“He left His Father’s throne above, so free, so infinite his grace! Emptied himself of all but love, and bled for Adam’s helpless race. ‘‘Tis mercy all, immense and free, For Oh my God, it found out me!”
— Charles Wesley, d.1788
Why Follow Him? (Luke 9:51-62)
The cross was not an accident. It was planned in eternity, and it was for this, Jesus said, that he had come. He had come to die. And in his moment of death the holiness of God and our sin collided. This is what called forth his cry of dereliction. ... The truth is that Christ’s death is simply incomprehensible if we do not start with the demands of God’s holiness, which cannot tolerate sin’s violations. ... What we see at the cross is the white-hot revelation of the character of God, of his love providing the price that his holiness requires.”
—David F. Wells
The Disciples (Luke 9:46-50)
“Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up;they are together lighter than a breath.” —Psalm 62:8
Listening to Jesus (Luke 9:37-45)
“Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.” -Psalm 22:30-31
Jesus Transfigured (Luke 9:28-36)
“Do you believe your faith? Do you believe this I am telling you? Do you believe a day is coming, really coming, when you will stand before the throne of God, and the angels will whisper together and say, ‘How like Christ he is?’ That is not easy to believe. And yet not to believe is blasphemy. For that, not less than that, is what Christ promises.”
— Robert Rainy, Principal, New College, Edinburgh, Scotland
Who Is This? (Luke 9:18-27)
“Talk to me about the truth of religion and I’ll gladly listen. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I’ll listen submissively. But don’t come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don’t understand.”
— C.S. Lewis
“Th e whole idea that there is a privileged era for being a Christian is a strange one.”
— Rowan Williams
Discipleship Focused on Jesus (Luke 9:10-17)
“We cannot present a reason for Christ to finally close off his heart to his own sheep. No such reason exists. Every human friend has a limit. If we offend enough, if a relationship gets damaged enough, if we betray enough times, we are cast out. The walls go up. With Christ, our sins and weaknesses are the very resumé items that qualify us to approach him. Nothing but coming to him is required—first at conversion and a thousand times thereafter until we are with him upon death.”
— Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly
The How, the Why, and the Who of Discipleship (Luke 9:1-9)
“‘Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.’”
— Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30, The Message
All Eyes on Jesus (Luke 8:40-56)
“Those who are well have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
— Jesus, Luke 5
Seeing Jesus (Luke 8:26-39)
“On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.”
— Annie Dillard