EmmDev 2024-07-11 [The Discipleship Journey] The High Cost #2

The High Cost #2

When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." (Matthew9:18-22)

As we read this passage we must remember that Jesus has just given orders to cross over the lake. So, if we imagine the scene, Jesus has been teaching and healing and He was starting to be mobbed. He's standing on the shores of Galilee about to climb into the boat while the crowd throngs around Him.

Bear in mind, His earthly mission is only three years. It is short, urgent and significant. There is little time to waste. On top of that, there are many gathered around Him. They've seen miracles and healing. People come to be with Him - to be associated with Him. Not all of them are sincere, not all of them have the tenacity for the long haul - they just want to bask in His spotlight

One man comes - he's a teacher of the law - He's interested in being associated with this new and influential Rabbi. With grandiose hyperbole he makes the declaration: "I will follow you wherever you go..." (Bear in mind that popular and influential teachers would be invited into the homes of the rich and famous.) Jesus deflates him quickly: There will not be a lot of glamour on this trip.

The other one has conditions: "Let me bury my father."
There are two options here:

1. The man's father has just died and arrangements must be made. In Jewish culture the burial happened as quickly as possible, even the same day. It could be that Jesus was saying: "I'm about to go to the other side (where a gentile demon-possessed man desperately needs to be set free) and you need to come right now. There is very little that can be done for your father so let the spiritually dead bury the dead."
2. The man's father was still alive, but frail, and the man is actually saying, "Let me get my family affairs sorted out and I'll join you in a month or two (or three or four or ....)" In this case, Jesus is really saying: "There will always be reasons to stay, and so at some point you are going to have to leave because staying will make you spiritually dead."

(Personally, I think the second scenario is the more likely one. It seems unlikely that a man who's father has just died would be standing on the shores of Galilee listening to Jesus' teaching...)

Again, these are strong statements about the urgency of the Kingdom of God.
God has to have priority in our lives.
Although Jesus' call may seem demanding, His call is actually urgent, these two men are caught in serious traps and it's going to take serious steps to escape them.

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