Luke 9:37-62

In Need of Faith

Vs 37-43 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. Just then a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he’s my only child. Often a spirit seizes him; suddenly he shrieks, and it throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; wounding him, it hardly ever leaves him. I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.” Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and rebellious generation! How long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” As the boy was still approaching, the demon knocked him down and threw him into severe convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, cured the boy, and gave him back to his father. 

Jesus had just come down from the mountain where He had been transfigured, only to be confronted by an evil spirit. Have you ever had this happen? You have had a “mountain-top experience” only to be confronted with the valley? This is Satan’s way of trying to take our eyes off Christ. The memory of the closeness we felt can soon fade. Here, Jesus shows us God is never far away. He is as close to you in the valley as He is on the mountaintop.

As Jesus comes down the mountain, He is confronted with a large crowd. A desperate man in the crowd cries out. He has a son who is often seized by a spirit. His love for his son compels him to beg Jesus to do something. The disciples have tried and failed, and this is where Jesus shows His frustration – “You unbelieving and rebellious generation! The Greek words for unbelieving and rebellious are apistos and diastrepho, which means incredulous and perverted or distorted. Jesus is calling out a gross lack of faith in His disciples. They were beyond unbelieving. They had distorted their faith to a point where they were not persuaded they could do anything. They had recently witnessed Jesus feeding over 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. They had seen him heal the sick and cast out demons. They had even been sent by Jesus to do the same, and did so. Yet, when he left them to go on the mountain, their faith waned. How long will I be with you and put up with you? Jesus knew His time on earth was coming to an end. He knew He was going to physically leave this earth and they would need to have faith that God would work through them. When asked in Matthew 17:20-21 why they couldn’t cast out the demon Jesus says, “Because of your little faith. For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.” If you’ve ever seen a mustard seed, you know Jesus was describing a tiny amount of faith indeed. Has your faith ever waned? Do you sometimes feel totally defeated? I have! It’s then when we must begin to pray and fast. Seek out God and renew our faith and trust in Him. Remember that great crowd of witnesses who have gone before us.? They had great faith and God did mighty things through them. And He still does – through us.

Vs 44-45 And they were all astonished at the greatness of God. While everyone was amazed at all the things He was doing, He told His disciples, “Let these words sink in: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this statement; it was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

Jesus’ miracle astonished everyone – even His disciples. Jesus was quick to remind His disciples of His true mission and calling. He was not the Messiah they had dreamed of – the mighty warrior come to rescue them from the Roman Empire. He was the suffering servant of Isaiah. He was going to be betrayed and would die. They didn’t get it. They didn’t want to believe it. They had grown up with a particular idea of who the Messiah would be, and they didn’t want to let it go. They couldn’t grasp this new concept and were afraid to ask Jesus about it. I wonder what they feared? Was it the unknown? Was it His suffering? After all, if He was going to be betrayed and die, then they were most certainly next in line. They were, after all, His followers. Was it the lost ideal? All their lives they believed one thing, only to be told it may not be true after all. They couldn’t get their head around a suffering servant and they knew if they asked Him, He would confirm their fears. Yes, we serve a Mighty God. He has conquered sin and death, but He is also the Lamb of God who was slain for us. He suffered and died and we are called to do the same. Take up your cross daily, He says. Be willing to die to self. In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul reminds us that all who follow Jesus will suffer: “In fact, all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Several years ago, I had a professor who talked about the doctrine of suffering. It was a new concept to me. As I have prayed and thought through the doctrine of suffering this is what I have worked out: We often hear about the power of positive thinking and prosperity theology. These theologies tell us financial blessings and physical well-being are always the will of God. I have come to the conclusion that this is not the truth! Jesus life and death bear witness to this. He was betrayed, beaten, bloodied and battered. He told us we would have to take up our cross and forsake ourselves. The will of God is not that we are comfortable, it is that we would walk in faith no matter what. We are not promised prosperity in this lifetime, nor are we promised perfect physical health. We have been told there will be persecution and suffering – and that He will be with us always. He will walk with us through the fire, just as He did so long ago. He will shut the mouths of lions when we are in the den. He will be with us in the prison as He was with Peter and Paul and Silas. Like them, we can sing and rejoice. What we really need to develop is a good doctrine of suffering, so that when it comes, we will be ready.

Vs 46-50 Then an argument started among them about who would be the greatest of them. But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, took a little child and had him stand next to Him. He told them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me. For whoever is least among you—this one is great.” John responded, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.” “Don’t stop him,” Jesus told him, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”

Instead of seeking how they could have more faith, the disciples began to make excuses. They began to look around and say, I’m better than he is. I had more faith than he did. I’m greater than he is. Jesus had just told them the Messiah had come to suffer and die, but they didn’t get it. Instead they were still concerned with who was going to be 1^st and 2^nd lieutenant in His army. Jesus once again tries to set them right (we will find that the discussion of who would be the greatest would come up a few more times for them – so they are a little hard headed – kind of like us!) This time Jesus brings up a little child and says – you want to be great? Be like this little child. That had to be unsettling for them. Children didn’t really have much of a presence in their society. Children were not really “important” when it came to the social pecking order. Jesus’ point? You have to be like a little child – humble, unassuming, not jaded by ambition or status, not concerned with success. When you understand this, then you will be great, because then, you will be open to allowing God to use you and mold you to do His will, not your own.

What is the response? John gives a response that shows their true heart. “But what about this guy over here?” They suddenly became childlike alright, just not the kind of child Jesus was talking about. They became like a jealous child who didn’t want someone “outside the circle” to do what they couldn’t do. They saw someone else driving out demons in the name of Jesus. It was what they couldn’t do with the young boy. Shouldn’t he be stopped? He weren’t “called” like they were. He wasn’t “one of us”. Jesus quickly nips this thought process in the bud. “Don’t stop him,” Jesus told him, “because whoever is not against you is for you.” Don’t discourage those who are on the same team. Once again – the least shall be the greatest. We need to encourage the faith of others rather than discourage others from serving God.

There is a show I love to watch called American Ninja Warrior. If you’ve never seen it, it is a competition show about people who run through an amazingly difficult obstacle course. While it’s great to see these wonderful athletes run the course and compete, what I really love about the show is the way they all encourage one another. Every single Ninja Warrior stands on the sidelines cheering every single person who runs the course. Yes, they are competitors, but they also want to see everyone else succeed. They will give them hints to how to make it through the course and even mentor one another. When one of them makes it to the end of the course, they are excited for them. This is what we as believers are suppose to look like. We are not in a competition with one another. It isn’t about who is the greatest. It’s all about encouraging each other, mentoring each other to make it to the end of the race.

Vs 51-56 When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He determined to journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead of Him, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him. But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village.

Jesus’ time on earth was going to come to a close. Here it says He determined to journey to Jerusalem. The Greek word for determined is stérizó, which means to make fast, fix firmly, to establish. Jesus didn’t just head to Jerusalem, He fixed His gaze firmly to the task ahead. There was no wavering. He was determined to go no matter what awaited Him there. And, He did know what awaited Him. Here it says, He sent messengers ahead of Him into a Samaritan village, but they didn’t welcome Him because He was on His way to Jerusalem. That Jesus went this way to Jerusalem was unusual. Most Jews would go totally out of their way to avoid going through a Samaritan village. But Jesus was determined to go through Samaria. Why? We know from John’s gospel he had gone through Samaria before and met a woman by a well. That time He was welcomed, but this time, they rejected Him. Why was this time different? Because He was going to Jerusalem. There was a conflict as to which temple was the correct one. The Samaritans had built one on Mount Gerizim while the Jews had built the temple on Mount Zion. Perhaps they were upset that Jesus would be so determined to go there instead of their temple. For whatever reason, they rejected Him. James and John, sometimes called the “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17) perhaps because of their zeal, showed us this side of themselves, although not in a good way. They were ready to call down fire from heaven for this rejection. Jesus rebuked them for this. In the Greek translation this explanation was added – “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” They were allowing the sons of thunder attribute cloud their vision of Jesus’ mission. Jesus did not come to destroy lives, but, as John 3:17 says, “For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” Having faith means we need to be in step with Jesus. We need to have the same mindset, the same mission. Be focused

Vs 57-62 As they were traveling on the road someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go!” Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” “Lord,” he said, “first let me go bury my father.” But He told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Last week we looked at what it took to follow Jesus. We learned we must believe God can do the impossible through us. That it takes obedience by taking up our cross daily. Here we find it also takes faith. Faith that God will provide for us every step of the way. “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” If you remember, Jesus had sent out the 12 and the 70 asking them to take nothing with them. They had to rely on God’s grace through others for their shelter and food. He took care of them, and He will take care of us. This doesn’t mean we will have great wealth or everything we want. It means we will have our needs taken care of. Next, following Jesus means we must do so right now without excuses. The second man says, “first let me go bury my father.” Reading this we may think the man just means he has to go to a funeral, but this is not the case. This man wanted to go back home for a period of time – up to a year to finalize things and to perhaps obtain his inheritance. He was putting off Christ’s call in his life. “Wait till I get everything done first, then I’ll follow you.” The third man says the same thing – Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.” Jesus’ response to both is “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” The Greek word for back is opisō and it means to look backwards. Both of these men were looking backwards. They wanted to take care of things at home first. They wanted to make sure their inheritance was secure. They wanted to take time to set things up first. They lacked faith that God would take care of all those details. If God is calling us to follow Him now, we must have faith that all the details of life will be taken care of by Him. His timing is perfect, therefore, we don’t have to worry about all the stuff back home. We don’t have to look back and wonder what will happen if we leave. Let the dead bury their own dead. Don’t look backwards, but keep your eyes focused on the One who has called you.

When I served on staff with the International Mission Board, one of my jobs was to interview potential missionaries. We were tasked to make sure people were ready to go overseas and serve. Throughout the 7 years I spent interviewing people, I heard every excuse possible. “I feel called by God but… I need to pay off my debts first or, I need to go home and take care of my family or, I need to take one more class or, I need to get more experience.” All these excuses sounded plausible and realistic, but interestingly, I found the people who made these excuses rarely came back to us to respond to God’s call. They left to get everything “together” and stayed. Those who look backwards, have a difficult time turning back around to follow. You can’t go back.

When God is calling, we must have faith. When we are confronted with the valley of the shadow of death, we must have faith. What does that faith look like? It looks like a child – totally dependent, humble, arms stretched out to our Father in heaven. He will lift us up, hold us, protect us, provide for us and guide us. When He calls, we must respond with a resounding YES – Here am I, send me.