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This evening we’ll be looking at three men who desired to follow Jesus. For us to understand properly we need to understand the context that Jesus gives these words in.
What was Jesus experiencing? Jesus was on a mission, He was on the way to Jerusalem.
The Call to Follow Christ Requires a Commitment
This first man says “Lord I will follow you wherever you go!” A “following Jesus gospel” isn’t very popular today, but it is definitely the gospel of the Bible. Jesus replies to this man and says, “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head…”
If we are going to follow Jesus it is going to call for a level of commitment. Jesus asked this man to make a commitment. Jesus was honest with the man about what kind of a commitment was necessary. Often following Christ requires a level of commitment that we don’t know about at the beginning.
Jesus says that unless we take up the cross of Jesus, there is no way that we can be a follower of Jesus. Outside of the cross of self-denial, there is no way.
The Call to Follow Christ Requires Labor and Work
The second man was asked by Jesus to “follow me.” The man replies and says he will follow Jesus… but first he needed to go and take care of his parents first.
Jesus was not saying disregard your father, but He was making a point. When we say “yes Lord, I want to follow you.” It will require a level of labor and of work.
Jesus replied straightforwardly, “go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Kingdom work is just that… work. When we choose to follow Christ it will call for an intense amount of labor.
The Call to Follow Christ Requires Focus
The third man said, “I will follow you!” Jesus makes a point in His reply… if you put your hand to the plow, keep it there.
When we say “yes Lord I will follow You.” We need to keep our eyes on our Lord. If we spend time looking behind us we might start to long for and be discouraged by the things that we’ve left behind. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Scriptures used – Luke 9:57-62, Luke 14:27, Matthew 16, Matthew 24, Luke 17, Genesis 1