The Kingdom Of God: "Not So Wise Men”

The Kingdom of God

“Not So Wise Men”

Luke 9:57-62

Watch on YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqU091I5leE

Now, our first impression upon hearing this title is the wise men found in the Christmas story. Instead, in this series, we’re looking at Kingdom of God principles we can live our lives by.

Looking at this area of Scripture, it surprises many people when they read about how Jesus was discouraging people from following Him. It also comes as a surprise to think that Jesus wasn’t as seeker friendly as many make Him out to be.

In our passage, Jesus is behaving in a manner unlike anything we’re accustomed to. We do everything we can to attract people to come to church, but here Jesus is doing the exact opposite.

So, let’s look at these most unusual encounters.

“Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, ‘Lord, 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.’ Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.’ And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:57-62 NKJV)

When we read this, our minds almost automatically ask, “Why did Jesus handle these three guys the way He did? Why did He say these things that seem harsh when we see this as an honest desire on their part to follow?”

Because they didn’t realize some truths about the Kingdom of God, and Jesus wanted them to know what they were asking. Therefore, it’s from Jesus’s response to their requests that we find out some valuable information about God’s kingdom, and our entrance into it.

And just an FYI. These guys most likely had been following Jesus for a while. They saw His miracles, listened to His teachings, and they are interested, but they were still unprepared to fully follow, and Jesus confronts them in these areas.

The First Guy

The first guy rushes up with great excitement proclaiming, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” (Luke 9:57 NKJV)

He’s ready to leave it all behind and follow, no matter the cost, or so it seems. Now if someone came up to me and said that he or she was ready to follow Jesus, I’d say, “Great, what a blessing,” and I’d encourage the heck out of them. To me, this is the type of man or woman the church needs, the sort who would make an excellent addition to God’s kingdom.

But not Jesus! Instead of welcoming this person, Jesus rebuffs him, and if you would, discourages him. We could say that Jesus stopped Him dead in his tracks.

This type of person is quite common. Jesus’s preaching and miracles attracted him. Now, this conversation took place right after Jesus cast out the demonic spirit and healed a young boy. This first guy probably heard Jesus sending out the 12 disciples with the power to heal. Maybe he even heard what others said about how Jesus spoke with authority, and Jesus’s statement that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand.

Jesus presented something new and fascinating, not like the old stuffy religion this man grew up with, so he was all in, or so he thought.

I remember a similar occurrence. A gal had experienced a miracle, and her son, who was a believer, saw the miracle and wanted to follow in the same way that our first guy in this story did. So, he signed up for seminary, but soon he became discouraged and quit.

This is a picture of an idealist. A person who wants to do good, seeing the misery and unhappiness in the world, but not prepared for what lies ahead. They see only what is on the surface, the excitement and success.

Jesus said much the same thing to the disciples, who argued amongst themselves about who would be the greatest in this new and improved Kingdom Jesus was talking about.

Jesus said, “For he who is least among you all will be great.” (Luke 9:48b NKJV)

And so, he presents us with those who enter with great enthusiasm and zeal, not realizing the cost, and later leave disappointed and discouraged because the Kingdom of God didn’t come in the way they thought it should be, or it wasn’t what they thought it would be.