Luke 9:57-62 — 3 Big Truths

READ THIS: Luke 9:57-62

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 

61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

These 3 conversations between strangers and Jesus show us 3 big truths about following Jesus! Let’s check them out!

Verses 57-58 show us someone who is determined to follow Jesus, saying he will follow Him wherever He goes. Jesus doesn’t reject his offer, but He makes it very clear what it looks like to follow Him! The first truth we see here is that following Jesus isn't always comfortable! In this case, Jesus is saying that even animals like foxes and birds have a home to stay in, where as Jesus and His followers often did not. For us, our walk with Jesus can be hard because we can often be seen as outsiders, lame, or even attacked for our faith!

Verses 59-60 show us the second important truth about following Jesus: there is nothing in this life more important than eternal life with Jesus! In this case, Jesus is asked by a man if he can first go bury his father before following Jesus, but Jesus says that "the dead" should "bury their own dead." Once again, this may sound harsh, but what Jesus is trying to say is that we will always have earthly reasons to prevent us from chasing after a life with Jesus if we aren't careful.

Verses 61-62 teach us the last truth we need to know about following Jesus: our job is to seek out the lost ahead of us, not look behind us! This conversation seems very similar to the one we just read, but Jesus's response here gives a different picture. In this case, Jesus is talking about the work we do for the kingdom, and He compares it to a farmer. The same way that a farmer cannot plow their field well if they aren't looking forward, we cannot expect to serve God to the fullest if we are always spending our time looking back at what we are leaving behind! Our job as followers of Jesus is to look to who God is calling us toward, not who or what we are leaving behind.

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. What earthly reasons prevent you from following after Jesus right now?

2. Who is someone that Jesus has placed ahead of you to love and care for? How can you point them to Jesus right now?

TRY THIS:

Send an encouragement or maybe even pray for the person you thought of in question number 2!

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