Instructions:
- Read the passage
- Read the devotional
- Spend time in prayer
- Leave a comment
Sometimes, I think Jesus is just being rude to people. Here’s a nice man with great upbringing and a pretty solid spiritual background approaching Jesus with a very bold statement of commitment. If I had been there, this man’s statement of commitment would have put my own commitment to shame. There are some places where I really don’t want to go. This guy seems to have it all together!
That’s the problem with words of promise. They can convince us that something is true about a person when in fact it might not be. I look at Jesus and initially think he’s rude, but then I remember that Jesus came to earth on a mission of life and death that would label him as a workaholic for three straight years. He got up early in the morning to pray, and he went to bed late at night. He was constantly surrounded by crowds (and at times by some really annoying fishermen). But the mission wasn’t about celebrity. Ultimately, he was going to give up his life for the sake of others, and he was going to call his followers to do the same.
Perhaps it wasn’t rudeness but straightforward honesty that drove Jesus to challenge this man’s commitment to “go anywhere.” Perhaps Jesus knew the man wasn’t interested in a nomadic life but was rather interested in just walking with Jesus to his final destination assuming that Jesus had a home base from which he operated. Perhaps the man was simply asking, “Jesus, can I sleep over tonight?” Perhaps that’s what Jesus knew about the man, but at any rate, Jesus simply says, “I’ve got no place to sleep tonight or any night. There is no home base for what I’m doing. Are you aware of what you are signing on for?” And that’s the last we hear of this particular man.
The other man, of course, seems to be a little more honest and humble, but Jesus again responds with something that seems to be rude! This man just wants to bury his father, and Jesus says, “Forget about him! His body will turn to dust on its own eventually. Just leave it!” Or maybe that’s not what Jesus was saying at all. Perhaps Jesus knew something about this man too. Perhaps this man’s father wasn’t actually dead yet. Perhaps this man’s father wasn’t even sick. Perhaps this man was saying, “Well, Jesus, once my parents have passed, then I’ll look you up.” Perhaps Jesus was saying, “If that’s what you want to do with your life, wait for your parents to die, then you are already dead yourself. So go, let dead people bury dead people.”
Or perhaps Jesus was simply using these opportunities to teach something to those who would be reading these verses in 2008.
Jesus sacrificed a great deal to get on the road proclaiming good news and healing people, and he calls his followers to similar sacrifice. Are you waiting around for something to happen before you will give Jesus your full allegiance? Are you displaying a surface commitment to Christ while not actually addressing what it will cost you?
BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: Take time now to reflect on your status with Christ. He calls his followers to sacrifice for the sake of the mission. “Follow me,” he says.
