Luke 9:57-62
Note
The word “follow” plays a key role in each encounter (vv. 57, 59, 61).
Then someone approached and wanted to follow Jesus. Matthew wrote that this man was a scribe (teacher of the law, Matthew 8:19). Most of the scribes became Jesus’ enemies, but at least one apparently recognized Jesus’ authority and wanted to be his disciple.
While most of God’s creatures have warm places in which to live and to sleep, the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
To be Jesus’ disciple, a person must willingly put aside worldly security.
To follow Christ is to loosen your grip on the things that normally provide physical and emotional security.
In ancient times, doing a proper burial of a dead person was a sacred duty. The text does not report whether the father was already dead or whether he was elderly or sick and going to die soon. It is unlikely that the father was already dead and the son was merely asking permission to finish the funeral because, if that were the case, the son would have been nowhere near Jesus—hardly on the road where Jesus was walking—because he would have been at home with the mourners. More likely, the man was asking for permission to wait until his father died—an indefinite delay.
The reason is not given, but whatever it was, the man wanted to do it “first.” Perhaps he was the firstborn son and wanted to be sure to claim his inheritance. Perhaps he did not want to face his father’s wrath if he were to leave the family business. Whether his concern was fulfilling a duty, having financial security, keeping family approval, or something else, he did not want to commit himself to Jesus just yet. Jesus sensed this reluctance and challenged the man to consider that his commitment had to be complete, without reservation.
Jesus was not advising that children disregard family responsibilities. Rather, Jesus was responding to this disciple’s qualifying use of “first.” Jesus must always come “first,” above all human loyalties. Jesus’ directive was not heartless; it called the man to examine his primary loyalty.
Jesus’ response (“Let the dead bury their own dead”) points out that those who want to follow him should count the cost and set aside any conditions they might have.
This may sound insensitive, but it had precedents. A high priest and those who had taken the Nazirite vow were required by the law to avoid the corpse of even a parent (Leviticus 21:11; Numbers 6:6–8). A later Jewish precedent says that if there were enough people in attendance, a student of the Torah should not stop his studying to bury the dead. Jesus placed commitment to God even above these precedents. As God’s Son, Jesus did not hesitate to demand complete loyalty.
This may sound insensitive, but it had precedents. A high priest and those who had taken the Nazirite vow were required by the law to avoid the corpse of even a parent (Leviticus 21:11; Numbers 6:6–8). A later Jewish precedent says that if there were enough people in attendance, a student of the Torah should not stop his studying to bury the dead. Jesus placed commitment to God even above these precedents. As God’s Son, Jesus did not hesitate to demand complete loyalty.
this man’s first response was not to obey Jesus immediately (as others did, cf. Luke 5:21, 28) but to make an excuse for not following him. Burial at this time in Judaism often involved a year-long period from the time when the body was first buried until a year later when the bones of the deceased were placed in an ossuary box. Though this was a basic family obligation, Jesus is teaching the priority of the kingdom over family.
This does not imply that Jesus’ followers can never care for their family obligations, but when they do, it must be out of obedience to Jesus, not instead of obedience to Jesus. In this man’s case, Jesus was clearly not his highest commitment (see 9:59).
9:59–60 It is doubtful that this man’s father had already died. If he had, the man would have been involved in burial rites instead of talking to Jesus. Thus the man’s words were an excuse to delay, possibly for years, his responsibility to follow Jesus and spread the news of the kingdom of God.
Let us learn from this saying to beware of allowing family and social duties to interfere with our duty to Christ.
Who knows what might occur on his trek back to his family that would deter him from the task at hand. Who knows what this attitude might mean in the years to come if a precedent were set that service for the kingdom can be put off in pursuit of other matters. “No,” Jesus answered, for this was not the type of follower he needed.
The picture of a person putting a hand to the plow and looking back can be compared with Elijah’s call of Elisha in 1 Kings 19:19–21. Elisha was called to be a prophet right in the middle of plowing a field—and he never looked back. In fact, he slaughtered the oxen so that they would not even be a temptation to return. Elisha then moved wholeheartedly into the ministry to which he had been called. Elisha was allowed to say good-bye to his father and mother, but the kingdom of God was not at hand then.
What does Jesus want from his followers? Total dedication, not halfhearted commitment. His followers must accept the cross along with the crown, judgment as well as mercy. They must count the cost and be willing to abandon everything else that has given them security. Nothing should distract them from service for the kingdom.
9:61 As in v. 59, this man’s halfhearted discipleship begins with a “but”: I will follow you, Lord, but. This recalls 1 Kings 19:19–21, where Elijah permitted Elisha to say farewell; but Jesus does not permit this. Jesus’ summons to discipleship takes precedence over everything else.
We learn from this saying that it is impossible to serve Christ with a divided heart. If we are looking back to anything in this world, we are not fit to be disciples. Those who look back, like Lot’s wife, want to go back.
62. “Fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Fit means literally, “well-placed” or “well-disposed.” It implies that a person wanting to go home to take leave of his friends is not rightly disposed for gospel work, any more than a person looking behind him is rightly placed for plowing.
In this and the following two brief stories (vv. 59–62), Luke does not tell his readers how the person responded.
