Luke 9,51-62
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him.
53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
55 But he turned and rebuked them.
56 And they went on to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 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.”
59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Hello everyone, I am Kiki. The Chinese name of our second phase of the program is “读经大讲堂”. The English name is “Bible Study”.
We will adopt a relaxed and enjoyable learning mode to take you into a new learning world. Each time I will make a personal summary and analysis from the perspective of a learner, and then Sister Ingrid will help me conduct in-depth learning and problem discussions with everybody.
I hope that such an interesting and interactive process can bring new knowledge and experience to you all. The following is my interview with Sister Ingrid on related issues. Today is the 27th lecture on the Gospel of Luke.
Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area for discussion!
- My summary of Luke 27th-time study:
Well, everybody! First of all, here is my personal study summary for today.
Jesus resolutely journeyed to Jerusalem, knowing difficult times lay ahead. When a Samaritan village refused to welcome him due to old prejudices, his disciples James and John were furious and wanted to call down fire from heaven as punishment. But Jesus stopped them. He chose not to retaliate and simply moved on.
On the road, people expressed a desire to follow him. Jesus was honest about the cost: to an eager volunteer, he said he had nowhere to lay his head. To a man who wanted to first bury his father, he said, “Let the dead bury their own dead,” emphasizing the urgency of proclaiming God’s kingdom. To another who wanted to say farewell to his family, he said that no one who looks back after putting a hand to the plow is fit for service.
This passage shows us: Jesus responded to rejection with resolve and kindness, not revenge. And following him requires putting him first—above comfort, family, and the past—demanding total commitment to the path ahead.
Now let Sister Ingrid give a further summary.
- Sister’s comment on my study summary:
In the first part of the text, we have two examples of discrimination. The Samaritan people did not want to receive Jesus because he was Jewish. Going to the feast in Jerusalem showed that he not only was Jewish, but also a practicing Jew, and they were enemies of the Samaritans, which is why they discriminated against him.
The disciples wanted to punish them for their actions, but Jesus did not allow it.
First, because people will be judged and punished on Judgment Day at the end of time, and we have to learn that even if a person is against us and not a Christian, we should treat them with respect and give the situation to God, because he said, “Mine is the wrath.”
Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, and some people wanted to follow him on this way. But Jesus said that it is not easy to follow him, because he was aware that the way to Jerusalem would end for him on the cross at Calvary.
Therefore, he teaches the people who declare their wish to be with him on this way that it will cost something: being homeless, leaving everything, and having conflicts in the family, not looking back at former merits, as we see later in church history in the book of Acts.
Q list part: based on Luke 27th items:
Okay. Based on the above Bible study content, now let me ask Sister Ingrid some related questions.
We hope the following questions can be helpful to our brothers and sisters who have just become Christians.
- Why was Jesus so determined to go to Jerusalem, even when it caused problems?
He knew that his destiny was to die on the cross for us, and he was willing to go this way.
- The Samaritan village didn’t welcome Jesus. Why do you think they refused him just because he was headed to Jerusalem?
Yes, because they hated the Jews, and going to Jerusalem at the time of a religious feast identified Jesus as a believing Jew.
- James and John got really angry and wanted to call down fire on the village. What does their reaction tell us about how they were feeling?
They wanted to take revenge for this discrimination.
- Why do you think Jesus rebuked or scolded his disciples for wanting to punish the village?
It was not the time for judgment; it was the time to redeem. Because it is written that Jesus did not come to judge; he came to redeem.
At his second coming, he will come to judge.
- Jesus said he didn’t even have a home like foxes or birds. What do you think he was trying to teach the person who promised to follow him everywhere?
He wanted to teach them that if they follow him, they may be homeless and strangers in the world.
- When a man asked to first bury his father, Jesus’ reply sounds harsh. What might Jesus have meant by “let the dead bury their own dead”?
The man wanted to wait until his father had died in order to be free of family obligations. But Jesus taught clearly that we should love him more than our family, and Peter, John, and James also left everything immediately when Jesus called them.
- The last person just wanted to say goodbye to his family. Why did Jesus compare him to a farmer who looks back while plowing?
When you mix your Christian life with the life you had before, you will never make a clear line on your path to heaven.
- What do all three of these conversations teach about what it truly means to follow Jesus?
When we have the desire to follow Jesus, we must love him more than anything else, and we must look forward to the coming kingdom of God.
- How is the story of the Samaritan village connected to the stories about the cost of following Jesus?
The Samaritan village were enemies of Jesus; they did not want to follow him, so they did not have to pay anything. It will only cost them their life on Judgment Day.
- If you were one of the disciples traveling with Jesus that day, which part of this journey do you think would have been the most challenging or confusing for you?
I think saying goodbye to family is very hard to do, because we always have them on our minds, and a lot of spiritual struggles have their origin in family.
But Jesus gives us a new family. I am baptized into the body of Christ, so when I am sad that things are not well in my family of origin, Jesus gives me new people to stand with me in the spiritual battle we are fighting each day.
