Over the next forty years, tens of thousands of Jews were saved because of God’s patience.
  • Next unit consists of a triad of interactions with would be disciples. Overall message: following Jesus is all-or-nothing. Can’t go half in. You will suffer and be persecuted, but it is worth it because kingdom will be advanced and we will accumulate rewards.

The Cost of Following Jesus

 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go. 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

  • Disciples of rabbis would live with them to see how to live out Torah, but Jesus doesn’t have a home to call his own. Even wild animals have it better than he.
  • This doesn’t mean that if you follow Jesus you will become homeless. He is speaking proverbially: generally true but not in every case.

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

  • Burying one’s parents was a serious ethical responsibility. It demonstrated honor. It was even more important than maintaining ritual purity.
  • But this guy is likely not asking that he be given permission to bury an already dead father. He is likely asking to postpone being a disciple until after his father dies, at some indefinite time in the future. Jesus answers: “Don’t postpone obedience! When God calls you, that is the time to repent and obey. Matt 10:37: If you love family more than me, you’re not worthy of me.

61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

  • Conceptual parallel to Elisha in 1 Kings 19:19-21. Elijah allowed it. Jesus doesn’t. New era: “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
  • General idea: if you keep looking back fondly at your old life, you’ll do a lousy job living for Jesus in the present. Let the past be the past. Keep your eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2). “It is not how we start that’s important but how we finish.”

Holy Communion