Expeditious Expositions: Luke 9:57-62

Three Flawed Followers

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."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."To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” -Luke 9:57-62

Christ calls all his disciples to follow him along a difficult path. Though we might think we are up for the task, Jesus will expose in us areas of profound weakness. In Luke 9:57-62 Jesus confronts three men who express a willingness to follow him but who exhibit flaws that will hinder their obedience to Christ. Jesus’ words, though harsh sounding, are effective to cut through the hardness of the human heart. You should identify with these men, as Christ exposes your own flawed expectations, obligations, and attachments that hinder you.

The first conversation in 9:57-58 reveals how Christ crushes our false expectations. The man pledges to follow Jesus “wherever” he goes. The word “wherever” has the ring of a false confidence or boast about his ability and determination to follow Jesus. People often have an inflated sense of their own inherent ability to walk with Christ. The harsh realities of suffering with Jesus often destroy such arrogance. Jesus challenges this man to not expect a good life now. Often people presume that coming under our Father’s sovereign and benevolent care will result in a comfortable life. Jesus crushes that fantasy by saying that, “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” If the perfect and powerful Son of God is subject to deprivations in this life, you ought to expect it too. Jesus aims to spare people of the painful disillusionment that comes when God fails to meet our false expectations of earthly blessings. Let us remember that in Paul’s contentment list he only mentions two items—food and clothing, but never housing (1 Tim. 6:6-8).

The second conversation in vv. 59-60 is the only one where Jesus initiates a command to “Follow me,” in so doing Christ exerts his authority over all human obligations. The calling of Jesus to follow is not optional, but mandatory. When confronted by Christ’s command, the man pledges a delayed obedience,“Lord, let me first…” He gives priority to a competing obligation that he presumes trumps Christ’s call. Whether his father had actually died or he intended to care for his father as long as he lived, Jesus corrects him with a stinging reproof, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” This man did not have to be the one who completes the responsibility of  “burying the dead.” Let spiritually dead people do these earthly tasks, but spiritually alive people are commanded to advance Christ’s kingdom.

In the third man in vv. 61-62, Christ has to strip him of his worldly attachments. He offers to follow Jesus, but he desires first to say goodbye to his family. Though it seems like a reasonable request, Jesus’s penetrating gaze reveals that his attachment to family will hinder his obedience. He will have a hard time releasing this source of goodness and happiness. Not just your family, but everything that is familiar in your life has an unyielding grip upon you. Jesus calls this man to an unknown future, and warns him that he should not look back,“no one who puts his hands to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Whether it be our clan, country, our culture, Christ calls us to put it behind us and always look ahead. In the area of sanctification we need to also let go of who we were, and lay hold of whom Christ is making us to be.

You might identify with one of these men in particular, or you might see yourself in all three. Either way your weaknesses don’t disqualify you from discipleship, but they will be a hindrance. Every Christian is a “jar of clay” in which Christ inserts his treasure (2 Cor. 4:7). May we all take an honest look at ourselves, listen to these challenging reproofs, and respond in a way that makes us more fit to serve in Christ’s kingdom.