In 1519, Hernán Cortés set sail to the coast of Mexico with 500 soldiers and 11 ships in an almost impossible mission. And before the first battle, he ordered that every ship be burned. We tend, as historians tend to romanticize this story as this act of confidence, this act of complete and total, like a visionary leader eliminating retreat, looking at his men and seeing this supernatural confidence in these men. But Cortés didn't burn these ships because he knew that these men were going to stand beside him no matter what. It's actually the opposite. He could look at his men and see in his men everything that's in all of us.

We have a tendency to have a hard time to commit fully to something. Cortés burned the ship so there was no way for retreat. There's no way out. The men had to commit fully. There wasn't another option. He didn't inspire commitment, he engineered it because he understood something about human nature that we don't often like to admit. We, left to ourselves, always hold for another option, another way out. We say yes but keep an exit door open. We make promises with our fingers half crossed. We follow until following gets expensive.

Big Question

What does it cost to be fully committed to anything?

We live in a culture that repackages half-commitment as wisdom. Keeping your options open, not putting all your eggs in one basket, never losing yourself in someone else. We have engineered entire industries so you never have to choose fully. There are dating apps now that always show you someone new. Career culture that says never stop looking. We call it freedom. But the person who keeps every option open in front of them usually ends up with nothing real. A life with no anchor, with no roots, no ships burned.

And the folly of this, the foolishness of this, is that we know it's not working. Half-committed marriages are miserable for everyone involved. Half-committed friendships feel hollow. Half-committed careers leave us empty. We were not made for partial allegiances and yet, here we are, knowing the full cost of commitment and keeping the exit door open. What does it cost to be fully committed to anything? Fortunately, the Bible has an answer for us. So keep your Bibles open to Luke 9 as we'll see an answer here for us.

But before we get into that, we're starting a new Easter series. Just in a couple weeks, Easter is going to be upon us. And Easter is, by and large, the most significant holiday in the Christian calendar. Far and above even Christmas. Historically, Easter was the church event, the church holiday of the year. Without the resurrection, Christianity would become like every other world religion. It would leave us with a teacher. You look at any of the other world religions — Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius — they were surrounded by their followers when they got old and they died. They were buried. And yet, Christianity is different.

Jesus is a teacher, but he's not just a teacher. He's a man, but not just a man. Jesus is alive. The last week of his life shows us who Jesus is. And that's what we're going to be looking at starting today, going into Easter Sunday. If you look at the gospels, half of the gospels — or more than half — cover the last week of Jesus' life. Where Jesus did ministry for 3 years, and yet half is consumed with the last week. What happens here from now until Easter Sunday is going to show us who Jesus is — that Jesus was not just merely a good example, but Jesus of Nazareth is God made flesh. These passages will implore us to behold the crucified and risen King and follow in humble and joyful allegiance.

Outline

1. A Face Set Forward (Luke 9:51)

2. No Fire from Heaven (Luke 9:52-56)

3. No Looking Back (Luke 9:57-62)

A Face Set Forward (Luke 9:51)

Luke 9:51 is a landmark verse in the book of Luke. This really divides the book of Luke into two different sections: the section about Jesus' ministry and then the section about Jesus' life in the last week of what he does here on earth. Jesus, up until this point, came to show the Jewish people first and then the whole world that he was the Messiah and that he had a way for eternal life. He had done this through a variety of different things in his ministry, through teaching and preaching, through miracles, and through loving and having compassion on the poor, the lost, and the sick. But now in this verse, his ministry is going to change.

Luke 9:51 says this: 'When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.' One of the major themes in Jesus' ministry is this almost mystery, this secret timing. If you've read the Gospel of Mark, over and over, once Jesus does something, he commands his disciples or whoever he helped not to tell anybody. In John, the theme is time. John 2:4, the famous passage where Jesus is being asked to make water into wine, Jesus answered and said, 'Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.' When Jesus says 'My hour' in the book of John, he is talking about his death and resurrection. He is saying it is not time for me to be crucified yet.

And then Jesus' focus changes. You can see that even later in John: 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.' Jesus said this after our passage, after Luke 9:51. Jesus is setting his face towards Jerusalem. What that means literally is that he firmed his face. Setting his face means it was an idiom for unflinching determination. That phrase 'being taken up' is not just talking about Jesus being put on the cross. It is talking about him being raised from the dead and his ascension into heaven.

Think about your wedding. There is a ton of planning that goes along — finding a venue, a reception, figuring out dinner, the right invitations, who you are and aren't going to invite. You do the cake tasting, you do the premarital counseling, all of that. As a pastor, I get to do a lot of these weddings and I get to see this kind of journey that couples go through. And there's something that changes at the rehearsal. The night before, there's all this planning that happens. It's almost as if it's not real yet, and then you go through the rehearsal and I can see it on the look on the bride and groom's eyes. Something has changed. It's real for them. They can see it.

They set their face towards the ceremony, the thing that they've been planning for. The ceremony is what makes a wedding a wedding. That's what is happening here. Jesus is saying the time for planning is over. The wedding is here and all I can focus on is that. At this point, Jesus could have walked away. Jesus could have said, 'Father, this is too much. I'm not able to do this and I'm walking away.' But he doesn't. He knows what's going to happen and he doesn't walk away.

Sometimes people talk about Jesus being murdered and it's theologically not correct. Jesus says, 'No one takes my life from me.' When Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem, he knows what's going to happen. No one's forcing him to do something that he doesn't want to do. Hebrews actually tells us that he goes with a joy set before him. He went to the cross in joy. The cross was not a surprise. He set his face towards his own death for people who would keep an exit plan open for them. The fully committed had to die for those who were half committed. That is what Jesus is going to tease out in this next section.

No Fire from Heaven (Luke 9:52-56)

This next passage is kind of strange — Luke 9:52-56. But it would have made sense for any first century Jew or first century reader in this area. Jesus sends his disciples ahead into a town to make sure that there is a place for them to stay. An inn in the first century, even when you think of the birth story of Jesus where there was no room in the inn, would have been somebody who had in their home an extra bed or room or two. It would have been like a bad Airbnb where the host stays right with you. They didn't have hotels.

So Jesus gets there and Luke 9:53 says this: 'But the people did not receive him because his face was set towards Jerusalem.' These are Samaritans that are rejecting him. In 1 and 2 Kings, there was a divided kingdom and there was a rift. The Samaritans were separated from Jews and were looked at after that separation as kind of a lower species of people. They worshipped on a different mountain. And that's why Jesus was rejected — because Jesus was going to Jerusalem where the Jewish people believed God's presence dwelled and the Samaritans didn't.

Luke 9:54 says this: 'When the disciples, James and John, saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"' What happened was probably blatant disrespect to Jesus or at least to the Jewish faith. James and John could not handle it. They were furious. They believed they knew what needed to happen. They knew that they were right and they knew exactly what they needed to do. And so they asked Jesus if he could call down fire.

Jesus rebukes them. He tells them that they're wrong in their approach partially because Jesus has set his face towards Jerusalem. At this point in Jesus' ministry, judgment will only fall on him from this point forward. He doesn't call down fire from heaven because judgment falls on him and not on anyone else. Also, the Bible is clear that God is the God of vengeance. Deuteronomy says, 'Vengeance is mine and recompense for all time when their foot shall slip, for the day of their calamity is at hand and their doom comes swiftly.' It is not for James and John to be the judge.

It's easy for us to look at those two brothers, James and John, as just knuckleheads who didn't understand what they were talking about — as long as we don't look at ourselves too deeply. I think it's kind of funny when I hear people say, 'I have such a strong sense of justice.' I've never heard anyone say the opposite — 'Well, you know, I morally, I'm kind of all over the map. I actually really don't know what's right and wrong.' The truth is innately, whether we are actually right or wrong, we have a deep feeling of what is right or wrong. We're kind of born with that.

If you've ever been around any young kids, there is a clear sense of right and wrong. It's skewed, to be sure, but you can see it when a toy is taken away, when punishment is handed down by a parent. There is this sense of, 'I'm being wronged.' We have that built into us whether it is right or wrong. James and John thought they did too. But notice, Jesus does not rebuke them that the Samaritans were wrong. The Samaritans are wrong about this and the disrespect was not okay. Jesus is saying he has to be the one to bring it.

The problem with our sense of justice is it always seems to point outward towards others, never inward. The Samaritans deserved fire from heaven — that's what James and John thought. Never us. That's how we feel. But Jesus is walking towards Jerusalem because we do. We deserve the fire from heaven. That's what we'll see Jesus tease out in the next section.

No Looking Back (Luke 9:57-62)

Jesus wants his true followers to value what he does. This is because God is a jealous God. God wants them to love him. God loves himself. He's the only being on earth that can do that without it being prideful or egomaniacal. He can be all about himself, all about his own glory, because there's no one other to give glory to. God is saying that we cannot have competing things in our heart.

Luke 9:57-58 say this: 'As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "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."' If you've ever gone to a pro sporting event, as you get closer to the stadium you start to see more stickers, more team colors, and there's something kind of fun about that — you're with your people, almost caravaning down together. This is what's happening with Jesus on the road to Jerusalem.

The crucifixion actually happens over Passover weekend. Passover weekend is the most significant holiday — that's their Easter, their Christmas, their greatest holiday. If you had enough money, if you were able to do it, you made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. So all of these people are coming to the biggest city in Israel, coming from wherever they were, meeting up on similar roads and traveling together, talking, camping out together. Somebody along the way says, 'I will follow you.' Pledges their unfettering, unwavering loyalty to Jesus.

And Jesus' response is something that would confound anyone who's ever written a book on evangelism. All of our worldly wisdom tries to convince people, to market to people, to try to bring people in. I've heard pastors say, 'Try Jesus out for one week and if not, you can return him.' Jesus says to someone who's seemingly trying to follow him: it is not going to be easy. Almost, 'Are you sure you have what it takes? This will not be fun. This will not be glamorous. In fact, it will be humiliating. Don't do this. If I can talk you out of this, you shouldn't do this.'

He then moves on to another person. Luke 9:59-60: He says to another person, 'Follow me.' But the man said, 'Lord, let me first go bury my father.' And Jesus said to him, 'Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' This seems like a strange thing for Jesus to say, right? Almost anti-family. Is Jesus anti-family? He's not. He's the one who invented family. But this seems really strange, almost offensive.

The point that Jesus is trying to make is that those who have a new life in Christ, family has to be — your allegiance to family has to be a distant second to him. Asking someone to miss their father's funeral would be one of the most disrespectful things you could ask someone. Jesus intends for this to be offensive. Either you will see Jesus and the sweetness of freedom that comes from him, or you will hear what Jesus says here as foolishness. Jesus is saying, if you truly treasure me, if I ask you to miss your cousin's wedding, your sister's wedding, a funeral in your family — you say, 'Absolutely, Jesus. The freedom, the joy, the treasure that I have in you is infinitely more valuable than anything, than any experience I could have with a family member.'

If you think I'm taking this verse out of context, let's look at some other ones. Matthew 10:37 says this: 'Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.' Luke 14 says, 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.' Mark 3:33-35, after being asked about his mom and brothers who are right in front of him, he says, 'Who are my mother and my brothers?' And Luke 12:51-53 says: 'Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.'

Jesus is emphatically clear. We cannot have competing allegiances here on earth. Family is one of the most important things in our life. It truly is. Don't hear me as saying you get to leave your family, you get to walk away from them whenever you want as long as you say it's in the name of Jesus. That is absolutely not what I'm saying. It's also not permission or license to neglect your family. But if your family becomes something in your heart that you love even remotely close to Jesus, Jesus is saying you have your allegiances wholly and totally screwed up. What would it profit you to gain the love of your family and lose your soul? That's the question Jesus is asking here.

Lastly, in Luke 9:61-62, he says this: 'Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."' What Jesus is saying is that if you're going to plow a field and you look back at what's being plowed, it's going to get all screwed up. It's kind of hard for farmers today — usually we've got GPS and auto-steer. But it's the same with driving a car. If you look to the side, you're going to swerve a little bit. Jesus is saying if you look back, it's going to pull you away. He's saying we've set our face towards Jerusalem, towards the cross. We cannot turn around now.

John Bunyan understood this. In The Pilgrim's Progress, he paints a picture of Christian, the man who finally makes it to heaven, the man who follows Christ faithfully. As he runs, this happens: 'Now he had not run far from his own door, but his wife and children, perceiving that he was about to leave, began to cry after him to return. But the man put his fingers in his ears and ran on crying, "Life! Life! Eternal life!"' His family calling him back and he put his fingers in his ears. Life, life, eternal life. That's what undivided allegiance looks like. Not cold duty, not gritted teeth, but a man who sees something so glorious, something so worthwhile, that his family, his children pale in comparison to the joy that he sees.

It's the same thing that the 3 people on the road to Jerusalem were missing. These 3 people on the road all had something that they loved more than Christ or that competed with their love for Christ. And Jesus did not argue with them. He simply kept walking towards Jerusalem, walking towards the cross, towards death — a death he would die for them. A king who marched towards his own death for half-committed people deserves more than our half-committed heart.

Main Idea

Forsake lesser loyalties and follow the King who marched toward Jerusalem for our salvation

It comes down to our identity. There will be two teams at the end of all things, there will only be two things that matter. Are you in Christ or are you in Adam? You cannot be half in or half out. You can't play on both teams. If you've watched any of March Madness, you take one step out of bounds — you're not even fully out of bounds — and it's like your whole body is out of bounds. You can't be half out and half in and play the game.

Jesus says, 'Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.' There are times when Jesus is gentle, and this is not one of them. When it comes to our identity, when it comes to our loyalty, Jesus is as firm as he can be. Because you cannot have Jesus as an option amidst other options. Jesus either changes everything about you or you're fully committed to being on Team Adam. Jesus is not a theory. He's not a philosophy that we can try on. He's not one way amidst a bunch of other ways. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Following him means burning the boats behind you. Don't leave an option. Don't leave an exit, an escape into your old life, into old sins, into another way of trying to save yourself. Burn the boats.

Application

Criticism is not judgment

One of our favorite verses in America is when Jesus says, 'Do not judge lest you be judged.' We love talking about that because we do not like to be confronted on anything. We live in a culture that has no immunity to criticism. It is easier for us to cut people out of our life than it is to have people in our life who tell us things that we don't want to hear. But we need that.

What Jesus is doing here is direct. It is confrontational. The biblical word for this would be admonishment. Jesus is admonishing both the people in this traveling party with him and also his disciples. And yet, this isn't rude. It's not judgment. You need to be able to hear people in your life tell you things that you don't want to hear. The Bible says, 'Faithful are the wounds of a friend.' Sanctification starts from Christ being wounded and continues by ourselves being wounded daily. If we cannot hear the truth of God's word, if it hurts and we can't stick around and hear and change, what we're saying is really, I'm God. I get to decide who gets to offend me and nobody gets to offend me.

Being drawn closer and closer to God means that we are wounded and we accept that. We die to ourself more and more each and every day. I've read a lot of old pastors about a lot of different things, but one of them being church discipline. They would confront sin head-on. Not because they were trying to be mean or judgmental or to humiliate people. Churches would do this because sin is bad. It is actually bad in our life. I remember reading at one church where there was a very minor sin issue — one instance of gossip — and they were put under formal church discipline for that because they saw their sin as actually dangerous for their soul and wanted to crucify it. And they needed help.

If we did this today, people would just leave. We'd go to another church and say, 'Man, that church is like Pharisees. They're too judgmental.' We have no immunity for this kind of stuff in our culture. In fact, it is more likely that you have cut people out of your life who were trying to tell you something devastating they saw in your life. Confronting people is hard. When you do this, you know that what you are about to say is confrontational because it is best for them. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. When someone comes and tells you something hard, know that it sucks for them probably even more than it sucks for you to hear. Be people who can hear criticism not as judgment.

Christ must be our greatest loyalty

One of the greatest sin struggles in rural areas — not just at Prosper, in any rural area I have ever been a part of — is family loyalty. This becomes an allegiance that can almost trump anything, including our Christian calling. Three generations at the same church. I grew up in a church like that where your family name means something. And quietly, slowly, family loyalty becomes the highest priority, becomes your highest loyalty.

We don't have to follow where Jesus leads. We follow him as long as it's close to home, as long as it's within what our family deems appropriate. We do not forsake lesser loyalties. What we do is we just baptize them. We repackage them and call them faithfulness. But Jesus was not subtle about this. Jesus was not gentle about this. He said, 'If anyone loves father or mother more than me, they are not worthy of following me.' He would rather offend you than you lose your life to something smaller than him.

So how do we leave these lesser loyalties behind? We cannot shame ourselves into leaving them. We can't create enough willpower into following a new one. There is only one way to have this kind of allegiance. You have to see something more glorious. That's what Christian saw in The Pilgrim's Progress. He saw something more glorious. He ran toward eternal life. He didn't run from his family — he ran towards eternal life. The difference in that makes all the difference. When Christ becomes your treasure, lesser loyalties don't get ripped away, they just loosen their grip.

Prosper Church, hear this: forsake lesser loyalties and follow the King who marched toward Jerusalem for your salvation.

Closing Prayer

Father God, we thank you for who you are. We praise you that you alone are worthy to be praised. God, I pray that we would crucify any idol that we have in our heart, anything that comes close to competing with you. God, help us to see, to taste and see that you are good, that you are greater than anything this world can offer. God, you are glorious. Let us glorify you in our worship here and now. It's in your name we pray. Amen.