Being An Authentic Follower of Jesus Christ
When we offer Jesus Christ to an unsaved person, what are we offering to them? What does that man or woman, boy or girl hear us presenting to them that they don’t already have whether they enjoy it or not? When a person “comes” to Jesus, what are they coming to, and what are they pursuing? In fact, we should ask the question. “what does it mean to be an authentic follower of Jesus Christ?”
These questions are prompted out of the text we have before us today, found in Luke 9:57-62.
57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead![l] Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” 62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” New Living Translation (NLT)
In the text, we see three individuals, the first who seeks out Jesus expressing his desire to follow and two who are called by Christ to follow. Their response to the challenge and the call of Christ should instruct us today. We must be cautious in our study of the Scripture and always remember that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14)
“the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
His response to the three is the subject of our study and not the objections of the three. What is Jesus instructing all of us who would follow Him through the words He speaks to these three. In Jesus’ words, we may find the answer to what an authentic follower does in response to the Master. Why approach the study of God’s Word in this way? The answer is that God gave His word for a specific purpose that produces a desired outcome in the life of the follower as evidenced in the 2 Timothy 3:16&17 scripture:
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. King James Version (KJV)
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
New Living Translation (NLT)
When we look at the instruction given by our Master, Jesus Christ in Luke 9:57-62, we must answer these questions:
- What truth is He teaching us that will keep us steadfast?
- How has the truth He is teaching correcting our errors?
- What have we learned to do right because of the teaching and
- How does it mature us and equip us to do the Good Works He planned for us.
Let’s look at Jesus’ responses.
To the first, He responds, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”
To the second, he responds, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”
To the third, he responds, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
These three truths should always be viewed in the context of greatest defining truth about authentic followers of Jesus Christ when He declares in Luke 13:34-35,
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”
New International Version (NIV)
We are instructed to do three things here in the text of Jesus’ responses:
- Check your motivations for following Jesus; we are called to a life of sacrificial loving defined by grace. It is the “other” who is our focus and not ourselves.
- Our purpose is to give life in all of its richness, not tending to dead things. Never sacrifice the best thing for the good thing because the good is the enemy of the best.
- Our focus must be forward, always remembering the blessings of yesterday and building upon them for a greater and better tomorrow.
If you look at the verses that preceded the text in Luke, we see Jesus demonstrating each of the three things concerning the Samaritans. He focused upon his Sacrificial Work in Jerusalem; had he stayed in Samaria, he would have been tending the dead. He gave grace to those who rejected him to provide them with life later.