Luke 9:57-62 – The cost of discipleship

At this point of His ministry, Jesus was gaining momentum and popularity. Everywhere He went, large crowds gathered and heads would turn. He had made astounding impact. Many needs of humanity were met. Deliverances were common place and miracles of healing abound. From all outward appearances, it should be attractive to hop onto His bandwagon. Hence, it wouldn't be difficult to guess why there would be some people who would want to follow Him. Though many times it could be for the wrong reason.

 

People could be blindsided by the glamour of His ministry that they don't see the demands of it. Just like the man who came to Jesus in Luke 9:57. He said to the Lord, "I will follow you wherever you go."  So in verse 58, the Lord told him the blatant truth - he must count the cost.  "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." He was not talking about a physical dwelling place. In His ministry, the Lord had many who would gladly give Him a place to rest His head. Here He was talking about acceptance by the society. At that point, opposition against Him and His work was mounting. It would get increasingly harder to follow Him. If he knew that, would he still be as eager?

The next guy, in verse 59, had some interest but lacked the commitment. When called to follow Jesus, he made excuses. He requested to follow only when his parents were dead and buried. This guy was actually saying, "Now is not the time. I have other seemingly more important tasks at hand. I can't make the sacrifice now."  Of course Christ saw through it. His response to that man was: “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” In essence, He told him that discipleship is urgent. Discipleship is now, and now is the time. If there is commitment, there will be no excuse.

In verse 61, the third person asked for time to bid his family farewell before he would join the Lord.  Jesus' answer to him could be summed up in two words "Be focused!" Using an illustration of a farmer, Jesus told him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." When a farmer is tilling his ground, he cannot constantly look at the rearview mirror. He won't be able to focus if he does that.

Simply put, following Christ has a cost, it requires commitment, and it calls for concentration, Yes, following Christ calls for three things - Cost, Commitment and Concentration. The Lord would often bring us to our "Y-junction" in life to weigh the earnestness of our heart. When it comes to Christ, convenience or commitment, which would we choose? The call from Christ is "Follow Me!" It has been right from the start, and will always be - Follow Me!