Excuses. Most of us have made them at one time or another, often to get out of doing something that we might have agreed to do, but really don’t want to do. Sometimes that excuse might get us off the hook, but then there are the times that we get caught, reprimanded, or even have consequences for these excuses, especially if we keep giving them. God is one we really shouldn’t give excuses to, as He can see right through them. He knows what’s really behind all of our excuses to Him. In today’s Scripture we read about some people who gave Jesus a lot of excuses, and how He responded to them.
Today we’ll start with the second half of our Scripture passage, and then go back and look at the beginning portion. As Jesus and His disciples were journeying on to Jerusalem, He encountered three men, who each separately gave Him some excuses for not following Him. The first person was a man that came to Jesus with a promise that he would follow Him wherever He went, that he would be a disciple (vs. 57). Knowing what is in everyone’s heart, Jesus responded by pointing out that there is a cost to following Him (vs. 58). All the creatures of the earth have homes to go to, but Jesus didn’t, and to truly follow Him, we must be willing to give up anything, including if need be, basic things like a home and bed. Jesus reminds us to count the cost of true discipleship (Luke 14:25-33). Following Jesus means denying our selfish goals. Was that man really willing to pay the price of discipleship?
Jesus gave the second man an invitation to come and join Him (vs. 59-60). However this man said he wanted to bury his father first. That might seem like a reasonable request, but it wasn’t what it seemed. He wasn’t simply wanting to bury a relative. Jesus wasn’t wanting to show disrespect for the dead, or shirking responsibility. Jewish people usually buried the dead within 24 hours. This father might not have even been dead, but the man wanted to stick around to get his inheritance and then follow Jesus. He was focusing on “dead” worldly desires. We cannot pursue worldly goals and still follow Christ (I John 2:15-17). There are plenty of people to perform worldly tasks, but precious few to preach the Word of God. Jesus must come first in all things.
The third man said he would follow Jesus, but wanted to go back home and say goodbye to everyone first (vs. 61-62). Jesus tells us that half-hearted, lukewarm faith is unacceptable (Revelation 3:14-16). Having a single-minded purpose must be paramount in our life if we are to follow Jesus as we should. He wants total dedication, not half-hearted commitment. We can’t pick and choose among Jesus’ ideas, and follow Him selectively. We have to accept the cross along with the crown, judgment as well as mercy. Count the cost and be willing to abandon everything else.
As we look now at the first part of our Scripture passage, we read that Jesus and His disciples were passing through Samaria, on their way to Jerusalem. During the days of Jesus, Jews and Samaritans did not get along. The Jewish people looked on the Samaritans as half-breeds with a corrupted religion, a mix of Jewish faith with paganism. The Samaritans didn’t like the Jews, either. When the Samaritans saw that Jesus and His group were heading to Jerusalem, they refused to receive them (vs. 51-53). This got the brothers, James and John, very angry, and they requested that Jesus allow them to call fire from heaven to destroy them. Their hatred and anger were the exact opposite of what Jesus wanted. He did not come to destroy people, but to save them (vs. 55-56). Jesus came this first time to save, not to destroy. His response was grace, not destructive fury.
Sometimes we don’t act like the new people the Holy Spirit is transforming us into. We must do our best to represent Jesus with love and mercy, so that others will believe and be saved. The Holy Spirit so changed John that he later became known as the Apostle of Love, because the message of loving others was so prevalent in his epistles. Also, of note is that a few years after Jesus returned to heaven, John joined Peter in preaching the Gospel in Samaria, and some of these folks who rejected Jesus at this time, may have accepted Him then (Acts 8:14, 25).
How do we respond when others rudely reject our witness of Jesus? Do we get angry and feel like cursing them out? Our Scripture reminds us that this isn’t the response Jesus wants us to take. And what about excuses? When Jesus calls us to serve Him in one way or another, are we willing to step up and follow Him, even if there is a price to pay? Or do we give excuses? Jesus is saying to each one of us today, “Follow Me!”
No comments:
Post a Comment