No Excuses

When it comes to following Jesus, there really are no excuses. Contrary to what we might hear in today’s culture, Jesus leaves no room for us to think that following Him is anything less than complete dedication and loyalty to the gospel and to the kingdom of God. Today’s passage gives us a variety of “excuses” that people might use for not following Christ or misunderstandings that might exist regarding the Christian life. It is important for us to look into each of these dialogues, focusing on each excuse or misunderstanding and the response that Christ makes to each. Only when we fully understand God’s viewpoint, when it comes to excuses, will we be able to make right decisions regarding our walk with Him. 

#1: Making Promises That We Cannot Keep

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

Luke 9:57-58

This exchange would fall under the category of a misunderstanding. The person in the narrative announces, it would seem quite boldly, “I will follow you (Jesus) wherever you go.” Perhaps not completely understanding the cost of being a follower of Christ, this person seems quite eager yet they may not have counted that cost. We see this in Jesus’ response. He says, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” This might seem a strange response to the person’s willingness to follow but the answer is profound. Jesus was on the move. Being received by some and rejected by others, His earthly ministry would lead Him into some difficult circumstances including not having a place to lay His head. This earthly ministry would, of course, lead to death on a Roman cross (that being God’s redemptive plan for all who will receive Christ). But the answer to the person’s enthusiasm demonstrates that following Jesus comes with a cost. Contrary to messages that we might hear in today’s culture, being a Christian is not a means to financial gain or material wealth. Yes, God provides for our every need but being a Christian means surrendering our lives to Him, trusting Him in every detail and circumstance in life. Jesus’ response was a stark reminder that we shouldn’t make promises to God that we simply cannot keep. Being God’s redeemed in a world of depravity is costly. We might loose relationships, friendships, and perhaps even opportunities for advancement in this life. But being a child of God means having all of the resources of heaven at our deposal, coming from a loving Father who cares about our every need.

#2: Priority To The Gospel, Even Over Family

And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 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.” 

      Luke 9:59-60

There are two possible interpretations to this person’s circumstance. One possibility is that this person is mourning the loss of an earthly father and focused on making all of the arrangements surrounding the burial. When Jesus came to this person, He said, “Follow Me.” At that moment, this person begins to “bargain” with Christ to go and first bury the loved one. But a second possibility is that the person’s father was still alive yet they believed that they needed to stay around until that day when the father’s death would come about and the arrangements would need to be made. It really doesn’t matter in which situation we believe this person to be. Jesus’ response remains the same, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 

There are two aspects to Jesus’ response that are important for us to understand. First, Jesus is prioritizing the proclamation of the gospel over and above even the personal matters that we have within our families (compare to Matthew 10:37-39, Luke 14:26). As followers of Jesus, we are to be focused on eternity and the spiritual state and souls of those around us. Jesus is revealing to this individual that the priority of life is the gospel. Without salvation, it matters not what we have accomplished in this life (Luke 9:25). We are created to have a relationship with God and we do that by being filled with the Spirit of God and begin walking daily with Christ. Only when we completely surrender our lives to Jesus do we begin to really live. 

The second aspect of what Jesus says has to do with “allowing the dead to bury their own dead.” Common sense tells us that Jesus is not referring to physically dead people. Physically dead people can do nothing…they are not alive. Jesus is referring to the spiritually dead, which tragically is the majority of those walking the earth today. Jesus is referring to the reality that the spiritually dead (unbelievers) go through the motions of normal life just like everyone else (being born, getting a job, making money, getting married, burying those who have died and so forth). But for the Christian, life is about more than that. We are living for eternity and while the world may scoff at that idea, we are to be living in relationship with the living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And with God’s Spirit living within, we can now see clearly what matters most. Jesus isn’t being aloof regarding this person’s situation rather He is teaching the person about priorities and how the Christian life is aligned completely differently than those of people outside the body of Christ. 

#3: Being Focused And Avoiding Distractions

Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

      Luke 9:61-62

We live in a world of distractions. We also live in an entertainment-driven world. When we put those two things together, we can find seemingly endless ways to occupy our time. And if we are honest with ourselves, a lot of what commands our attention is not advantageous to our spiritual life. 

In this final exchange, Jesus is addressing yet another “excuse” for not following Christ. This person agrees to follow Jesus but is asking that they “first go and say goodbye to those at home.” Again Jesus doesn’t bargain with this individual rather He answers with the following, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Jesus is addressing the issue that following Him requires complete focus and devotion. What many of us might teach our children about success in this life (worldly success), Jesus is declaring regarding being a Christian. To be a Christian in this world, we must be focused, devoted, determined and willing to persevere through difficulties and obstacles. The very same lessons that parents might teach their children regarding this life can be applied to the most important aspect of living, which is our relationship with Jesus. 

Again, the priority must be on the task at hand, which is simply walking with Jesus every day, following the lead of the Holy Spirit, and sharing the gospel with those around us. This is of what Jesus is speaking when He talks of “looking back.” There is a lot for us to invest our time in each day but are we truly spending the majority of that time focusing on what is of most importance…eternal things over temporal ones?

…and He (Christ) died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 

      2 Corinthians 5:15