The Bible Text (Luke 9:57-10:2)

9:57 “And as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” 60 But he said, “Permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62 (from NASB).

An Introduction (Luke 9:57-62)

We gain a great deal of insight when we carefully listen to what Jesus expected when He called the disciples to follow Him. In the Bible study below, we will find our common description of a Christian is not quite the same as Jesus' description. What are we to then do? (Commentary on Luke 9:57-62)

The Bible Study Questions (Luke 9:57-62)

What is is it that one disciple suddenly said to Jesus while they were walking along together on the road (Look at Luke 9:57 to find the answer)?


How might you respond to such a statement from a brother wanting to follow Jesus like this (Luke 9:58)? (Notice this answer is an opinion rather than an answer in the biblical text).

How did Jesus respond to him (Luke 9:58)?


From Jesus’ answer in Luke 9:58, what was Jesus trying to tell this disciple?


What are the first words of Luke 9:59? What does the word ‘another’ indicate? Do you think that the first disciple’s words also are a response to Jesus’ call, “Follow me”?


What did this disciple say in Luke 9:60?


How would you respond to such a disciple’s words?


How did Jesus respond? Why?


We find a third person responding to Jesus’ widespread call to ‘Follow me.’ How did this person state his willingness to follow Jesus in Luke 9:61?


How did Jesus respond to him in Luke 9:62? What does the illustration “After putting his hand to the plow and looking back” refer to on a farm?


How does Jesus’ caution here in Luke 9:62 differ or similar to the one in 9:60?

The Application Questions

Do you think Jesus wants all of His disciples to without reserve follow Him? Is this what this passage is about? Why or why not?


Why does Jesus three times not encourage but warn His disciples after they express their willingness to follow Him? Usually we never add any caution to them following Jesus. Is this good or bad?


In thinking about Luke 9:58, we see that Jesus is challenging those who say they want to follow Him by telling them it is not always easy to follow Jesus. Share some examples of how it might be difficult to follow Jesus in His day and in your own context.


As we think about Luke 9:60, we find Jesus challenging those disciples who make bargains with Jesus. They think that they are in charge of their choices in life. If they have something important to do, then they need decide what to do. How does a ‘Master-servant’ concept help us understand the problem here? Which approach do you use in your everyday life?


What particular problem is Jesus targeting among His professing disciples in Luke 9:62? Is consistency a problem behind Christians that you know? What is the root problem behind persistence in faith? How do you think about Christians that are inconsistent in their faith?


After reading Luke 9:57-62, how would you answer the person who asked you, “What is a Christian?”

“And He (Jesus) said to another, “Follow Me.”” (Luke 9:60).

Reading

=> Commentary on Luke 9:57-62 

=> Next: Luke 10:1 The Involvement of our Lives

Biblical Foundations for Freedom - Resources on the Gospel of Luke
INTRODUCTION TO CHRIST (Luke 1-3)
Luke Introduction pdf Luke Teaching Outline pdf Luke 1:26-38 Christmas Lights pdf Luke 1:45-55 Christmas Prayer pdf Luke 1:56-75 Notes pdf Luke 1:57-80 John's Birth pdf	Luke 2:1-20 Jesus' Birth pdf Luke 2:8-20 Good News pdf Luke 3:1-38 Jesus & John pdf Luke 3:21-38 Genealogy pdf
THE MINISTRY OF CHRIST (Luke 4-9:36)
Luke 5:27-32 Needy pdf Luke 5:33-35 Fasting Discipline pdf Luke 5:36-39 New-Wineskins pdf Luke 6:1-11 Sabbath pdf Luke 6:11-19 Character & Calling pdf Luke 7:1-10 Faith html Luke 7:11-17 Widow & Son html Luke 7:18-35 John the Baptist html Luke 7:36-50 Two-debtors html Luke 7:1-50 Faith pdf Luke 8:22-25 Storm-Stilled pdf Luke 8:26-39 Demoniac pdf Luke 8:40-56 Power-Death pdf	Luke 9:1-36 Handout Questions pdf Luke 9:1-10 Sending out Twelve html Luke 9:11-17 Feeding of 5000 html Luke 9:18-26 Life of Denial - Questions html Luke 9:27-36 Glory of Christ html Luke 9:37-48 Greatness pdf Luke 9:45-55 Pride & Leadership pdf Luke 9:57-62 Discipleship html | pdf | Questions html | pdf Luke 9:57-10:2 Mission Ready html | pdf {See NT Library for more} Luke 10:1 Mission Involvement html Luke 10:2a Mission Worldview html Luke 10:2b Prayer & missions html Luke 11:1-5 Content of Prayer pdf Luke 11:14-26 Participating in Prayer pdf Luke 11:14-28 Prayer Strategy pdf Luke 11:5-13 Persistent in Prayer pdf
INSTRUCTION IN VIEW OF CHRIST'S REJECTION (Luke 12-19:27)
Luke 12:25-26 A Perspective on Worry html Luke 13:1-5 Understanding Disasters html | pdf Luke 13:18-19 Mustard Seed pdf Luke 13:20-30 Leaven & Decisions pdf Luke 13:31-35 Mission Growth pdf Luke 14:1-14 Teaching html | pdf Luke 14:15-35 Commitment html | pdf Luke 15:1-2 Lost pdf Luke 15:3-10 Lost Sheep pdf Luke 15:11-32 Lost Son pdf Luke 16:19-31 Lazarus pdf Luke 17:11-19 Perfect Response pdf	Luke 18:1-34 Being Prepared pdf Luke 18:1-8 Hopelessness html Luke 18:9-14 Self-righteous html Luke 18:15-17 Neglected html Luke 18:18-27 False-Confidence html Luke 18:28-30 Faithfulness html Luke 18:31-34 Remember html Luke 18:35-43 Blind Man pdf Luke 19:1-10 Tax Collector pdf Luke 19:11-27 Ten Minas pdf
PASSION OF CHRIST & BEYOND LUKE 19:28-24)
Luke 19:28-40 Palm Sunday pdf Luke 19:35-38 Entry html Luke 19:41-44 Weep Lost pdf Luke 19:45 20-47 Preach pdf Luke 20:26-40 Eternity pdf	Luke 22:1-06 The-Plot html Luke 22:1-30 Introduction html Luke 22:7-13 The Preparation html Luke 22:14-23 The Passover html Luke 22:24-30 Leadership html Luke 22:1-30 Lord's Supper pdf Luke 22:29-36 Temptation pdf Luke 22:31-65 Temptation Handout pdf Luke 24:13-35 Questions pdf Luke 24:13-53 Resurrection pdf