A Hard Row to Hoe
Luke 9:51-62
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Key Text: Luke 9:62
“Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Have you ever wondered whether you would like to know when you will die, and how it will come about? We might think so at first, but on further reflection, the prospect sounds less appealing. It would be hard to not live the rest of your life in dread of the appointed day.
Today’s text concerns a time when someone knew that his end was near. The gospels insist that Jesus knew he was going to his death when he turned toward Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover. He knew that a cruel wooden cross was waiting where he would die, naked and alone before all who cared to watch. Only later would he be raised from death at the resurrection, and then drawn into heaven at the ascension. [DD]
The first verse of our text is the watershed verse in the gospel of Luke, because there Jesus intentionally and steadfastly “set his face toward Jerusalem.” As he traveled the long road from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus knew he was walking toward his death – and that any who followed him must be willing to walk the same path.
This, then, is the context in which we meet three different people who faced the question of whether they would follow Jesus. We don’t know any of their names, or what they did for a living. We know nothing about their families or their homes, except that they had them, and that Jesus challenged them to give them up. It’s just as well that we don’t know any details, because looking at them is like looking in a mirror. Their challenge is our challenge.
All three stories end in the same way – without an ending. In each case, a potential follower came forward, and Jesus laid out the cost of discipleship. We don’t know how they responded. Our stories are also open-ended. Will we follow Jesus despite the cost, or will we be too afraid or too selfish to follow through?
On the Road With Jesus (vv. 51-56)
Jewish pilgrims from Galilee typically avoided Samaritan territory, even as Israeli travelers today drive around the West Bank when going north and south. [DD] Jesus apparently set out on a more direct route for Jerusalem, however, sending some of his followers ahead to find lodging in an unnamed Samaritan village (vv. 51-52).
Knowing that Jesus and company were en route to Jerusalem for the Passover, however, they closed the shutters and pulled in the welcome mat, a move that infuriated James and John, who wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume the offenders as Elijah had once done (vv. 53-54, compare 2 Kings 1:10, 12). Jesus declined the offer and rebuked them before moving on to another village, which was apparently more hospitable (vv. 55-56). [DD]
Are you sure? (vv. 57-58)
Having set the stage, Luke introduces three people whose interest in following Jesus leads to the most radical demands in the gospel. At first, Jesus comes across as unreasonable and uncaring. We know Jesus was neither of these, but he was realistic. Jesus believed in telling the truth, and the truth is that following Jesus is not easy.
As Jesus walked along, he was confronted by a fan so ardent that he claimed: “I will follow wherever you go” (v. 57). We cannot be sure what was in the man’s heart, but when Jesus looked at him, he seems to have seen a groupie rather than a disciple.
Jesus was not interested in attracting people who were wowed by his miracles, carried away by his teachings, or mesmerized by being close to their favorite star.
Jesus was on a road that would ultimately involve victory and triumph, but it would first pass through suffering and death. The road would be hard and Jesus wanted him to know what it could be like to follow him: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (v. 58).
We don’t know how the man responded. Jesus did not turn him away; he just warned him that the path of discipleship comes with a cost.
Jesus did not sugarcoat discipleship. If we want to follow Jesus, we have to be willing to go where Jesus goes. One who follows a man who is headed to a cross cannot always count on the comforts of home.
Follow me and live (vv. 59-60)
Jesus took the initiative in a second encounter, challenging someone else to follow. We know nothing about this person. Had he already spent much time with Jesus, or shown promise as a faithful witness? Perhaps Jesus saw a special opportunity for him. So, just as he had once challenged Peter and Andrew and James and John, Jesus said “Follow me.”
When Jesus called those first disciples, they left the boats and their father behind. This man was more hesitant: he said “Lord, first let me go and bury my father” (vv. 59-60).
We often tone down the demand by suggesting that the man’s father was probably still alive, and he felt responsible to stay with him until he died. Jewish burials in the first century usually took place on the same day as one’s death. If his father had just died and was awaiting burial, it’s unlikely that the man would have been around Jesus to begin with. [DD]
The text does not speak to this, however. The emphasis is on the radical demand of following Jesus.
The key word in the conversation is “first.” The prospective disciple wanted to give something else a higher priority than following Jesus. Whether his father was still living or awaiting burial is beside the point. Jesus was on the road to his own demise and in no mood for quibbling.
“Let the dead bury their own dead;” he said, “but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (v. 60).
Jesus’ response reflects a bit of dark humor. Jesus was not suggesting that corpses should rise from the ground and usher new inhabitants to the underworld. The man Jesus challenged had the opportunity to follow Jesus and find life. Apart from that life, he was as good as dead. In that sense, “Let the dead bury their own dead” seems to be a comment on what lies ahead for those who choose their way over God’s way.
We can talk about following Jesus. We can spend time with other people who talk about Jesus. We can sing songs about following Jesus – but if we don’t give Jesus first priority, are we really following Jesus?
Our calling is not to those who are physically dead, but to those who are spiritually defunct. “As for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God everywhere.”
Can I say goodbye? (vv. 61-62)
A third person encountered Jesus, another eager beaver plagued by ambivalence. “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home” (v. 61). Perhaps he wanted to show a contrast between himself and the previous man. He didn’t want to stay home until his father died. He was ready to go now: just as soon as he told his family goodbye. That seems reasonable.
Again Jesus called for an immediate and radical commitment: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 61).
And again, we wonder what is going on. Is Jesus so demanding that he would not let a man go and kiss his mother goodbye? Jesus probably suspected that the man had more in mind than a kiss and a hug.
When someone left home, it was traditional to throw a farewell party that could last for days. The lengthy soirée might lead to second thoughts, and possibly a change of mind. Or, perhaps Jesus was thinking that a follower who was always looking back would not be very helpful.
On the other hand, maybe Jesus didn’t have that in mind at all. Maybe he was intentionally severe because he wanted to stress that the demands of discipleship are not easy. No one who sets out to plow and keeps looking back will be very effective.
I still remember the first time my father let me break up a field with the old John Deere tractor. One doesn’t have to be as careful with a disk harrow as with a plow, but my father wanted me to do it right. He pointed toward a tree at the opposite end of the field and told me to drive straight at the tree without looking back, or my furrows would turn out crooked. After turning around, I was to put the front wheel in the edge of the last furrow and keep it there without looking around.
A farmer using oxen or donkeys must pay even closer attention to what is in front of him. If he wants to plow a straight furrow, keep his animals in line, and hold the plow at a steady depth, he can’t be looking back. His first priority must be the plow until the plowing is done.
A person can look back from the plow and still be a farmer, but probably not a very good one. Jesus’ words are not about moral fitness for the kingdom, but about practical usefulness. Jesus was looking for people to work the fields of kingdom love and to put that work first in their lives.
Jesus is still looking for people like that, for people who will give kingdom living priority in their behavior and their relationships and their goals. Lord knows, such living is not always easy, and that’s the point of this text: to remind us in no uncertain terms that the Lord knows it is not easy. And yet he calls us to follow.
We know what the next question is.
Adult Teaching Resources
Download the PDF of teaching resources for this lesson.
This PDF contains the Teaching Guide, Digging Deeper, and Hardest Question pages.
Read Scripture online: Luke 9:51-62
Youth Teaching Resources
Parent Prep
I once had a parent tell me they used to pray that their student would find what God wanted them to do with their life. Then, when the student felt called to go serve overseas they wished they wouldn’t have prayed so hard. There was some jest and seriousness in the story, but how do you support your students when you know their journey will be hard. How do you help them choose the correct path that isn’t always the easy path? There’s no simple answer, but there is one thing you have to do: you have to model it for them.
Additional Links/Resources
Read Scripture online: Luke 9:51-62
Download the PDF for youth teaching resources using the button below. This PDF contains the Teaching Guide for this lesson:
Video
Encourage youth to check out this video ahead of the lesson.
“Choosing Dauntless” from Divergent
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