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In the year 2023, what does it really mean to follow Jesus? In what ways is he challenging us today? We consider these critical questions as we follow Jesus in his journey towards the cross. Reverend Daniel shares the word this morning.

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Once again, a very good morning to all of us. Today is the first Sunday of Lent. Lent actually begins on Ash Wednesday, which actually uh happened to be on the 22nd of February this year, last Wednesday, and it marks the beginning of the period of land. The word land comes from the Latin meaning 40th. It is 40 days beginning on Ash Wednesday leading up to Easter Sunday. Len, this season of 40 days is a time of preparation for all Christians to set aside time to contemplate Jesus and to follow him more fully to the cross. Some of us may want to set aside some time to fast and pray to intensify our meditations on the life of Jesus. It is fitting that for today and the next few Sundays, in preparation towards Good Friday and Easter, that we focus particularly on selected portions of the Gospel of Luke as Jesus journeys towards Jerusalem. Let me begin by reading an excerpt from John Pritchard's book, A Journey to Jerusalem, a story of Jesus' last days. Pritchard recalls Jesus and his disciples leaving home. That's the title of the sermon today, leaving home. Leaving familiar surroundings of ministry in Galilee, making their way towards the cross and towards Jerusalem. So the narration, the short narration is from the perspective of one of Jesus' disciples. His name is John, and he writes this from a first person account, just recalling their own journey. And I just want to invite you to just enter into the world of John as they make their way towards Jerusalem. This is what he says. I suppose we should have expected it. But even then, I'm not sure we have realized how significant this moment was. We, that's me, John, and a group of friends were getting ready to set off after breakfast, as we have done so often before, saying goodbye to our hosts and checking we haven't forgotten anything. When Jesus called us together in the yard and said quite calmly, but looking each of us in the eye in that penetrating way of his, we've been here long enough. Let's head for Jerusalem. We nodded. We've been to Jerusalem before, of course, so this wasn't too remarkable. But there was just something about the way Jesus said it. James and I looked at each other. What's he really saying? We wondered. Looking back, we could see that he was setting off the most important journey of his life to see how those who work in the temple, the top priests, and the smart lawyers would receive the message that he has set so many hearts on fire with in Galilee. Jerusalem had to be the final destination. Every prophet had to make his mark there. So off we went on that fine morning, with the sun sparkling on the lake and the olive trees gleaming silver grey on the hillsides. Jesus sent a couple of us ahead to let the villagers know that we were in the area to ask and to ask if they could prepare some food for a small crowd coming their way. So it was more than disconcerting when our two came back all hot and bothered and told us we wouldn't welcome. Again, we should have known we were going to head straight through Samaria to avoid the long trek down the Jordan Valley, and the Samaritans were always pretty hostile. How Jews and Samaritans could argue so passionately over which mountain to prey on always puzzled Jesus. James and I were furious at the rudeness of those Samaritans who were rejecting the simple rules of hospitality. So we told Jesus he should summon fire from heaven to destroy this annoying little village. But Jesus tore us off a strip, quite rightly. He reminded us that only a few weeks ago he'll send us out to various villages to talk about the kingdom to heal people who were ill. And he specifically said that if a village didn't welcome us, we should shake the dust of the place off our feet and go on to the next village. James and I seem to have forgotten that instruction. Somewhat ashamed, we dropped to the back of the group. Days and times get a bit hazy, but on the early part of the journey, it seems as if a number of young people kept coming up and wanting to join us on the journey. It made those of us whom Jesus had already invited to join him feel special because Jesus wasn't pulling any punches. One young guy was longing to join us, but Jesus said pretty bluntly that foxes and birds have got homes to go to, but the Son of Man had nowhere to put his head down at night. He was right. We never really knew who would give us a meal and a bed for the night, which isn't surprising given what a crowd we were. Another youngster had sadly just lost his father and not unreasonably wanted to bury him first. After all, that has top priority among our people. But Jesus was pretty brutal, if he wouldn't mind me saying so. He said, let the dead bury their own dead, is what he said. It was the same with someone who just wanted to say goodbye to his family. Jesus said that if you look back when you are plowing, the furrow will go all over the place. He was right, of course, but he gave these would-be followers quite a hard time. But Jesus knew what was waiting for us. Happy innocence that we were. We were heading for a baptism of fire, a furnace where every ounce of courage would be required of us. If we were to compromise at the start, we would cave in before the finish. Jesus wasn't playing games, he was looking for total surrender to the cause of the kingdom. Why he expected this particular group of friends to deliver that level of commitment, I just don't know. And we let him down so often and so spectacularly, he must have despaired at times. But it was still early, and we were still having the time of our lives, roaming the paths of Galilee with this most amazing teacher and friend. Jesus had only just turned his face towards Jerusalem. I wonder what you might have felt if you had been setting off with Jesus that morning, heading for Jerusalem. I wonder how you would feel about those who reject the Christian faith. I wonder how you feel about Jesus' strong words to those who wanted a delay a while to take care of their family duties. I wonder what it is that holds us back from making the kind of commitment we would like to make. What could we do? What could we do to make that possible? Jesus was set to go to Jerusalem. The journey to Jerusalem, according to Luke, was set in the context of the fulfilling of God's divine purpose. And the key to understand Jesus' journey and turn towards Jerusalem is found in Luke chapter 9, verse 31. Luke chapter 9, verse 31, where Jesus appeared with Moses and Elijah in glory in the transfiguration and spoke of his departure or his exodus, which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. So it was an outplaying, it's a playing out of what was promised that will happen according to Luke 9:31. Jesus had to depart and move to accomplish something in Jerusalem. It's interesting that the motive of rejection, the theme of rejection, plays out throughout the Gospel of Luke and intensifies as Jesus approaches Jerusalem. We will read uh later in time on Good Friday where Jesus' trial before Pilate was almost a mistrial. He was accused of things he didn't do. And the rejection of the people was brutal. If you look at Luke 23, verse 13 to 24, the rejection of Jesus by his people was brutal. And we see uh glimpse of that because right at Jesus turning towards Jerusalem, we see the Samaritans rejecting Jesus along the way. So all the motive of rejection by that will happen when uh on Good Friday and also along the way, and sin in how the Samaritans rejected Jesus serve as the background to what it means to follow Jesus. Would potential disciples on the road reject Jesus? Would they be willing to lay aside everything personal security, stability, and comfort, their plans, their possessions, family obligations and commitments in simply following Jesus whenever and wherever he would call and lead them? I'd like to explore with us uh a short meditation with this question: what does following Jesus mean in such a context? What does following Jesus mean as he journeys towards Jerusalem? One of those along the road said to Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus replied, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. In Singapore's socioeconomic system, home ownership is a pillar of social security. In 1964, the Home Ownership for the People scheme was introduced to help Singaporeans own rather than rent their flats. This has the purpose of giving Singaporeans a tangible stake in the success of the country with the potential for their housing assets to appreciate in value in tandem with Singapore's development. So all of us here would probably have the capacity to own a HDB flat. It was thought that this would also contribute to rootedness and a stronger will for the sons of Singapore to defend the country. Founding Prime Minister Li Kwan Yu explained, and I quote, my primary preoccupation was to give every citizen a stake in the country and its future. I wanted a home-owning society. I believe this sense of ownership was vital for our new society, which had no deep roots in a common historical experience. So, unlike public housing in many countries, Singapore's HDB flats cater to the majority of the population, not just the lower income. So, how does the social security, the context that we live in that our government provides, square up with the call of Jesus to follow him wherever and whenever he calls? I believe that following Jesus is it means that we must be willing to lay aside our own personal security, stability, and comfort. It means not to put our security in what is familiar, comfortable, and stable. And we know that Singapore is a very comfortable place to be in. We have our social security place to go to. However, we are reminded in scripture that we are in the world, yet we are not of the world. In other words, while we enjoy the security of what we have and we thank God for it, we know that our citizenship is in heaven. Paul reminds us in Philippians 3, verse 20 to 21, but our citizenship is in heaven. You know, we are not just a citizen of Singapore. We are not just a Singaporean, but as Christians, we know that our ultimate home is in heaven. Paul says, from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. We have to constantly remind ourselves in comfortable Singapore that the call to follow Jesus is a radical call to put aside what is familiar, what is comfortable, what is stable, and to follow Jesus whenever and wherever he will lead. As an old uh song reminds us, this world is not our home. And some of us will nod our head, we are just passing through. The response of another disciple was, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. It could mean, as preacher suggested, that the disciple had really just lost his father and just needed at that point to settle the family arrangements to bury him, um, then follow Jesus. But it could also mean to wait until his father dies and then to bury him. Because the text is silent on that. You know, it just says that he says, Let me go and bury my father. We don't know what is the actual context, but in the culture of the day, to first go and bury one's father is say, give me more time, Jesus. I want to wait for a more opportune time to follow Jesus. Sounds very uh Singaporean, right? Uh because it's only at the death of one's father uh in the time of society of the day that one's inheritance or property rights will be given. In other words, it's a long time, right? Before your father dies, perhaps, and it you can't ask for your inheritance earlier because it'll be like the prodigal son, the story of the prodigal son, you'll be cursing your father to die because you are saying, please give me the title, deed, and the property. So, to first go and bury one's father, the response of one of those who wanted to follow Jesus on the road is essentially to tell Jesus, wait, Jesus, I need more time. Before I follow you, before I give my heart fully to you, let me establish my career first. Earn what is necessary, start a family, accumulate enough wealth and possessions, put my life in good order, then I will follow you. The response of Jesus is stark and clear. The call to follow him is in the here and now. It's not until your father dies or until you sort out your whole life well in advance, then follow Jesus. Jesus said, leave the dead to bury their own dead. In other words, don't try to figure out your own life, your own way. Don't try to prioritize everything without the kingdom of God, without Jesus in mind. And he said, as for you, the priority is go and proclaim the kingdom of God. I believe this is a hard uh lesson for us in Singapore because we have so much, right? Following Jesus means laying aside our plans and our possessions by giving Jesus the prime focus and priority in our lives. We all know that Jesus is not against us making plans for our lives or us having possessions. He's against a mindset and an orientation in which we put our plans, our possessions and desires ahead of him and decide that even though we believe in Jesus, yet we are still the master of our lives. This mindset and orientation or putting our plans, possessions, and desires ahead of Jesus is best illustrated by the parable of the rich fool recorded in Luke 12, verse 16 to 21. Jesus told them a parable saying, The land of a rich man produce plentifully. And he thought to himself, I will make plans. What shall I do? For I have nowhere to store my crops. He said, I will do this. I will tear down my bonds, build larger ones, and then I'll store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say, I'll speak to myself as the master of my own life and my own destiny. I'll say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, La. Why so ganchong, relax? You have all the wealth in the world. Eat, drink, be merry, enjoy life. But God said, Fu strong word used by Jesus. He said, basically, is you are full. This night your soul is required of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. Yet another disciple agreed to follow Jesus, but requested first to say farewell, bye-bye to those who are at home. Say, Jesus, I'll follow you. Let me first go home. Just say bye-bye, come and follow you. But Jesus' response again seems to be quite punishing. He said, No one who puts his hand into the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. We see that following Jesus means even laying aside legitimate priorities such as family obligations and commitments. And this is all the more shocking because in Jesus' time, networks of kinship were of special importance. Like many of us, for us today, families are important to us. What Jesus said about laying aside, even to saying goodbye to your family, uh is arguably a legitimate thing to do. And the fact that Jesus responds in such a way, no one who puts his hand to the plow and yet looks back must have surely shocked many people. However, Jesus qualifies this in Mark chapter 10, verse 29 to 30. He said, Truly I say to you, there's no one who has left father, sorry, house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, or children or lands, or all your possessions, all your relationships for my sake and for the gospel will not receive hundredfold now in this time and in the age to come. So personal security, stability, comfort, plans, possessions, family obligations, and commitment. All these are to be set aside in preference for the one thing, and that is Jesus and the priority of his kingdom. His demands for those. Who would want to follow him on the road of discipleship ought to confront us too. I don't know how you feel, but when I read such verses, I feel uncomfortable. And it ought to make us uncomfortable. If we are immune to it, it means we need a bit of shaking and waking up. Because it's not easy to abide by the teachings of Jesus. That's why Jesus tells us, whatever you want to do, whether you truly want to follow me as my disciple, think it through. Give some thought to it. Don't just everything just go by what you feel, but think about it, consider where the pros and cons, the consequences, whether it's worth it to follow me. And he he brings about that idea in Luke 14, verse 28 to 33. He says, Which of you men out there designed to build a tower? Would you not sit down and count the cost whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, when you have laid the foundation and not able to finish it, all who see it will mock you and laugh at you, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king, when you go out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he's able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000. And if not, while the other is a great way off, send a delegation and ask for terms of peace. And then Jesus throws in the punchline. He says, So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all he has, all he has, cannot be my disciple. So we ask ourselves, and I ask myself as I uh sit on the word and uh the message I'm going to bring today, I ask myself this question it is, is it worth it? Is it worth it for us to follow Jesus and to give up and renounce everything in favor of the priority of Jesus and his kingdom? Perhaps we may think that following Jesus, as Luke suggested, is too radical for us to live out. How can we, today in the modern world, uh live, lay aside our personal security, stability, and comfort, put our plans and desire for earthly possessions aside in preference to Jesus, or have family relations, which is dear to many of our hearts, take a second place to Jesus. I think the answer lies in what Jesus and the kingdom mean to us. And it all boils down. The bottom line is how much does Jesus and his kingdom mean to you and mean to me? Jesus tells another parable about the kingdom of God, the parable of the hidden treasure and of the pearl in Matthew 13, verses 44 to 46. He says, When a man found a treasure hidden in a field, he covered it up and in his joy goes and sells all he has to buy the field. The kingdom of heaven is also like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. What is it about Jesus and the kingdom that is so priceless and such a great treasure that we would give up everything to get it? As I wait, as I wait, waited on the Lord as we uh gathered uh for prayer. Some of us were there to pray last night, uh monthly prayer meeting. I was also praying about the sermon as well as praying for the church, right? So we are praying, I was asking the Lord, what is the one thing? You know, why why is it so tough to be a follower of Jesus? What is it so priceless and so special about Jesus and the kingdom? Um, so I believe the Lord kind of impressed on me this word. He said, a Christless eternity. He reminded me that a life without Jesus is a Christless eternity. So following Jesus is not about playing games. What is at stake is an issue of life and death. Without Jesus is an eternity of damnation, it's a Christless eternity. Jesus came to proclaim the kingdom with the central message of calling would-be disciples to follow him, to come to him, to find rest and their answers in him. So it is for us today. Without Jesus, it is a Christless eternity. That's why following Jesus is so important. Giving up all our lives to orientate our lives according to what Jesus requires is so important. Because without Jesus is a Christless eternity. What broke the heart of Jesus? If you study his life, you read about the life of Jesus, you can uh read Matthew. Matthew does talk a lot about that, uh, in terms of his anguish, his woes against the scribes and the Pharisees. So what broke the heart of Jesus was the hard-heartedness of those who rejected him. In fact, he says in Matthew uh that, how I long to gather you to those who were opposing him and rejecting him. How I long to gather you as a chicken. Is it a mother hand? A chicken. Mother hand gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. So what broke the heart of Jesus was precisely a trajectory of life that leads to eternal damnation. A life in which we are living a way such that Christ is not the center of our lives. So in Matthew 11, verse 20 to 24, Jesus pronounced severe judgment on Galilean cities, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Kapanon, because they had seen God's mighty works, yet they have not repented and turned to Jesus. Then in contrast, Matthew portrays the little children in the verses following in Matthew 11, verse 25 to 27, whom Jesus understood that God has kept it from the wise and learned and revealed this. Not the scribes, not the Pharisees of the times, not the Sadducees, but to little children, the secret of the kingdom. Because little children come to Jesus without pretense and with complete sincerity. They are willing to receive, they are willing to come to Jesus. That's why it's so precious. God, Jesus set little children on a pedestal because they are the pure in heart, they are the ones that will receive the kingdom. He goes on to make a rallying call in Matthew 11, verse 28 to 30, which is not unfamiliar to us. And this is the heart at the heart of what Jesus wants to do. And why following Jesus is so important, why giving up everything for the sake of the kingdom? It's because of this, because of the call of Jesus for us to come to him. He says in Matthew 11, verse 28, Come to me, come to me. Come to me. All who are labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. In the Greek, it says, I will rest you. I will rest you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest. All of us here will find rest for our souls when Jesus takes the center place in our lives. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. So I'd like to suggest to us that the call to follow Jesus in radical discipleship always predicates on the call of Jesus to come before him. We cannot uh want to be Garang and follow Jesus in radical discipleship without first coming to him. Because the call of Jesus is always for life and fullness of life. In this season of land, would you take the time to come to Jesus? Because that is his rallying call. Allow him to reveal to you the unforced rhythms of grace. Life in Jesus and with him is also about the here and now. It's not about a kingdom to come in the future only, it's about the here and now. Jesus wants to make a difference to our lives in the here and now. Jesus desires that we live our earthly lives in him and through him and not apart from him. Let me repeat again. Jesus desires that we live our earthly lives in him and through him and not apart from him. That is why every other allegiance, every other priority must take second place to him. Not our personal security or stability and comfort that comes first, not our plans, great plans, not our accumulation of wealth and possessions, not even our family obligations and commitment should take the place of Jesus in our lives. Because only when Jesus is at the center of our lives, our lives will make sense. So why is following Jesus, why is the demands of Jesus so strong? Because until and unless we come to Him, it is a Christeless eternity. And many out there in the world are living out a life of priceless eternity. They don't know what they are working so hard for. They are achieving so much, they're having so much security in the world, in the world's eyes, so much safety nets, wealth accumulation, uh, asset accumulation, uh, family, strong ties, relations. Yet something is missing beyond all this. And that is Jesus. The place of Jesus is central because his call for the disciples of old is still a call for us today. Come to me, come to me, and I will rest you. There's a song by City Alike, which we sang actually yesterday at the prayer meeting. I think it was the closing song, but I just picked up the words last night as I was trying to do some final preparation for the message today. And I think the words of the song is apt and applicable to us. The song is Jesus, strong and kind. It says Jesus said that if I thirst, I should come to him. No one else can satisfy I should come to him. For the Lord is good and faithful, he will keep us day and night. We can always run to Jesus. Jesus, strong and kind. Jesus said, If I am lost, he will come to me. And he showed me on the cross, he will come to me. For the Lord is good and faithful, he will keep us day and night. We can always run to Jesus.

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