Marked: Called by the Savior 3

1. Within this story, we see three individuals who have an opportunity to follow Jesus as he travels about, teaching and healing. For various reasons, however, they make excuses for why they cannot follow Jesus at just that moment. Their responses differ significantly from the responses we have seen from individuals like Peter, John, James, and Andrew, who responded immediately to Jesus’s invitation to follow him.

Luke 9:57–62 ESV

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.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 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.”

2. Jesus responds to each of the three individuals with a comment about following him. At first, Jesus’s comments might seem harsh. But we need to consider what Jesus was communicating to them. Interestingly, Luke does not share with us how these three individuals responded to Jesus’s rebukes.

3. This week, we’re stepping into the stories of three different individuals. Jesus’s response to them was not in the context of teaching a large group. Each of his responses is directed to a single person in a particular situation. Therefore, what Jesus said to each of these individuals is not necessarily what God would speak to everyone. Yet by attempting to understand their unique situations, we can discover some principles that apply to all of us.

4. In the first scenario, a person tells Jesus that he will follow him wherever Jesus goes (Luke 9:57). However, Jesus replies that he has “nowhere to lay his head” (v. 58). That is, Jesus had no permanent home. Even though his ultimate sacrifice of laying down his life to redeem us from our sins and overcome evil is still ahead of him, Jesus had already made many sacrifices to do the work of God. Jesus had given up a home and had to live dependent on the hospitality and support of others. Jesus’s response to the man reminds all of us that there is a cost in following the way of Jesus. He taught the crowds, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). This video asks how many people today would become believers if the call was phrased “Come follow Jesus, and you may face the loss of friends, family, reputation, career, and possibly even your life”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbks-45i4kY.

5. The person’s eagerness to follow Jesus anywhere is commendable, much like we often pledge our unconditional allegiance to go wherever or do whatever Jesus calls us to. But God reminds us that following Jesus is rarely convenient or comfortable. If we want to follow Jesus wherever he goes, then we will quickly have to give up our places of comfort and security and take risks, following Jesus into places that stretch us and require us to rely on him.

6. In the second situation, Jesus invites a person to follow him, but the individual requests first to return home to bury his father (Luke 9:59). Jesus then tells him to let the dead bury the dead (v. 60). Again, we might perceive this to be a very confusing and apathetic response by Jesus. Much debate among biblical scholars exists about this story. Was the man’s father dead already, or was he about to die, or did the man merely want to wait till his father died? We don't know exactly what the man’s story is.

7. Interestingly, in Matthew’s account of this exchange, the person is referred to as a disciple (Matthew 8:21). This doesn’t mean he did not become a believer because he wanted first to bury his father. According to Matthew, he was already a disciple of Jesus. Jesus invited the disciple to follow him more closely and join him in his travel. The man wasn't ready to do it right then. He wanted to delay his opportunity to come with Jesus. The urgency of Jesus’s mission at that moment, however, required an immediate response: leave all and follow him. Likewise, in our lives as children of God, the Holy Spirit often offers us an invitation to join Jesus in his work on this earth. Some of those invitations are so urgent that to join Jesus, we must put off all excuses, forsake other responsibilities, and immediately follow him.

8. In the final scenario, another person states that he will follow Jesus but first wants to return home and say goodbye (Luke 9:61). On the surface, the person’s response seems reasonable. However, Jesus responds, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). Jesus’s response sheds some potential light on the situation. A farmer whose hand is on the plow must keep looking forward to guide the plow. If the farmer looks back, the plow will veer off course. Therefore, we must focus on the mission ahead of us and avoid becoming distracted by things around us. Here’s a video clip that shows the dangers of being distracted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYgTM1pPjKQ.

9. Jesus also told the crowds, “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). Obviously, Jesus is not saying that to follow him, we must bear malice toward the members of our family. A parallel passage is found in Matthew 10:37, where Jesus states, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Our love for Jesus and our passion for seeing his kingdom to come into the earth must be the priorities of our lives. We must maintain our focus on him and not become distracted with other responsibilities and relationships that would cause us to veer away from following him.