Day 4 of 14
Single-Minded Obedience
No Conditions, No Delays, No Excuses
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Luke 9:57-62: "As they were going along the road, someone said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' To another he said, 'Follow me.' But he said, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' And Jesus said to him, 'Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Yet another said, 'I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.' Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'"
Then read Matthew 6:24: "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other."
Reflection
Three people approach Jesus in Luke 9, and each encounter reveals a different obstacle to discipleship. The first volunteers enthusiastically: "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus does not welcome the enthusiasm. He tests it: "The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Following Jesus means giving up the security of a settled life. Are you prepared for that?
The second is called directly by Jesus but asks for a delay: "Let me first go and bury my father." This was likely not an immediate funeral but a request to remain at home until his father died — perhaps years away. Jesus's response is shocking: "Leave the dead to bury their own dead." The spiritually dead can handle worldly duties. The called must proclaim the kingdom.
The third also volunteers but with a condition: "Let me first say farewell to those at my home." It sounds perfectly reasonable. But Jesus sees through it: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Bonhoeffer identifies the common thread: each person wants to follow Jesus on their own terms, with their own conditions, at their own pace. But Jesus does not negotiate. "The disciple simply burns his boats and goes ahead," Bonhoeffer writes. "He is called out... The old life is left behind, and completely surrendered."
The key phrase in each failed response is "first let me." First let me bury my father. First let me say goodbye. The word "first" reveals where ultimate loyalty lies. When anything comes before Jesus — even good things, legitimate things, loving things — it has become a rival lord. And Jesus is clear: you cannot serve two masters.
Bonhoeffer insists that discipleship requires "certain definite steps." It is not a general attitude of being favorably disposed toward Jesus. It is a concrete act of leaving and following. "The first step, which follows the call, cuts the disciple off from his previous existence." This is not cruelty. It is liberation — the breaking of every chain that keeps you from the life Christ has for you.
Going Deeper
The demands of Jesus in Luke 9 sound extreme because they are. Bonhoeffer would say that the extremity is the point. Discipleship is not one department of life alongside family, career, and leisure. It is the reorganization of all of life around one supreme allegiance. When Jesus says "Follow me," He is not asking for a slot in your schedule. He is asking for your life.
Where have you said "first let me" to Jesus? What would it look like to remove the condition?
Key Quotes
“The disciple simply burns his boats and goes ahead. He is called out... The old life is left behind, and completely surrendered. The disciple is dragged out of his relative security into a life of absolute insecurity.”
“If we would follow Jesus we must take certain definite steps. The first step, which follows the call, cuts the disciple off from his previous existence.”
Prayer Focus
Asking God to expose the conditions you have placed on your obedience — the 'first let me' clauses you have attached to following Christ — and for the grace to drop them
Meditation
Jesus responded to three would-be disciples with increasing severity. The first offered to follow anywhere but was warned about homelessness. The second asked to bury his father first. The third wanted to say goodbye. What conditions have you placed on your discipleship?
Question for Discussion
Jesus told one man, 'Let the dead bury their own dead.' This sounds harsh — even cruel — to modern ears. What do you think Jesus was getting at? Is there ever a time when legitimate responsibilities become excuses for avoiding the call to follow Christ?