Luke 9:57-62 The Cost of Following Jesus
Good morning! Turn with me to Luke chapter nine. We are continuing our study in the Gospel of Luke with 9:57-62 and that’s on page 868 in the pew Bibles.
Over the last few weeks we have really been run through the ringer by Jesus along with the disciples so I commend you for coming back for more.
I want very much to preach on the many blessings and quiet and peaceful living that comes along with following Jesus but I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen today. In fact, if we’ve been run through the ringer so far, I’m afraid this morning we may get dragged through a knothole backwards.
But all this is for our good.
Let’s read Luke 9:57-62 and then we’ll pray.
57 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.”
Let’s pray.
Here we have three examples of those who would follow Jesus but each of them has, to put it politely, a concern. The truth is that they each have an excuse.
We have to remember that Jesus is dealing with three individuals here and He always deals with individuals individually but we can learn from the principles that He lays down here and with the help of the Holy Spirit apply them to our own lives.
I wonder if you remember the First Commandment. You shall have no others gods before me.
And I wonder if you recall what Jesus said was the Greatest Commandment. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
And in our catechism that we’ve been working through question nine asks us: What does God require in the first Commandment? That we know and trust God as the only true and Living God…
This is exactly what Jesus is dealing with in these three examples, what it looks like to put God first by following Jesus.
So let’s look at each one.
The first example is that of an excited and enthusiastic would be follower.
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
In Matthew’s account of this interaction, in Matthew 8, he tells us that this man is a Scribe. This is important information for us so that we get a better understanding of Jesus’ response to his energetic offer to follow Jesus.
In the New Testament, Scribes were educated, leading men in society. They filled a number of roles in government as well as in the religious hierarchy of Israel. These were guys that were used to a certain standard of living, a standard that was pretty high.
So when this guy in his exuberance says, “I’ll follow you wherever you go,” Jesus fills him in a little as to what that might look like.
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.”
Is Jesus telling this guy that he can’t follow Him wherever He goes? No, but He is telling Him that following Him would come with a cost.
Jesus didn’t have a home with a nice soft memory foam bed with an orthopedic pillow. He lived a life of humble poverty as He travelled from place to place preaching and teaching about the kingdom. To follow Him meant that this Scribe would have to give up his comfortable lifestyle of high society and be willing to live as Jesus lived.
Following Jesus would come at a cost. For this guy it would come at that cost of his material wealth and possessions. He would have to give that up if he was to follow Jesus wherever He went.
Contrary to the opinion of some, following Jesus does not promise health and wealth but requires us to forsake all that stuff, to put it in its proper place in service to Jesus. Following Jesus does not promise ease but hardships and trouble.
John Calvin wrote about this example: “Let us therefore look upon ourselves as warned in this person, not to boast lightly and at ease, that we will be disciples of Christ, while we are taking no thought of the cross, or of afflictions; but, on the contrary, to consider early what sort of condition awaits us. The first lesson which He gives us, on entering His school, is to deny ourselves and take up His cross.”
That was fun, let’s look at the second example.
This time Jesus Himself calls a man to follow Him.
59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
There are lots of differing opinions on the actual state of this man’s father, whether he was actually dead or only really old and near death. I don’t think it’s really all that complicated considering Jesus’ response to the man’s excuse.
The man didn’t tell Jesus, “no, I won’t follow you,” he just asked if he could just take care of some important business first. Seems reasonable, doesn’t it?
Tradition was to bury the dead on the day they died. Jesus could very well have called this man straight out of the funeral procession and his response was, “just let me take care of my dad and I’ll be right with you.”
But Jesus says, 60 “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Let the physically dead be buried by the spiritually dead. This seems harsh but at the principle level Jesus is reminding us that our primary responsibility is to the kingdom of God not the kingdom of men or of the world.
He’s calling this man to make a courageous decision to leave behind his familial responsibilities in order to proclaim the kingdom.
JJ vanOosterzee wrote, “Duty to a handful of dust must now give way before duty towards mankind.”
That’s what the proclamation of the gospel really is, our duty towards mankind, so that they may know how to no longer be spiritually dead.
Again, John Calvin wrote about this example: “He intends only to show, that whatever withdraws us from the right course, or holds us back in it, deserves no other name than death. Those only live, He tells us, who devote all their thoughts, and every part of their life, to obedience to God; while those that do not rise above the world, who devote themselves to pleasing men, and forget God, are like dead men, who are idly and uselessly employed in taking care of the dead.”
This man that Jesus called could expect his relatives to balk at his leaving his father to be buried by others in order to follow Jesus, to leave behind what his family would consider his responsibilities to his extended family.
To follow Jesus with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, will most likely raise the ire of our families and those that we are close to if they don’t follow Jesus in the same way if at all. They may think that we take this “Jesus thing” way too seriously, or that we’ve turned into a religious fanatic.
Jesus says that that is the way of death, the way the spiritually dead think. We can’t let that be us nor stop us from following Jesus according to His Word.
In verse 61 a third man says he wants to follow Jesus.
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.”
Now we’ve had folks just put in a garden out here at the church building so this example should be really fresh for some of you. Nobody can rototill a straight line in the garden while looking over their shoulder behind them.
First Century plows were one handed implements that would have been attached to a yoke of oxen. Turning around and looking at the furrow you’ve just made would result in crooked furrows or even a flipped plow. This was a mark of a bad farmer, easily distracted with divided attention.
Following Jesus requires singular devotion.
This man, while professing in words that he would follow Jesus turned his back on Him until he had taken care of his worldly business.
I think Jesus is making a reference to the calling of Elisha in 1 Kings 19:19. While Elijah did allow Elisha to go kiss his mother and father goodbye, this man who said he wanted to follow Jesus was reluctant to separate and break from the world.
This man wanted to put his hand to the plow while looking back at his life, but Elisha burned the yokes and cooked the oxen then followed Elijah. That’s the kind of follower Jesus is looking for.
The simple principle in these three examples is that here is a cost to following Jesus, just like the heading says.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
No excuses. No compromise. No half-heartedness.
Burn the yokes. Cook the oxen. Follow Jesus.
Amen.
