Luke 9:59–62

And He said to another, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Now here is real faith; and where this exists, it is more than a theory — difficulties are felt. So the man begins to make an excuse. On one side he feels the attraction of the word of Jesus. But at the same time he is not free from the force that drags him back into nature.

The word "first" — let me first go and bury my father — shows something put before Christ. It is as if the man said, "There is something I put ahead of Your calling." Death had come in, and this very plea told Christ that they were all under death. It was quite a right thing for the man to bury his father. But if life has come in, and the question is redemption — to be lost or saved — you must give yourself up to it.

This man pleads the very first of all human duties. What could seem not only reasonable, but so binding on him, as to go first and bury his father? Did not the law command the child to honour father and mother? Certainly; but One was there greater than the law. The God who gave the law was calling. If He says, "Follow Me," faith gives up everything — father, or mother, or wife, or children — for Christ's sake. Jews counted a man who did not bury his father with proper care and affection as unworthy of any place among them.

In the one case, He set the divine call above the claims of family duty. In the other He condemned the Pharisees, who set human tradition above family duty. That reversal had no adequate warrant. God established the responsibility of children to their parents, and God alone can set it aside.

The Lord's answer to him is, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." That was a puzzling answer to a person whose heart was divided. This is how the Lord tests faith. He does not put things in the simplest possible form, above all where a person allows something that hinders. So He says, let those who are spiritually dead bury their natural dead — but you go and announce the kingdom of God. This man was not only called to follow Jesus, but to be a witness for Him.

The claims of natural relationship can be a serious hindrance to following the Lord with an undivided heart, but His claims come first. This does not contradict 1 Timothy 5:8, "if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." A person can do the Lord's work and provide for his own house at the same time. But this man wanted to delay doing the Lord's work until he was completely free of any obligation to his father.

There cannot be any "firsts" if we are disciples, because the Lord must be first. It was a perfectly legitimate thing to do — "let me first go and bury my father." We would all say, "Well, that man had a very good reason for going and doing this." But our lives will come under review. Then the Lord will decide what was right and what was wrong. He will decide it by how we lived in relation to Himself.

The flesh is so bold in its offers to go after Jesus, but in reality it is slow to follow when He calls. This man, though called, feels the difficulties at once, and says, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." You find this in true believers. When a person has Christianity before his mind as a theory, all seems easy. He thinks he can do anything. Usually, where the faith is genuine, a person feels the difficulties; and this man pleads the very first of all human duties. What could seem more reasonable, or more binding on him, than to go first and bury his father? Did not the law command the child to honour father and mother? To be sure; but One was there greater than the law.

This was a test. Christ knew everything, and He called this man at that exact moment for a reason: was Christ worth more to his soul than anyone or anything else in the world? The Lord's answer to him is a puzzling one to a person who was not single-minded. This is how the Lord tests faith… So He says here, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead" — that is, let those who are spiritually dead bury their natural dead. It was not only that this man was called to follow Jesus, but to be a witness for Him, to be a proclaimer of God's kingdom.

Here it was only a dead father needing to be buried. The living disciple, the messenger of life, was not to be kept in the region of death, away from delivering his gracious message. Let the dead attend to death, is the Lord's word. The two deaths spoken of here are not the same, yet there is a simple and clear connection between them.

The Lord's words, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead" (v.60), show that those who have no spiritual life can occupy themselves with natural matters only. But when the Lord calls someone to preach the kingdom of God, he is to obey. The Lord allows no excuse. This does not contradict 1 Timothy 5:8: "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." One can do the Lord's work and provide for his own house at the same time. But this man wanted to put off the Lord's work until he was free of every obligation to his father.

This does not mean that we are to give up natural relationships. God formed them. We are to bring the grace of Christ into them. But we must not let them hinder us in the path of God's will.

The sense of the dignity of His ministry was strong in Him. He answers, "One fellow creature may do the service of the dying for the dying. But you go and do the work of a living Saviour in the world."… "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God" — go and do My business, the business of life, and not of death, in a world struck by sin.

Meanwhile, for this very reason, the preaching of the kingdom was the only thing His unwearying love could do. The dead (to God) might bury the dead. The man who was called, who was alive, must be taken up with one thing — the kingdom — to bear witness to it. And that without looking back, the urgency of the matter lifting him above all other thoughts.

Here we have someone who lets the pleasant courtesies of life come "first." It was no serious delay. It was merely paying them ordinary politeness. But the Lord insists on the absolute giving up of every hindrance. If Christianity is anything, it must be everything. It allows no rivals and no delays. It could not be the kingdom of the true God if it tolerated His servants turning aside even a little. Christ is the first and the last. He must be everything to the heart, or through the schemes of the enemy He becomes nothing.

Anyone holding a hand plough must give his whole attention to the work. He keeps his eyes forward, both to make a straight furrow and to keep the plough at an even depth. If someone has no real purpose to follow the path of discipleship steadily and without swerving, he is not fit for the kingdom of God.

He would gladly put his hand to the plough — take up service — but his heart was "looking back" to the home, and we go the way we look. How impossible for a worker to plough his furrow while walking one way and looking another. The service of the Lord demands an undivided heart.

This case shows that those at home were not left behind in his heart. He felt he had to break with them, and yet his heart lingered. … If Christ is not first and last, He will always be last, for faith is not at work. … People may talk about the claims of affection. Yet it is not really family affection alone; what they feel is the end of it that ties back to self.

Now this was most natural, and, as some would say, kind and affectionate. But sadly, pleasantness and natural affection have often kept people from entering the Lord's service as they should.

It is not that the Lord sets aside the mercy of a home on earth, the claims and duties of natural relationships, or the affections that belong to them. He puts His own claims first, and looks for a devotedness that surrenders everything to Him. Only in the light of the glory of Christ in the kingdom of God, and in the power of the grace of Christ, will we be able to refuse our sinful nature in its many forms, the selfishness of our hearts, and the claims of nature.

The first statement — being made fit for the inheritance — is absolute and unconditional. The second — fitness for the kingdom — is strictly conditional. To look back from the plough shows unfitness. The first is the fruit of God's pure and boundless grace. … The second lies wholly in the line of responsibility — holding the plough of service. It depends on faithfulness on our part.

He knows he is running a race. He knows he is weak and easily turned aside, prone to look back and spoil his furrow, and possibly to lose the prize on the coming day. This is all deeply serious, but he has no question about the inheritance. That is settled. … So he seeks grace, in order to be as fit for the kingdom as he has been made fit for the inheritance.