Jesus First • Luke 9:57-62

1:01:23 Teaching begins

Notes

Jesus doesn’t mess around with surface issues. He cuts to the heart of the matter.

Today He talks with three men, and His answers don’t quite sync up with what they’re saying. That’s because these men are not saying what their real motive is. They’re saying an official, public motive. It’s a pretext, which is the cover to their real motive.

Jesus speaks to the real motive why they do what they do. And in each case, the motive is, “Me first.”

These three conversations are written for us, to let us see our pretexts and make sure we have the right motive for following Jesus.

The real motive is “Jesus first.”

1. Slight recap of context: Jesus is going on the road to Jerusalem.

A. Back in chapter 9:51 The days are approaching for Jesus’ ascension. So Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem.

B. Ascension for Jesus means He will be betrayed, condemned, executed, buried, and rise from the dead. Then He will ascend to heaven with all authority in heaven and on earth.

C. Jesus is following the Father. He’s setting His face to serve Him and obey Him. That’s our context for the next three encounters.

2. Somebody pipes up and says, “I will follow You wherever You go.”

A. That sounds great, doesn’t it? Wherever means every location, it means all circumstances, whether good or bad. I’m for You, I want to follow You.

B. Jesus is not encouraging.

1. Yes, I’m the Son of Man from Daniel 7. I’m the equal of the Ancient of Days.

2. I don’t have even a hole in the ground like foxes dig. I don’t have a nest made from twigs and debris like birds.

C. Jesus is addressing the guy’s motive for volunteering.

1. The guy assumes Jesus does have a place to stay, that He’s got all His earthly needs provided for. Jesus is a teacher, a leader, and He has all kinds of people following Him everywhere He goes. It’s natural to assume that Jesus stays in nice hotels, that He eats the best food, that He provides for His inner circle. Everybody lives high on the hog because that’s how famous and important people live once they get to that place.

2. So if that’s how Jesus lives, it’s smart for the guy to get a place in the organisation, support Jesus, and be supported by Jesus.

3. The guy’s priority is to take care of himself by supporting a Man who has resources and can support him. His motive is really, “I’ll serve You for what’s in it for me.” That attitude is “Me first.”

D. Jesus is telling the truth when He says, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

1. The Father is going to provide for His Son in every way, and in any way He sees fit. It can be very different. Sometimes Jesus multiplies bread and fish. But sometimes they buy bread from the money box. It’s always different.

2. The Son has left that up to the Father. God provides. Jesus is comfortable with that because He trusts the Father and depends upon Him completely.

3. Jesus doesn’t know where He’s sleeping that night. That’s not His problem, it’s the Father’s job to provide. Jesus’ attitude is, “The Father first.”

4. He’s telling that man that he might be very disappointed when he expects a dependable, regular provision.

E. Will this man keep following Jesus when he finds out there are no five-star hotels? Daily provision is not a sure thing? Sometimes it’s eat wheat in the wheatfield? Or fast on the mountain with Me?

F. When you follow Jesus it can’t be, “Me first.” It has to be, “Jesus first.”

3. Jesus commands a man to follow Him, and the man explains why he can’t obey Jesus.

A. Jesus commands the man, “Follow Me.” That’s a command, and it’s a privilege to be Jesus’ disciple. But it is always a command. Following Jesus means obeying Him, does everyone get that?

B. This man comes back with a command of his own: Lord, let me first go and bury my father.

1. This is a command of God, honor your father and your mother.

2. It’s certain that this fellow’s father isn’t dead yet because bodies are buried on the same day. If you let a body sit around in the Middle East it will decompose rapidly. The father is still alive.

3. So this fellow commands, permit me to disobey You because I have to obey God’s commandments.

4. God’s commands do not conflict with one another. They are logical and consistent. You can’t obey His command in one area in order to disobey another. That’s what this fellow is doing because he doesn’t want to obey Jesus. He wants his own way first.

C. There’s two kinds of dead here: spiritual and physical.

1. The spiritual dead are the ones who don’t obey Jesus. Everyone is spiritually dead until they begin obeying Jesus.

2. The spiritually disobedient are always going to be there to bury dead people. They can’t give life to anyone, but they can deal with dead things.

3. You begin obeying Jesus now, and you live. As you live, you share the news of the kingdom: Messiah is here, receive Him for eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. The message gives life to others. Those who receive give that news on further. You are blessed and the blessing spreads further. That’s Jesus’ priority.

4. If you delay obedience and say “Me first”, the blessing stops with you. It doesn’t go further than you. You say nothing, the message stays private, preventing public knowledge. You hinder the work of Jesus. You’re in His way. You are an obstacle. The word does nothing, you bear no fruit. You’re dead.

D. You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution. Jesus is asking him, “Are you dead or alive?”

4. Another man has a pretext: I’ll follow You, but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home.

A. That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Even Elijah let Elisha say good-bye to his parents when he called him to be a prophet.

B. Jesus’ answer sounds harsh because He’s addressing the hidden motive that this guy isn’t saying: it’s really hard for me to give up my life. All my relationships and family and stuff I’m going to miss.

C. I say that because Jesus uses the metaphor of plowing to say, you are looking backwards and not forwards.

D. When you plow a field it’s absolutely important that you plow straight.

1. I tried looking for the reason why you have to plow straight. It’s so important that nobody is dumb enough to question why it’s important. Straight furrows are the foundation of all your cultivation. Your work is efficient if they are straight, your work is impossible if the furrows are crooked.

2. In order to plow straight you have to focus completely on a target and keep it on target. If you look elsewhere you mess up your work for the whole cultivation season. You make it or break it right here.

E. This man is conflicted because he’s looking backwards and not thinking about what’s ahead.

1. There’s my whole family, and I love my family. There’s my neighbourhood, all my friends. There’s my whole life back there. My job, my comfort zone. I’m comfortable there. That’s valuable to me.

2. Lot had a wife and daughters. Angels came and said, “God sent us to destroy this sinful, wicked city, you need to leave right now and not look back.” She actually got out of the city, but when God was destroying the city she looked back. All her life was in that city being destroyed. She looked back and she died with the city.

3. This guy is only thinking about what’s behind. He’s losing the plot because he’s thinking, “Me first.”

F. What’s ahead? The resurrection from the dead.

1. Of course there is persecution, difficulties, insults for the name of Jesus. Suffering. Death. Jesus makes this clear, He Himself is going on His way to die.

2. But after death comes the resurrection from the dead. For the joy that was set before Jesus He endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3. The only way to go with Jesus is not look back, forget what lies behind, and stretch forward to what lies ahead. What lies behind is rubbish, it’s going to be destroyed. All I want is ahead. That’s where I’m going with all my might.

5. So what? Disciple of Jesus means “Jesus first.”

A. Our problem is that we bring self-interest into our following Jesus. That will never work. A.B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 174: For the whole aim of Satanic policy is to get self-interest recognised as the chief aim of man.

B. You follow Jesus first, for His purpose and benefit, and you will find that God is faithful to His promise: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

1. You might not have a place to lay your head. Joanie and I spent a year like that in Japan. Don’t know what we’re going to eat, where we’re going to be. It’s up to God. Your provision is hand to mouth. It’s His hand to your mouth. He might have you work a job, He might have you be a missionary supported by whoever, whenever.

2. You learn by experience that God’s promise is more substantial than the job you work. He does take care of you, just not the way you think He should. Can God do anything He wants with you?

C. Jesus first means Jesus really expects you to obey Him right now.

1. Slow obedience is no obedience. You can’t say, “No, Lord.” That doesn’t work.

2. When you obey Jesus then you find that He really does take care of your business. He will take care of your unbelieving family as you entrust them to Him. They won’t believe if you don’t obey Jesus and follow Him. They need to see that you follow Him, that your obedience is not just talk. A changed life affects family and neighbours. Where is your new comfort zone? Wherever Jesus is. Are you in Him? Is He your life?

D. Jesus first means forget what lies behind. The good things are not in the past, behind you. The best is yet to come. Keep looking forward.

1. Psalm 32:1-2 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! That’s your past.

2. Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That’s your future.

E. If you find you have “me first” in mind, I hope you change your mind.

Let’s pray.