Luke 9,57-62 1823
Oculi 27
Gregory I the Great, Bishop of Rome (590-604) ✠ 604
12. März 2023
1. ℣ Mine eyes are ever toward Yahweh:
℟ For He shall pluck my feet out of the net (Psalm 25,15).
O Christ Jesus, Thou who prevails the Will of God; let Your justice be declared unto us, so that we may stand before You righteous. Amen. (Psalm 91,11-12 Gradual).
2. »As they were going along the road, someone said to Jesus: „I will follow you wherever you go.“ And 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.“ To another He said: „Follow Me.“ But he said: „Lord, let me first go and bury my father.“ And Jesus said to him: „Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the reign of God.“ Yet another said: „I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home“ Jesus said to him: „No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the reign of God.“«
3. Luke 9,51 is the great apex in the Gospel according to St. Luke; it reads: »When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem.« Before this verse, Luke notes that Jesus had been teaching, preaching and doing miracles as a proclamation that He is the Son of Man sent by God the Father to redeem the world. This redemption was to occur in Jerusalem, therefore Jesus goes there to fulfill His Father’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history).
4. There is a cost to being the Son of Man: Jesus would be betrayed, suffer and be killed. Jesus knows this cost and He pays it in full for this is how He would save the world. Jesus will later tell His disciples during Holy Week: »A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecute Me, then they will also persecute you« (John 15,20). To be a disciple of Jesus is to expect suffering and persecution. Thus in today’s sermon text, Jesus states the high cost of discipleship and the need for commitment and focus in following Him.
5. Following Jesus may require a level of sacrifice and commitment that not everyone is willing to make. There is no promise of temporal comforts, such as a roof over one’s head or fancy clothes. One may have to forgo home, possessions and the like to follow Jesus. Persecution and martyrdom may result. All of the apostles were persecuted; 12/13 apostles were martyred. Throughout 3 centuries Christians endured Imperial Roman persecutions: some were short-lived, but others lasted years; and the final one endured for a decade under Emperor Diocletian.
6. Following Jesus may require evangelism over temporal or family obligations. Duty to Christ takes priority over other duties. Christians must realize this and be prepared to put Jesus first. This prioritization is not always easy.
7. Following Jesus requires focus, dedication and discipline. Distractions will arise, and we must be able to maintain self-control. The Devil tempted Jesus 3 times to lose focus from His ministry; the Devil will tempt us with the same for he desires to thwart the advancement of the reign of God.
8. Five chapters later Jesus tells the crowds: »Whoever does not bear his own cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple« (Luke 14,27). Jesus exhorts us to count the cost of being His disciple. At Luke 9 Jesus’ ministry is weeks away from the events of Holy Week. The time is short; there is much to do but little time to accomplish it. Jesus is going to His cross and He exhorts His disciples to take up their own cross and follow Him. There is an urgency now where 3 years prior there wasn’t. In the time remaining, Jesus taught many things to prepare His disciples. In Lententide we delve into these teachings more rigorously to conform our discipleship to His.
9. Jesus travels to Jerusalem to suffer and die as the redemption price for us and our sin. Our Lententide journey follows Jesus to His cross. Jesus is the Faithful Disciple who counted the cost and paid its price. Let us likewise count the cost of discipleship and follow Jesus, for He has the words of eternal life (John 6,68). We receive this gospel through hearing the preached Word, by having it poured upon us Holy Baptism, placed into our hands and mouth through the Lord’s Supper and spoken in the words of Absolution. Christian discipline is faith in Christ, and faith receives the forgiveness given in the Word and Sacraments as a gracious, free gift.
10. Our eyes are ever on Jesus. The pages of Holy Scripture from Genesis to Revelation testify of Him. Jesus redeems the life of His disciples; none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned (Psalm 34,22). The cross we bear and the path we walk was first born and trod by Jesus. He led, and we follow. We do not take the path of discipleship alone: we walk it together as a Church. Jesus is with us the entire way.
11. Jesus, leads the way
On the path of life we stay;
And we will not tarry,
To follow You faithfully,
Lead us by the hand
Until we reach the homeland. (Jesu, geh voran elkg 656,1 2021 Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf 1719/1721, Christian Gregor 1778).
This is most certainly true.
13. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
14. Let us pray. Lord Jesus, we beseech Thee by the loneliness of Thy suffering on the cross, be nigh unto all them that are desolate in pain or sorrow today; and let the beauty of Thy presence transform their loneliness into comfort. Amen. (Oculi, Vespers Collect 1. The Daily Office.)
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.
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