Three Characteristics of Followers of Jesus

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Sunday - 930 Morning Worship - 1115 Sunday School | Wednesday - 7PM Prayer Meeting & Bible Study

by: Pastor David Huffstutler

07/03/2022

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Sometimes people never get quite out of the gate to follow Jesus. They see the benefits and blessings of serving Christ and speak of doing so themselves, but they lack true commitment and either stay or stray away. I’m sure we could rifle through Scripture to discover a hundred characteristics of true followers of Jesus, but I’ll limit myself to three as found in Luke 9:57–62.

In this passage, the theme is clearly why people fail to follow Jesus. Whether people say they will follow Jesus (Luke 9:57, 61; “I will follow you”) or somehow respond to the command to do so (Luke 9:59; “Follow me”), Jesus rebukes each one for a hidden or apparent obstacle that keeps him from truly following his Lord. Stated positively, they could have followed Jesus if they were marked by sacrifice, sincerity, and solitude, characteristics that should be true of us as followers of Jesus today. 

1. Sacrifice (Luke 9:57–58) 

The first man took the initiative to declare, “I will follow you where you go” (Luke 9:57). However, we assume that he went nowhere in light of a rebuke from the Lord. Jesus saw holes for foxes and nests for birds but nowhere to lay his own head (Luke 9:58). Given the urgency of his task, his resources would be meager, and his followers would sacrifice with him. 

2. Sincerity (Luke 9:59–60)

The second man received the command, “Follow me,” to which he gave a seemingly noble excuse: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (Luke 9:59). Perhaps his father was not yet dead, and he desired to settle his affairs before leaving, inheritance and all. But Jesus would have none of it. The spiritually dead could handle the physically dead, and this earthly task was lower on the list than proclaiming the kingdom of God (Luke 9:60). Whatever the excuse might be and however good it may sound, there is no excuse for heeding the call to follow Jesus and leaving everything behind. If we sincerely desire to follow Jesus, we will cast the best of things aside for the better task of following our Lord.

3. Solitude (Luke 9:61–62)

The third man proclaimed, “I will follow you, Lord,” but with this caveat, “But let me first say farewell to those at my home” (Luke 9:61). Jesus replied with a farming metaphor to call for a singular focus: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). In the context of earthly relationships, if we find it hard to sever ourselves from a comfortable society that fails to follow our Lord, we will never truly follow him ourselves. This initial loss of relationships is difficult, but we gain the society of our Lord and all those who are found in him.

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Sometimes people never get quite out of the gate to follow Jesus. They see the benefits and blessings of serving Christ and speak of doing so themselves, but they lack true commitment and either stay or stray away. I’m sure we could rifle through Scripture to discover a hundred characteristics of true followers of Jesus, but I’ll limit myself to three as found in Luke 9:57–62.

In this passage, the theme is clearly why people fail to follow Jesus. Whether people say they will follow Jesus (Luke 9:57, 61; “I will follow you”) or somehow respond to the command to do so (Luke 9:59; “Follow me”), Jesus rebukes each one for a hidden or apparent obstacle that keeps him from truly following his Lord. Stated positively, they could have followed Jesus if they were marked by sacrifice, sincerity, and solitude, characteristics that should be true of us as followers of Jesus today. 

1. Sacrifice (Luke 9:57–58) 

The first man took the initiative to declare, “I will follow you where you go” (Luke 9:57). However, we assume that he went nowhere in light of a rebuke from the Lord. Jesus saw holes for foxes and nests for birds but nowhere to lay his own head (Luke 9:58). Given the urgency of his task, his resources would be meager, and his followers would sacrifice with him. 

2. Sincerity (Luke 9:59–60)

The second man received the command, “Follow me,” to which he gave a seemingly noble excuse: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (Luke 9:59). Perhaps his father was not yet dead, and he desired to settle his affairs before leaving, inheritance and all. But Jesus would have none of it. The spiritually dead could handle the physically dead, and this earthly task was lower on the list than proclaiming the kingdom of God (Luke 9:60). Whatever the excuse might be and however good it may sound, there is no excuse for heeding the call to follow Jesus and leaving everything behind. If we sincerely desire to follow Jesus, we will cast the best of things aside for the better task of following our Lord.

3. Solitude (Luke 9:61–62)

The third man proclaimed, “I will follow you, Lord,” but with this caveat, “But let me first say farewell to those at my home” (Luke 9:61). Jesus replied with a farming metaphor to call for a singular focus: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). In the context of earthly relationships, if we find it hard to sever ourselves from a comfortable society that fails to follow our Lord, we will never truly follow him ourselves. This initial loss of relationships is difficult, but we gain the society of our Lord and all those who are found in him.

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