To another he [Jesus] said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

Luke 9:59

In Luke 9:59-62, he met two people who wanted to follow him. One of them, Jesus called, another one, said he wanted to follow. In either case, they both gave Jesus excuses on why they couldn’t follow Jesus now. Let’s take a look each person.

In Luke 9:59-60, Jesus asks a person to follow him. But the person replies, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (Luke 9:59). But Jesus responds and tells him to “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60).

In Luke 9:61-62, a person says to Jesus that “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”. Jesus responds by saying, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62).

Both these excuses seem very reasonable. Isn’t it reasonable to attend your father’s funeral before you begin following Jesus? Isn’t it reasonable to say goodbye to your family before you begin following Jesus? But Jesus does not accept either of these excuses. Why?

In Matthew 10:37-38, Jesus says that, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

When we choose to follow Jesus, He is our number one priority. We are to love with him all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). If you choose to place anything above Him, including your family, you are loving something else more than God.

When God tells us to follow him, or we tell God we’ll follow Him, we shouldn’t put conditions or excuses to only follow him when it’s convenient for us. It’s a lifetime commitment and He should always be number one.

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 10:39-40