Set Your Face Like a Flint to Follow

Luke 9:51-62

A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior

51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"

55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village.

The Cost of Discipleship

57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."

58 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."

59 Then He said to another, "Follow Me."

But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."

60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."

61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."

62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Jesus knew the time to set His face towards Jerusalem to complete His work to offer Himself as the only perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10, 12, 14) offered by the true Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:13, 7:22-24, 26).  He sent people ahead to prepare the was to receive Him in Samaria, but they rejected the Lord instead.  The disciples James and John were indignant and asked if they should ask God to call down fire from heaven as a command and destroy those heathens as Elijah did in 2 Kings 1:2, 12 when King Ahaziah sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub instead of the LORD.  Jesus reminded them that He did not come to destroy men in the fire of Hell, but save them (John 3:17-18) by His sacrificial work instead out of love and forgiving mercy.  Only those who reject Him (John 12:48) by not hearing His words of the gospel and were already sentenced to death to be lost forever and not consumed by fire until they enter the Lake (Revelation 21:8) after death and judgment (Hebrews 9:27-28).  He told them they must not understand who they were in Him to suggest such a thing.  They went on from there elsewhere.  As they traveled along the way, Jesus had more to say about following Him.  It meant not being guaranteed a roof over your head or being able to spend time with family even in times of great grief and loss.  A disciple is one who follows Jesus wherever He goes, even when friends and family are left behind or even turn against you as we will see in Luke 12:53 later.  We are to count the cost (Luke 14:28, 33) before following and join Him when we understand and accept the high cost is outweighed by the glorious rewards (Matthew 19:29-30, Luke 6:23, Colossians 1:24, ) in eternity as crowning achievements (Revelation 4:10) given back to the Lord who alone is worthy of the suffering we endure for His sake of glory.  May we consider these things when faced with difficulty or persecution as we have counted the cost and are not found wanting (Daniel 5:27) or even turn back from following as the thorns of life overtake us in desiring lesser things (Matthew 6:19-20) that turn to dust and rust.  We have a living hope (1 Peter 1:3-4) of an eternal inheritance in heaven.  He keeps us by faith (1 Peter 1:5) as we endure from his sake and the gospel to save others (1 Peter 1:6-7) and receive our own assured salvation (1 Peter 1:8-9) with exceeding joy, “joy inexpressible and full of glory,” as we obtain “the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”  May we then also set our faces like a flint (Isaiah 50:7-8) with unwavering devotion to follow as Christ’s followers regardless of the circumstances.