There are some decisions in life that are practically irreversible. It’s like getting into a raft and heading down white-water rapids. I have gone white-water rafting half-a-dozen times. You can jump out, to your own peril. It may be a bumpy ride and some may get sick to their stomach but if you can hold on and stay in the boat, the excitement is worth the danger. It’s like riding a roller-coaster in nature! What you can’t do, what you don’t do is jump out of the raft once you have started down the rapids!
Our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, is similar to white-water rafting. You begin the journey and you don’t stop until you get to the end. Let us study the last dozen verses of Luke 9 and consider how Jesus defines discipleship for us.
AGGRESSIVE DISCIPLESHIP – 9:51-56:
Observe the commitment Jesus has to God’s plans for His life: “He was determined to go to Jerusalem” (vs 51). The ESV says, “He set His face…” On this occasion, James and John were overly aggressive disciples. Perhaps they had in mind the response of Elijah to King Ahaziah in 2 Kings 1:9-16. These brothers want to send the Samaritan village into eternity immediately.
But Jesus did not want to send them too soon. Patience is required to be a faithful disciple of Christ. Allow God to work in the lives of others; don’t condemn them before it is time. Philip, years later, will go down to Samaria and he will have great success in teaching the Gospel there (Acts 8).
OPEN-ENDED DISCIPLESHIP – 9:57-58:
There are those who follow Jesus simply for the loaves and the fish. They are happy to be considered a Christian as long as being a Christian does not make any demands on their time, money, or energy level.
But the moment any of those pick up, discipleship gets in the way and is abandoned. But “open-ended” discipleship is not dependable. It is not faithful. It is not helpful or beneficial to Jesus or to His church. Serving Jesus when it is fun, easy, and popular is serving Jesus for our own benefit, not His. If I am serving Jesus for His sake, then I will serve Him even when it is a challenge to myself, not easy, or popular.
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FAMILIAL DISCIPLESHIP – 9:59-60:
Jesus ranks family relationships pretty high on the list of His expectations (Mark 7:9-13). Yet, He even had to put His family in their place, relative to God (Luke 8:19-21).
When God took the life of Ezekiel’s wife, He commanded the prophet not to mourn, at least publicly (24:15-24). That was an object lesson to the nation of Israel that God was quite concerned that they were not mourning over their sins they had committed against God. From Ezekiel’s perspective, God’s will comes first.
CONTINGENT DISCIPLESHIP – 9:61-62:
This disciple’s following hedged on what he might have to do before deciding to serve Jesus. Other things might get in the way. He might have family that needs him. He might have business interests that require his attention. He might have land to see to and can’t come follow Jesus. The excuses go on and on and are just about as numerous as there are people in the world.
Simply put, the call to follow Jesus is a one-way call forward. If we want to be as resolute as Jesus was, we need to “set our face” to go to heaven and allow nothing to distract us.
Paul Holland
