2 Kings 24&25, Ezekiel 13, Luke 9

“I WILL FOLLOW YOU …”  

   The finish of today’s chapter in Luke is about three different people and the reasons they gave for delaying putting into practice their intention to follow Jesus. “I will follow you wherever you go” they had said.  It had been exciting to follow Jesus, amazing things had been happening, food had been provided – miraculously – in the wilderness. 

   It was OK to follow Jesus if he was going to see everything was provided, places to ‘lay your head’ – but he then said to the first person, that that was not going to be the case! 

    ‘Let me first go and bury my father’ said another (9 v.59).   It was not that his father had just died and there would be a day’s delay, but one can imagine there would then be a lot of family responsibilities to be taken care of as a result of the death!  But others can do that, just as others carried on the fishing, “the hired servants” when those disciples who had been fishermen left their boats to follow Jesus.  But let those who are not following me, do that, is the response (in another Gospel).

   A third said, ‘I will follow you Lord, but let me first say farewell to those in my home” (v.61)  So the lesson is that if personal considerations come first and make discipleship ineffective then Jesus cannot use us – cannot properly use us – so he  does not want us!  Note the last verse of the chapter, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom.” 

   So if we have been baptised or are thinking of baptism let us realize the kind of commitment Jesus expects of us. But let us think positively, as Jesus did of “the joy that was set before him …”   Two verses further on (into tomorrow’s chapter) comes Jesus’ words about the harvest labourers being few!  True labourers for the Lord must have their priorities in the right order.