Jesus Asks His Followers to Leave Everything Behind

Fourth Sunday of Pentecost

Jesus Asks His Followers to Leave Everything Behind

Luke 9: 57 - 62
Matthew 8: 18 - 22

This is a good day to sing, "What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus" from Rejoice.

From Peter, through Matthew, through all Jesus' followers, we see that becoming disciples of Jesus means dropping everything and following right now.

What would our lives be like if we left home, school, family, friends, responsibilities and pleasures all at once and only concentrated on following Jesus, going only where he wants us to go and doing only what he wants us to do?

We see the split once more between the Jews and the Samaritans. The village in Samaria would not welcome Jesus and the disciples because they were on their way to worship in Jerusalem, which was not a sacred place to the Samaritans.

1. What do the foxes and bird have that Jesus doesn't have?

[The foxes and birds have their own homes - Jesus doesn't even have his own bed.]

2. What did Jesus' new followers want to do before they joined him?

[Jesus' new followers wanted to say good-bye to their families.]

3. What did Jesus say was more important than following him?

[Jesus said nothing was more important than following him.]