Have you ever come down from grand moment in life? You’re on this high and then you come down. Back to reality and it’s business as usual. It can be quite disorienting!
That’s similar to what’s happening with Jesus in Luke 9. He goes from glory on the mountaintop and then back down to this broken world. As this chapter closes, Luke narrates a raft of discipleship failures in rapid succession. You see, Jesus will soon depart. And the disciples are going to be the ones who will carry on this Gospel movement to the ends of the earth. But they’ve got a whole lot to learn from Jesus.
And they say the best way to learn is to learn from other peoples’ mistakes. So as the disciples get mired inthese pitfalls along the path, let’s lean in and learn from their mistakes. Because we need to learn the same lessons that Jesus is teaching them. So let’s join up with the twelve on the road with Jesus.
There are 6 Pitfalls on the path that can mire us as we seek to follow Jesus…
Pitfall #1 – Self-Reliance (Luke 9:37-42)
- Stay Prayerful
Pitfall #2 – Popular Approval (9:43-45)
- Stay Faithful
Pitfall #3 – Prideful Ambition (9:46-48)
- Stay Humble
Pitfall #4 – Jealous Comparison (9:49-50)
- Stay Focused
Pitfall #5 – Abusive Power (9:51-56)
- Stay Gracious
Pitfall #6 – Rival Allegiance (9:57-62)
- Stay Committed
Takeaway: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” – Luke 9:23
- Stay prayerful, faithful, humble, focused, gracious, committed.
