Luke 9:57-62 – As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
THEME OF THE DAY. ANSWERING THE CALL TO FOLLOW JESUS. I think all of us are guilty, at least sometimes, of the mistakes made by the three would-be disciples of Jesus in today’s scriptures. All of them display good intentions of following Jesus, but good intentions are not enough. Each of them fails to meet the Lord’s requirements for discipleship and He doesn’t lower the bar or accept their excuses. And these examples should cause each of us to pause and consider their applications in our own lives when it comes to answering the daily call to follow the Lord Jesus.
First is the impulsive disciple who quickly says to Jesus, “Sign me up. I am in” and yet has not clue what he is signing up for and the cost to him – “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Friends, our commitments to Jesus are not to be made in the emotional high of a concert, conference, or some moving song or sermon. Remember, emotionalism is not spirituality. Spirituality contains emotions, but emotion is not the driver to make spiritual commitments. I see way too many Christians get excited about some church, some ministry, some opportunity, or something else about Jesus, get involved, but when the “tingle” wears off and a call to self-denying sacrifice occurs, these once “all in” Christians fade like the morning dew on a hot summer day. Beware of impulsive discipleship because it is not true discipleship and it will label one an inconsistent and impulsive Christian.
The second would-be disciple reveals the danger of putting temporal physical family above the command of Jesus to follow Him and be about His mission. This may seem harsh at first, but in all likelihood, this would-be disciple’s father was not dead. His delay to answer the call to discipleship was caused by putting family above the Lord. I know we must be careful here, but Jesus makes it clear . . . “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). This is not a hatred of malicious neglect but of priority. Jesus must be first, even over family members. We are never called to sacrifice our families for Jesus, but ministry for Jesus and following Him will always demand family sacrifice.
The final would-be disciple is the one who is still attached to the world and its comforts – “Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” This man basically is saying, “I want to follow You, but I still want to hold on to things familiar and dear to me. And a little earthly comfort of home won’t hinder me.” Actually, it will. It distracts us. J.C. Ryle wrote of this disciple, “It is impossible to serve Christ with a divided heart. If we are looking to anything in this world we are not fit to be His disciples. Jesus will not share His throne with anyone, no, not with our dearest relatives. He must have all our heart, or none.” To get the sense of this, go back and see how Jesus responds to this would-be disciple.
The most glorious privilege in this world is knowing Christ, then following Him. Yet, it is a privilege of high cost. Are we willing to pay it? That is a decision we make every day of our lives by our decisions and actions.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to never make excuses for not obeying clear commands in Your Word.”
QUOTE: “To make excuses for not obeying God is not only unjustifiable, but it is sin.”