Bible reading
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Source: Luke 9:57-62 (New American Standard Bible)
Bible Study summary
What is the cost of discipleship? What is it that our God in heaven requires from us to be his disciples? Jesus has laid down concrete guidelines through his responses, which are the absolute principles to be the disciples of the Lord. And through these principles, Jesus is guiding the disciples to see what God’s plan is for those who follow him.
The whole of chapter nine is about proclaiming the kingdom of God. At the mountain of transfiguration Jesus spoke of his departure. This departure is an exodus like the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. Just as in the case of the Israelites, Jesus is not leaving by himself, instead by moving on he is drawing people to follow him. Jesus is leading an exodus out of this world and into the kingdom of God.
Jesus is determined to go to Jerusalem to lay down his life for us, so that we may have exodus and leave what we have on earth and enter into the kingdom of God. If you are following Jesus and yet you still linger onto the world, then as Jesus said in verse 62, you are not fit for the kingdom of God.
In verse 61, one man made a request to first say goodbye to his family. Another word for goodbye is farewell. What is the difference between these two words? When saying goodbye to someone there is still a chance of meeting them again, but when you say farewell you are completely cutting your relationship with them. Which is why there is a problem if you are saying goodbye and not farewell. So, in this verse Jesus is addressing this issue. If you are going back to only say goodbye to the world, you will still come back to it, so you are not fit for the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus in this verse is laying down an important principle, that if you are moving on to the kingdom of God and yet still look back, you won’t be able to enter into the kingdom of God.
As for verse 60, where Jesus said let the dead bury the dead, why is the dead to bury the dead? What kind of spiritual principle is the Lord Jesus pointing us to? In Leviticus 21:10-11 we see that the high priest is not to make himself unclean by coming close to a dead body, even for his father or mother. Jesus is reminding the disciples that they are coming close to the level of high priest. So much so that they should not engage themselves with the dead even if it is their parent. Not to say you can’t go back to bury your parents, but when you are in the work of God and on duty, Gods work is of higher priority. Which really signifies the urgency and importance of the matter of proclaiming the kingdom of God.
The significance of verse 58 is that Jesus is telling his disciples the place where he is going. The Son of Man is going to the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the home of the Son of Man, and to those who are following him, those who responded to his call. Which is where the Lord Jesus is pointing us towards and which should be the goal of all those who follow Him.
Bible study by Pastor Calvin
Summary by Nathanael