Luke 10 - the Cost of Discipleship

It’s Easter!

The season goes on!

Jesus Christ is risen .. he is risen indeed!  Halleljuah.

The Christ who is risen is the Jesus who shared so much in deed and in word with his closest friends.

So, I make no apology to go back to the point at which we broke off our reading of the story of Jesus in Luke’s gospel.

As we go back to that story – we know this Jesus is risen, we know this Jesus is with us … and that should make a difference to the way we read this story.

For what this Jesus expected of his first friends and followers is what this Jesus expects of us.

In passion tide, Holy Week and Easter we truncate the journey Jesus mzade to Jerusalem.

That journey itself takes centre stage in Luke’s Gospel.

It starts at Luke 9:51 with those words

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

And the journey finishes with that triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey of all things – the journey we celebrate at Holy Week.

As the jouney unfolds something becomes apparent right at the outset.

The message Jesus has to share is a message of love – love for everyone.  It’s a message the followers of Jesus find difficult to take.  It’s a planned journey, a planned mission.  What Jesus does is to send people on ahead of him in order to prepare the way for him.  We have already met the women whose task it was to do just that.  Now we find two friends of Jesus going ahead and finding a hostile welcome awaits in a village Jesus is planning to go through.

It should come as no surprise it was a hostile welcome as the village was a Samaritan village.

52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ 55But he turned and rebuked them., and said, You do not know what spirit you are of, for the Son of Man has not come to destroy the lives of human beings but to save them./  Then they went on to another village.

It takes some doing to follow a Jesus who is on a journey to save the lives of people of all sorts – no respecter of persons.  This is a different kind of Messiah from the one those two had been expecting!

It’s a journey that Jesus wants his followers to follow.  But that takes some doing … it calls for commitment.

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ 58And 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.’ 59To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ 60But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ 61Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ 62Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

Wow, quite some challenge.  The challenge Jesus asks of us.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the middle of 1930’s Germany, wrote a book that was an exposition of the Sermon of the Mount he called it the Cost of Discipleship.  In it he spoke of the cost of following in the footsteps of Jesus.

There is a cost incurred this Easter by the Christians of Kenya.  Wasn’t it moving to see the response they made to the Al Shabab massacre of those students – they celebrated Easter more fervently than ever – and many of othem spoke of the compassion of Christ that was called for in the face of the atrocities that had been directed at them.  Humbling.   Maybe we should pray not for those Chrsitians of Kenya, but pray with them.

IT’s easy, suggested Bonhoeffer to think of cheap grace – but there is a cost to following Jesus.

There is an allusion here to the moment when Elijah casts the mantle on to Elisha – what is Elisha doing … but ploughing with 12 yoke of oxen … what does he want to do when Elijah casts the mantle on to him, but first go an say good bye to his mother and father.  There’s just a hint here of the what’s happening in the big picture as Jesus takes on the mantle of John, passes on the mantle to his followers.  (See I Kings 19:19-21)

Jesus wants people to follow him.

The message of the kingdom is so precious.

In chapter 9 he had sent out the twelve.

As chapter 10 opens he sends out 70 … or is it 72?

The numbers are significant in the way L:uke tells the story.  12 tribes of Israel is a reminder that Jesus sent the 12 as it were to the Jewish villages around.

Now, he is breaking out beyond the Jewish villages into Samaria … and to the ends of the world.  And so he sends out 70 or 72 – the figure  of the nations of the world.

12 go out in pairs and come back.  And then Jesus sends out 72 in  pairs with exactly the same message – does each pair of the 12 have 12 to mentor?  What a powerful thought.

They are to go into people’s homes and say – Peace to this house.

They are to go into the streets of the towns they village and say, the Kingdom of God has come near.

Jesus wants people to follow him.  And if people don’t the time is precious – move on from that house, move on from that town.

10After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. 3Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” 6And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” 10But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11“Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” 12I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

This is a powerful message for all people – all people everywhere.  It’s a new way of looking at the world that Jesus has confronted people with – and he says if you reject that way of seeing the world then you will reap the consequnences.

Stern words.

Just as in those illustrations in that first sermon at Nazareth were of Elijah and Elisha reaching out to Gentiles and those Gentiles changing their ways.  Jesus holds up the Gentile towns of Tyre and Sidon as a challenge to his own people in Bethsaida and Chorazin.

3 ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But at the judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15And you, Capernaum,

will you be exalted to heaven?

   No, you will be brought down to Hades.

There is a very real challenge to all to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Do we hear the call?  Will we follow?

16 ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’

The 70 or 72 return with joy – it works – wonderful things are happening – rejoice, says |jesus that your names are written in the book of heaven.

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ 18He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

There is one of those wonderful moments when we catch a glimpse of Jesus at prayer.

Jesus Rejoices

21 At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’

Something special is going on.  It’s the Kingdom of God that’s drawing near.  God’s rule on earth as it is in heaven, God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven.   It’s a new way of shaping the world of shaping people’s hearts.  And it is special.

To the 72, to the 12, to all the disciples Jesus has a message.

23 Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.’

It’s happening!

And what’s more it’s happening for everyone.

So what is going on?  What is being fulfilled from those Scriptures of old.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.

This expert in the law wants to test out whether what Jesus stands for is right or not.

‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

Not, what must I do to get to heaven.

What must I do to inherit from those who have gone before that life that is to be lived to the full here and now and is not bounded by death.

Felicity managed to go to John Copeland’s funeral on Thursday – it was in the Leicester diocesan centre, the St Martin’s centre.  In an old room that had once, I think been a school hall.  Far above at the front was a window, high up, a rose window.

John 10:10 inscribed there and the words said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly

10 out of 10 for John who lived a full life.

26He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’

For Jesus the key is in the Scriptures.

But Jesus has a particular way of reading the Scrip[tures.

What is written there stretches from Genesis 1:1 to Deuteronomy 34:12.

But what do you read there?  What’s the nub of the matter.

The expert in the law gives a classic Jewish answer.

27He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ 28And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer;

That’s it.  That’s the right answer, says Jesus.

 do this, and you will live.’

Not, notice, do this and you will get to heaven.

But do this and you will have life, life in all its fullness, life that is not bounded by death.

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’

This is the point at which Jesus presses home his message.

John Paul Isaak is the head of the department of Religious Studies and Theology at the University of Namibia.  In his commentary on Luke in the Africa Bible Commentary he writes powerfully of the significance of the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

People from countries such as the USA, South Africa, Namibia, Rwanda and Burundi and other countries racked by racial and ethnic divisions have a special appreciation of the story of the travellers.  It deals with racial harmony and what it means to be human and humane, or to be someone with Ubuntu, that is, someone who is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, with a servant spirit that affirms others and says, “I am because you are; you are because I am.”  Such a person recognises that we are one another’s brothers and sisters and that God has created us to ‘love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself.

30Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” 36Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ 37He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’

What a response from the expert in the law.  He knew his prophets as well as his law.  What the prophets wanted of people was a willingness to show mercy.

That’s the task.

Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

Mind you, to be a do-er, you need also to be a pray-er.

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ 41But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

A wonderful glimpse of the rhythm of Jesus’ life, the rhythm of the life Jesus wants us to follow as we follow him on the journey.

It’s a rhythm of doing, and of withdrawal in prayer.