57 Now
it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him,
“Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 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.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and
bury my father.” 60 Jesus
said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you
go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will
follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my
house.” 62 But Jesus
said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow,
and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Commentary
Vs. 57-58 57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 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.”
In this section Jesus has three different encounters with three different individuals. Each one on the surface seems to want to follow Him in discipleship, however each one will either drop away, or give Jesus a reason why they cannot immediately follow Him. In the first instance as Jesus and the twelve were journeying someone comes and says to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” Likely this individual had heard Jesus’ preaching and seen all the good things Jesus was doing, and was so moved by them that he made that bold declaration to Him. However, Jesus’ response is not to acknowledge what the man had just boldly and openly declared, but rather He says to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And so in response to the man’s rash declaration, Jesus reveals the realities of the true cost of discipleship, and that is that in following Jesus Christ in discipleship one may have to forsake (or lay aside) some or all of the “securities” and comforts in their life. At the very least no one should presume upon having and holding onto them. And so, when the man heard that Jesus had no home to go to each night, he likely left silently and went to his own.
Vs. 59-60 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
Having heard that previous mans bold declaration and seen his departure Jesus now says to another person, “Follow Me.” Which is what He basically said to the twelve when He called them, and what He says to us all, to believe Him and receive Him and follow Him in discipleship. However, when that man heard that he said to Jesus, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Which on the surface may seem like a legitimate request however when Jesus Christ calls us, He does not wait on us, to first do this or first do that, because His Lordship and His call must always have precedence in our lives. Therefore, nothing or no one must come before Him, because once we place someone or something before Him, He ceases to be the Lord in our life, and the Lord Jesus Christ will be subservient to no one or nothing. Therefore, when Jesus heard that the man had another priority, He told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” For it is too the living that we are called to preach the Kingdom of God too and to whom we serve our Lord Jesus Christ for.
Vs. 61-62 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Now after that another also said to Jesus, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” Again, another man makes a promise to follow Jesus, but upon doing so he simultaneously asks Him to let me first go and bid farewell to those who are at my house. And so as with the previous man this one also wants to put his own desires first. In this case he wants to return to those of his own household and bid them farewell. Kind of like saying to your sinful friends, or your relatives, that you want to hang out with them for a while before you fully commit to following Jesus Christ in discipleship. Therefore, upon hearing that the Lord Jesus Christ will have none of it, and so He warns us all that, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Because looking back to what Christ is calling us out of is like when Lot’s wife looked backed to Sodom and Gomorrah when God sent his angels to save them and bring them out of it. And so, she perished in her sin with it.
Commentary
Vs. 57-58 57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 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.”
In this section Jesus has three different encounters with three different individuals. Each one on the surface seems to want to follow Him in discipleship, however each one will either drop away, or give Jesus a reason why they cannot immediately follow Him. In the first instance as Jesus and the twelve were journeying someone comes and says to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” Likely this individual had heard Jesus’ preaching and seen all the good things Jesus was doing, and was so moved by them that he made that bold declaration to Him. However, Jesus’ response is not to acknowledge what the man had just boldly and openly declared, but rather He says to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And so in response to the man’s rash declaration, Jesus reveals the realities of the true cost of discipleship, and that is that in following Jesus Christ in discipleship one may have to forsake (or lay aside) some or all of the “securities” and comforts in their life. At the very least no one should presume upon having and holding onto them. And so, when the man heard that Jesus had no home to go to each night, he likely left silently and went to his own.
Vs. 59-60 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
Having heard that previous mans bold declaration and seen his departure Jesus now says to another person, “Follow Me.” Which is what He basically said to the twelve when He called them, and what He says to us all, to believe Him and receive Him and follow Him in discipleship. However, when that man heard that he said to Jesus, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Which on the surface may seem like a legitimate request however when Jesus Christ calls us, He does not wait on us, to first do this or first do that, because His Lordship and His call must always have precedence in our lives. Therefore, nothing or no one must come before Him, because once we place someone or something before Him, He ceases to be the Lord in our life, and the Lord Jesus Christ will be subservient to no one or nothing. Therefore, when Jesus heard that the man had another priority, He told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” For it is too the living that we are called to preach the Kingdom of God too and to whom we serve our Lord Jesus Christ for.
Vs. 61-62 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Now after that another also said to Jesus, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” Again, another man makes a promise to follow Jesus, but upon doing so he simultaneously asks Him to let me first go and bid farewell to those who are at my house. And so as with the previous man this one also wants to put his own desires first. In this case he wants to return to those of his own household and bid them farewell. Kind of like saying to your sinful friends, or your relatives, that you want to hang out with them for a while before you fully commit to following Jesus Christ in discipleship. Therefore, upon hearing that the Lord Jesus Christ will have none of it, and so He warns us all that, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Because looking back to what Christ is calling us out of is like when Lot’s wife looked backed to Sodom and Gomorrah when God sent his angels to save them and bring them out of it. And so, she perished in her sin with it.
Scripture Quotations
New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson
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