Following Jesus On A New Journey

~ Luke 9:51-62 ~

God Gives Us His Words of Eternal LifeLuke 9:51-62

Found on page 868 in our guest Bibles.

Today’s Scripture:

What does it mean to follow

Jesus of Nazareth ?

Following Jesus On A New Journey

~ Luke 9:51-62 ~

When the days drew near for him

Luke 9:51

to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem….

And he sent messengers ahead of

Luke 9:52-54

him who went and entered a villageof the Samaritans, to make prepara-tions for him. But the people did notreceive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when

…his disciples James and John saw

Luke 9:52-54

it, they said, “Lord, do you want usto tell fire to come down from heavenand consume them…?

But he turned and rebuked them.

Luke 9:55

“But I say to you who hear, Love your

enemies, do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you, pray for those who

abuse you.” ~ Luke 6:27-28

~ Os Guinness ”““The link between a belief & its outcome is

important to examine. Some bad behavior, however, is an accurate reflection of a belief,

while other bad behavior is such a contradiction of its belief that it is no

reflection at all.”

And they went on to another village.

Luke 9:56-58

As they were going along the road,someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesussaid to him, “Foxes have holes, andbirds of the air have nests, but the

Son of Man has nowhere to lay his

Luke 9:56-58

head.”

“Jesus was saying that if you walk with him, you will sense

that the world is not your home. There will be

dissonance, discomfort, unease, and rejection. He was saying that to follow him, one must embrace a

life of discomfort.”

To another he said, “Follow me.” But

Luke 9:59-60

he said, “Lord, let me first go andbury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury theirown dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God….”

Yet another said, “I will follow, Lord,

Luke 9:61

but let me first say farewell to thoseat my home.” Jesus said to him, “Noone who puts his hand to the plowand looks back is fit for the kingdomof God.”

“If anyone comes to me and does not

hate his own father and mother and wife

and children and brothers and sisters,

yes, and even his own life, he cannot

be my disciple.”

~ The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:51

Why does Luke record this account in his historical

biography of Jesus?

Important Question

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is

moderately important.”~ CS Lewis, Professor

Oxford University

Jesus is either of supreme importance, or of no importance.

What he cannot be moderately important.

Following Jesus means we follow Jesus

without conditions.

Summary

Count the cost1

Rejection1

Three Responses to the Call to Follow Jesus

“…the people did not receive him.”

Rejection1

Three Responses to the Call to Follow Jesus

Conditional acceptance2“…the people did not receive him.”

“I will follow, Lord, but first…”

Rejection1

Three Responses to the Call to Follow Jesus

Conditional acceptance2

Unconditional acceptance3

“…the people did not receive him.”

“I will follow, Lord, but first…”

“They left everything and followed him.”

Focus on the Right Priority2

“If Jesus is God’s Son, our first duty is towards

him. A man who considers that he has a prior duty to fulfill before he is free to become a

follower of Christ, has no concept of who Christ is.”

“For me

to live

is Christ.”~ The Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:21, 23

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