Service in the Kingdom Of God

Luke 9:57-62

Key Verse 9:62

Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." 

Today we will think about what is required of us in following Jesus and putting ourselves in the service in God's kingdom. 

First, the Road to Jerusalem

Look at verse 57. "As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 

Luke 9:51 reads, "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem." This verse indicates that the road mentioned in verse 57 is the road to Jerusalem. The expression "taken up to heaven" refers to Jesus’ “sufferings, death and resurrection”. The adverb, "resolutely" suggests that Jesus was "determined" to go there no matter what. There in Jerusalem Jesus' enemies were all waiting for him. In fact, Jesus had already predicted that he would be betrayed into the hands of men. In Jerusalem Jesus would have to face betrayal by a beloved disciple. He would go through many rejections. He would then have to stand on trial. He would be subjected to horrible sufferings, for people were going to condemn him, mock him, spit on him, and beat him with one blow after another. Then they would lead him out to crucify him. The crucifixion is the most painful and shameful way to punish a criminal to death. BUT after the crucifixion Jesus will rise again. 

As they were walking along the road, Jesus alone was aware of these things. The rest of the people had no idea what would happen to Jesus. Although Jesus clearly spoke to them about these things, they did not want to listen. Still Jesus talked about these things. But those who were close to him were even afraid to ask him about these. 

The fact that Jesus talked to his followers about these things again and again indicates that it is God's will for us to consider these things, because the truth about Jesus’ death and resurrection embraces the essence of the gospel. It is the only way to life, not one of the many different ways, but the only way. Figuratively speaking this gospel is like the “Lost and Found Center” where all who have lost their lives can find theirs again. 

Later the Apostle Paul understood and shared this truth in 1 Corinthians 2:2, "I resolved to know nothing…except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Then he said, in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Finally in Galatians 5:24 he said, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."  And this is the first and foremost important thing we should remember in following and putting ourselves in the service of the Lord.

Second, I will follow you

Look at verse 57 again. "As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Let us stop for a moment and think about what the man said. According to Matthew 8:19, he was a "teacher of law." In those days the teachers of law, Sadducees, and the Pharisees were all in opposition to Jesus. But this man overcame peer pressure. He then boldly expressed his decision to follow Jesus saying, "I will follow you wherever you go." 

Here the two words "I will" indicates that he made a firm "decision." Apparently, not all people who were walking along the road together with Jesus were "determined" to follow Jesus. In fact a lot of them followed Jesus out of a group instinct. But unlike many, this man made a "decision" to follow Jesus. As far as he was concerned, he was "decided." 

It has been said that life consists of a series of decisions. And of all the decisions one can make in his life, the decision to follow Jesus is by far the greatest. Why is it such a great decision? We all know the answer, for in Luke 9:23-27 Jesus says: "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." 

Third, the son of man has no place to lay his head

The man said, "I will follow you wherever you go." What did Jesus say to him? Look at verse 58, "Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."" Jesus' reply looks like a rejection. But we know that Jesus wants everyone to follow him, wherever he goes. Why then did he say what he said? 

Again we can find an answer to this question from what the man said, "Wherever you go." In his divine insight, Jesus knew that the check this man wrote, signed, and delivered to Jesus would bounce. When you think about it, he said something, which requires tremendous commitment. "I will follow you wherever you go..." What is most challenging and costly is the word "wherever." What does "wherever" mean? Wherever means wherever.  He had decided to follow Jesus wherever Jesus would go. 

Actually, when we look at the life of Jesus chronologically, we can see that Jesus went around virtually “everywhere” and Jesus did this all on foot. Nowadays we have all kinds of transportation – bicycles, airplanes, the RTD bus system, metro lines, Amtrak, minivans, SUVs, helicopters, or even private jet liners. But in those days all they had were two feet. They moved around mostly on foot. And if anyone was rich, he could move around riding on a donkey. Although the land of Israel in Jesus' day was less than half the size of California, it was not easy for one to travel through all different places all on foot. But in order to preach the kingdom of God, Jesus and his colleagues traveled around all the towns and villages all on foot. During his evangelistic journeys Jesus did not carry money bags. Mostly he preached to the poor and downcast. Naturally, he did not have rich sponsors to donate bags of money into his treasury. Like all of us, Jesus had a body with a stomach. So, Jesus had to eat. Oh, yes. Jesus had other stomachs to fill - the twelve disciples who were always hungry. Was the number of mouth to feed only 12? No. There were a lot more than that. Luke 9:52 says, for example, "And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him..." Who were these messengers? Furthermore Luke 10:1 reads, "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go." Most likely the number of people who walked along the road with Jesus, assisting him in preaching the kingdom of God, was around 120 (Acts 1:15). Who then supported this many people? Who financed Jesus' ministry, so Jesus and his followers would eat at least one hamburger a day? We already know the answer, for Luke 8:3 says, "Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means." So let us be practical. It was these women who were helping to support the hungry crowds out of "their own means." This reminds us of the humble picture of Jesus’ ministry. It reminds me of the manger ministry maintained by the most of the UBF missionaries overseas. The sacrificial life of the women who followed and supported Jesus’ ministry out of their own means, and the examples of the self-supporting missionaries in UBF tell us that following Jesus is not just spiritual. It is not just about coming to church, enjoying some music, and make comments on the message saying, “Oh, today the message was too boring.” Rather it is joining a long list of people who realize that following Jesus include dedicating our time, talents, financial resources, and much more. 

“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have their nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head.” Indeed as a minister and a full time pastor Jesus maintained a humble lifestyle. Isaiah 53:3 says of Jesus, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Here, the expression "familiar with suffering" is not just a reference to his one time sacrifice on a tree. It refers to all the sufferings he endured in serving people. It is a reference to the enormous amount of humble and frustrating work he and his followers did until he finally offered his life on a tree as a ransom sacrifice for many. 

"I will follow wherever you go." Apparently, the teacher of the law was not familiar with all the sufferings of Jesus and his companions. In those days, a teacher of the law belonged to the ruling class. As a man from the ruling class, he might have been familiar with a comfortable life.  Maybe he was trained to issue orders to others, not to take orders from others.  He might have been used to sit at the top and be served by others, rather than fill a servant’s position and serve others from there. As he was, he was willing to fill the privileged position of Jesus’ discipleship ministry perhaps a senior level but not a humble position charged with humble duties, such as cleaning bathroom, folding chairs, doing dishes, or emptying trash cans. You know, at the Downey center, what gets filled up the fastest are the garbage cans. And it’s not always easy to be told to clean the bathrooms or to do the dishes or to attend to menial duties such as setting up chairs for worship services all the time. Maybe you can do that once or twice, not all the time. 

"I will follow wherever you go." Here "wherever" means "wherever" including the kitchen to wash dishes, the main sanctuary on Sunday morning cleaning the center, setting up chairs, and the bathrooms to clean them with Ajax after hours. It includes going to the place where sheep may be found, and inviting students only to get rejected again and again. The “wherever” includes showing up at a Bible study appointment on campus only to see sheep not showing up. It includes humbling oneself, leaving his own place of comfort, going to a sheep's place, knocking on the door of a sheep, inviting him to a bible study, and listening to him for about three hours, and then having a bible study for about three minutes. And the practical meaning of "I will go wherever you go" is to do this kind of frustrating work again and again, all at your own expenses.

In addition to all these Jesus knew that soon his followers would undergo severe persecutions. When the wind of persecution hits the community of believers, Jesus’ followers will have to suffer all kinds of difficulties – they will face jeers and flogging. Some will be chained and put in prison. Some will go about in goatskins and sheepskins. And they will remain destitute, persecuted, and mistreated. Jesus saw that the man would have to go through all these if he really followed Jesus all the way. The question: "When the going gets tough, is he going to stick around to the end?", or will he “call it quits”, half way through? That is a good question. And Jesus' answer, "The Son of Man has no place to lay his head" helped the man to count the cost involved in following Jesus all the way, so the man would have a realistic sense of what it is to follow Jesus to the end. 

Fourth, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

The next thing Jesus wants us to remember in following him and serving his purpose is for us to follow Jesus and serve him in his kingdom as a matter of top priority. Say, "top priority." Look at verse 59a, "He said to another man, "Follow me." We don't know who that "another" man was. But one thing is certain: Jesus had great mercy on him, and extended him the honor of following Jesus. 

"Follow me." Once upon a time Jesus called a man named Levi with the same words: "Follow me." Levi the tax collector could not believe his ears. So, for a few seconds, he was looking around to see whether or not Jesus was talking to him or to someone else. But, there was no one else around except him, in his tax collector's booth. So, without knowing what he was doing, he immediately stood up, and followed Jesus. Since then his life was never the same. He used to live in a dark dungeon of his own misery. In his tax collector's booth, he was dying slowly like a sick chicken. But since he heard Jesus' voice saying, "Follow me" the joy of heaven erupted in his heart. And each and every day with great joy he followed Jesus all the way, until he could write the first of the four gospels called "The Gospel according to Matthew." 

But how did the man respond to such a blessed call? Look at verse 59b. "But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."" Interestingly the man called Jesus "Lord." Lord means Jesus is the master. If Jesus is the master what is the position of the man? The man is a servant. And a servant does not talk back to his master. If the master says go he goes, if he says “come” he comes. But this man did not do that. And he talked back to Jesus saying, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 

What was Jesus' reply? Look at verse 60. "Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’" Jesus could have said, "Okay. Please go ahead. I will keep the position open for you." But Jesus did not do that. According to the Jewish Law the burial and mourning for a dead father and subsequent purifications which occupy many days, is regarded as the most sacred duty. Yet Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Jesus' words here teach us that the duty to go and proclaim the kingdom of God is higher than any other duties. Why is this so? What Jesus said answers the question. Here "the dead" or "their own dead" refer to those who are spiritually dead. There are many who are physically alive but spiritually dead. And the ones who are spiritually dead are as good as dead even though they are physically alive. What alters this dire truth is the message of the Kingdom of God. All those who are dead are not going to participate in the joy, peace, comfort, and all the pleasures of the kingdom of God. If they finish their physical lives here on earth in their physical bodies without hearing, understanding, and accepting the message of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, they are going to spend eternity in eternal condemnation. For this reason Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." The distinction between the "dead" and "you" here indicates that the man came to be in a blessed position, in that unlike all the rest of his family members, he came to be saved because he knew Jesus and accepted Jesus as the Lord and Savior. This indicates that he held not only citizenship in this world but also citizenship in the Kingdom of God. As Jesus mentioned in John's gospel 17, he was no longer “of the world” although he was still “in the world”. His duty then runs first to God the Father, who in turn sent him back to this world on a mission journey, that is, to proclaim the kingdom of God. 

Fifth, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

The next thing we need to remember in following Jesus and serving in His kingdom is to live as a forward looking man, not a backward looking man. 

Look at verse 61. "Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."" The word "still" suggests that this man who said what he said could have picked up the message from what Jesus had said to the man whose father just died. But he did not get the message. Obviously, like the first two, this third person was a disciple of Jesus. He too wanted to follow Jesus. But he had a major problem needing major correction.

Look at what he said again. "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Apparently this man was a very sensitive person, sensitive to the feelings of others especially his family members. It also appears that he enjoyed a good "family relationship". Not all people in Jewish society enjoyed close relationships, within the family. But this man had a good family relationship. Then when he heard Jesus' message he was deeply moved. So he decided to follow Jesus. But he loved his family members as well. As Jesus and his company were moving fast forward to Jerusalem, he too wanted to follow Jesus. But oh, my goodness! How much I love my family members also! I must say just "good-by" and then I will come back. But what did Jesus say? 

Look at verse 62. "Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."" In the words that came out of the mouth of the man, Jesus saw a problem, and the problem was couched in two words: "go back." The man said, "first let me go back..." But Jesus says, "No going back." This reminds us of the hymn song entitled, "No turning Back". The lyrics go like this: "I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back." But look at the man. Even before actually following Jesus, he said, "Let me go back". We see a huge problem right there.  

Why then is there no turning back (or looking back) in following Jesus? Again, think about what Jesus said: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." The key here in commanding him not to look back, is commitment and concentration. In the case of Elisha, when Elijah called him to the service in the kingdom of God, Elisha said, "Let me go kiss my father and mother good-by." But, in his case, before going back to his parents to kiss them good-by, he first took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant. In short, he demonstrated his "firm commitment". He "burned the bridges” so to speak. Then one must concentrate on the work he has - plowing. In those days, farmers plowed the field with the help of a mule or an ox. For plowing the farmers issued orders to the animals pulling the plow. During the hours of plowing, the farmer must pay close attention to the work, that is, to cut the furrows through the soil so that none of the seeds would be wasted. It was an act that took the farmer's full concentration. Turning one’s head back and looking back might mean disaster for the animal, farmer, the future of the crop, especially in a land where so many rocks are hidden underneath the soil. 

So, here is the question for all of you! "Have you burned the bridges behind you?" Or "Are you always thinking about going back to your old ways of life: old habits, old sin problems, old relationships, old responsibilities, old this or old that?" Then, you are not fit for service in the kingdom of God. 

In conclusion, let us read verse 62 once again. In this passage we learned: 1) the need to know that the way of a Christian is the way of the “cross” of Jesus; 2) we then need to make a "firm" decision to follow Jesus, counting the cost, being fully aware of the cost involved; 3) we need to serve the Kingdom purpose as a matter of top priority; and 4) we must serve the Lord with a sense of full commitment and undivided attention to the work we are called to do. 

One word: service in the kingdom of God

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