Matthew 8.19-22 Luke 9.57-62

Matthew 8:19-22
19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 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.” 21 Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”
Luke 9:57-62
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 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.” 59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 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.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
It is great honor to follow Jesus but there is a price to pay for following the Lord.  In today’s passage, we see three different people who either offer to follow Christ or are invited to follow Him.  Jesus responded to these men in ways that seem somewhat surprising to us.  We are not told how these men responded to the reaction of Jesus, but there are some very valuable lessons to learn from the way Jesus talked to these men.

FOLLOWING CHRIST MAY NOT BE COMFORTABLE: A scribe comes to Jesus and makes the declaration that he is ready to follow Jesus anywhere.  We may expect Jesus to welcome him into the fold, but Jesus proceeds to let him know that there is a price to pay for following Him.  Jesus warns the scribe that following Him would not be a comfortable experience.  Even animals and bird have homes in which to rest but Jesus does not.  Those who follow Jesus must be willing to leave the comforts of life behind for the cause of Christ.  We have all eternity to be perfectly comfortable.  Advancing the Gospel must be our top priority in life.  We can’t shy away for any opportunity to obey the Lord because of some personal discomfort that might cause.  Long days and sleeping in strange places is to be expected for all those who follow the Lord.

FOLLOWING CHRIST MAY NOT BE CONSIDERATE: The next person Jesus takes the initiative and invites the man to come and follow Him.  Imagine the honor it would be to have Jesus personally invite you to follow Him.  The man is not ready so he asks the asks for permission to bury his father and then come and follow.  Jesus seems to be very harsh by not allowing this request and even seems to be insensitive.  However, before we accuse Jesus of not being considerate in letting the man attend his father’s funeral; it is very likely that this man’s father had not yet died and he wanted to delay following Christ until his father passes on.  Jesus tells him that the dead should bury their dead but that he should be ready to follow Him.  Leaving family members is without a doubt the hardest things missionaries have to face but God is gracious to care for the one who goes as well as the one who serves by staying behind.  

FOLLOWING CHRIST MAY NOT BE CONVENIENT: The third person offers to follow Jesus but before Jesus has a chance to respond he amends his offer by stating that he just wants to go home say good bye to his family.  This again, does not seem to be such a strange request but Jesus considers that the request to do this is like putting one’s hand to the plow and looking back.  Following Christ requires we our undivided attention.  Once again, we see that the desire to please and be with family was a greater priority to this man then following Jesus.  There are times that following Christ demands we be willing to face inconvenience and even do things that our families may not understand or agree with.  If we are convinced that Christ is asking us to do something, it should take precedence over every other area of our lives.


APPLICATION: Be willing to suffer and be uncomfortable in order to advance the Gospel.  Don’t allow our families to become an idol in our lives.  We must discern where we can be most effective in the service of the Lord no matter what the cost may be.  We cannot look back and doubt what God has told us to do we must forge forward with conviction. 

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