As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” Luke 9:57ESV¹

Read Matthew 8:19-22 & Luke 9:57-62

Sometimes I think Jesus could have been a little nicer. After all, God is the epitome of love, and His sending of Jesus to Earth to save us is evidence of the outpouring of His love (see 1 John 4:7-10, John 3:16 & Titus 3:4-6). Over and over, the Psalmist testified to the unceasing nature of God’s love. “How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 36:7). And it is the kindness of God which brings us to the point of repentance (see Romans 2:4). Yet, sometimes, when one claimed his devotion to Jesus and His purposes, Jesus seemingly extinguished that one’s enthusiasm by saying something less than encouraging.

Like the time “a scribe came up and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ 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’” (Matthew 8:19-20).

At another time, when someone else indicated his desire to follow Jesus, Jesus’ response seemed downright confusing. “[A man] said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:61-62).

And once, when Jesus called someone to be His disciple, and that one hesitated, Jesus was somewhat rude. “To another [man] He said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:59-60).

Love is frequently expressed through the speaking of kind words. In wisdom, it is often beneficial for love to be tactful. But most importantly, love must be truthful. If love is not truthful, is it truly love?

When God called a people to be His followers, He gave them what we know as The Ten Commandments. The first of those mandates is: “’You shall have no other gods before Me’” (Exodus 20:2-3 & Deuteronomy 5:6-7). To the three potentially powerful disciples mentioned above, Jesus, the Son of God, was actually lovingly declaring, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

A number of gods can attempt to usurp the One True God in the lives of His followers. The men Jesus confronted here were tempted to put either the god of wealth, the god of relationships, or the god of faithlessness before Jesus. How sneaky are these false gods in the lives of believers even today? Having no other gods before the LORD, in part, means:

Jesus needs to be of more value to us than wealth.

Jesus came from Heaven, a place of unimaginably opulent wealth, and was born as a human baby in a barn to a poor couple. “Christ Jesus, who, though He was … God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped [a thing to be held on to for advantage], but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus could have had any comfort He wanted here on Earth. As God, He definitely deserved it, yet He limited Himself. For a period of time, Jesus even “'[had] nowhere to lay His head’” (Matthew 8:20b). It appears that Jesus chose to have only what was necessary for Him to accomplish His purpose. Could it be that Jesus was, in part, showing us how intoxicatingly distracting wealth can be?

Money rarely holds a neutral position; either money serves humans or humans end up serving it. One day a rich young “man came up to [Jesus], saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And He said to him, “… If you would enter life, keep the commandments.'[The young man] said to Him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to Him, ‘All these I have kept. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect [complete or mature], go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:16-22). This man knew he was missing something, but his wealth had mastery over him. He passed up treasure in Heaven in favor of holding onto all his earthly wealth.

In response to this, Jesus said, “’Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the Kingdom of Heaven … [It] is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God’” (Matthew 19:23-24). Why? Because money can steal our hearts and monopolize our devotion. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). Money is a useful servant, but a ruthless god. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Wealth, in itself, is not evil. Jesus did not say one must be destitute to be His follower. Instead of having no place to lay his/her head, a disciple of Jesus could have a dozen places to put his/her head. But the catch is this: as a follower of Jesus, what one has is not just for him/her. If a Believer has wealth, he/she is supposed to be using it for God’s glory and the good of others, not just for his/her selfish comfort.

Jesus needs to hold a more prominent place in our hearts than human relationships.

Jesus taught, “’Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me’” (Matthew 10:37). Luke records Jesus using even stronger language to make this point. “‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters … he cannot be My disciple’” (Luke 14:26). Clearly, Jesus doesn’t want us to hate our family members in the sense that first comes our minds when we see or hear this word. Otherwise, He would be contradicting Himself when He taught, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39). Love is primary, but God needs to be our first love. When He is not, we can use our relationships as excuses to keep from following Him.

Yes, Jesus’ response to the man above who wished to bury his father before he began to “’go and proclaim the Kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:60b) seems insensitive: “‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead’” (Luke 9:60a). But this is a prime example of one who was using a relationship as an excuse to keep from, or at least delay, the call of Jesus on his life. There is no indication here that this man’s father was already dead or even on his death bed. If he was, why was his seemingly caring son out among a great crowd of people caught up in the excitement of following Jesus from town to town? No, this man’s father could have been a healthy, vibrant man with many years ahead of him. This son’s request shows not his sense of responsibility for his family but his concern over what they might think. This man was more worried about disappointing his earthly father than his Heavenly Father. Matthew 8:21 identifies this man as a disciple of Jesus, but he sure wasn’t acting like it. When we choose to follow Jesus, we can’t continue to let our human relationships have the primary influence on our lives and decisions. That place needs to be reserved for Jesus. If we faithfully follow His leading, He will make sure our loved ones are cared for.

Faith in Christ alone must be the source of our confidence.

The singular belief in the propitiating sacrifice of Jesus alone is what brings us to salvation in the first place. The kind of faith that realizes that we cannot save ourselves or add anything to what Jesus has done is not a one-time act. “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6). The same faith that brought us to salvation is needed for us to continue to walk in Christ. Anything else is a prideful lack of faith with its focus on ourselves. One of the most visible signs that one is relying on his/her own strength—putting him/herself in a position that should be reserved for God alone—is worry.

Rightfully so, Jesus equated worry with a lack of faith in God. “’Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? … Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? … O you of little faith. Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ …Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’” (Matthew 6:25, 27, 30b-31, 32b-33).

The way to dethrone the god of faithlessness is to put one’s focus back on the rightful King. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I don’t believe Jesus requires His disciples to ignore their families, or when they decide to follow Jesus, leave their loved ones to wonder what happened. I believe Jesus was showing this truth by the odd way He answered the man asking to say good-bye to his family. “’No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:62), seems like a totally unrelated response, but is it? No, it is actually quite genius.

Jesus could read people’s minds (see Matthew 9:4 & Luke 5:22). Because of that, He knew exactly what this man needed to hear. This possibly, but not yet actually, affective disciple was most likely familiar with the account of Elijah calling Elisha to take over his ministry. “[Elijah] … found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And [Elisha] left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ‘Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.’ And [Elijah] said to him, ‘Go back again, for what have I done to you?’ And [Elisha] returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him” (1 Kings 19:19-21). Elijah didn’t prevent Elisha from saying good-bye to and having a final meal with his family. But Elisha didn’t keep working for his family; he burned the plow and slaughtered, cooked, and ate the oxen.

Jesus could tell that if this man went back to his family, he had the potential to doubt the decision he had made to follow Jesus. By making the comment about the plow, Jesus was not only warning the man of the danger of choosing faithlessness, but He was encouraging him to follow his calling. Elijah was a prophet who mightily stood up for the LORD and did many wonders. Elisha was Elijah’s disciple. When it became evident that Elijah was soon to leave this Earth, “Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.’ And Elisha said, ‘Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me’” (2 Kings 2:9). Elisha received that double portion and went onto do twice as many miracles with twice the power of his master.

Through this unusual comment, perhaps Jesus was personally telling this man, His disciple, as He did later to others of His disciples, “’Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the Father’” (John 14:12). And “’I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you’” (John 16:7).

Imagine the potential we as disciples of Jesus could have if we would only believe all Jesus said was in uttered love. What if we took Him up on His offer of the Helper? Of what could we be capable if we would live as stewards of what we possess instead of owners? What greater works would be possible if we could love God more than anything or anyone else? What if we were faithfully able to keep our eyes on God’s abilities instead of our own? Imagine the potential we as disciples of Jesus could have if we had no other gods before the LORD.

¹ Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted.