Day 46

Luke 9:57–62 (NIV)

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” ⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Helpful Information

Burial of the dead was a religious duty that took precedence over all others, including even study of the Law. Priests, who were not normally allowed to touch dead bodies, could do so in the case of relatives (Lv. 21:1–3). To assist in burying a person who had no claims on one as a relative was a work of love which carried great reward from God both in this life and in the next world. It follows that the burial of a father was a religious duty of the utmost importance (Gn. 50:5). To leave it undone was something scandalous to a Jew.

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage

Read the Passage

Who is in the passage?

What action verbs do you see?

What other words stick out in your mind

Questions

Why do Jesus’ statements about discipleship seem so hard?

Are there areas that you hold back when it comes to being a disciple?

How do you proclaim and serve in the Kingdom of God?

Notes

The section dealing with what makes a good disciple continues. The lessons are becoming more intense. First Jesus said you have to take up your cross daily and follow Him (9:23) now He illustrates that point with three different scenarios.

vs 57-58 If you want to follow me you will have no where to call home. The "wherever" the man uses in his statement is truly wherever. You have to be willing to go everywhere. Jesus mission takes precedence over home.

Could it be because this life is not home? Home is in heaven (2 Cor 5:1) for Jesus and for us! How does this statement apply today?

vs 59 Same thing he said to other disciples (5:27)

vs 60-the statement seems harsh. Why because the primary responsibility for them and us on earth is family. (See Helpful Information) Some commentators try to say the man was asking to wait until his father died, the father was not now on his death bed so it could be years before he would follow. Others think the father had died and the son wants to bury him (it would have been that day) and have a mourning period. But that begs the question of the man being with a crowd since one could not go out in public places at a death because of being "unclean".

We do not know the background of the story but that is not the point; the point is Jesus is the first priority even over family. Think about Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac! (Gen 22) Discipleship means hard choices! (note many of the first followers of Jesus would eventually be excluded from family because they Followed Jesus and not the God of their families. Still happens today in some parts of the world. Thus the choice was indeed a true one!)

vs 61-62 another family situation that seems reasonable. 1 Kings 19:19-21 Tells of Elijah letting Elisha go to see his family before he follows him. So why not allow the man to see his family? We don't know the full story but Jesus' answer is clear. Once you start following me you look to what is ahead, not what was before. The Kingdom of God requires disciples that go and proclaim and do not look back at what was. This is serious! Reminds me of what Jesus says about is family when they come to see Him (8:19-21)