In blog posts on Luke 9, we have considered three questions so far.  “Am I Radical?” , “Am I Following?”  and “Am I Proclaiming?” We’ve looked at these teachings of Christ as Luke describes the movement of a group of disciples from Samaria to Jerusalem.  We can only imagine what it must have been like to be in this group, and to realize that we have a chance to speak with Christ the Teacher.  Now, let’s finish the journey by studying perhaps the most difficult verses:

61Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Why are these two verses so troubling?  I think it is only natural, as we all face the three elements of verse 62.  Do I want to serve?  Have begun to serve?  Have I stopped serving?  Oh boy, I am not fit to serve any more!  Sadness, fear, uncertainty, or disappointment in oneself could follow.

 
Another point of concern is the apparent linkage of following Christ and not being a part of your family from that moment on.  Christ’s response sounds harsh – are disciples not permitted to speak to their family?  Are disciples not permitted to visit their family?  Why is Christ concerned about a person following Him and remaining in the person’s family?

Let’s review the entirety of the passage again, briefly, so we can fully appreciate verse 62.  Jesus has been transfigured.  Christ has healed the sick.  Jesus has predicted His death.  Jesus is moving through a people group normally antagonistic towards Jews, and has experienced some hostility there.  Jesus has prevented his disciples from acting in anger towards that people group.  Now, he is on the way to His crucifixion, and leading a group of men who are declaring their allegiance to Him.  In this context, Christ is speaking with individuals who make a discipleship decision – to follow Christ.  Are we in that group?

Now, in verse 62, it is helpful to check the original Greek text verb tenses to understand the word picture in its entirety.  The verb for “puts a hand” is aorist tense, a past complete action.  The verb for “looks back” is present tense, a current continuous action.  We see a one-time decision to believe in Christ, “puts a hand to the plow,” but a continuing action of “looks back” after that decision has been made.  I wish we didn’t have to “look back” at Greek but sometimes it really helps!

We read in Mark 10:28-31 a heartfelt cry of devotion that mirrors the what we read in Luke 9, the man’s plea to go back to his family.  The disciples lament, in a way, what they have done for Christ:

28Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”  29“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Today our missionaries see what happens to families when individuals make decisions for Christ.  Do their families come to rescue them from a “bad” decision?  Do they leave their families?  Are they shunned by their families?  Can they return to their families, often hostile to our faith?  And, to be more complete in our view of families and the person’s relationship with them after making a decision for Christ, we can look at Mark 5:19 where a man is told by Christ to return to his family to witness to them.  In Acts 10:24 we also read of how a righteous man brings Peter to speak to his entire family, resulting in their salvation.

So, we can see in Christ’s admonition to this man who wanted to return to his family Godly wisdom and direction.  It is not so much that Christ wants the man to leave his family, or to prevent him from witnessing to his family.  But, it is that in following Christ, we are to avoid losing focus as we return to old ways, to old customs, and to old beliefs.  We are to be new creations, to be His disciples!

A friend of mine was on mission in a developing nation, and was given the opportunity to plow a field just like they had done for hundreds of years.  The plow was pulled by oxen, which were led by a young man.  The plow had to be forced downward into the ground to bust the soil.  That’s some hard work!

  As my friend plowed, he naturally looked backward to see how he was doing.  Before long, the plow was well off the intended line, and everyone was laughing at the result.  We can laugh with my friend, as we think about what it must have been like to try something new.  But, we can also see why Jesus chose this word picture for people who seek to serve Him.  If we want to serve, if we take on the job for which He calls us, we can never lose focus on Him.  When the plowman looks back, the results of his service are not what Christ intended.  The furrow that is not straight can’t be used.  The seed that Jesus wants to plant in that field can’t be sowed. And the harvest Christ hopes for must wait.

Let us not forget the work for which we are called (Luke 9:60).  We are to plow a straight furrow in proclaiming the kingdom of God!  Remember the meaning of proclaim — we are to make a loud noise about a kingdom that we belong to now, and that is to come in great glory in the future.

As disciples of Christ, let us focus on Christ as we plow, and never look back!  Let us answer the question “Am I serving?” with a simple exclamation —  “Yes!”

In the blog post “Am I Radical” we considered how each of us might be more like a first responder to an emergency, where the emergency is the eternal status of a friend or acquaintance.  In the post  “Am I Following” we wonder how to respond as Jesus challenges us to GO on His behalf to a fallen world.  Going to our world, we read an interesting command found in Luke 9:60:

60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

What comes after “go?”—“proclaim the kingdom of God.”  The more I thought about it, the more interested I became in the meaning of the command.  Most likely, we’ve all rushed over these words and thought “yeah yeah, proclaim the kingdom of God.  Got it.”

Let’s take a look at the command in more detail, as is fitting for such an important instruction.   As a church worship band might wrestle with chords, phrasing and timing for a new song, we must take time to learn something new.  God’s Word deserves nothing less.

“Proclaim.”  That brings to mind an immediate movie scene or two, don’t it?  “Hear ye, hear ye, … , “ as the town crier unrolls a parchment scroll and reads some order from the king.  What does the word really mean, though?  At first, I thought it might be from “pro” and “claim.”  You know, pro, like “for” and “claim” like “it’s mine.”  Let me tell you, I am NOT a linguist.  Not even close.  The simple view of the word from its Latin origin is found online:

proclaim c.1400, from L. proclamare  “cry or call out,” from pro-  “forth” + clamare  “to cry out” (see claim). Proclamation  “that which is proclaimed” is recorded from 1415.  Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010

I like it!  “Clamare” sounds a lot like our word “clamor” which is what worship band drums sound like sometimes.  Noisy.  Loud.  Energetic.  Attention-grabbing.

But of course, the online dictionary of the English language is not a perfect Biblical analytical tool.  Looking at the different translations of the same source text can give us an idea of the meaning of this important word.  Here are a few of the words synonymous with “proclaim:”  Publish, tell, preach, announce, give news of, and spread – all words trying to convey something that in Latin makes the most sense – “to cry out!”

Of course, we are to be noisy about “the kingdom of God.”  So we have to truly seek its meaning.  And, we have to recognize that Christ Jesus gave these words as if the man walking alongside Him would easily grasp the meaning.  It was not a long sermon!  Go, proclaim the Kingdom!  What did He mean?
It is interesting if you do a phrase search for “kingdom of God” using either the old-fashioned concordance or a modern online resource like http://www.biblegateway.org.  If you place quotes around the phrase, seeking an exact match, the first reference is…drum roll, please…in Matthew.  Many topics are found throughout the Bible.  This concept , the kingdom of God, appears to be solely in the New Testament.   We can read Luke 16:16 to be sure:

“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it.”

Now, describing the kingdom of God is difficult.  Scholars do debate and discuss its essence.  Reading the verses about it just in the Gospel of Luke, we can see some of its many attributes:

It belongs to the poor [Luke 6:20]
It is a place of ranking [Luke 7:28]
It is good news [Luke 8:1]
It is near Luke [10:9]
It is like a strong tree [Luke 13:18-19]
It is like a tiny organism that can’t be stopped [Luke 13:20-21]
It is a place where the patriarchs and prophets exist [Luke 13:28]
It is a place of all peoples Luke [13:29]
It is a place of feasting Luke [14:15]
It is not something to be observed [Luke 17:20]
It is now [Luke 17:21]
It is a belonging [Luke 18:16]
It is received by childlike faith [Luke 18:16]
It is difficult for some to enter [Luke 18:24-25]
It is to come [Luke 22:18]
It is worth waiting for [Luke 23:51]

We could continue reading all the references and continue to be amazed!  I can only sit here and wonder “how am I going to proclaim all of this?”  I can’t even understand some of it!

I guess we can take heart in the way Christ spoke of the kingdom of God.  Did He offer all these descriptive words at once?  Did He try to cover the entire subject in one lecture?  Did He drop a few drachmas at the local Fedex Office store to make copies of His latest manuscript to hand out to the followers?

No, of course not.  Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God just as we should—ministering to those in need, as they needed.  He spoke simply.  He spoke clearly.  He spoke in ways that made sense to each person that asked a question.  Let us think deeply about the meaning of the kingdom of God, so that we do understand as much as we are able.  But, may we be ever more like Jesus as we “cry out” about His kingdom!

Am I proclaiming?

In the blog post “Am I Radical?” we thought about how each of us might be more like a first responder to an emergency, where the emergency is the eternal status of a friend or acquaintance.  We marvel at the willingness of everyday heroes like police, fire, and Coast Guard to risk it all for strangers, while we stay safe at home.  Why are we staying safe at home?  Why aren’t we risking it all for Christ?  Let’s remind ourselves of selected verses in Luke Chapter 9, verse 23 and verses 57 through 62.

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”  But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”  60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”  62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

These verses speak of people who are risking it all, walking towards an uncertain future with Christ.  Today, we might look at people in our church, people who are on fire for the Lord, people who are witnessing to perfect strangers and seeing salvations and think “why not me?”  We might cast a glance at someone with passion, energy, commitment, and  think “boy, I wish I was serving the Lord like he is!”  If we received Christ as a youngster, or if we found Christ as an adult, time passes and our early fervor for Christ may have cooled.  What makes one person a stalwart soldier for Christ and another person a silent sage?

 
I think the answer is found in two words – “follow me.”  It is so simply stated, yet so incredibly described that it merits our attention.  Christ’s clear call to follow Him has at its heart the desire to be Christ’s disciple.  Re-read Luke 9:23…the desire to be a disciple comes first!  It could almost be expressed as a logic statement in a computer program – IF you want to be Christ’s disciple THEN deny yourself AND follow me.  This oft-repeated verse is quoted to emphasize the denial of self.  I think it better if we focus on the desire to be a disciple!  Do we truly want to be Christ’s disciple?

 
Imagine what it must have been like to be in the group of disciples on the way through Samaria to Jerusalem.  Go ahead, put verse 57 in modern terms…wouldn’t it be like running into some incredibly famous pastor like Rick Warren or Tim Keller or David Jeremiah after a visit to their church?  We’d be so tempted to say just what we think the pastor needs to hear.  We’d be likely to stumble and stammer as we try to remember the sermon and say “I agree with you—you made so much sense when you said…”  Here, a disciple must feel some sense of excitement as he finds Christ along the road.  I know I would!  How does Christ respond?  He doesn’t say “Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed my sermon and found it applies to your life.”

Christ says so much more!  In His response, he affirms one fact that we might fail to see if we don’t pause to listen…in following Christ, we are to GO!  The disciple says “wherever You go” and Christ doesn’t say “hey, friend, I’m glad you are planted at a great church where you can hang out and enjoy fellowship with other believers.”  Christ says “I’m going—are you with Me?” simply by describing His journey.  Read verse 58 again.  Is it a pleasant trip?  Is it a night at the Courtyard with WiFi?  Road warrior or occasional traveler, this journey will have us calling the front desk clerk to complain…we are NOT going to get what we reserved!  Our going with Christ, our following Him, is likely to be the toughest journey we’ve experienced.  Will we GO?

In His conversations with the many taking the trip to Jerusalem, Christ challenges someone to follow Him.  To me, this challenge describes most of us clearly.  Let’s look at just the words used by the individual in response to Christ in verse 59:

Lord – a clear indication that the man knows Christ’s position, His authority, His identity
First—a time word, a word that conveys the order of things, and a word that shows the man has not completely subjected himself to Christ’s Lordship
Let me – a plea for permission, perhaps a polite way of addressing Christ as Lord, but in this conversation more evidence that the man has not relinquished control
Bury my father – clearly an important task, one falling to sons, and one that is not dishonorable in the culture, or to the man’s friends.  It is an expected duty, and a duty not to be forgotten.

Do we resemble this man at all?  Do we know who Christ is, but do we have our own vital task for which we cannot immediately follow Christ?  Do we have our own agenda (a sense of timing and order) for which Christ must wait?  Surely we are all like this man in some way, at some time.

 
Two things are clear from Christ’s response in verse 60.  First, the task that is so important to us now must indeed be done.  Second, we are not the ones to accomplish that task!  Christ never says “Look, honoring your father, providing a proper burial, dealing with the legal issues, doesn’t matter.”  Christ instead says “I release you from this task!”  What is so amazing is the task with which He charges us “GO (there’s that word again!) and proclaim the Kingdom of God!”  Will we GO and proclaim His Kingdom?

Now, Christ finds yet another disciple who initiates a conversation as one desiring to follow Him, yet expresses some feelings with the same telling words, seen in verse 61:  “But…” “first” “Let me…” “family…” Only natural.  We’d all feel the same way!  Wouldn’t we?  Christ’s response in verse 62 has troubled so many people over the centuries – but should it?  Is Christ linking our faith in Him and our service to Him to an abandonment of our family?

 
I think not.  Christ, in His response sees deep into the nature of man.  It is difficult to say for certain, but I believe Christ is speaking to the challenges of serving Him, and what happens when we look back at the way things were.  I have never attempted to plow a straight line behind a strong-willed mule, but I have tried to aerate my yard with a rented machine that weighed about half-a-ton and had a mind of its own.  Just controlling the general direction of the aerator was hard enough.

When my wife graciously came out to offer a glass of iced tea, and I looked back…well, you get the idea.  I think Christ is not asking us to abandon our family, but is admonishing us that our focus from this moment on needs to be on serving Him!  Will we GO and never look back?

Am I following?

A few years ago I was laid up with one of those odd illnesses that was just strong enough to keep me from work, but thankfully not so aggressive that I couldn’t function.  I stayed home, and drifted in and out of sleep while the TV kept me company.  You’ve seen those shows that highlight the adventures of fishing vessels, I’m sure.  One episode recreated a life-threatening illness of a crew member that needed immediate rescue.  A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched, and flew 90 miles through hazardous weather to the ship.  It hovered over the ship, in storm-tossed water, and lowered a rescue diver via line to the pitching deck.  A cage-like litter was lowered to the deck, the ill crewman was strapped in, and the rescue diver and the litter were winched up through the driving rain to the helicopter.  There, the ill fisherman vomited blood all over the cabin, creating a biohazard for all the Coast Guard on board.  The chopper turned for home, rushed the shipmate to the waiting ambulance, and we were told that the chance of survival was good.

Wow!  Talk about radical action!  Here half-a-dozen men braved the elements, executed a difficult flying operation, performed medical triage, and got a total stranger out of harm’s way.  They didn’t think twice.  They just went.  They are not unlike many first responders I know.  Police go at a moment’s notice to deal with armed robbers.  Firemen go in the blink of an eye to homes ablaze.  EMTs head for accident after accident at crazy speeds in a big truck, then care for their charges on the way to ERs.  What is common to all these acts?  First, they are all dispatched by someone else, and willingly obey a voice on a radio saying “Go!”  Second, they all go without hesitation, and with a great sense of passion.  Third, they all risk their own lives for the sake of others.

I thought about these radical responders in comparison to my own life in Christ.  Am I radical?

Luke Chapter 9 is a challenging passage.  If we look at selected verses, we see:

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”  But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”  ⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”  ⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

There are three questions that arise:

1. Am I following Christ?
2. Am I proclaiming the Kingdom of God?
3. Am I serving the Lord?

First, are we following Christ?  The text describes a difficult journey, one without comforts, one without rest.  It is a journey with Christ, though, (wow!) and allows us to share in His suffering.  Following Christ brings us from that initial joy of salvation to a deeper understanding of His Being, His Love, and His Sacrifice.

Second, having followed Christ, are we proclaiming the Kingdom Of God?  That’s a difficult concept, especially for those in a culture of democracy.  Is the Kingdom Of God now, or in the future?  Scholarly arguments abound, but to me, what is important is the proclamation of the sovereignty of God and His desire for a sustaining relationship with the individual.  Am I proclaiming that Kingdom?  How?  To whom?

Third, after following Christ and proclaiming the Kingdom, am I consistently serving God?  One can imagine the joy of salvation leading to an intense period of discipleship and then a cheerful sharing of the gospel.  But, are the cares of this world, the duties of work, even the joys of family life now keeping us from serving our Lord?  Do our experiences in church, serving diligently, simply wear us down?  As we mature, as we age, as we transition from one life stage to another, are we still focused on doing what Christ asks of us?

For what Christ asks of us is simple to say, and difficult to do.  We are to love one another (the body of Christ, the church) and we are to witness to the lost.  It’s not unlike the first responders we admire.  They truly love one another serving as brothers and sisters, and they go to the lost without question, without regard for their own safety or life.

Am I radical?