Luke 9: Jesus Paid the Price Before Asking You to Follow Him

Introduction

"What if following Jesus costs me more than I want to give?" For Jordan Formston, that is the question at the heart of Luke 9. The preacher, a "student minister" at Village Church in Annandale (Sydney), opens Luke 9:51-62 at the service on 4 October 2026.

He starts with a memory. At a youth gathering, everyone who came up on stage had to answer the question: "Who is Jesus to you?" The answers were true and beautiful: Jesus is my best friend, my comfort, the one who is with me in the highs and the lows. But he doesn't remember anyone saying: "Jesus is the one who said to let the dead bury their own dead."

We don't want to present Jesus as a harsh master. We like to remind people that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. The risk is making people think that following Jesus is easy. Yet sooner or later, following him costs something: a friendship, a career move, a reputation, time. Jordan Formston answers the question from a single verse, verse 51, and then draws three implications from it.

Message Outline

1. Jerusalem, Much More Than a Stop on the Journey

Since chapter 4, Jesus has been carrying out his ministry in Galilee: he teaches and he heals. In chapter 9, he twice tells his disciples that he is going to be rejected and put to death.
On the mountain of the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah speak with him about his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31).
Jerusalem is not just any city. It is the place of the temple, the place where the king's throne should be, and the place where Jesus' enemies are.
So verse 51 is not a simple travel note: "We are watching a man choose to walk toward his own death."

2. Jesus Paid the Price First (Verse 51)

"It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, that he intentionally set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51). This verse is the hinge of Luke's Gospel: the ministry leaves Galilee and takes the road to Jerusalem.
The expression "set his face" toward the city is a way of describing firm determination. Nobody forces Jesus. He is in control of the situation, and he knows what awaits him: a Roman cross.
The preacher uses the image of a firefighter running into a burning building. If he were only trying to protect himself, it would be madness. But he puts himself in danger to save those who cannot save themselves. Jesus goes to Jerusalem not in spite of what awaits him, but because of what awaits him.
The one walking toward the cross is the King of the kingdom of God, God made flesh. Why? Because God's purpose is to save sinners like you and me.
So, what if following Jesus costs you more than you want to give? "It might well. But whatever it costs you, it will be far less than what it cost him."
The cost doesn't disappear, but the balance shifts. You are not following a master who demands what he wouldn't do himself: you are following the one who has already paid everything for you. To follow him is to share his resolve, and Luke spells that out in three ways.

3. Following Jesus Means Sharing His Mission (Verses 52 to 56)

To get to Jerusalem, Jesus chooses a route through Samaria. Most Jews would have avoided it. Jews and Samaritans had hated each other for centuries and disagreed over the place of worship: Mount Gerizim for one side, Jerusalem for the other. "Samaritan" was even used as an insult.
The Samaritan village refuses to receive Jesus "because he was traveling with his face set toward Jerusalem" (verse 53), the very place of worship the Samaritans consider false.
James and John want to call down fire from heaven. Their reaction has a precedent: in 2 Kings 1, Elijah calls down fire from heaven. But Jesus turns and rebukes them.
Jesus does not say there is no judgment for those who reject the King. He says the time of judgment is not now. He is walking toward the cross to save anyone who will turn to him, including those who reject him.
The Samaritans are not the only ones who rejected him: "There is no one righteous. No, not one" (Romans 3:10). If Jesus brought fire down on everyone who opposes him, no one would be left standing. "This is not the time of judgment. It is the time of grace."
Luke continues the story in Acts. Jesus announces that his disciples will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). In Acts 8, Philip preaches in Samaria, Peter and John come to pray, and the church in Samaria is born. Those who rejected Jesus are saved by his decision to go to Jerusalem.
Jesus hates injustice, and the day of judgment will come: that is what we ask for when we pray "your kingdom come." But that day is not here yet. Jesus even saved Paul, the man who persecuted the church. Who is out of reach of God's salvation? No one.
The preacher tells the story of a schoolmate, whom he later met again at work, who lived in a world of parties, alcohol, and drugs. To him, this was the person least likely to ever come to church. Yet he came, he kept coming, he put his trust in Jesus, and he still trusts him. Jordan Formston admits he had been "bang average" at talking to him about Jesus: God chose to save him anyway.
Who have you crossed off your list? What would it mean for you to believe that today really is the day of salvation and that God can save anyone?

4. Following Jesus Means Giving Up Your Comfort (Verses 57 and 58)

Luke presents three anonymous people who want to follow Jesus. Jesus answers each of them by making the cost known, but we never hear their response. The question stays open for us: will we follow Jesus despite the cost?
The first promises: "Lord, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answers: "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
This is true in the literal sense: Jesus has just been turned away from a village. But there is more. Foxes and birds find shelter because they adapt to their environment. The Son of Man was not sent to adapt: he is a stranger here. To follow him wherever he goes is to accept not being welcome.
Jesus said it himself: "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18). Paul describes his ministry in 2 Corinthians 11: prisons, beatings, forty lashes minus one five times, three times beaten with rods, once stoned, three shipwrecks, dangers on every side, hunger, thirst, cold, and nakedness.
"Jesus did not live a life of comfort. Neither did the apostles. Why should we expect to?" The preacher speaks first for himself: he loves comfort. Our Western society is so comfortable that we could be generous and still remain very much at ease.
Where are you tempted to hide your attachment to Christ to protect your comfort: at work, among friends, in your family, in your finances? For some, the pressure is real: family tensions, costly relationships, a missed promotion or a refused position because of the gospel. And if you feel no pressure at all, it is worth asking yourself why.

5. Following Jesus Means Putting Nothing Before Him (Verses 59 to 62)

Two men, two requests, and the same word: "first." "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father." "I will follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say goodbye to those at my house."
Doesn't Jesus seem a little harsh? These are not excuses like "I've got a big weekend." Burying one's family was a sacred duty in the Jewish tradition, and the whole ancient world considered neglecting a burial a sacrilege.
The second request even has a precedent: in 1 Kings 19, Elisha asks Elijah if he can go and say goodbye to his family, and Elijah allows it. These are good reasons. Yet Jesus says no to both.
Jesus is not saying that burying one's parents is wrong, or that family doesn't matter. He himself rebukes the Pharisees who don't provide financially for their parents. He is saying that these things cannot come first. If he refuses the best reasons, no lesser reason will hold.
Jesus can ask this because he lived it first. He set his face toward Jerusalem and did not look back. When the cross drew near, he did not say "let me first." He put the salvation of many before his comfort, his safety, and his life.
"This is not permission to miss funerals or abandon your parents." The point lies elsewhere: the lordship of Jesus comes before everything, and everything else falls into line behind him.
The well-known story of the professor and the jar illustrates it: big rocks, then pebbles, sand, and water. The lesson is not that you can always fit more in. "If I hadn't put the big rocks in first, I never could have gotten them in." If Jesus is not the first rock, you will never find a place for him afterward.
"Jesus cannot be added to our life as an afterthought." Our lives must be organized around Christ, not the other way around. Where you work, where you live, your family, your money: all of this is weighed in the light of the big rock already in place. If Jesus comes first, you may turn down a job that has you traveling on weekends, and you will look at the churches in the neighborhood before choosing where to buy your home.

6. Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

"Will following Jesus cost me more than I want to give? That is actually the wrong question." Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem knowing the price, and he went anyway, for people who had rejected him.
Everything Jesus asks in this passage flows from the fact that he has already paid the price for you. What a joy to count the cost of following a Lord who walked ahead of us and who suffered for us.
The closing encouragement: make your life one centered on Jesus and on what he accomplished on the cross. Examine your priorities. Is Jesus at the center of your life and your decisions? "Today is the day of grace. Fix your eyes on Jesus and follow him."
In his prayer, Jordan Formston thanks the Lord for being the King who paid the price before asking us to follow him. He asks for humility to examine our lives and courage to change what needs to change, and reminds us that we are saved by the work Jesus has already accomplished.

Key Takeaways

Following Jesus always ends up costing something, but it will always be less than what it cost him.
Jesus freely chose to walk toward the cross. He paid the price before asking anything of you.
We live in the time of grace: no one is out of reach of God's salvation, not even those who have rejected him.
The disciple of Jesus is not called to comfort. If you feel no cost, ask yourself why.
Even the best reasons do not come before Jesus. If he is not the first rock, he will not find his place afterward.

Personal Application

Which part of Jesus' teaching do you tend to set aside because it makes you uncomfortable?
Is there someone you have crossed off your list, thinking God could never save them? Who can you pray for this week?
Where are you tempted to hide your attachment to Christ to keep your comfort: at work, among friends, in your family, in your finances?
What good things have you placed before Jesus: your family, your work, your plans?
What concrete decision, related to your schedule, your housing, or your money, would show this week that Jesus is your first rock?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "he intentionally set his face to go to Jerusalem" mean in Luke 9:51?

Jordan Formston explains that the expression, literally "set his face" toward Jerusalem, conveys firm determination. Nobody forces Jesus: he chooses to walk toward the cross that awaits him. This verse is the hinge of Luke's Gospel and the principle that sheds light on everything else in the passage.

Why does Jesus refuse to call down fire on the Samaritans?

Jesus does not say there will be no judgment; he says the time of judgment has not yet come. We have all rejected God (Romans 3). We live in the time of grace: the Samaritans who rejected him will later receive the gospel with joy (Acts 8), saved by Jesus' very decision to go to Jerusalem.

Does Jesus forbid burying one's parents or saying goodbye to one's family?

No. The preacher stresses that this is not permission to miss funerals or abandon one's parents. Jesus himself rebukes the Pharisees who neglect their parents. The point is that the lordship of Jesus comes before everything: if he refuses even the best reasons, no lesser reason can come before him.