Luke 9:57-62

What it costs to obey Jesus

57 They continued on their journey. A man came and spoke to Jesus. He said, ‘I will go with you. And I will go with you everywhere that you go.’

58 Jesus replied, ‘Wild animals and birds have their own places to live. But I, the Son of Man, have no place of my own to lie down and rest.’

59 Then Jesus said to another man, ‘Come with me!’ The man replied, ‘First let me go home and bury my father. Then I will come with you.’

60 ‘No!’ Jesus said, ‘Let people who are dead themselves bury their own dead people. You should go and tell people about the kingdom of God.’

9:60The man wanted to wait until his father had died. Then he would follow Jesus. Jesus did not agree. He called people that did not obey him ‘dead’. Those people could bury someone that had died. Jesus needed people now to tell the good news about how God rules.

61 Another man said, ‘Sir, I will come with you. But please let me first go home to say “Goodbye” to my family.’

62 Jesus replied, ‘A man that ploughs a field must continue to look straight in front of him. If he looks behind him, he cannot plough well. People that look back behind them cannot work well for the kingdom of God.’