41. Priority

[Pastor Ralph]

Please share your thoughts on one or more of the questions in this lesson. 

[Irmela]

1.  What does it mean to live your life as a sojourner? Why is a sojourner mentality required for disciples? (9:58)

A sojourner is a temporary resident. 

A disciple is not just necessarily  called to one place.  He needs to be ready to follow wherever the Master leads and in God's timing not the disciple's timing. 

[Irmela]

2. Why is Jesus so hard on the man who needed to bury his father before following? (9:59-60)

The father was not dead as yet. It was an excuse to shelve following Jesus. If the father had died, the man should have been busy with arrangements for the burial, not talking to Jesus. 

Jesus was hard on him, because he had no intention to actually follow Jesus. People were listening and following conversations. The man's reaction could easily rub off on others. Jesus needed people who were truly ready to follow Him. 

 

[Irmela]

3.  What does Jesus mean when he says that the dead should bury the dead? What's the point? (9:60)

Jesus meant the 'spiritually' dead, should bury the spiritually dead. The one desiring to follow Jesus should do so immediately, not wait for the partner (husband or wife) to do the same. Jesus needs people to be ready to follow Him immediately and be ready to go werever He sends  them. 

Following Him must have priority, it must be first and foremost in our lives. 

[Irmela]

4.  What's wrong with the man wanting to say good-bye to his family first? (9:61)

Normally there would have been nothing wrong with the request. The mission about to start was serious though, and Jesus needed people to be bent upon following Him wholeheartedly and immediately. There was no time to dither about a decision. By the time he returned it would be too late to send him. 

[Irmela]

5.  What characteristic is absolutely essential for plowmen? What trait is absolutely necessary for disciples? (9:62)

Not to look back. To complete the work, by looking ahead. Not to the right and not to the left. Do not be distracted by anyone or anything. Remain focused. So obedience and trust by following to the end, no matter the circumstances, is very necessary/essential. 

[Irmela]

6.  Is Jesus speaking in hyperbole (using exaggerated speech and examples) here? If so, what is the value of hyperbole for a teacher? If Jesus is using hyperbole, does that mean we don't have to take his words seriously?

He sure is. I don't think He meant us to hate anyone. Possibly to shock His audience into listening properly; Into taking heed what He was saying ; into recognizing the seriousness of what He was telling them. He was letting them know that following Him meant following Him and not dilly-dallying or playing the fool. 

[hanks]

1. What does it mean to live your life as a sojourner? Why is a sojourner mentality required for disciples? (9:58) 
Jesus asks the man, in effect, whether he knows what it means to follow Him. Does he know that in following Jesus he has to live a life of a sojourner, giving up all the comforts and conveniences of life. To be a disciple, there can be no hinderances in following Jesus, and for this to happen a sojourner mentality is required. Also, one has to understand the implications of discipleship – self-denial, sacrifice, service, and suffering. We find this in Jesus’ wandering from place to place, Judea rejects Him (John 5:18), Galilee casts Him out (John 6:66), Gadara begs Him to leave (Mat 8:34), Samaria refuses Him lodging (9:53). In the same way, we are sojourners here on earth – this world is not our home. We are just passing through and must be prepared to move on when our heavenly Father calls us home. 
 

[hanks]

2. Why is Jesus so hard on the man who needed to bury his father before following? (9:59-60) 
The man said let me first go …, putting his own desires and interests first. He is allowing something else to take precedence over Christ’s call. Most probably the man’s father has not died, if this was so he would have been attending to burial arrangements. I think he was using his father as an excuse to delay following Jesus. Following Jesus has a cost. Instead of living self-centred lives we are to live Christ-centred lives. Instead of asking how every action will affect ourselves, we must be careful to assess how it will affect Christ and His glory. Jesus rebukes him for his double-mindedness and his hesitancy and delaying tactics in following Him. In following Jesus, we need to deny dead, worldly pursuits and comforts, and do the Lord’s work. 
 

[hanks]

3. What does Jesus mean when He says that the dead should bury the dead? What's the point? (9:60) 
Jesus means that the spiritually dead, that is unbelievers, should bury the dead. In other words, the (spiritually) dead (unbeliever) should bury the (physically) dead, for believers have more important work to do in responding to the gospel. The spiritually dead can bury the physically dead, but they can't preach the gospel. We as disciples should not be doing tasks that unbelievers can do – we have much more important work to do. Believers are to make sure that their principal occupation should be to advance the cause of Christ on earth. Jesus was emphasizing to the man that wanted to bury his father first, that to follow Him requires extraordinary sacrifice and total commitment. The point is that once we make the decision to follow Jesus we must deny self, worldly pursuits, comforts, and do the Lord’s work. 
 

[hanks]

4. What's wrong with the man wanting to say good-bye to his family first? (9:61) 
Here the man also puts his interests first. “Lord … me first”. He offered to follow Jesus and then wants to first say good-bye to his family. He has got his priorities mixed up. There should now be prompt and complete obedience to our Lord Jesus. If one wants to truly follow Jesus, He has to become everything to us – total dedication. As we studied earlier (9:23), Jesus said "Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me." We are talking about the Creator of the universes, but also our Saviour, our Redeemer, who cares for us, and loves us
 

[hanks]

5. What characteristic is absolutely essential for ploughmen? What trait is absolutely necessary for disciples? (9:62) 
For both the ploughmen and disciples alike, total commitment is essential, and there is to be no looking back. Once started there must be determination to continue until completion. Practically, it is difficult to plough a straight row if one is looking behind rather than forward! The cost is clear and the cost is high. Paul wrote about his spiritual walk with Jesus, to forget about those things left behind, not only sins and failures, but also his natural privileges, attainments, and successes. And reaching forward to those things which are ahead: namely, the privileges and responsibilities of the Christian life, whether worship, service, or the personal development of Christian character (Php 3:13-14). Jesus warns that excessive concern for family ties, that is looking back, will not have the kingdom as the top priority. Discipleship cannot be double-minded. Total commitment also means not having a way of retreat, that is to quit, left behind, in case things get tough or don’t go their way. Like having a safety net – just in case. We can then easily go back to our previous lifestyle.  
 

[hanks]

6. Is Jesus speaking in hyperbole (using exaggerated speech and examples) here? If so, what is the value of hyperbole for a teacher? If Jesus is using hyperbole, does that mean we don't have to take His words seriously? 
Most of the time we intuitively recognize hyperbole - when a writer or speaker consciously exaggerates something to emphasize a point. Jesus words spoken in this passage we are studying, seem more like metaphors to me, since there is no exaggeration here, to my mind at least. "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head" (9:58). "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God" (9:60). "No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (9:62). I think I’ve got it wrong. Anyway, not being a language expert, as hyperbole they definitely help us to better understand the meaning Jesus is teaching us. Jesus often uses exaggerations to make a point. I believe this was a common way of speaking in His day. Jesus always knows what is better for us, and when He does speak in hyperbole we are to listen even more seriously, because it will be something He wants us to take note of and understand fully. Coming back to verse 9:62, the metaphor refers to the hard work of discipleship, with no turning back; otherwise, one is not fit for the kingdom of God. Not fit is not referring to salvation but to service only. Jesus always said exactly what He meant, and meant exactly what He said. It is up to us to understand Him, then our concern about the extreme language disappears.  
 

[t-c]

1. What's wrong with the man wanting to say good-bye to his family first? (9:61)

Every time I have read this verse it makes me think of 1 Kings 19:19-21. Its a beautiful passage in which Elisha is called into service as Elijah's apprentice while he is actually plowing a field. Elijah throws his mantle over Elisha's shoulder, thus calling him to service and Elisha says, "Please let me kiss my Father and Mother, then I will follow you." Elijah says, "Go back again, for what have I done to you." Elisha' then sacrificed a pair of oxen using the the plow broken up (wood) to cook the sacrifice. Gave it to the people and they ate. He then arose and began to follow Elijah.                 

A few things really stand out in this passage as I think of Luke 9:61-62. First being that Elijah chose Elisha, calling him to service. Not like in Luke 9:61, where a man wants to follow Jesus, but the man hasn't yet considered the price of being a disciple of Christ. The second being that as Elisha is sacrificing the oxen to God, he uses the broken up plow to cook the sacrifice. I believe that this is symbolic to him saying, my life on the farm with my family is over and I will never return to it. I am through plowing. I am all in with Elijah as his disciple, knowing that later on he maybe be called to take his place as a Prophet of Israel.

Elijah calls Elisha and gives him an opportunity to say goodbye to his family, knowing his character and devotion to God. That he is God's man for the job.                                     This man in Luke 9:61 liked the idea of following Jesus, but hadn't considered the cost of discipleship: Luke 14:25-33

An interesting side note is, that Elisha performed more recorded miracles than anyone other then Jesus Christ.

 

[Katy]

Q1.To live life as a sojourner mean to live temporarily in a place. The person is there for a time but knows it is not their permanent home. As Christians we are to live our lives as though we are here for a short time and then we will go to our permanent place of residence which is heaven. While we are on earth we must engage fully in the work, God has given us to do, whilst being aware that we are sojourner sin this world. Because we are temporary residents we must not become too attached to worldly things. At the same time we have been placed here at this very time by God as is described in Acts 17 v24 to 28. Disciples need to live with a sojourner mentality because they may be called to go to situations where they will have a bed in somewhere that is temporary and not home. It is part of following Jesus.

Q2.Jesus is making the very strong point here that following Him must come before everything else in our lives, even something as important as looking after a parent in old age and into the time of their dying. For many of us we may not have to physically leave parents in old age but we may have to make our way spiritually without our nearest and dearest we cannot put off the call of Jesus to follow Him.

Q3.Jesus is speaking here about the spiritually dead, to bury the dead. As believers our priority is to do the work God has for us to do. Otherwise we will get bogged down in earthly things and not be available and committed to the things of God.

Q4. The man wanting to say goodbye was not ready to fully commit himself to following Jesus. It is a privilege to be called by Almighty God to serve Him in some small way and we need to be ready and fully committed to do His bidding. It is insulting to Our Saviour to be fobbed off by excuses not to obey Him immediately.

Q5. We must keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, not turning back and looking at the past.  It is impossible to keep going straight if we keep looking over our shoulders. Plow men fix their eyes on a point at the far end of where they are ploughing and keep going towards it not looking anywhere else.

Q6. Yes I think Jesus is speaking in hyperbole but He is making strong points about the huge importance of serving God with a fully committed heart and not as an after thought after we have done everything else we want to do. Our service is the most important thing in our lives and yet unless we discipline ourselves on a daily basis our service and time spent with God can be squeezed out of our day. Even if Jesus is using hyperbole it does get the seriousness of the matter home to us, and makes us stop and think about our own situation and how serious do we take our commitment compared with what Jesus is saying in the passage. In no way does it mean we can ignore it or take it lightly. Jesus has used hyperbole to show us the seriousness of what He is saying and the need to think seriously about it.

 

[haar]

1.    What does it mean to live your life as a sojourner? Why is a sojourner mentality required for disciples? (9:58)

It means you live with heavenly matters are priority over other worldly engagements that may derail our progress. A sojourner mentality is required of a disciple so that he will ever be ready for the Master's tasks without worldly distractions
2.    Why is Jesus so hard on the man who needed to bury his father before following? (9:59-60)

He is needed for the Master's service now but the man wants to wait when it is convenient for him.
3.    What does Jesus mean when he says that the dead should bury the dead? What's the point? (9:60)

Heavenly reward is eternal life and thus the non-spiritually oriented ones whose focus is not eternal life are dead spiritually. They can take their time taking care of their spiritually dead relatives.

4.    What's wrong with the man wanting to say good-bye to his family first? (9:61)

He can miss the more important as he gets distracted by the cares and concerns of relationships and miss out the more important and urgent tasks of the kingdom of the Master
5.    What characteristic is absolutely essential for plowmen? What trait is absolutely necessary for disciples? (9:62)

Concentration so as to get it right (straight)
6.    Is Jesus speaking in hyperbole (using exaggerated speech and examples) here? If so, what is the value of hyperbole for a teacher? If Jesus is using hyperbole, does that mean we don't have to take his words seriously?
 

[Old Jerry]

What does it mean to live your life as a sojourner? Why is a sojourner mentality required for disciples? (9:58)

 

A. It means that we are willing to go where God wants us to go. We have to be mentality stabled enough to be a sojourner.

 

Why is Jesus so hard on the man who needed to bury his father before following? (9:59-60)

 

A. The man wasn’t mentally ready to follow Jesus. His family meant more to him then following Jesus.

 

What does Jesus mean when he says that the dead should bury the dead? What's the point? (9:60)

 

A. He is saying that those that are spiritly dead need to bury those that are dead. The point is that Jesus needed him right now.

 

What's wrong with the man wanting to say good-bye to his family first? (9:61)

 

A. There was nothing wrong with them man wanting to say good-bye to his family. But since he wanted to do that he just wasn’t ready to follow Jesus.

 

 

What characteristic is absolutely essential for plowmen? What trait is absolutely necessary for disciples? (9:62)

 

A. The characteristic that is absolutely essential for plowmen is to keep your eye on the goal was is at the end of the field and not on what has already been done. This is a trait that is absolutely necessary for a disciple.

 

Is Jesus speaking in hyperbole (using exaggerated speech and examples) here? If so, what is the value of hyperbole for a teacher? If Jesus is using hyperbole, does that mean we don't have to take his words seriously?

 

A. Jesus does use hyperbole to teach but in this case he was not using hyperbole. He wanted them to know that he was serious in what he was saying. Jesus set his eye on Jerusalem and was willing to go there no matter the cost. We need to set our eye on Jesus and be willing to achieve this no matter the cost.

[kreilly]

What does it mean to live your life as a sojourner? Why is a sojourner mentality required for disciples?

A sojourner is a traveler.  In the same way, we are travelers in this world.  We do not seek to make a comfortable home in this world because this world is not our home.  We seek to bring glory to our Master.  If we are focused on making a comfortable life in this world and seeking worldly achievements, we will not be about our master's business.  To be a good disciple, we have to be single-minded with an undivided heart. 

[kreilly]

On 7/6/2021 at 10:10 AM, t-c said:

1. What's wrong with the man wanting to say good-bye to his family first? (9:61)

Every time I have read this verse it makes me think of 1 Kings 19:19-21. Its a beautiful passage in which Elisha is called into service as Elijah's apprentice while he is actually plowing a field. Elijah throws his mantle over Elisha's shoulder, thus calling him to service and Elisha says, "Please let me kiss my Father and Mother, then I will follow you." Elijah says, "Go back again, for what have I done to you." Elisha' then sacrificed a pair of oxen using the the plow broken up (wood) to cook the sacrifice. Gave it to the people and they ate. He then arose and began to follow Elijah.                 

A few things really stand out in this passage as I think of Luke 9:61-62. First being that Elijah chose Elisha, calling him to service. Not like in Luke 9:61, where a man wants to follow Jesus, but the man hasn't yet considered the price of being a disciple of Christ. The second being that as Elisha is sacrificing the oxen to God, he uses the broken up plow to cook the sacrifice. I believe that this is symbolic to him saying, my life on the farm with my family is over and I will never return to it. I am through plowing. I am all in with Elijah as his disciple, knowing that later on he maybe be called to take his place as a Prophet of Israel.

Elijah calls Elisha and gives him an opportunity to say goodbye to his family, knowing his character and devotion to God. That he is God's man for the job.                                     This man in Luke 9:61 liked the idea of following Jesus, but hadn't considered the cost of discipleship: Luke 14:25-33

An interesting side note is, that Elisha performed more recorded miracles than anyone other then Jesus Christ.

 

Thank you for sharing your insight.  I never would have put those two passages together, but it makes so much sense the way you explain it.  Great mini-lesson!

[Godswriter]

1.    What does it mean to live your life as a sojourner? Why is a sojourner mentality required for disciples? (9:58)

It means to be one with the Lord and not love the world but still be a part of it not fully part of it in the sense of the fact that He took us out of the world to be a part of the church that has been called out of the world because we do not live by the world's standards anymore.  
2.    Why is Jesus so hard on the man who needed to bury his father before following? (9:59-60)

Because the fact that Jesus wanted people to be sold out for Him in the sense of that we need to be considering Christ as a number one priority. For Jesus said that if you love your mother, father, brother, or sister more than me; you are not worthy of Me. He is basically saying that we need to be willing to love Christ more than anyone else.
3.    What does Jesus mean when he says that the dead should bury the dead? What's the point? (9:60)

The kind of dead He is speaking of is the spiritually dead where they are not concerned about the things of the Kingdom at all. The point is that we have to be about the Father's business.

4.  What's wrong with the man wanting to say good-bye to his family first? (9:61)

He was too concerned about worldly things to realize that the Lord wants the best from us. For Jesus said that if you love your brother, sister, father or mother; you are not worthy of Me. This means that when we choose to consider them more important than Him; you are not worthy of Him.

5.    What characteristic is absolutely essential for plowmen? What trait is absolutely necessary for disciples? (9:62)

The ability to listen to what the Lord says and actually be willing to do it. The ability to be willing to learn to the Lord. The ability to be willing to trust Him.

6.    Is Jesus speaking in hyperbole (using exaggerated speech and examples) here? If so, what is the value of hyperbole for a teacher? If Jesus is using hyperbole, does that mean we don't have to take his words seriously?

No He is talking about actually how we are to be no matter what. 

[George L]

 

What does it mean to live your life as a sojourner? Expect no permanent home base. Why is a sojourner mentality required for disciples? (9:58) We are like my Navy career. Your skills may be needed most somewhere else.

Why is Jesus so hard on the man who needed to bury his father before following? (9:59-60) In those days that meant when the father died he as the eldest son would have to divide the property and belongings. His family duties exceeded his devotion to Christ.

What's wrong with the man wanting to say good-bye to his family first? (9:61)  The time of Jesus walking the earth, the time of christ on earth was ending. If he did not pick up on the urgency of the time he would be dead weight once he tried to catch up. Like missing ships movement. You are either on board when your ship sails or you litterally miss the boat.

What characteristic is absolutely essential for plowmen? Keep looking forward to complete the row. Your prayer is preparing the ground for sweeping great harvest What trait is absolutely necessary for disciples? (9:62) Once committed to the service be faithful to the covenent relationship of your service

Is Jesus speaking in hyperbole (using exaggerated speech and examples) here? It may be hyperbole but more trulynperhapse ecacting truth of apostolic ministry. If so, what is the value of hyperbole for a teacher? Attention getting imortance alert to the hearing to hear listener and student. If Jesus is using hyperbole, does that mean we don't have to take his words seriously? That is true hyperbole. There is no word of Christ, the living word of God that is unimportant.