Following Jesus is an absolutely amazing journey. But it is also quite challenging. Over the last couple of posts we have seen Jesus’ response to two would-be followers who were faced with the challenge of discipleship (see Luke 9:57-58 and Luke 9:59-60).
The third person Jesus encounters appears to have divided loyalties.
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:61-62
The man wants to follow Jesus, but his family is also very important to him. In asking to go and say goodbye to his family, the man seems to have been putting them up on a similar plane to following Jesus. Jesus knew this, and his comments reflect the duality of the man’s heart.
The challenge of allegiance
As Jesus points out in Luke 14:26, allegiance or holding on to family and possessions will get in the way of true discipleship. Following Jesus requires us to think about things differently. Allegiances must be transformed. If we do not allow this transformation to take place, we are not fully following Him, because He will not have first place in everything.
And this is hard stuff! I can totally understand why many people decide that following Jesus is just too difficult.
I think one of our biggest issues is that we make it too much about us. When we focus on the cost, on what we will have to give up and let go, we often allow our emotions to dictate. We simply have the wrong perspective. Yes, we do need to count the cost, and following Jesus is very costly in terms of self. And this is what Jesus is addressing right at the beginning of the journey.
The challenge of focus
I find it interesting that Jesus uses the analogy of ploughing in his response. The only way to plough a straight furrow is to keep looking ahead, not back. Ploughing has to be intentional and requires focus. It’s hard work, but it is also the first step towards an abundant harvest.
I would also like to suggest that the ploughing analogy may be quite intentional, and the Holy Spirit directs Luke to strategically place it here, to summarise all three encounters with Jesus – and to demonstrate a positive example of counting the cost of discipleship.
In the Old Testament, a young man called Elisha was in the process of actually ploughing a field when he was called as a prophet.
So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.
1 Kings 19:19-21
Elijah’s response to Elisha’s request to go back and say goodbye to his family could have been a rebuke. Yet it could also be read as a question that Elisha has to answer for himself – “What has just happened, and what are you going to do about it Elisha?”
We understand from the details included in the story that Elisha’s family is probably quite wealthy. In following Elijah, Elisha knew he would be following an itinerant prophet who “had no place to lay his head” (reflecting Luke 9:58). Elisha would be turning his back on his inheritance and his family duties (reflecting Luke 9:59-60). When he returned to say goodbye to his father and mother, his actions show that this was no sentimental farewell, but a deliberate renouncing of his former life. He does not look back (reflecting Luke 9:61-62).
The challenge of values
In all three encounters, Jesus’ answer to those who want to follow is not as callous as might appear at first reading. He is addressing motives and values that lie at the root of what these three people are proposing. We should not therefore be surprised when He does the same with us!
Yes, following Jesus will challenge us. But the thing is that it’s not really about us at all – it’s about Jesus. And we have the absolute privilege of participating in His death, His life, His rule, His glory and His rest. When we realise this, the cost totally pales in comparison.
