Priceless

Text: Luke 9:51-62

Focus: The cost of Discipleship

Function: To help people see Jesus

Form: Storytelling

Intro: Sometimes I love the irony of the NT. Throughout the gospels, oftentimes, as is the case today, the disciples seem clueless, but last week, we saw that the women were right there, in the middle of it, most often, getting it.

Today's text stays true to form.

Where did this violence come from?

There were plenty of Jews who did not welcome Jesus either, and yet, the disciples want to call down fire from heaven for these people with whom there was already racial tension.

Why such judgment? Were they excited about the new found power and the new coming kingdom and were they asking out of curiosity for what might be coming?

You know that Samaria was a Roman province a little bit separate from Israel, just North of Jerusalem and South of Galilee. The Galileans were pure-bread Jews like those from Israel and the racism was so intense between the two cultures that Jews would cross over into another foreign land to travel between regions.

And, this wasn't just crossing the street to the other side to avoid a person of another race, this detour added miles to a foot journey.

And Jesus makes the attempt to connect with them. And, because Jesus was just passing through, they ran Him off.

This is a classic case of racism and it reminds me that violence is not the solution to fear of the other. Violence begets violence.

One of the ways that I am learning to become aware of my own pre-judged biases is when I start judging a whole group of people by the actions of a few.

WE know that WE and the people we hang around with, most often similar to us, are basically good and if one of US is not good, then that person is an exception. But, we are not as quick to give the same grace to those who are different from us.

Because of learned prejudices we are more quick to accuse an entire race or culture of something that we would be offended of being called ourselves. For example, people say that the poor are poor because they are lazy. Or the big one is the accusation that entire races, genders, or sub-gender groups of people are all merely motivated by their desires and they have no ability to plan ahead.

And the thing is, xenophobia is learned behavior. We were at the pool yesterday, kids from all races were playing together because they had not yet learned to hate and fear.

For some reason, it has been at times human nature to classify all by the actions of a few. Our cognitive minds know it is not logical but our animal brain wants to fight. Perhaps we evolved it tribally, or God created the need through our endocrine system for the purpose of love and family.

God knows that love and community keep us safe.

Jesus is extending the community, trying to build the circle, and this violent reaction occurs between Jesus' followers and the other.

And our religious speech is a big part of this fear, love and behavior.

Jesus calls us to love, not hate, even our enemies.

I can't help but realize that the murders in Orlando where a whole group of people were killed just a few weeks after a governor decided to link transgender people with pedophilia.

It appears that when we permit it in our religious institutions, it shows up in our politics as that kind of hate speech.

In this case, it appears it led a crazy person to do violence.

But look at the disciples, they ask Jesus for extreme violence.

And remember, this is a racially tense situation. This is a situation calls for tact.

Jesus and the disciples were welcomed in Samaritan villages on plenty of occasions before. Jesus made a point of it.

Apparently the problem was traveling through without the decency to stop and or shop.

The text tells us their issue was the traveling through. Did the Samaritans think that Jesus abandoning them? Was He insincere? Was all that talk of love and harmony just a ruse? Why wasn’t He stopping this time?

Isn't that part of the nature of cultural conflicts?We don't take time to understand?

I am excited that Hope Church is taking the time to understand and educate ourselves.

Calling down fire from heaven was a sort of OT, “wrath of God” response.

Jesus rebuked them for thinking it. It is wrong to think that way. “Love our enemies” still means to love them enough not to kill them.

Our theme today is on the cost of discipleship. In the first section of text, we see how racism and inherit social structures get in the way of discipleship, the cost of overcoming them can be to high for some.

Now we move on to a few more who were not quite ready to accept Jesus on Jesus' terms.

The great passage on counting the cost. (Re-read 57-62)

We don’t know if any of them said yes or no, the text leaves that a mystery.

All we know is that before the decision to follow the cost is outlined.

For one man, it is a reminder that earthly possessions are a distraction, for another it is giving up the family obligation of caring for his father, a biblical commandment by the way, and for the other, the decency of a healthy goodbye to his family. There is nothing wrong with any of the things asked to be forsaken. Most all of us have all of those things along with our commitment to Jesus.

When I asked Jesus into my heart to forgive my sins, I had no idea that I was surrendering everything I had to follow Jesus.

They didn’t understand the cost, but it appears that they felt it was true and they were compelled to follow Jesus.

Before they made their bold claims, how did these guys know what the cost is/was?

What is the cost? How could they know the cost? Is it merely by faith without logic? Obviously not, since the command is to think about it.

I place a lot of value on spiritual intuition during prayer and meditation, but this isn’t just a Spiritual feeling that Jesus demands, it is also a well thought out intellectual process. Faith does not mean that we suspend logic, God is the Lord of both faith and logic, as to whatever those differences are.

So what is the cost of discipleship?

I didn’t understand that, and yet I was compelled. Maybe I was compelled by those who promoted a form of easy believing, but the thing is this, in that situation, I did meet Jesus.

I don’t believe that I was tricked, but I do see that they, like me, still live through the prejudices, fears and loves of our culture, just like Jesus disciples.

The Cost of Discipleship is paid by Christ. It is priceless and we can never pay it ourselves.

The cost is paid. What is the link between these passages?

Well, things were getting serious.

Both groups were hanging on to the past prejudice. They weren't willing to pay the price of love. Jesus rebuked His own for not loving the other.

And it is right at this point that the story of Jesus goes into these metaphors about cost of discipleship.

Romans 12:1 “I beg of you, Brethren, present yourselves to God as living sacrifices...”

We constantly, with Jesus, surrender ourselves and go against the prejudices of the culture in order to be the good news of Jesus Christ.

It is a constant process of decision to be different than the fears and learned prejudices of our society in order to make the circle of faith bigger.