Luke 13:1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them– do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

I recently had a shopping experience where the cashier forgot to give me one bag of my items.  I discovered soon afterward that some of the most expensive items I bought (and really wanted!) were in that bag.  So I called the retailer who told me that the manager would have to look at the tape from the transaction, but that they’d call me back after they looked at it.

Over an hour went by with no return call, so I decided to give up, go to the store with my receipt, and get the items that I’d paid for.  When I arrived at customer service, I began the long wait while everyone assumed I was guilty of trying to scam the store instead of being the loyal customer who shops there every week who simply didn’t get what she paid for.  They reviewed the tape and found that the cashier had forgotten to give me the very bag of items I was missing.  It was 2 hours of time during which I was (wrongly) considered guilty until proven innocent.

I was angry.  After all, no one who is actually innocent likes to be considered guilty.

If God were to review the tape of my life, no matter how much I might protest that I’d lived a pretty good and moral life and should be considered innocent, God’s review of the tape would show my life was a mixture of sin and goodness.  He couldn’t call the guilty innocent.

Today’s passage of Scripture reveals the very same truth: you and I start off as sinners and therefore we are guilty, having no innocence of our own to stand on.  Our only way of escape is what God provided.  Jesus paid for our sins and we gain His righteousness only by repenting and believing in Him.

Jesus looked at the lives of the Galileans and those killed in the collapse of the tower of Siloam and saw they were guilty sinners.  Did they die because they were worse than anyone else?

No, they died because of sin…the number one killer of human beings since the fall of man. 

Ironically, it’s the most curable killer because its effects were overcome by Jesus’ victory over death on the Cross.

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3: 22-24)

For further thought and meditation:

In a world that is perishing and “Guilty until Proven Innocent,” have you repented of sin and embraced God’s Way of Escape through faith in Jesus Christ?

Psalm 124:1 A song of ascents. Of David. If the LORD had not been on our side– let Israel say– 2 if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, 3 when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; 4 the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, 5 the raging waters would have swept us away. 6 Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. 7 We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Our discipleship lessons in the Songs of Ascents so far have been:

1. Expect opposition
2. Gaze Beyond the Hills
3. Seek God’s presence and Know His Peace
4. Cry out, Have Mercy on Us!

Today we come to the fifth Song of Ascents and the lesson might be called: God’s Ways of Escape.  The poetry in this song is easily apparent.  If the Lord had not been on our side, we would have been swallowed alive, swept under, torn apart, or captured.  But “Praise be to the LORD!”  We have escaped.

Interestingly, this is a pilgrim’s song looking back at the spiritual and physical journey.  The pilgrims offer praise to God for their safe arrival in Jerusalem.   

Looking ahead through the windshield, they don’t forget to check their mirrors for what they’ve journeyed through.

In some respects, we live in a very thankless culture. 

Sure, there might be a superficial “Thank You” said at the checkout in some store’s cashier lane, or stamped on the plastic bag containing our purchases.  We might hear praise from a friend or receive a “Thank You” note for a good deed done.  That’s not the kind of praise and thanksgiving I’m talking about, though.

I’m talking about giving thanks to God. “Praise be to the LORD.”

How much of our prayer life is focused on asking God for help rather than praising Him for who He is and thanking Him for the help He has already provided?   When we only look ahead through the windshield, we don’t gain the perspective of checking the mirrors. 

When we check the mirrors of our spiritual journey, we see:

1. The very constancy of God is praiseworthy instead of common, routine, or mundane.
2. God’s ways of escape are not always obvious, but they are the complex and mysterious workings of our perfect God.
3. God’s ways of escape, of help, and provision may require our suffering injustice or self-denial.  Deliverance always involves being delivered from something. His way of escape for us involved the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for us.

Take time today—while looking forward to Easter Sunday—to remember the rich history of your discipleship journey and be refreshed in this moment through praising and thanking Him for His help.

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.  He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth (1 Chronicles 16:8-14)

Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. (NIV)

The Garden of Eden was a place of grace and mercy.

It yielded all kinds of wonderful fruits because God Himself was there, walking in the midst of it.

Ever since Adam and Eve traded God’s presence in His beautiful garden for sin-scorched earth and hard toil, we’ve been preoccupied with work and worry.

 Outside of Eden, we have to work by the sweat of our brow to try to obtain things that ultimately still come to us by God’s grace and mercy.

Stop and think about that last sentence for a second. 

We no longer have a garden in which we automatically experience God’s intimate relationship and appreciate His ongoing presence.  Human sin put an end to that.  Outside of Eden, we sweat and toil.  We put in long hours at the office for a mixture of wheat and weeds.  We gaze upon a mountain of work and are opposed by winds of doubt that can churn any calm sea into an ocean of worry.  Our river of peace gets polluted by a flood of tears that accompany each day.

Why?  To gain what God stands prepared to give us—if only we will abide in His presence by faith?

If Jesus’ journey “Up to Jerusalem” put an end to the big obstacle for our enjoying God’s ongoing presence; if this occurred by His death on the Cross for our sin, then Jesus’ statement in verse 31 is crystal clear:

 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

If God already stands prepared to give grace and mercy—providing everything we truly need for living—why are we trying to gain by human effort and worry what God will simply give us if we seek Him first?  God’s presence, His grace, and His mercy are available to us in Jesus Christ.  He is all we need.  It’s why Jesus said in verse 28, “O you of little faith!”

Expect Opposition when it comes to exercising faith.  Gaze Beyond the mountain of work and worry.  Seek God’s Presence and Know His Peace.  Have Mercy on Us!  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  Seek first the Kingdom…

John 1:16 “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.”

For further study and meditation:

• 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
• 1 Timothy 6:6-9
• 2 Corinthians 12:6-10
• Philippians 4:11-13
  

Luke 11:29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. (NIV)

A crowd is growing behind Him as Jesus makes His way “Up to Jerusalem.”  Show us a sign, they ask. 

• Let’s see you do some tricks with your powers!
• Dazzle us with your miracles!
• Impress us with who you are!

Jesus is no carnival sideshow act with disciples as gospel barkers.  He doesn’t need to perform in order to prove to anyone that He’s the Messiah.  He knows who He is. 

He is the sign of Jonah to this wicked generation.

Many people seek to be popular, to gain a following, to be well respected, admired, and sought after.  Plenty of folks want to have well-established blue-chip résumés, showing many exemplary accomplishments in a short period of time.

Jesus wants none of that for the purpose of impressing people.  He is the Son of God.  He is the Son of Man.  He is the one and only Messiah.  The miracles He’s done in His 3 year ministry already affirm that He is who He says He is.  He doesn’t need to perform for people like He’s a circus dog—on demand, for their viewing pleasure.

The Songs of Ascents echo in the background…listen to Jesus:
• Expect Opposition from a wicked generation
• Gaze Beyond the Hills of earthly reputations and human approval
• Seek God’s Presence and Know His Peace–peace that is possible only for repentant sinners
• Cry out to God, “Have Mercy on Us!”  That’s what the Ninevites did.

One greater than Jonah is here among you!  I’m here, Jesus says.  If the Ninevites listened to a one line sermon from a reluctant prophet named Jonah and yet they repented, how much more should you all repent?  One greater than King Solomon is among you!  Rather than asking for a sign, seek Him and His wisdom:

Gaze beyond the miracles to the God who does them.
Seek His presence and experience peace with God.
Cry out, not for a sign, but for mercy.
Repent, the Kingdom of heaven is near!

For further meditation and study: 

Read  Jonah 3:1-10 .  How did the Ninevites respond to Jonah’s preaching?

A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.  Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.  We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant (Psalm 123:1-4)

The discipleship lessons of the Songs of Ascents have been building, even as we have witnessed them in Jesus’ journey “Up to Jerusalem.”

1. Expect Opposition.
2. Gaze Beyond the Hills.
3. Seek God’s Presence and Know Peace.

Today’s lesson takes another step up on our spiritual journey to the presence of God.  Discipleship Lesson #4 might be entitled: Have Mercy!

In the Songs of Ascents, we’re moving beyond the gates of the city of Jerusalem and physically approaching the Temple, but spiritually, we’re looking beyond the Temple itself.  The psalmist lifts his eyes to the one whose throne is in heaven.   He looks upward, dependent upon God for mercy and grace because the journey itself has crossed the landscape of a world that shows no mercy.

Pilgrims on a spiritual journey are ridiculed, belittled, reviled, and humiliated.  They are made to feel alone and friendless.  They are isolated and considered fringe elements.  Having been moved out of the center of a world in which we live, Christians can feel out of place.  Doubt creeps in.

Have you ever felt judged, been ostracized for your faith, or been treated like an unwelcome outsider?

The song of Psalm 123 rises, beginning with one voice singing I and swelling into our we chorus of us.  Have mercy on us, we cry!  We can even hear the echoes of this chorus in the New Testament:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are– yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Unlike the pilgrims of Jesus’ day who couldn’t think of approaching God at all (let alone with confidence!), we can approach the throne of grace…because Jesus is there…pleading our case.  He knows our weaknesses, took our punishment, overcame our death sentence, and stands as a testimony to the mercy of God upon repentant sinners.

Have mercy on us, Lord Jesus!

Luke 11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come’…9 So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. …13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

I think Jesus was a really interesting guy.  He didn’t do the expected.

His disciples have just watched and possibly even listened to Him pray.  Yet, when He was done, they asked Him to teach them to pray just as John [the Baptist] taught his disciples.  It wasn’t, “Lord, teach us how to pray like we just saw you do.”  Why “just as John [the Baptist]”?  Were the disciples trying to keep up with the Joneses or the Baptists?  Was their desire for earthly hills, methods of prayer, or even a liturgical prayer that was “The Jesus Brand” since John’s followers had “The Baptist Brand”?  They were in the presence of Jesus–Emmanuel, God with us!  Why were they looking at earthly hills instead of gazing beyond them to the presence of God Himself?

Jesus didn’t take the bait.

He took the whole rod of comparison–hook, line, and sinker–and then the entire earthly tackle box of prayer.  In its place, He gave them (and us) the most heavenly perspective on seeking the presence of our holy and powerful God. 

He genuinely taught them how to pray.

Just like Martha learned in yesterday’s lesson:  Seek God’s presence; listen to Jesus; and whatever you truly need to serve Him will be given to you.   Daily bread—given!  Forgiveness and mercy—given!  The ability to forgive others—given!  Protection from opposition—given!

Jesus gives a few practical examples reinforcing the priority of seeking God’s presence and then He drops the most amazing statement on them in verse 13:

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

The Holy Spirit’s previous activity in Luke’s gospel involved preparing the way and pointing to Jesus as the Son of God, Savior, and Messiah.  The Holy Spirit was now being offered to disciples of Jesus who ask God, in prayer, for God’s ongoing presence with them…even as Jesus heads “Up to Jerusalem” to His death.   Just amazing!

Jesus says, many good gifts come to people who don’t deserve them—it’s how God shows grace toward our physical needs.  But the heavenly perspective is that God knows what we need most is His presence, not things.  Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

To those who were already on a journey “Up to Jerusalem” with Jesus Christ, praying like Jesus involves a priority act of worship: coming into the very presence of God, inviting His Kingdom to come, and boldly asking that He will meet our deepest needs through His ongoing presence and through this, satisfying our lesser needs—both by His grace.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).

Have you ever discovered that distractions come when you’re trying to pray? Or maybe when you want to do some Bible study, suddenly the phone rings, the baby cries, your teenager decides to become an inner two-year-old, or a worry hits you square between the eyes?    Perhaps you’ve been trying to serve God in some way and suddenly it’s like Pandora ’s Box pops open and a whole bunch of awful things pounce on you and render you motionless?

Listening to Jesus is what Martha knew to do.  But serving Jesus is what Martha wanted to do.  Scripture tells us that Martha was the hostess, having opened her home to Jesus and His disciples.  What she didn’t realize is that she was about to learn three discipleship lessons from the Songs of Ascents all at once.

Distractions divided her attention.  Worries crowded her mind.  Things upset her because she wanted to do nice things for Jesus.  But Jesus tells her that only one thing was needed: Listen to Jesus.  Listen to Him and everything else that is needed will be given to you. 

Being a Type A, task-oriented kind of gal, I can relate to Martha.         I must admit that the number of people who turn this passage of Scripture into an unbiblical sitting-around-doing-nothing-approach for women kind of frosts me.   They act as if Jesus is scolding Martha:

“Why can’t you be like your sister?     She’s good and you’re bad!”  

This is so far from the truth!  Nowhere are we admonished in Scripture to sit around happily doing nothing, without a thought in our heads of how to demonstrate our love for Jesus by serving Him.

            There is a time and place for serving God!         (It comes after listening to Him.)

Rather than upbraiding her, Jesus was teaching Martha in a way she could appreciate.  He gave her the entire dump truck of discipleship lessons we’ve encountered in the Songs of Ascents in one major drop.  Listen to Me, Jesus says.  Expect Distractions.  Gaze Beyond Them.  Peace comes in My Presence.

The better part that Mary chose-for that moment-was the presence of Jesus because that is how He changes us for the purpose of serving Him.  Martha had been seeing the earthly hills of distractions and the mountain of work.  She needed to set her gaze beyond them to God’s presence since that is where we experience His peace.

The joy, wholeness, and sense of shalom (peace) required for Martha to serve Jesus properly was right in front of her eyes, there in her home, in the peaceful presence of God the Son, Jesus.

A song of ascents. Of David. I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”  Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together.  That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel.  There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David.  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.  May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”  For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”  For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. (Psalm 122:1-9)

Jerusalem—the meaning of this city’s name is remarkable: “habitation of peace.” 

Yet in our present day, this “habitation of peace” has shown itself to be a city divided on both religious and political grounds.  The Old City has four unequal quarters inhabited by Armenians, Christians, Jews, and Muslims, all claiming Jerusalem by religious authority.  This is a city whose internal hostilities mark it as a place of unrest, not peace.  It is a city with a biblical history dating back to the record of Abraham and Melchizedek the king of Salem (shalom, peace) in Genesis 14:18-20.  Whatever name was given to this City of Peace, sadly it has not lived up to its etymology even to the present day.

Why is that?  The Bible records Jesus’ explanation of the unrest which would arise after His final journey to Jerusalem:

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you’ (Luke 19:41-44).

Jesus and the psalmist agree–the thing that will bring us unifying peace is the presence of God.   This is applied to our Lord Jesus Christ in Ephesians 2:13-16: 

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

The writer of our third Song of Ascents joyfully focuses the Jewish pilgrim’s hopes forward to that day by emphasizing:

1. The presence of God (as the house of the Lord)
2. The unity inspired by worship of Him (as seen in the words us, our, the tribes of the Lord) and
3. The peace of Jerusalem. 

The psalmist rightly connects all three as inseparable. Only God’s coming to establish Jerusalem as God’s holy city (which is by definition a city completely redeemed from sin) will accomplish this kind of unity and lasting peace.  Discipleship Lesson #3 might be called: Seek God’s Presence and Know Peace.

For further meditation:

How does the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21:1-14  look with respect to the presence, worship, and peace of God?

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Luke 10:1-16)

Not exactly Mapquest.  “Go!” He says.

No directions; no specific destination.  Not exactly the Travelocity Gnome or Expedia’s package deal as a “Major Wow Factor,” either.  No booking advance accommodations or even packing a bag.  Given how many times I’ve helped to pack my husband’s suitcase for a business trip and how much advance planning goes into it all, Jesus’ instructions seem kind of sparse.

Worse, He interjects bits of bad news along the way.  You’re being sent out like lambs among wolves.

Hey, don’t wolves eat defenseless lambs?

In some cases, you’ll pronounce peace upon a house, but it will return to you like a boomerang or a pair of bedroom slippers at 90 mph.  And if a whole town doesn’t welcome you, you’re going to pronounce future judgment upon it.

Yup, that’s the way to make friends.

What, you say?  Depending on a map or advance preparation isn’t the point?  Being friendly with the world isn’t the point?  What is the point? 

The point is: Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is what you do when Jesus tells you, “Go!”  Disciples are obedient.  Fear of opposition isn’t an excuse.  Pack light for the spiritual journey.

It’s mission critical for the follower of Jesus Christ to “Trust and Obey”—just like the song says.  In a culture where we’d rather avoid confrontation, Jesus sends us to speak up.  In a world where we’d rather live the way my father–an electrical engineer– cheered (“Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance”), Jesus calls us to depend on God moment-by-moment, not rely on our own abilities.  In a generation striving for acceptance and self-esteem, Jesus reminds us that ones who are called; ones who are sent; ones with a mission from Jesus will be treated the way that Jesus was treated.  A servant is not above his Master.

Listen to Jesus.  Expect Opposition. Gaze Beyond the Hills.

Luke 10: 16 “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

So, how are you doing with your commission to “Go!”–or your calling to share the good news with a hostile world?

For further meditation:
Matthew 10:16-34

We’re increasingly accustomed to the concept of followers.  Facebook has followers, even subscribers who share, comment, and like.  Celebrities have followers.  There are even Nabisco Wheat Thins followers and Bronx Zoo Cobra followers on Twitter.

Jesus has followers: they’re called disciples.

Unlike Facebook, Twitter, fan clubs, paparazzi, groupies, or wannabes, following Jesus costs you something. 

Jesus makes it clear that who or what you follow reflects much about the depth of your heart’s commitment and your intellectual agreement.

The Song of Ascents, Psalm 121, is echoing in the background, “I lift my eyes up to the hills—where does my help come from?”  The choice of who or what to follow is contained in your answer:  the hills of the world’s comforts, or the God who made them.

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62)

Think about it: for Jesus, the purpose of having followers isn’t His personal popularity, increasing His profile of friends, or validation of His ideas.

Jesus isn’t looking for a “follower for a day” like it’s the flavor of the month.  He’s looking for committed followers—disciples for an eternal lifetime.  He isn’t looking for a crowd of increasing size.  He’s looking for disciples of increasing spiritual depth.  He isn’t looking for people who will follow Him for what’s in it for them in the earthly sense like a social pyramid scheme.    He’s looking for people who follow Him because they see beyond the hills of their kingdoms and castles all the way to God Himself. 

Jesus is confident in being the Son of God. 

He knows His role is that of revealing the Father and His Kingdom to us. 

Outside of the Father’s pleasure with Him, He needs no other affirmation.

Following the Father’s will for Him means enduring the Cross.  Following for Jesus is costly indeed.

In the Scripture passage above, Jesus rejects some ideas about what following entails and by doing so, He sets the record straight:

• Jesus rejects the idea that following Him is contingent upon material circumstances and comfortable places to call home.
• Jesus rejects the idea that following Him can be delayed until a convenient time.
• Jesus rejects the idea that following Him can be a secondary priority—one pursued after you’ve done all the things you want to do.

For the disciple listening to Jesus, looking to earthly hills for help isn’t an alternative worth considering.  Those fit for service in the Kingdom of God will have their gaze above and beyond mere hills of comfort and convenience.  They will follow even when it costs them something now, knowing that what lies ahead (and who they follow) is nothing less than the glory and presence of God Himself—God with us, Jesus, Emmanuel.

Questions for meditation:

• Think about all the things you follow.  What priority does Jesus have among them?
• Read John 21:15-23.  What does Jesus say to Peter about the connection between love and following?
• How tempted are we to compare our spiritual journey to someone else’s?  What does Jesus say about that in the John passage above?