Old Testament Reading: 1 Kings 19:9-21

“There [Elijah] came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.’ And he said, ‘Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.’ And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He said, ‘I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.’ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ‘Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.’ And he said to him, ‘Go back again, for what have I done to you?’ And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.” (1 Kings 19:9–21, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Luke 9:57-62

“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Yet another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:57–62, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

What does it cost to have Jesus as your Savior? On the one hand, we could say, nothing. It costs us nothing to have Jesus as Lord and Savior. His love is freely given. The salvation he provides is a gift that cannot be earned – it can only be received. He cleanses us from sin and clothes us with his righteousness by God’s grace received through faith in Christ alone. This is true, but there is more to say.

And so I ask the question again: What does it cost to have Jesus as your Savior? On the other hand, we could say, everything. To have Jesus as our Savior – to follow after him and to be a disciple of his – will cost us everything. 

May I remind you of the words of Christ found in Luke 9:23-24. “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23–24, ESV). To follow Jesus, one must deny himself. To be a disciple of Jesus, one must take up his own cross and die to self. To follow after Jesus one must first lose his life. And the great paradox is that in losing your life for Christ’s sake, you will truly find it. 

So then, I suppose that brings us back to the first answer, doesnt it? What does it cost to have Jesus as Savior? Nothing… in the end. For in Christ, we gain life – life abundant – life eternal. 

When I say that it will cost a person everything to have Jesus as Savior, I am in no way denying that salvation is a gift from God. We are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith in Christ alone. Or to quote Paul, “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16, ESV). I am in no way denying that salvation is a pure gift – a gift that can only be received by trusting in Jesus. It costs us nothing. 

Here I am simply observing that to have Jesus as Savior we must have him as Lord. No one has ever had Jesus as Savior who does not also have him as Lord. I’ll quote Paul again: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, ESV). To confess Jesus as Lord is to confess that he is the Lord God Almighty incarnate. And as Lord, he is to be worshiped and obeyed. 

You must see that having Jesus as Lord will cost you everything, for if Jesus is your Lord, that means you are not. As Christ himself has said, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13, ESV). And neither can you serve Christ and yourself. 

To have Christ as Lord and Savior requires us to turn from sin, to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and to follow after him. To have Christ as Lord and Savior will involve surrendering ourselves to him, entrusting ourselves to him, submitting ourselves to his will for us, and striving to obey his commandments. This act of faith, surrender, and submission to Christ will cost us everything now. But in this way, we gain everything – life abundant now and life for all eternity. 

What does it cost to have Jesus as Lord and Savior? In a sense, nothing. But in another very important sense, it will cost us everything.  

Here in the passage that is open before us today, we are exhorted to count the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. Here in this passage, Jesus tells the truth about what being a disciple of his requires. Luke briefly reports on three encounters that Jesus had with potential disciples. In each instance, Christ pressed them to count the cost. One general observation we can make is that Jesus was no salesman. In no way did he attempt to sugarcoat things. Jesus did not behave like a recruiter, speaking only of the benefits of being a disciple of his while concealing the true costs. Jesus told the truth. And of course, he told the truth knowing that his elect would certainly hear his voice and respond to his call in due time. What is this passage about? It is a warning to all who would consider following after Jesus to count the cost and to fully surrender themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ.  

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To Follow Jesus We Must Be Willing To Suffer With Him

In verses 57-58, we learn, that to follow Jesus we must be willing to suffer with him. 

In verse 57 we read, “As they were going along the road…” This phrase reminds us of what was said back in verse 51: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” The road that Jesus was on was the road to Jerusalem, and that is very important to keep in mind as we interpret this text. Jesus had ministered in the region of Galilee. He was opposed by scribes and Pharisees, but he had kept his distance from Jerusalem and from the powerful people who were centered there. But now it was time for him to go up to Jerusalem. And he had spoken clearly about what would happen to him there, saying in 9:21-22, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Luke 9:21–22, ESV). This road that Jesus was on was the road to Jerusalem. It was the road to suffering. It was the road that led to the accomplishment of our redemption, the defeat of Satan, and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom. It was the road to the cross.

Look again at verse 57: “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go’” (Luke 9:57, ESV). We do not know who this “someone” was – his name is not given. Notice how bold he was. Some commentators interpret his boldness as an attempt to secure a place amongst the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, perhaps amongst the twelve or the seventy. These same commentators will warn against such presumption. It is Christ who calls his disciples to himself. It is Christ who appoints men to hold office. It is better to wait to be called by Christ than to be so forward. And perhaps they are correct in their assessment of this situation. Christ teaches this principle in the parable of the wedding feast found in Luke 14:7-11. He concludes that parable with these words: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11, ESV).

Luke does not explicitly say what this man was thinking or what his motives were, but we can discern a lot from Jesus’ reply. Verse 58: “And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head’” (Luke 9:58, ESV). It’s as if Jesus looked at this man and said, are you sure you want to follow me? Look at my situation. There is no place for me in this world. The foxes and the birds have homes and beds.* I have nothing. And I go to Jerusalem to suffer. You had better count the cost. 

Do not forget the theme that runs through all of these passages. Men and women were having a very difficult time understanding that Jesus would suffer. They had beheld his glory. Their hopes for him were very high. Many followed after him because they were eager to share in his glory. But they could not comprehend his suffering, though he spoke so clearly about it. It seems that this man wanted glory. Jesus reminded him of the suffering he would endure and the suffering that his disciples would be called to endure. Would there be glory? Yes! But Christ and his disciples would enter glory by taking up the cross. Christ would bear his, and he calls his disciples to bear theirs. First the cross, then the glory. If you wish to be a disciple of Jesus, you had better count the cost.   

Listen to what Paul says about this in Romans 8:16-17. “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:16–17, ESV). To follow after Jesus we must be willing to suffer with him. 

Jesus challenged this man – whoever he was – to count the cost. And Luke, by recounting this story, is challenging us to do the same. J.C. Ryle comments on this passage saying, “Let us never forget this lesson. It need not make us afraid to begin serving Christ, but it ought to make us begin carefully, humbly, and with much prayer for grace. If we are not ready to take part in the afflictions of Christ, we must never expect to share his glory.” (J.C. Ryle, Luke Commentary, Vol 1, pg 259)

And so I ask you, are you ready to share in the afflictions of Christ? Will God call you to suffer persecution or even martyrdom for the sake of Christ? Only God knows. But we should examine our hearts and count the cost. Certainly, Christ has called you to “deny [yourself] and take up [your] cross daily and follow [him]” (Luke 9:23, ESV). Have you counted the cost? 

Perhaps you thinking, but what cost is there, really? We do not live in a time or place of persecution.

No, but persecution could quickly come. It was not long ago that we saw how quickly a government could begin to overstep its bounds and act in a tyrannical way. In the year 2020, the tyranny was not focused on the Christan exclusively, but it could be. Have you counted the cost?

And I think you would agree that it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain Biblical values and perspectives and to live as a Christian in this increasingly pagan culture. Opportunities for employment or career advancement may be somewhat limited for the Christian who is resolved to live according to their convictions. Have you counted the cost?

The thought occurred to me that Christians are to marry in the Lord. And as our culture grows more Godless, and true church and true Christians become more rarer, finding a godly spouse becomes more difficult. Have you counted the cost? 

I could go on to talk about the obligation that disciples of Jesus have to obey God’s law. If you are a disciple of Christ, you are a slave of Christ. He is your Lord or Master, and you are his bondservant. He has set you free from bondage to sin, Satan, and the terrors of his dark kingdom. And you have been set free to obey the Lord.  Have you counted the cost?

For example, the Christian is bound to “Flee from sexual immorality.” This is what Paul commands. And listen to the reason he gives. “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:18–20, ESV). Have you counted the cost?

Furthermore, the Christian is bound to honor the Lord’s Day Sabbath and to keep it holy. It is a day to rest from worldly or common employments and recreation and to worship the Lord corporately and in private. Of all of the Ten Commandments, this one marks God’s people and sets them apart as distinct in this world the most, for it affects how we spend our time and order our lives. “What do you mean you will not allow your kids to play on the club team because we play on Sundays?” “What do you mean you are not available to come in to work on Sunday?” “What do you mean you will not be able to make it to mom’s Mother’s Day breakfast because you will be assembled with the church for worship?” Have you counted the cost?

The Christian does not keep God’s law to be justified by it. No, we keep God’s law because we love God and Christ. As Christ has said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15, ESV), and Christ’s commandments do certainly include the Ten Commandments, which is an ever-abiding summary of God’s moral law. Have you counted the cost?

I can preach this way and not fear losing any of God’s people because those who have been called by God and renewed by his Word and Spirit will say, yes, I have counted the cost, and it is all worth it. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—” (Philippians 3:8–9, ESV). 

This is how the true disciple of Jesus will respond to the question, have you counted the cost? But false professors will quickly fall away. Was this man who came to Jesus when he was on the road to Jerusalem a true disciple of Christ or a false professor? The text does not say. But we know that Christ did warn him to count the cost. 

To follow after Jesus we must be willing to suffer with him. That is what we learn in verses 57-58. 

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To Follow Jesus We Must Give Priority To Him

To follow Jesus we must be willing to suffer with him. That is what we learn in verses 57-58. In verses 59-60, we learn that to follow Jesus we must give priority to him. 

Look with me at verse 59: “To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:59–60, ESV)

This passage has puzzled some. After all, isn’t the request a reasonable one? I’ll follow you, Lord, “but let me first go and bury my father.” And don’t the Scriptures command us to show honor to Father and Mother? Yes, that is the fifth of the Ten Commandments. So what is going on here?

A few things need to be noted:

One, the words, “but let me first go and bury my father” could very well mean that the man’s father was still alive but near the end of his life. If this was the case, this disciple of Jesus (whoever he was) was requesting a furlow of an indeterminate length of time. 

Two, Matthew refers to this man as a “disciple” of Jesus in his Gospel. In other words, this man was already a part of Jesus’ band of disciples. Perhaps he was one of the 70. 

Three, though the request might have been reasonable at another time, the time was not right for this disciple to return home. We must remember that Jesus was now on the way to Jerusalem. This was a vital period of time. 

Four, it is possible that this was a lame excuse – a way out – for this disciple. When Jesus began to speak of suffering and to journey towards Jerusalem, this man wanted to go home. 

Five, when all things are considered it is clear that this disciple was tempted to give priority to family over Christ. He was tempted to honor his earthly father over his Father in Heaven. Typically, there is no conflict between these two duties. Ordinarily, we are able to honor God the Father and our earthly fathers simultaneously. But when the two duties do conflict – when there is a clash between the first commandment, which is, you shall have no other gods before me, and the fifth commandment, which is, honor your father and mother – it is the worship of God and obedience to Christ that is to be prioritized. 

This is why Jesus replied to his disciples, saying, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:60, ESV). In other words, let those who are spiritually dead deal with the task of burring the physically dead. At this time, you must devote yourself to the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom. It is my interpretation that the request of this man was denied, in part, because the timing was so bad. Just as a soldier would not be granted leave in the heat of a battle, neither was this man granted leave in this most crucial of times. Furthermore, we should remember the promise of Christ found in Matthew 19:29: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29, ESV).

To honor your father and mother, to love and care for your spouse or children, is a very good and important thing. Most of the time there is no difficulty at all in honoring God and Christ and honoring these. But if there is a dilemma, God and Christ must always be given priority. 

Truth be told, disciples of Jesus find themselves in perplexing situations like this quite often. 

The father of a Christian woman does not approve of her faith and commands her not to assemble with the church for worship. What then? God and Christ must be honored supremely. 

The wife of a Christian husband does not approve of his faith and promises trouble in the marriage he follows Christ, worships and serves him. What then? God and Christ must be honored supremely. 

The parents of a young Christian man do not want to see their son go to the mission field in obedience to the call of God on his life, or to enter the ministry given the opportunities for a lucrative career elsewhere. What then? God and Christ must be honored supremely. 

Or the unbelieving children in the home of believing parents do not wish to be in church on the Lord’s Day. They are driven to play sports on the Lord’s Day and are adamant that their future depends upon it. What then? God and Christ must be honored supremely. 

Do not be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, when some of the strongest opposition to your devotion to Christ arises within your own home or from within your extended family. The Evil One will often use good things – like the desire to show honor to father and mother, or the desire to marry or to have a peaceful marriage, or the desire to give good gifts to our children – to tempt men and women to fall back from their wholehearted devotion to God and Christ. 

To follow after Jesus, he must be honored as Lord and King. And King’s must always be given priority. 

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To Follow Jesus We Must Persevere With Him

Finally, we come to the third encounter between Jesus and a would-be disciple. It is in this encounter, as recorded in Luke 9:61-62, that we learn, to follow Jesus we must persevere with him. 

Look at verse 61. “Yet another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:61–62, ESV).

This text is meant to remind us of the story about Elijah and his calling of Elisha to follow him and to be his successor as recorded in 1 Kings 19, which we read earlier. Rember, Elisha was found plowing a field. And Jesus plays off of that, saying, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” And the request of Elisha and this would-be disciple of Jesus was the same – let me first go say goodbye to my family. Where do the two stories differ? Elijah granted the request but Jesus denied it. 

Why? Perhaps to highlight that the work Jesus was doing was far superior to the work Elijah was doing. Elijah was zealous to purify Israel under the Old Covenant. Christ came to purify and expand Israel by inaugurating the New Covenant. Perhaps the timing was bad. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, remember? This was no time for a return trip home. Or perhaps it was because the man’s request was insincere – he was not so concerned to say goodbye to his family as he was to find a way to avoid the trouble that was ahead. I suspect the reason for the denial of the request was a combination of these things. Jesus’ reply strongly suggests that the man was wavering in his commitment. “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Those who follow after Jesus must persevere. 

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Conclusion

Have you considered what it will cost you to follow Jesus? 

Salvation is a gift given by God through Christ and by the Spirit. It costs nothing to receive. So come to Christ. “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price”, says  Revelation 22:17.

But to have Christ as Savior, one must bow before him as Lord, and that will cost you everything. This is why Christ calls his disciples with these words: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23, ESV).

But do not forget the great mystery:  “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for [Christ’s] sake will save it.” (Luke 9:24, ESV)

*God’s Word is truly amazing. One of the things I love about God’s Word is how interconnected it is. With time I grow more and more amazed to see the interconnectedness of the Old Testament with the New. I love to see how the Old Testament pointed forward to Christ and how the New Testament shows Jesus to be the fulfillment. There are examples of this everywhere in Luke’s gospel. Sometimes I don’t even mention them because our time and capacities are limited. All of these references to the Old Testament, in the form of either direct quotations or subtle allusions, will reach their climax at the end of Luke’s gospel where we are told of Christ appearing to his disciples in his resurrection and teaching them, saying, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44, ESV).

Here in Luke 9:58 we have what I think is a rather subtle allusion to Psalm 8. Psalm 8, written long before Christ was born, speaks of the promised Messiah, saying in verse 4, “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:4–9, ESV). Two things about Luke 9:58 should remind of Psalm 8. First, the title that Jesus uses for himself. He calls himself the Son of Man. Psalm 8 is a prophecy concerning the Son of Man who was to come. Two, the mention of the birds of the air. In Luke 9, Jesus says, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58, ESV). But in Psalm 8 we are told that the Son of Man, having been made “a little lower than the heavenly beings” has been “crowned” with “glory and honor.” God has given him “dominion over the works of [his] hands”; God has “put all things under his feet” including the birds of the heavens…” (Psalm 8:5–8, ESV). 

I draw your attention to this subtle allusion to Psalm 8 in Luke 9:58 because I think it tells a story. The Son of Man would indeed be crowned with glory and honor. All authority in heaven and on earth would be given to him. But first, he would be made a little lower than the heavenly beings. First, he would have to suffer. Before the birds of the heavens would be subjected to him, he would have to come in a low condition — one in which even the birds of heaven could be said to live in luxury compared to him. Through this suffering, the Son of Man would enter into glory. We must identify with Christ in his suffering. Through suffering we will enter glory – the glory that Christ has secured for his people.