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The Cost Of Following Jesus
Cost of Following Jesus
"And a scribe came up and said to him, 'Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.'” (Matthew 8:19). Such really is the attitude of discipleship. Disciples lived with their teacher, they lived LIKE their teacher. They became the teacher in both life and thought. Jesus warned that such may involve forgoing what most people consider basic worldly needs. For Jesus, seeking the kingdom of God simply comes FIRST: first ahead of even worldly 'necessities' and relations, first ahead of houses, possessions, families, and even 'self'.
"Another of the disciples said to him, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.'” (Matthew 8:21). Jesus response: “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (vs. 22). This reply has invoked lots of thoughts and explanations. Having read many of them the one that seems most reasonable to me involves the Jewish burial practices of the first century. When one died, the body was immediately put into the tomb and left there to decay. After a time, (usually about a year), when they were sure that the body was gone and only the bones were left, they returned and put the bones in a 'box' called an ossuary. This box was then put in the back of the tomb and the burial was now complete. To me it would be this last part of the burial that this man desired to finish. Others think that the father was still alive, and the man wanted to wait until the father died and was buried before following Jesus.
Either way, the man's answer to the call of discipleship was 'not know but later'. Such answer was in reality 'no'. Following Jesus is a 'now' proposition. To postpone is simply to put one's own agenda at the head of the list and demote the call of Jesus. Our own agenda may not be evil, but if it replaces God's agenda then it is wrong. Pursuing worldly interests ahead of seeking God's kingdom leaves one out of the kingdom. Following Jesus means NOT 'following self'. This may be the hardest thing to leave behind in our pursuit of God. What are we not willing to leave behind to follow Jesus? Hugh DeLong
