What Does Christianity Look Like?
What does Christianity look like? What does following Jesus look like? How do you know when you see the real thing? How do you know if you have the real thing?
In our culture, some associate following Jesus with being part of a particular political party or with standing against the moral evils of our time. Some associate Christianity with intolerance, with a posture of destroying those we disagree with. Others associate following Jesus with moral or intellectual improvements. Still others assume that following Jesus means praying a prayer for salvation and then living however you want.
There are all kinds of images of and ideas about Christianity in our culture. How can we know what the real thing is, what a true follower of Jesus looks like?
This is a massively important yet relatively easy question to answer. The Bible tells us repeatedly that those who belong to God love God with their whole heart and love their neighbors as themselves (eg. Mt. 22:37-40). A true believer loves God and loves others. Their life is oriented vertically toward God and horizontally toward others.
As we come to our text today, Luke 9:51-62, we see an example of this in the way Jesus instructs his disciples. In the first eight chapters of Luke, the main question is “Who is Jesus?” Then in chapter 9, Peter says that Jesus is “the Christ of God” (v. 20) and then in the transfiguration, the glory of Jesus as the Son of God is revealed (9:28-36).
The question in this last part of chapter nine is, if Jesus is who he says he is, then what does it mean to follow him? What does a true follower of his look like? In 9:51-62, we learn that a true follower of Jesus has two things: an unusual love for outsiders and an unconditional commitment to Jesus. What we see here is the great commandment in reverse form. Following Jesus means loving others and loving God.
Unusual Love for Outsiders
Let’s take these one at a time. First, in 9:51-56, we learn that following Jesus means having an unusual love for outsiders. Verse 51 marks a major thematic change in Luke’s Gospel. It signals the end of Jesus’ presence in Galilee and the beginning of the fulfilment of his purpose in Jerusalem. He’s determined to pursue the suffering that his departure (or “exodus,” v. 31) will entail in Jerusalem. He doesn’t stumble toward his death, he embraces it as his destiny. The Father sent his Son, and Jesus went to the cross in complete obedience to his Father.
Verse 52 says Jesus sent some of the disciples ahead of him to “prepare the way.” They’ve inherited the role of John the Baptist, “preparing the way of the Lord” (3:4).
But verse 53 says that the Samaritans didn’t receive him. It’s not surprising that the Samaritans rejected him. There was hatred and ethnic tension between the Jews and Samaritans. As John says, “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (4:8).
The antagonism was so great that when James and John learned that they weren’t welcome there, they wanted to incinerate the Samaritans (v. 54). They’re living up to their reputation as the “Sons of Thunder” (Mk. 3:17). They were so angry that they wanted to kill these people!
Maybe they were thinking of when Elijah called down fire on the soldiers sent to him from King Ahaziah in 2 Kings 1:10-12. But Jesus’ response makes it clear that their idea is totally misguided. Verse 55, “But he turned and rebuked them.” This is the same word used for exorcisms, when Jesus would “rebuke” demons. The disciples couldn’t help the little boy with demons and now they’re thinking like demons.
Their lingering pride from verse 46 is palpable. They wanted to be the greatest and now they’re willing to destroy anyone who gets in their way. But Jesus gets in their way and says, “Enough!”
Jesus sharply rejects their fanaticism. They’re willing to use any force necessary to accomplish God’s will, and Jesus says, “That’s not the way.” They’re right to call him “Lord,” but don’t understand that he’s not a lord like the Roman emperors who exercised their power indiscriminately.
Wrong about Three Things
The disciples are wrong about three things: they’re wrong about Jesus, about the Samaritans, and about discipleship. They wrongly think that Jesus wants to accomplish his will through force and violence. They don’t understand that his plan is to win through losing. It’ll be Jesus’ weakness, suffering, rejection, and even death that will accomplish the Father’s will.
They’re also wrong about the Samaritans. Even though the Samaritans reject Jesus here, they’re portrayed as heroic helpers in just a few verses in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s a Samaritan who Jesus uses as an example of gratitude for grace in 17:15-16. And in Acts 8, when Philip preaches the gospel in Samaria, it’s received with favor (vv. 4-8).
And they’re wrong about discipleship. Disciples aren’t judges, they’re servants. Disciples are servants, not masters.
Verse 56 beautifully brings out Jesus’ alternative to righting wrongs, getting even, and perpetuating cycles of vengeance, “And they went on to another village.” Jesus understood that rejection means that others will get to hear the gospel. Followers of Jesus know what to do when rejected: they just move on, trusting that the Lord has others for them to minister to.
Love Your Neighbor
I said that these verses show us that following Jesus looks like an unusual love for outsiders. This little episode illustrates and applies the second part of the great commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And this command comes with no qualifications! It doesn’t say, “Love people if they’re nice to you,” or “Love people as long as they accept you,” or “You’re free to retaliate when people reject you.”
Jesus’ followers love people, period. So what does a follower of Jesus look like? They look like someone who loves people. This love starts at home, as we love one another in the church (Jn. 13:34-35, 1 Jn. 4:7-8). But it naturally spills over into our love for those in close proximity to our lives, that is, our “neighbors.”
It’s understandable that we’d love family, but loving outsiders is unusual. For the disciples to love other Jews would’ve been natural. But loving Samaritans? That’s supernatural and unusual.
What can this sort of unusual love for outsiders look like for us? It starts by understanding that all people are made in God’s image. All people carry inherent dignity, value, and worth because they carry God’s image. Whether someone immigrated here legally or illegally, is a Democrat or Republican, male or female, rich or poor, old or young, gay or straight or trans, conservative or liberal, white or black or brown, speaks English or not, is Christian or Muslim or Mormon, none of these things determine a person’s unique value in God’s eyes. They’re made in his image and fallen in sin, just like you, so we love them, even if we disagree with aspects of their lives.
We love the outsider with unusual love by engaging in dialogue with them with the goal of understanding. People won’t care about your ideas if you don’t love them. Their ears will remain shut if your heart remains cold. It’s entirely possible to be loving without being affirming. It’s completely illogical to conclude that if someone disagrees with your lifestyle choices, they therefore don’t love you. In fact, those who love you the most will tell you the truth.
There’s a way to tell people the truth that’s persuasive, not combative. It’s by using our words to build up, not tear down. Solomon says, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (Pro. 10:11). “A gentle tongue is a tree of life” (15:4). Wise people speak words that bring life rather than death. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (18:21). Our words should bring more light than heat. Fire burns things down, light makes things grow and flourish.
James and John want to destroy people with fire; we often do the same with our words. They saw the Samaritans as a threat to be taken out, rather than as outsiders to be loved. They assumed the rejection of the Samaritans warranted violence and retribution. They wanted to judge these outsiders, not love them, so “Jesus turned and rebuked them” (v. 55). Jesus needed his followers to know that this sort of posture toward outsiders did not align with his mission. His disciples needed to know that destroying your enemies is not the posture of those following the One who would die for his.
Unconditional Commitment to Jesus
A follower of Jesus looks like someone with an unusual love for outsiders, but they also have an unconditional commitment to Jesus (vv. 57-62).
If Jesus were a pastor, his church probably wouldn’t have grown very fast! People come to him wanting to join and he says, “I don’t think you’re ready.” He tells these guys that they don’t know what they’re asking, that they don’t understand what it means to follow him.
So what does it mean to follow Jesus? Jesus says it means unconditional commitment. His grace is free, you can’t earn it. But following him will cost you everything.
“I Will Follow You Wherever You Go”
The first man comes to him with lots of bravado, “I will follow you wherever you go” (v. 57). Jesus points out that this is a vow much easier to make than keep (v. 58).
Why does Jesus respond like this? Because this man had zeal without knowledge. He said he was ready to go wherever Jesus went but he needed to understand that Jesus was homeless. This guy strikes me as how many of us are when we’re younger. We’re committed to commitment and excited about excitement but haven’t yet grasped the daily grind of following Jesus. But Jesus tells this man that following him entails suffering. This man wants to follow him, but Jesus wonders whether he’s ready to suffer.
Kingdom First
Jesus always gets bad PR for how he responds to the next two guys (vv. 59-62). The Jews regarded burying the dead as a holy and sacred thing. Neglecting the burial of the dead was a major offense against the Torah, even against ancient Greek wisdom.
But Jesus says, “Don’t worry about it, just come follow me.” Some say this is one of the most radical things Jesus said. So why does he say it? Because his disciples need to know that his kingdom takes precedence over any tradition. His authority supersedes all other authorities. The kingdom of God must be the first priority for his followers.
The next guy wants to follow Jesus but wants to say goodbye to his family first (vv. 61-62). This reminds us of the prophet Elijah allowing Elisha to say goodbye to his parents before following him (1 Kgs. 19:19-21).
But Jesus says no. Why? Because his authority is greater than Elijah, his demands more stringent than his. Discipleship to Jesus is different than discipleship to Elijah.
No Limits on Jesus’ Lordship
These last two guys don’t understand the urgency of the kingdom. They don’t understand that in Jesus, the end of the ages has begun, that God’s final kingdom is coming to the earth through him, and that, therefore, everything is less important than following him.
Jesus tells them that there can be no conditions on their obedience. He calls for absolute commitment. Absolute obedience is impossible because we’ll all fail in many ways, but to truly be a follower of Jesus we have to understand what he asks us to do.
Simply put, he calls us to abdicate the throne of our life. To step into his kingdom, you have to get rid of all the “but firsts”: “I’ll follow you, but first…” If there are any conditions on your following him, then you’re still in your own kingdom.
Augustine famously says in his Confessions, “Make me good but not yet.” Many of us want to follow Jesus but we don’t want to give up certain things. Maybe we’re in a relationship that we know isn’t good or right but we’re scared to give it up. Maybe we’re looking the other way when shady things are happening at work. Maybe we have a secret addiction that we assume is no big deal because it doesn’t seem to be hurting anyone.
What Jesus is saying here is that there are no limits on his Lordship. Many have been taught that you can have Jesus as Savior without following him as Lord. Of course, he is Savior, but he’s also Lord, and you can’t have one without the other. We can’t have half of him. We must take all of him or we get none of him.
If you invite me to your house and say, “Come in John, but stay out Sypert,” I wouldn’t know what to do because I’m John Sypert. I couldn’t even say, “This half is John and this half is Sypert” because I’m all John and all Sypert. I’m both so you either get all of me or none of me.
Think about it, anything you make more important than Christ is your Savior. If you’re looking to your job, kids, grandkids, ministry, education, wealth, knowledge, or relationship as your ultimate hope and identity, then you’re looking to those things to save you.
Crossing the Border
This means that Christianity isn’t merely ethical and doctrinal improvement. It’s not like changing political parties. Following Jesus is a qualitative, not quantitative, change in your status and nature. Through faith in Christ, the power of the future age, the kingdom of God, comes into your life and everything begins to change.
Many are interested in Christianity, or want the benefits of heaven and salvation, but they haven’t crossed the border into the kingdom of God. If you drove from Dallas to Canada, you’d still be in America until you cross the border. You can drive all that way and get to the border but still not be in Canada.
So it is with the kingdom of God. You can make all the improvements and learn all the lingo without crossing into the kingdom of God.
But when you take that last step, when you realize that heaven isn’t for good people but for people who know they’re not good and have given their lives to Christ, you’re transferred from one realm into another realm. The future realm of the kingdom of God comes into your life, though partially, and you start reorienting everything around following Jesus.
If you maintain any conditions to following Christ, you’re still just inside the border. You’re still king. You’re still in the driver’s seat.
You know you’ve crossed the border when you understand that Jesus demands unconditional commitment and you’re happy to give it to him because you understand that he gave his life for you. And as you give your life to him, you also begin to see people differently. You begin seeing outsiders as he sees them. You want to love people who’re different rather than destroy them.
So what does following Jesus look like? Unconditional surrender and unusual love. Is that you?