“And as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” And another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:57-62 (NASB95)
As we prepare for Sunday’s morning message on a passage that convicted me to the core (1 Peter 4:1-6), I thought it appropriate to look at this passage in Luke first. At this point in Luke’s gospel, Jesus is focused on going to Jerusalem to die for our sins (9:51). He was rejected by a Samaritan village which led to a need to rebuke two of his disciples (the Sons of Thunder) for failing to understand His true mission. In the text above, we see three people who could possibly be an illustration of what Jesus said about following Him in 9:23-26: the 1st man won’t deny himself; the 2nd man won’t take up his cross, and the 3rd man won’t follow Jesus.
To the 1st man, “Will you follow me ‘wherever,’ even if there are no creature comforts? I’m headed to Jerusalem to die, will you follow Me there?” To the 2nd man, who it appears wanted to wait until he received his inheritance after his father dies and make sure he has a nest egg for the future, “Take up your cross. Let others be concerned with the mundane things of this life. Go preach the kingdom of God no matter what it cost you.” To the 3rd man, who it appears wanted the approval of his family to follow Jesus, “If you fear man, you won’t be useful in the work of the kingdom.”
What is sad is that most modern evangelistic efforts might have seen all three as true disciples. But Jesus called people to an all-out commitment to Him as Lord of their lives, and to His kingdom work as more important than anything else. The call is to deny yourself (and creature comforts if necessary), take up your cross (forsake the things of this world as He leads you), and follow Him (don’t be ashamed of Him even if your entire family is against your decision to serve Christ). Peter will call us to a similar commitment in our passage on Sunday.
Please meditate on these things in preparation for Sunday morning. Prayerfully read through 1 Peter 4:1-6 and ask the Lord to make you a true disciple of Jesus that follows Him faithfully no matter what the cost. Pray that some who have not yet surrendered to Jesus will do so this week. Pray that the rest of us will renew our commitment to be faithful to Jesus until He calls us home. That is what the Lord deserves and what the world needs.