Sermon Tone Analysis
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It is important that we understand the cost to follow Christ.
However Cost, is a tough concept sometimes
A farmer was approached by a stranger one day and asked how much he thought his prize Jersey cow was worth.
The farmer thought for a moment, looked the stranger over, then said: “Are you the tax assessor, or has she been killed by your car?”
In this case the cost was bit nebulous
In the ninth chapter of Luke, we find Jesus busily ministering in Galilee.
In this passage above, Jesus finds Himself meeting three different people while journeying on the road
The First Person - We Must Lay Aside our Comfort or Posessions
Here was an unnamed disciple.
He had the right mind to follow Jesus.
In fact, that is what Jesus always commands us to do.
John 10:27
In fact, it must be appreciated that Jesus did not call this person and ask Him to follow Him (unlike how he called Peter and the disciples;
Matthew 4:19 This man volunteered all by himself.
Note that this man volunteered all by himself
What was the Lord’s reply?
Jesus did not give a direct, straight-forward answer to his question.
Rather, he described the situation in which he was living.
Jesus explained to the man, the level of his comfort and possessions.
In other words, Jesus was trying to explain the man that following Jesus may require that even his basic needs be sacrificed.
Later, we do not hear anything about this man.
Probably he left the place and that is why nothing is mentioned about him thereafter.
Perhaps, this man wanted to follow Jesus thinking that that would bring him fame and comfort.
Jesus, knowing the intent of his heart, explained his situation instead of replying with a yes or no.
When his man learnt about the difficulties, he was not willing to follow.
We read of another such person in the Bible.
In Mark 10, there was a young man who was confronted by Jesus with a choice between Himself and worldly possessions.
However, the young man left the place saddened because he preferred his material possessions over Christ.
Many of us today are guilty of the same.
How often have you been unwilling to give up something for the sake of Christ and His kingdom?
Following Jesus is costly.
Luke 9:23
The second person - We Must Lay Aside our Priorities
Next, Jesus met another person on the road.
This man was called by Jesus to follow Him.
The usage of the word ‘first’ shows the priorities of that person.
He wanted to perform all his commitment to his family before following Jesus.
However, it doesn’t sound like an unreasonable request.
It was the duty of the eldest son to bury the father.
Notice the reply given by Jesus.
Luke 9:60
Sounds harsh?
We may wonder… It sounds correct that he must go first and bury his dead father.
We must understand that Jesus would definitely not forbid the man from attending to the funeral arrangements for his father.
He Himself went to visit the grieve with family of His friend Lazarus after Lazarus’ death.
(John 11:1-16).
Then, what was Jesus trying to mean here?
To understand the true meaning, we must know the Jewish cultural background.
On a first reading, it seems like that this conversation took place sometime between the death of the man’s father and his proper burial.
However, in those times, Jewish people buried their dead usually within twenty-four hours, and family members sat around the deceased body until it was buried.
If the father had died already, his son would not be walking on the road and communicating with Jesus.
Rather, he would be sitting at home with his family in mourning.
What, then, was the nature of the request?
There are two possible situations.
To understand better, let us have a look into the first century Jewish burial practice.
After the body was placed in the tomb, it was left to decompose.
The entire family mourned for the dead for seven days.
Following this primary mourning period was a less intense 30-day period of mourning.
However, the entire mourning period was not fully completed until the flesh of the deceased had decomposed usually about a year later.
It is only then that the final mourning act takes place – gathering of bones into the bone box.
This is usually referred to as the second burial.
This burial custom also appears in many other cultures.
So, the situation would be that the father had died, and the man was asking time to be with his family till the second burial.
That is why, Jesus was asking him to instead preach the gospel.
Jesus meant that unnecessary rituals are less important than the kingdom of God.
B. Secondly, it could be that this man’s father was still alive.
On asking for permission to bury his father, he was asking Jesus to let him take care of his father during his last years, until finally he died.
This was a common saying of the day.
So, the person meant that he would follow Jesus once his family responsibility was over and he had nothing else to do.
This meant that the man was asking for a long time.
Jesus was looking for disciples who were ready to give up whatever could hold them back.
Jesus discerned that this man was using his family situation as an excuse for delaying his discipleship.
He told the person that the spiritually dead can attend to the routine tasks of life, but you don’t neglect your high spiritual calling.
Matthew 19:29
The same is true with each one of us.
Each one of us, who have accepted Christ as our Saviour, has a call of God in our lives and Jesus wants us to focus on our calling.
1 Corinthians 7:17 -
We may have a thousand reasons to abandon or delay that call of God in our lives, including the claims of our own families.
However, none of them are more important than following Jesus.
The Third Person - Our Love For Christ Must be Over and Above Everything Else
This person also gives an excuse.
He was ready to follow Jesus.
He just had one request that he would go and bid farewell to those at his house.
Again, sounds reasonable!
We find another person making similar excuse in the Old Testament
1 Kings 19:19-21
Here when Elijah called Elisha, Elisha had similar excuse.
He asked Elijah to allow him to bid farewell to his family.
Elijah didn’t hinder him.
But what does Jesus reply to this man?
Luke 9:62
What does Jesus mean by the saying?
Jesus lived in an agricultural age and so Jesus used this phrase so that it went home to the personal experience of His hearers.
If the plowman has to get his job done well, the eye of the plowman must look straight before him at the line of the furrow which he is making.
Looking back, while working, would make his plow line crooked and mar the work entirely.
If that happens, the field he is plowing would fail to yield a 100% harvest.
Here, by using this phrase, Jesus meant that once we have decided to commit our lives to God and follow Him, there must be no turning back.
The Kingdom of God is more important than our worldly relations.
Elijah would have agreed to Elisha’s request, but the call of Jesus is more important and radical than the call of a prophet.
To summarize, as followers or disciples of Christ, we must be ready to sacrifice our comforts, our rituals, our priorities and our relations.
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