Luke 9:59 Commentary and Bible Study

Many commentators believe that when the Lord Jesus Christ said to this man, ‘Follow me’, the man had already given some indication that he wanted to follow him. He was testing him, rather than calling him, because the Lord knows every heart, and he surely would not have called to serve him a man, who had no intention of doing it, who was in a very confused state of mind, who would rather have his family life and his inheritance. So many conclude that the Lord Jesus Christ once again was confronted by an optimist, who supposes that he will follow him, merrily tagging along, thinking that the Lord accepts him, thinking that all is well with him and his soul, when actually it's all shallow optimism and the Lord is going to challenge him and bring him to reveal what is really in his heart. In Matthew's Gospel he is called a disciple, so he was following Christ, but perhaps not entirely not consistently not regularly, so the Lord says, ‘Be more regular, follow me, listen to me, be one of my committed disciples’, and the man is startled. ‘Yes’, he thinks, ‘I'd like to do that. I will do that, but’ – he still hasn't thought things through – ‘I've got a problem. My father is 60 years old, and he's pretty wealthy, and he may not make it to 70; he is ailing. and I can't leave him. I have a responsibility to bury my father, to inherit the holding, to do right, and of course to get myself set up. That's surely my responsibility.’ So he says, ‘Oh Lord, I would like to follow, and I will, but just give me a bit more time.’ Luke does not say so, he doesn't mean it. He means, ‘I will in time. I just need a little time to get my inheritance, bury my father, and then it will be fine.’ He was a great optimist. ‘Yes, I can follow the Lord anytime. I can go back home; I can take over the estate; I can see myself all right, and then I'll come back.’ It never occurred to him that, even if he did mean to, he probably wouldn't come back. He would be swept aside by anything. Any circumstance could intervene. He doesn't think about that: he's an optimist. He isn’t thinking very deeply; he doesn't understand that when it's a matter of the Lord, you come straight away, and you come wholeheartedly, because you are absolutely convinced that you are a lost needy sinner, and if you die unforgiven you will go to hell and your soul will be lost. You need salvation, you need to be converted, and so, while this concern is upon you, you cannot let it go. ‘I must come to Jesus Christ who came into this world, and suffered and died for sinners like me. I must plead with him to forgive me, because I cannot earn my forgiveness. I must yield up my life. This is a thing of importance.’ But this man didn't see it that way. ‘I want to put this off a bit. Just give me time, a few years perhaps, then I can just pick up again where I left off.’