The Cost of Following Jesus
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
In the sermon on the mount Jesus said that ‘small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’ Here a chapter later, we start to see people who were amazed by his miracles, deciding not to follow him. The teacher of the law seems to have the right attitude. ‘I will go wherever you go,’ he says. But Jesus warns him that if you follow Jesus then you will be uncomfortable. This is not an easy path.
The second disciple’s request seemed reasonable, he wanted to bury his father. However, Jesus was not willing to wait for him. This seems shocking at face value but every Christian has times when following Jesus will be inconvenient and will clash with other priorities.
Jesus warns us that the way is narrow and that only few will take it. There is a cost to following Jesus, it is uncomfortable and inconvenient. Many will try to follow Jesus on their own terms but he asks us to put our full trust in him.
Reflect
- What resonated with you in today’s reading?
- Where do you find following Jesus to be inconvenient or uncomfortable?
Respond
Pause and pray. What do you feel God is saying to you today?
