Three Disciples- Matt 8:19-22; Luke 9:57-62

After teaching the parable both to the multitude and to the disciples individually, Jesus told the disciples, “let us pass over unto the other side,” or the other side of the sea of Galilee. Before Jesus left on the boat, he was approached by a couple of people who wanted to go with him. The first is “a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” JTC points out that if Jesus was working on credibility with the current Jewish leadership, an endorsement from a man from the prestigious position of scribe would have given him much social weight. Jesus doesn’t out right deny the man, but answers, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” This is similar to what we’ve been talking about the last few days, especially about the treasure in the field and the pearl, both times people gave up everything they had in order to buy it. I was listening to an Ensign article the other day and one of the stories was of a family in a very poor part of South America who was baptized and then sold all their furniture and everything that they could so that they could pay for a trip to the far away temple to be sealed together as a family. They considered being sealed in the temple to be the most important thing to them, more than comfort or status, and that is truly admirable.

Instead of telling the man it was ok to follow him, Jesus made sure that the man understood what was going to be required of him in the Lord’s service. This man was talking about literally and physically following Jesus during his ministry in Palestine. I’ve often heard stories like this and think, “am I supposed to give up everything and be homeless in order to be faithful to God?” Of course not, the time in which Jesus is addressing this man is a different time, in a different place, with a different set of circumstances. One way that this might be applicable to us today is instead of driving a fancy high class car, we can drive a modest one, and give the extra money to the mission fund. Or instead of living in an expensive house that is too big for me, I could live in a modest home (or condo) and spend less time working to pay for the expensive house and spend more time serving others. At this point in time we aren’t asked to give up everything we have and physically move to a distant place to build Zion, but we can build Zion where we are by using our time, energy, and resources to help spread the gospel and serve others.

The IM comments about the Savior’s answer to the scribe’s request saying that his reply was “indicating that He had no home of is own. His mission was void of comforts and ease, implying that such may also be the case for those who follow him.” JTC adds, “As Jesus had no fixed place of abode, but went wherever His duty called Him, so wsa it necessary that they who represented Him, men ordained or set apart to his service, be ready to deny themselves the enjoyment of their homes and the comfort of family associations, if the duties of their calling so demanded. We do not read that the aspiring scribe pressed his offer.” After hearing that response, the scribe apparently had his answer, and I feel like the scribe went to Jesus and said, “I’ll go wherever you go!” and Jesus answered, “ok but it will be hard.” And the scribe said, “never mind, forget it.” Kind of bleak, I think.

Jesus calls another man saying, “follow me,” and the man answers, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” And Jesus answers him saying, “let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” This seems like a pretty harsh response a man who had just lost his father. The IM reminds us, “The Savior’s words do not mean it is wrong to mourn the loss of a loved one or give proper respect at a funeral. Rather, these words emphasize devotion to the Lord as a disciple’s highest priority.” The Savior obviously knew this man’s heart well enough to know that he could be called to preach the gospel, indicating that this man not only had a testimony of who Jesus was, but knowledge of the doctrine. This man probably had spent much time with the Savior learning the gospel and building a testimony of Him. This was, again, a specific answer that isn’t meant to be taken literally by us, but that we can use to glean insight into how to better serve the Lord in our own lives. We can attend funerals and still follow the Savior, we can mourn the loss of loved ones and still be obedient. But we need to place a priority on obeying the commandments of the Lord over family obligations or our societal culture, even if they seem important.

Now that doesn’t mean that we should “preach the gospel” instead of taking care of our children, that’s not discipleship, that’s abandonment. Everyone is at different stages in their lives and are able to fulfill their responsibilities while serving the Lord is different ways. I think the Lord’s answer would have been different if a woman had been called and answered “let me first take care of my sick child.” We are all given different things at different times, the man called by the Lord here was ready, but had to be helped overcome a mental hurdle first. The IM points out, “respect for parents was very important in Jewish culture and included the responsibility to provide a proper burial for them when they died.” A year after the first burial, the family would return to the tomb and collect the person’s bones and put them in a box called an “ossuary” which was then placed in the back of the tomb for a second burial. The IM continues, “If the disciple was speaking of his father’s secondary burial, the Savior’s response would seem to communicate that now was the time for man to serve a mission. The man could be at peace about letting his deceased father remain in the tomb with other dead members of the family.”

Another interpretation has been that Jesus was referring to the “dead” as those who are “spiritually dead.” Those who were not present at the Lord’s teachings might have been spiritually dead in that they hadn’t accepted the gospel at that point in time. That doesn’t mean that if you are tending to family business you are spiritually dead, but perhaps the implication is that those who give precedent to family culture over spiritual matters are making a mistake. JTC comments, “The duties of ministry in the kingdom pertained to spiritual life; one dedicated thereto might well allow those who were negligent of spiritual things, and figuratively speaking, spiritually dead, to bury their dead.”

Another man approached Jesus and said, “Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.” The Lord answers saying, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” This is a difficult answer to understand because if we are going to go somewhere for a long time, especially if there is little means of communication between us and our loved ones back home, then we would want to say good bye. And another reason to let people know that we will be leaving, assuming we have no family obligations that would prevent our departure, is that we would want to share the good news of the gospel with our friends and family. If our love of the gospel was profound enough that we would be willing to give up our lifestyle to help spread the word, then surely we would want our friends and family to learn about and embrace the gospel as well.

Making the transition between unbeliever to sainthood is difficult, spiritually, emotionally, and sometimes physically. It is understandable that during the transition and in the early stages of understanding the doctrine, there could be some reflection back on our old lives and what we miss. I know that I do this, sometimes too much, and I have to remind myself that what I have now is far better than what I had before, even though it might not make sense to parts of my mind right then. We do things and engage in behaviors for a reason, and that includes why we did what we did before we were converted, that lifestyle and those beliefs had pay offs for us, and letting go of what we’ve come to feel comfortable with and replacing it with something more abstract is not easy. But the point is that we have to keep moving forward with our focus on the Savior and what we are doing right then. Sometimes I have to recount many spiritual experiences and bear my testimony to myself to keep from “looking back” and reminiscing. The IM quotes President Howard W. Hunter as teaching, “We invite those of you who are new members to fix your attention on your new goal and never look back on your earlier problems or transgressions except as a reminder of your growth and your worth and your blessings from God. If our energies are focused not behind us but ahead of us- on eternal life and the joy of salvation- we assuredly will obtain it.”