"No One Who Puts a Hand to the Plow…” | Luke 9:57–62

Show Notes

Episode 719: 
In this episode, we explore a passage from Luke chapter 9, where Jesus speaks about the cost of discipleship. We discuss how Jesus challenges potential followers with the reality that following Him requires total commitment and the willingness to leave behind distractions and excuses. Chris highlights the significance of looking forward rather than dwelling on the past, using the metaphor of plowing a field straight. If you look back, you risk losing your way and not being effective in your journey.

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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Hey, everybody, welcome to the Bible guys. We are excited to be here in this Thursday. And we have a surprise for our longtime listeners. They're gonna be shocked and they're not going to know what to do with themselves. Well, do you know why? Because today is the day we're gonna do what made Chris Mad this week on a Thursday. Normally it's on a Friday. Hey, we're shaking it up, baby shaking, bake, baby shaking. Do you remember tell Dagon Nights? Yeah, and he goes, he goes shake and bake youmever you know anyway, Uh, you know there is there's a reason why because Desiree has something tomorrow specifically. Did you know that super good? Yeah? Yeah, because it's because technically tomorrow's episode is gonna air on fourth of July, so she wants us to tell a fireworks story. But but that's why she's putting what made Chris Mad today on Thursday. So okay, So here's the thing. Here's the way she read it or wrote it. She said, last week, I had mentioned that I had two things that made me mad, and some listeners were wondering what was the other thing? Yes, and so she said, so what was the other thing? Checking the last week. But I'll be honest, I don't remember. It makes you mad when people ask those questions. It's none of their business. None of their business. That's not true. But I don't remember. I don't remember. I promise. It's been such a long time, it's been a full week. I don't remember what made me mad the other thing. So I apologize. There's so many though, well, there's so many things that make you mad. You don't need last weeks. You've got this week's. Well, yeah, that's true. Well it happened. It happened three days ago. Yes, it happened three days thank you, Jeff. It happened three days ago. And I was in a grocery. Store line, right. Those are less common these days with self checkout line right, So it wasn't a self checkout. It was an actual human lane. Yes. And by the way, our the one by my house, has like twenty five lanes. It's a super Kroger. Wow, is one of those really big marketplace. Once and usually there's two people in line and then there's all the self castrots. Right, so they built twenty five lines and none of them are mant. Right, that's the way that just the weekend before Thanksgiving, I guess so. So anyway, the point is is that this was an actual grocery store where there was a human and I was in line and I was in a very very big rush, and the guy in front of me goes to check out, and then he says, ready for this, Oh, I forgot an item. I'll be right back. I'll be quick, yep. And so the lady is ringing him up and has no choice but to say, uh, okay, because. He just runs, right. He just runs. Now, what should have happened is he should have said, God, Adam, can I go get it? And she'd say I'm so sorry, No, you have to finish your order and then you have to, you know, if you want to go at night, and you're gonna. Have to go back through the line, right. But the guy says, I'll right back, I promise, and he just starts running and then turns out what he forgot. Was milk all the way at the back of the store. It's literally at the back of the store. Now it's one county over and those those giant the Kroger marketplaces. Yes, it's a county over from where you're at. So well, actually it wasn't. It wasn't a Kroger that I was doing. This was at Ninos. Value, so but it was. But it still is quite the opposite side of the store, right, and it's it's a smaller store, but it was. This was in this case. And so this guy runs and he comes back and I and. I literally go, milk. I go. You ran all the way there, I go. And now granted he did run right, but the point is he shouldn't have left right. It made me mad because I'm thinking to myself, dude, if you're a person who forgets something, it's your fault. There are constant glances of you forgetting your milk, and the consequences are either a you go home with no milk. So did he make you wait a long time? I mean he made everybody wait a long time. I was just she was all done, ringing everybody up, and then you guys over. Here, she did have like five or six. More items, so she wasn't done yet. But listen, she was done at least two full minutes. Before he came back with the milk. Oh okay, right, okay, we're just all. Sitting there for at least one hundred and twenty seconds. But that's not the point. And that's one hundred twenty seconds you're never going to get back. Listen, I'm not trying to emphasize that I can't wait too minute. I'm empathizing with you. I'm trying to emphasize that you don't do that. You don't do it, have you ever? It's the principle of the thing. Yeah, it's the same thing where if you ever get in the wrong lane, yes, right, It's like if you got in the wrong lane, you have to you have to take an unnecessary left and then pull into a parking lot and then turn around because you messed. Up instead of cutting back across three. But you don't do is make all the traffic behind you wait because you're going to cut three lanes over because you screwed up. Right, if you messed up, you just own the mess up. That's the that's the bottom line. Inconvenience yourself rather than inconveniencing everyone. Yes, there it is. Is this what you're saying Jeff, Yes. If you messed up, own the mess up. Do not inconvenience others for your mess up. I see, right, And so that's a good lesson boys and girls. Yes. So if you're a person who says. Don't make Chris mad, no, don't make the world mad, inconvenience yourself if you make a mistake, rather than inconveniencing everyone else. Well, the guy behind me was at least I said, wow, you went and got milk. I was like, that's impressive. You ran all the way there. I was trying to like give him a backhand and compliment. At least the guy behind me said, hey, hey, what is he doing? He didn't say to his face, but he goes, what's he doing? You allowed him to do that? He's yelling at the cash register. He's like verbal. All the people behind him are grumbling, and I'm thinking to myself like he's just. Muting a mutant, a mutiny. No more ninos, no more ninos. But I'm just thinking myself, like, dude, like who does that, right, So don't do that. Don't be that guy or gal. Wow, thank you Chris. Yeah you're welcome. Maybe maybe you saved somebody from making a horrific error. This, Well, just don't be that guy or girl, especially if you're in the kind that Chris may be kind. Be considered to the world, Jeff, not to Chris to. The world, to the world, because yes, it's for the rest of us that you do these things. That's correct. Yeah, you just don't. You just don't do that. Own your mistakes people. Well, thank you, well talking about owning your mistakes. Oh, go ahead, Jesus says. No one who puts their hand to the plow and looks back. You can get in the Kingdom of Heaven if you grab a hold of the plow and they realize you shouldn't have Well, hang on, anyways. That's not bad. It's not bad. Yeah, I mean it's it's a little it's a little long, but it's applicable. I couldn't forget what to do. Yeah, it's it's better than what makes Jesus mad. Right, put in your hands in looking back by the way, Uh, it was better than my transition. Lest Yes, when I missed the scripture. Yeah, you had two transitions and missed both of them. Terrible, terrible. Yeah, you should go back and watch that if you didn't see it, because that's what made Jeff mad this week. Oh, there you go, here we go. Hey, thank you for embracing it. You never say that, you never admit that you get mad, but you get mad all the time. I don't ever get mad. Come on, the last time you saw me mad Monday? You're mad Monday? It was Monday? That why so we are in Luke chapter. Nine and Tree both commented that you were mad at. Then you should. Yeah, like, dude, why are you so mad? Why are you so mad? Because we said we didn't like your idea? That's why. No, No, it wasn't that I was spouting off about something. Yeah, yeah, we can figure it out, like why is Jeff mad? Verse? So what's making me mad? Now? So here we go, it says here. As they were thinking about it, joking, thinking about it. As they were walking, someone said to Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go. But Jesus replied, foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests. But the son of Man has no place even to lay his head. He said to another person, come follow me. The man agreed, but he said, Lord, first, let me return home and bury my father. But Jesus told him, let the spiritually dead bury their own dead. Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God. Another said, yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say goodbye to my family. But Jesus said to him, anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God. Man, are you going to leave me now too? That's it right there, right, I mean, that's the kind of. Thing that would right. But that's the kind of thing that would get all the French people to leave. That's right, because that's really. What he's saying. There's a cost of following Jesus. I will follow you wherever you go. Foxes have holes and birds have the air and nests, but the sun of man has no place to lay his head. Which, by the way, don't people haven't you heard over the years? Side note that people refer to this as Jesus being a person who's. Poor because he had no home. Sure, sure, but. Do you believe that Jesus had zero resources? No? I did not believe Jesus was impoverished. Yeah, and tell me why, because this is an important fact. Because I agree with you, and. He didn't own a home, right right. He was the oldest son yep, so he would have had the resources of his family at least fifty So at least he didn't own a home. Clearly he says this. But the people he hung out with were highly resourced people. Peter was a very successful businessman, had multiple boats. John and James came from a fishing enterprise and some of the others did. Then Zebedee finance Son. Of Thunder with olive oil. Yeah. And then you have four women that are mentioned, Mary Magdalene, Cleopus's wife, the other Mary. There there were four women that were mentioned that it talked about that they leverage their resources to help fund Jesus ministry, to the point that when Jesus was crucified, they gambled over his clothes, right right, So it doesn't say that he was impoverished. And certainly other people. They go to Peter's home and I've been there, You've been there. It's a pretty big house, yeah, And it was big enough that all of jesus disciples plus Peter's family could be there and they put on a feed for everybody. Right. His mother in law winds up being healed by Jesus, and she gets up and cooks a meal for everybody. The ministry had to have gone forward, and he was he was fine, he wasn't broke. But what he is saying is, listen, I don't have a stable My life is not stable. Right. So foxes have dens to live and they go back to their den, and birds have nests. They go back to their nest. I don't go back. I'm moving all the time. I'm an itinerant preacher. I don't have anywhere to lay my head. Yeah. So he's a traveling preacher who goes from town to town, right, And he's saying like, hey, I don't have a headquarters. So this is not necessarily him saying poverty is my way, and you're not going to like being poor. He's saying I don't have roots, and you're not going to like that, right, right, And he's not even telling the guy he's not going to like it. The guy just apparently doesn't follow him. That's like, oh, that's not what I'm looking for. And then he says, another person, come and follow me. And he said, let me go home and bury my father. We think of that as he's saying, my dad just died. I need to go have a funeral. I don't believe that's what it's saying. I don't even think that's the context. I think he's saying, my father's an old man. When he dies, I'll come and follow you. Because they're burials were the next day, right, it was twenty four hours was all the time they had in their religious belief system to bury the dead. So he could have said, Jesus, I'll catch up with you tomorrow, right, And he doesn't say that. So I think what he's saying here is my father's an old man, and I'll follow you after my dad dies. Right, Yeah, let me go attend to my affairs. Yeah right, I ask some other stuff I feel like I need to do first. Right, And so what Jesus is saying here is he's keep in mind that Jesus looks at the intent of the heart more than the actual circumstance. Right, So all the way through the scriptures, Jesus does this, so like, for instance, remember the rich young ruler. Yeah, and he says, hey, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus says, well, you know the commandments, right, you know, love Lord, your God, with all your heart's, all my strength, love your neighbors, yourself. And then the man says, well, I've done this since I was a little boy. Of course I've done this. What else do I lack? And then it says, then Jesus looked at him and loved him in his arrogance, in his naivity, and you know, his in his absolute, you know, just ignorance. Jesus still looks at this man and loves him. But the reason why Jesus says what he says next isn't necessarily because the circumstances dictated. It was because Jesus. Knew the man's heart, and he knew the man's heart was he had a stronghold for materialism, he had a stronghold for riches, and he was going to choose riches over. God every time. Right. You know, here's this man who thinks he's self righteous. And so Jesus says, okay, I have an idea. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and then come follow me. And it says the man walked away from Jesus and he was, you know, discouraged because he was a very wealthy man. He wasn't willing to do that. So Jesus wasn't necessarily addressing something circumstantial as he was revealing the man's heart. Yes, and so Jesus is revealing this man's heart. It wasn't about his dad being elderly. It wasn't about his dad needing something. And you know, like it's a very noble thing to want to take care of your elderly father. Sure, right, And. He's not telling him shirk your responsibilities. No, No, he's revealing the man's heart about excuses. And so the man has his excuses. If it wasn't going to be his father, it was gonna be something else, right, right, And so Jesus is saying, hey, listen, I know what you're doing there, and you're saying like, hey, I'll follow you, just not right now. I'm not ready to jump in. I have some other things to take care of. It's always going to be something else to be taken care of. And so what I'm saying is follow me now, right, which is why he says, hey, let the bed dead bury they're dead. And you know, you know, he says still another I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go back and say good bye to my family. And so there's two excuses here, and Jesus is using both of those examples and saying, no one who puts their hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the surface of the. Kingdom of God. Putting your hand to the plow and then looking back, what is the actual plow and looking back? What does that mean? So if you're going to plow straight, and plowing straight is importan for efficiency and for the flow of water through the field and all those things. So if you're gonna plow straight, you have to be looking forward and you look beyond. You're looking out maybe towards a tree way out past the field. If you're paying attention to the row, you're going to do this right. So you're going to be looking out past there and you're. Plowing, which is what I do, what we do when we alongs. Yeah, same thing, same thing, right, But if you look back, it's gonna go all caddy wampus and you're not gonna hey that's a good word. Now, I haven't used that over in a long time. Uh, it's it's gonna get all kind of crazy, and it's going to be it's going to ruin the work you're trying to do, you have to go back and plow back over top of that again. And so that's what he's saying is, man if you're not committed, if you're constantly looking in the rear view mirror, you have to be looking forward, looking ahead. That's my kingdom. My kingdom is an action oriented kingdom. Discipleship is immediate following of me. You're looking forward. But if you're going to spend all your time looking back, looking back at what you're missing looking back, what's chasing you looking back at If you're doing that, you're never going to be able to be effective at what you're doing. So he says, soon as you grab a hold of the plow, basically you have to make the commitment. Yeah right. There's a little bit of danger involved too. I mean, you guys donkeys out there or oxen out there, there's there's some some some danger with regard to if you're not managing that thing, well, it's going to get away from you. And so he's saying, discipleship requires all in commitment so that it doesn't get away from you. Yeah right, I know, I know. This reminds me. It's a close cousin to. This idea of I know a lot of marriages, not a lot over the years, probably a lot, but currently at least a few marriages where people are consumed with looking back on what they missed out on. I missed out of my college years because I married my wife so young. And now that it's you know, X amount of decades into it, I'm regretting the fact that everything I missed out on, right, even though I'm blessed with this great marriage, with great kids and a godly wife and all these kinds of things. And so I'm I'm you know, I have some people. There's at least two, if not three, that fall into this category right now that I could name you of people who feel that way. How old were you when you get married twenty one? Right? And you get married in Bible College? Right, So I get married at twenty one in Bible college as well. We've lived the same life life in so many ways. Uhris chrys La Belle, my good buddy, same same story. Jeff Miller, my best, my best buddy, same story, right, you know, just married a girl in Bible College that I. Dated in high school. And and uh and so many of us are are sort of that way, and uh and and so I feel like I have some credibility to speak into you know. This entire concept. It's like, it's like God has blessed you and he's called you to move forward. If you if you were to spend time looking back and saying like, gosh, I'm willing to go forward with God's blessings, but I wonder what I missed out on. That's sort of the concept. Jesus is like, hey, you're always looking back at you know, Hey, let me let me go take care of this first. I'm interested in what you're inviting me to, Jesus, but I've got my own things that I'm interested in the past, in the rear view mirror, some things that I don't want to leave behind. And Jesus is like, no, I'm calling you great things, and if you want to move forward with me, you're going to experience things that you never thought were possible. He's inviting them to a life that is. An unbelievable future. And he's like, why are you so concerned about looking back? Because they're they're they're not even worthy, right, Just continue forward and you're going to experience, you know, everything that the plow has to offer, everything the plow brings. Usually that looking back. Also, people when I've had conversations with people who feel like they missed out, usually what they mean is I missed out on a lot of sin opportunities. Yeah, well that's that's almost always what it is. Yeah, that's that's like, dude, everything about that is is faulty. But that's what I'm referring to. Yeah, so, hey, I didn't get drunk often enough. I didn't stay out late enough. I didn't you know, chase enough skirts. I didn't, Right, that's sow my wild oats. Man, when you plant a thing, you get back way more than you plant. Why would you want to spend a bunch of time in your twenties sowing wild oats? Do you know what's going to happen? The harvest is far greater than what you expend. So you plant one kernel of corn and you get a stalk with three ears of corn, with several hundred kernels of corn apiece? Is that what you want? Sew some wild oats and then get hundreds of times returned back on you, you sow. I planted all of my garden this year. I planted from seeds. I didn't go buy any plants. I planted them all from seats. So I've got a tomato plant growing right now. I'm going to get an entire season of tomatoes from one seed. But when I open up every one of those seeds, there's going to be hundreds of seeds and tomatoes. Yea over tomatoes, Yeah yeah, and open up the tomato. That's just going to be don't regret not sowing wild oats. Thank God you didn't. There's so much you missed. And it's a good thing, not a bad thing. And so Jesus is the same. Discipleship is forward, it's not back. Yeah, I have a forward facing kingdom. Go with me, Come with me. It's going to be amazing. You're gonna love it. And so with the guy who says, let me go bury my dad, it's just an excuse. His dad's not even dead yet. He's just using his excuse. And let me let me interject this real quick, I'm so sorry. Uh that's not to say that that's not a common feeling. I'm not trying to minimize or say shame on you. If that's you and you feel that way, hey, you know I missed out on these opportunities. I'm not trying to say a shame on you. I'm saying, like, yeah, that it's common to feel that way. It's a it's a human it's a it's a it's a it's a sinful kind of like broken thought. But you know, being around people who you know, it's the voices you listen to, the friends you hang around with, that that that that are that are feeding this. Yeah, so I the devil placing it in your mind in order to get you distracted from moving forward. So I'm just trying to say, hey, I'm not trying to say you're a fool. I'm saying I'm saying it is foolish. You're not a fool, but it's common. It's it's you're a fool if you indulge and what you feel like. I'm just trying to I'm just trying not to make make it sound like we're ridiculing a person who has the idea. Listen, people, the struggle is real, but struggle is danger is greater. Yeah, that's right, the danger is greater. That's right. Yeah, don't don't go that direction. That's what I was trying to say. Struggle is real. That's right. So you know he's not saying don't do don't fulfill your family duties. He is saying, quit making excuses. Discipleships immediate. It's right now. And there's a really great note here. What does Jesus want from us? This is a life application study Bible. Total dedication, not half hearted commitment. Remember when he says, anyone who puts a hand of the plow and that looks back, it's not the kingdom kind of should we do something else? Hey, all the other guys are playing basketball. I don't know if I want to do this work right. That's kind of So he's not looking for a half hearted commitment. He wants total dedication. We can't pick and choose among Jesus ideas and follow him selectively. We have to accept the cross along with the crown. We must count the costs and be willing to abandon everything else that has given us security without looking back. With our focus on Jesus, we should allow nothing to distract us from following him. I do a lot of work in India. I have a lot of friends in India, and many many years ago, one of the first Christians in a village was preaching when the villagers came and they surrounded him and they began to threaten him, and we will kill you if you don't stop preaching the gospel. And he said, I've decided to follow Jesus. There's no looking back. And they killed him, his children, and his wife, and after every one of those, he said, though the world go with me, or though none go with me, still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back. And they kept going, person after person until final they came to execute him, and his last phrase was, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. That's where we get that song, I've decided to follow Jesus. Right, though none go with me, still I will follow. Right. It's from that that kind of commitment is what Jesus asked. Now, I doubt Jesus is going to ask you to give your life to sacrifice to die for him, right, Jesus is not likely Now, he on occasion does choose martyrs. The book Revelation tells us he celebrates those martyrs. They're going to have an extra crown, they're going to have extra opportunity and favor in heaven. Certainly because they're martyrs. But for the vast majority of Christians throughout history, we have not been called to give our lives. We've just been called to live for Him, right, right. And I'm inspired by those martyrs that we're willing to give their own lives, And then I struggle giving mine on a daily basis, right right. And and that's that's that's his challenge there, right, whether the world goes with me or not, I'm going to follow Jesus. I'm not going to look back, no turning back, yeah, and. And uh and so yeah, for us, it's it's uh, it's just very similar to what you turn away too. You know, are you going to serve God on the harder days? Are you going to still choose God when when you know, when it's when it's resisting sin, right or sowing your wild oats? Right, it's it's it's choosing the ways of God, following God when you when it's heart, when it's more difficult, when it's more tempting, when when you know, when all your friends maybe make the opposite choice, right, you know, will you have the kind of dedication that doesn't look back and continues to look forward, and and and and moves forward with the work of God, the fruit of God, the blessings of God, and and the ways of God. So that's a good place to end and hopefully we'll see you tomorrow on the Bible. Guys, H