SCRIPTURE 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, I will follow you wherever you go.

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1 May 26, 2019 Luke 9:57-62 SCRIPTURE 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 dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. 59 He said to another man, Follow me. But he 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 goodbye to my family. 62 Jesus replied, No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. COMMENTARY 9: As Jesus and the disciples were going along the road, someone approached Jesus and expressed a desire to go with them. He said, I will follow You. The enthusiasm of this would-be follower contained no limits wherever You go! We might

2 expect Jesus to warmly embrace this person s enthusiasm. However, Jesus did the unexpected; He issued a warning. 9:57. As Jesus and His followers traveled, they met three people who desired to become His disciples. Jesus response to each of these individuals emphasize the stringent demands of discipleship. The first would-be disciple proclaimed his willingness to follow Jesus anywhere. Such an expansive claim was intended to demonstrate total devotion. The man, however, probably thought Jesus was moving toward some glorious destiny. He had no idea that Jesus had already set His face toward His crucifixion. 9:58. Jesus pointed out to this would-be disciple that He did not even have a place to lay His head. Christ did not even enjoy the comforts of the wild animals and birds. The primary emphasis in the words, however, may be on Jesus rejection (see 9:22,44). He was constantly rebuffed and as a result He moved from town to town (9:52-53). In any case, His followers must be willing to accept a lifestyle that involves both denial of physical comforts and rejection for their faith. The designation Son of Man was Jesus favorite way of referring to Himself. Although He clearly knew Himself to be the Messiah, the term Messiah held connotations Jesus wished to avoid. First-century Jews were preoccupied with dreams of a conquering warrior-king who would deliver them from Rome s dominion. Jesus was not that kind of Messiah. 9:59. Another man, when called to follow Jesus, replied that He must first bury His father. Some interpreters hold that this would-be disciple meant that His father had just died and he had to attend his funeral. If such were the case, the man would fulfill his duty in the next few days. Because first- century Jews lacked embalming procedures, they generally buried their dead within 24 hours. Other Bible scholars believe this man meant that he could not follow Jesus as long as his aged father continued to live. It was the duty of a pious Jew to care for his parents in their old age and then to provide them with a proper burial. In any case, this individual made it plain that his duty to family took precedence over his devotion to Jesus. 9:60. Jesus told him there were plenty of spiritually dead people who had no comprehension of what God was doing. They could care for his father. The kingdom of God must take precedence over every other loyalty and duty, even that to family members. 9:61. Another aspiring disciple requested permission to first say good-bye to those at his house. While his request does not seem unreasonable, it evidently concealed some unstated reluctance to take the decisive step of discipleship as indicated by Jesus response in the following verse. 9:62. Jesus replied with an illustration from farming. In order to plow a straight furrow, a farmer fixes his eyes on a point ahead of him and moves toward that point. Jesus said

3 that no one could plow a straight line while looking backward instead of forward. In other words, this man did not have his eyes set on the kingdom of God. He was still looking back at all the things and people he was leaving behind. Such a person was not suitable to serve God s kingdom. In each of these three cases, Jesus made shocking demands. Through these demands He pointed out the urgency of the coming kingdom and the stringent requirements of discipleship. Christ s disciples must be willing to give up all the comforts of home. Those who follow Jesus must place Him above even their most precious family loyalties. His disciples must follow Him wholeheartedly, moving toward God s kingdom without bemoaning what they are giving up. Discipleship requires a radical shift in an individual s priorities. We who live in the 21st century must recognize the high level of commitment to which our Lord calls us. Jesus revealed His expectation that people follow Him without letting anything or anyone distract them or deter them from service. As Jesus first disciples had to respond to such a rigorous call to discipleship, so must we. We too must recognize that following Jesus means accepting the challenge to serve Him without letting anyone or anything else interfere. MAIN POINT If we re going to seek to see big things happen in the church and in our lives, we re going to have to stay committed when we run into challenges. INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to introduce the topic of discussion. What s something that initially looked easy on the surface, but you later found to be quite challenging? When have you found it difficult to leave someone or someplace behind? Most things in life just don t come easy. That s especially true of things that have the most potential for good. For the Christian, everything we do is rooted in our relationship with Christ and our journey with Him. That journey begins with counting the cost of following Him and continues with a steadfast commitment that pushes us past all challenges that will come.

4 UNDERSTANDING Unpack the biblical text to discover what the Scripture says or means about a particular topic. Have a volunteer read Luke 9: In these verses, three sayings of Jesus are addressed to potential followers, and all three center around the term follow. The three sayings remind Luke s Christian readers of the stringent nature of discipleship. The first saying shows that Jesus seeks no flippant, frivolous decision to follow him. Following Jesus means one must first count the cost. Why might someone have wanted to follow Jesus? Why do many say they want to follow Him now? What are the costs one should consider in following Christ? Luke reminded his readers that these teachings of Jesus took place on the way to Jerusalem. So Jesus demands of the disciples are accompanied by His own unconditional sacrifice for His disciples. Jesus doesn t ask us to do anything that He hasn t already shown Himself more than willing to do. In fact, He did for us what we could not do for ourselves by dying on the cross for our sins and conquering death by His resurrection. Have a volunteer read Luke 9: Following Jesus does not only require a cost, but also a deep commitment. For a Jew, burying one s father was a religious duty having precedence over everything else. Jesus communicates through this demand an allegiance that transcends even this greatest of family obligations. This was going to require a commitment that could only come from a heart fully submitted to God. Why would Jesus ask something so hard of someone considering following Him? What s something hard that Jesus has asked of you or someone close to you? When have you been encouraged by someone else s obedience and perseverance? The saying in v. 60 may seem harsh, but the kind of love and commitment we have for Christ must supersede any earthly allegiance we have. Jesus followed up this uncompromising command with a mandate to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. This should always be the focus of our discipleship. Have a volunteer read Luke 9:61-62.

5 Following Jesus requires a cost, a deep commitment, and also a willingness to face challenges. The third man s request was similar to a request made to Elisha in 1 Kings 19: Although Elijah granted the young man s request in the Old Testament, Jesus did not here. God s kingdom has come, and the summons to follow Jesus takes precedence over everything else. Even earthly family ties must be placed behind the commitment to following Jesus. The life of a Christ-follower will have many challenges, like this one, that we can only overcome through the power of Christ. Why do our hearts sometimes yearn for the things of the past? What practical steps can we take to keep our eyes focused ahead instead? How does the seriousness of the call of Jesus make you feel? Where do you need to be honest with God about this in order to seek to trust His call more? The call to follow Christ is a call to follow without excuse or delay. Once you answer the call, you have a permanent calling. No looking back. That s our challenge. APPLICATION Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives. What has it cost you to follow Christ? Why has the cost been worth it? What are the costs for us as a church in following Christ? How can our group carry out our responsibility of going and spreading the news of the kingdom of God? How can we help one another overcome the pull of what s behind in order to press forward to what s ahead? PRAYER For your closing prayer time, give your group members the opportunity to confess sin and commit themselves to following Christ without condition. Pray together that God would grant the courage to press through whatever challenges come and for courage to not look back at the things left behind. Pray that we would encourage one another as a group to follow Him with passion.