Lent with Luke – Ken Martin – Luke 9-12

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In answer to the question “Who do you say I am?” Peter replied “You are the Christ of God”, and soon afterwards Jesus and his disciples set out for Jerusalem. Along the way there were six examples of how not to follow Jesus:

1. Wanting to be the greatest – The disciples argued about this, and Jesus showed them a small child and said, “He who is least among you all—he is great.” (9:48)

2. The “not-one-of-us” syndrome – Jesus had to explain to his disciples that “whoever is not against you is for you.” (9:50)

3. Calling down fire on the unfriendly – James and John wanted fire from heaven to destroy an unwelcoming Samaritan village, but Jesus rebuked them. (9:51-56)

4. Not counting the cost – A man offered to follow Jesus, but Jesus warned him he would, as a result, be a homeless wanderer. Had he really counted the cost? (9:57-58)

5. Putting it off until later – Jesus called a second man to follow him, but he said he wanted to go and bury his father first. Was this just a way of putting the decision off? (9:59-60)

6. Any excuse will do – A third man wanted to say good-bye to his family before following Jesus. But maybe this was just an excuse for evading the issue. (9:61-62)

Jesus had earlier told his disciples the right way to follow: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (9:23)