Postponing Obedience

Mark Dunagan
06/06/10 - Sunday Morning

Luke 9:57-62

9:57 “And as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, ‘I will follow You wherever You go’”. 9:58 “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’”.

The reward for following Jesus is both invaluable and incalculable. But what is the “cost” in following Him? “The man must see what his offer involves, not in idealism, but in sober, sane realism. Jesus illuminates the way on which He leads His disciples, and this way is not bordered with roses” (Lenski, p. 559). There are times when even the wild animals have better “comforts” than Jesus does. He has been constantly on the move and has no fixed home. “The Savior calls attention to the naked reality of His life of extreme privation. He calls attention to it so as to make the prospective follower realize the implications of his swearing allegiance, so that he may be able to decide with open eyes whether he will indeed follow Him”(Geldenhuys, pp. 295-296).

Jesus is not saying that a man must become homeless to be His disciple. Instead, Jesus’ lack of creature comforts at times is one illustration of the hardships involved in following Him. Putting Jesus first will involve some sacrifices (Matthew 6:33; Luke 14:26ff). Jesus wanted people to reflect deeply before they committed to Him. He did not have the popular religious view that we offer Christianity by mentioning only the rewards of following Christ, and sweep under the rug the hardships that will inevitably come. Jesus only wanted committed followers.

9:59 “And He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Permit me first to go and bury my father’”

On this occasion, Jesus makes the first move. He extends the offer to follow Him to a specific individual.

9:60 “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’”

The “dead” who bury their own dead, are the spiritually dead who bury the physical dead. On the surface this response may sound heartless, but consider the following: The lesson is that in following Jesus, there will be times that our obligations to Him and the pull from our natural family will conflict – are we ready to make that choice? The idea is certainly not that Christians are to forsake parents or that they are forbidden to attend funerals. Instead, Jesus’ response reminds us that after one has died there is really nothing more we can do for that person, also, the term “allow” seems to suggest that this man needs to realize that there are more important things in life than even attending to all the details of a funeral. There were likely many others who could plan the details and run all the errands demanded by this funeral. Remember the setting, Jesus has personally asked someone to follow Him; how rare an opportunity is that? And yet an excuse has been given of some unfinished business. On such an occasion, God must come first, because following Jesus will never be convenient. There is a warning here to people who always seem to be putting off either becoming a Christian or growing spirituallybecause of something that they have to do first. If following Jesus takes precedence over a family funeral, then following Jesus takes precedence over all other matters as well – remember and always do what is most eternally pressing.

Observations

“Jesus was proclaiming that true discipleship requires instant action. Jesus did not teach people to forsake responsibilities to family, but He often gave commands to people in light of their real motives. Perhaps the man wanted to delay following Christ and was using his father as an excuse. Following Jesus has a cost, and each of us must be willing to serve, even when it requires sacrifice” (Life Application Bible, p. 1693).

The funeral is not the most important thing. How we treated the person before they died, the time we spent with them, what we said to them while they were living, will always be the really important thing in life.

We cannot pick and choose among Jesus’ ideals and follow Him selectively.

“A few days ago I mentioned a man who runs a car ministry for missionaries. When this man went to Bible school, he had four other friends, all on fire for the Lord. They planned to make a lot of money and then use it for His kingdom. The car guy, on the other hand, skipped the get-rich part and went straight to collecting vehicles. The other four guys all got rich. But they also got the tentacles of the world sunk into their hearts and never did get around to the dream they started with. Two committed suicide. The other two also shipwrecked their lives. The dilemma is addressed in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s commentary on Luke 9:57-62 from The Cost of Discipleship, which men hear the call of Jesus and they say yes – but there is something they need to do first:

“He wants to follow, but feels obliged to insist on his own terms. Discipleship to him is a possibility which can only be realized with certain conditions have been fulfilled... First you must do this, then you must do that. There is a right time for everything. The disciple places himself at the Master’s disposal, but at the same time retains the right to dictate his own terms. But then discipleship is no longer discipleship, but a programme of our own”. The difference between following a Person and a Program is that one of them is untamed and unpredictable” (Beware of Postponing Obedience, Andree Seu, Worldmag.com, 1-11-2010).

9:61 “And another also said, “I will follow You, Lord: but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home’”

“This request sounds reasonable and innocent. But when this man gets back among his people, tells them of his intention to follow Jesus, and starts to bid them all farewell, will he be able to resist their pleading to stay with them and to give up Jesus? All honor to friendship and love, but humanly noble affections may prevent us from entering the kingdom (Matthew 10:37)” (Lenski, p. 563). There is nothing wrong with saying goodbye, but it appears that Jesus expected this man to do that before he approached Jesus.

9:62 “But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’”.

In the context, this man is “looking back”. He is half-hearted, with many of his desires still with home and friends. The present participle “looking” indicates, not an occasional glance backward, but constant looking. Looking back means looking to past joys, and so on. Setting the heart on the things of this world. “It makes little difference to what part of the worldly life the heart looks back with longing and is unable to tear itself away, the effect is always the same: not fit for the kingdom” (Lenski, p. 564).

• In none of the three cases does Luke tell us what happened to these men, did they follow Jesus or not? Were they convicted or offended by what He said to them? 
• The privilege and the seriousness of following Christ are of such tremendous magnitude that there is no room for excuse, for compromise with the world, or for half-heartedness. 
• Levi (Matthew) had gathered together his friends and co-workers after he was called (Luke 5:29) but with a different purpose and in a different spirit. He gave a farewell dinner for his old associates, but he did this in order to introduce them to Christ. The banquet was given for Him.

Faithful Hearts Have Always Displayed Prompt Obedience

• “So Abraham rose early in the morning” (Genesis 22:3)
• “And they immediately left the nets, and followed Him” 
  (Matthew 4:20)
• “And He rose, and followed Him” (Matthew 9:9)
• “And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look’! ‘Water!’ What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)
• “And immediately he was baptized” (Acts 16:33)
• “And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16)
• “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” 
  (Hebrews 3:7)
• “In reverence prepared an ark” (Hebrews 11:7)
• “Obeyed by going out” (Hebrews 11:8).

What Must I Learn From All This?

• The only unfinished business that is truly pressing – 
  is obeying God!
• Never allow yourself to get side-tracked by lesser matters.
• Kingdom business must consistently come first.
• This commitment deserves a heart that never looks back.
• The kingdom desperately needs us now – not later.