Luke 9:51-62

Bringing the sermon home:

Luke 9:51 and following records Jesus's departure from Galilee to make His final journey to Jerusalem. As the context shows, He set His face for Jerusalem to begin the New Exodus: the deliverance of all of God’s people, not from bondage to Egyptian Pharaohs, but from bondage to sin and death. And there was no uncertainty about the price that was to be paid, for He Himself is the New Passover Lamb, sacrificed in order to take “away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).

James and John misunderstood what kind of Exodus they were embarking upon. This was not a triumphant march to power and freedom from worldly oppression. This was a march toward the cross. Not only did they not understand the price that Jesus was about to pay, they didn’t understand what it was going to cost them to follow Him. Jesus explains that, in the same way that He experienced hardship and rejection, we should not expect it to be any different for those who follow Him. He further explains that we must be willing to lose everything on earth in order to gain Christ and His eternal kingdom. There can be no looking back.

May our lives genuinely reflect the degree of commitment and devotion that Jesus demands of those who identify as His “disciples”. Let us follow hard after Christ.

See related article here.