Cost of following
Luke records three brief conversations Jesus had with would-be followers. They might not have all happened at the same time – Luke may have grouped them together because they all revolve around the same thing. My Bible, like some others, inserts little section headings to help you find what you might be looking for. The heading for this group of three conversations is “The Cost of Following Jesus”, which seems fitting. It’s easy to think of these as applying only to the people directly following Jesus in person. But then, why would Luke be inspired to preserve them for all time? Grouping them together, it seems to me, adds emphasis to the thought that these apply to you and me just as much.
Conversation 1:
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.” (9:57-58)
Are we going along the road with Jesus? Not literally, but you and I both would say yes, in a figurative way. Yes Lord, wherever you go. Jesus challenges the “someone” that there’s a cost: no place to call home. Not in this life, that is. So, do we feel at home in our life now? If so, we’re not really following him as we’ve said we would.
Conversation 2:
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.” (9:59-60)
At first this sounds very callous. Has this person’s father just died? Or is about to die? Or is the person putting off following, saying, “I have other obligations.” It’s tough to imagine that Jesus would demand we not do elder care. The “dead” are, of course, those who are spiritually dead. (See Ephesians 2:1-5, Revelation 3:1.) Why would Jesus say this, if he’s not being callous? I think he’s cutting through whatever excuses we might offer, which so often boil down to, “I’m too busy right now. Maybe later.”
Conversation 3:
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.” (9:61-62)
Jesus doesn’t want this person to say goodbye? That’s hard to imagine. Wouldn’t he want us to tell people we’re following Jesus? And what he says next doesn’t seem to follow. What does plowing have to do with anything? Well, it’s not hard to see this is a parable. Putting the hand to the plow is committing to the job, to following. But if you’re facing backward, you aren’t going to get the job done. Perhaps Jesus is alluding to Lot’s wife, who looked back to Sodom, longing for the life she’d had there. Jesus is saying it’s a choice, and if you can’t let go of your past, you’re unfit for his Kingdom. (See 2 Peter 2:20-22.)
Really, what Jesus says in the three conversations all boils down to one thing. You want to follow him? You have to leave the comfort of home. You have to leave the duties and activities of this life to the perishing. You have to leave the past in the past. Boils down to one word: Leave.
The cost of discipleship is leaving everything else. Being “all in”.
Given the whole rest of the Bible, including Jesus’s teaching, it’s clear Jesus doesn’t demand that we be homeless, doesn’t demand we ignore our elders, doesn’t demand we not speak of our discipleship. What he does demand is that we leave our comfort zone and the life that’s behind us. The triple emphasis is to make sure we get the point.
I don’t know about you, but I think I’m not yet turned all the way around to facing forward. Still need to leave some perishing, comfortable things behind.
Love, Paul