Scripture: Luke 9: 59-62
59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead![l] Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” 62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
Scripture Commentary:
Jesus tells two men, “Come, follow me.” One man asks Jesus to let him bury his father first. The other wants to say goodbye to his family. Jesus tells the first man to go and bury his father, then follow him and spread the message of God’s kingdom. He tells the second man that he is not worthy to spread God’s word.
The first man is fulfilling his burial duties to his father. Jesus tells us that there are requirements to follow God. Those requirements do not include forsaking responsibility to family. The first man had a duty to family that needed to be fulfilled. Jesus’s response was to go and fulfill that duty, then go and spread God’s message.
The second person was just going to say goodbye, and maybe have a goodbye party. He had nothing urgent or important that had to be done.
Two people, two requirements. One was accepted and the other rejected. God knows our heart, soul and mind. If you are truthful to God in your request, He will honor it with love and understanding.
In John 14:13, Jesus tells us, “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.”
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