I Will Follow Thee

by Kenneth Frazier
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 1, March 1995

“And it came to pass, that as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest” (Luke 9:57).

This passage in Luke provides a helpful insight into human nature. Three persons are mentioned by Luke as having intentions of following the Lord. Matthew 8:19-22, a parallel passage, mentions only the first two.

Consider the first of the three. We do not know for certain what prompted his enthusiastic promise, whether the miracles which Jesus performed, or his wonderful message of forgiveness and salvation. This first man calls to mind the impulsiveness of Simon Peter, who said, ”I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death” (Luke 22:33). And again in John 13:37, “I will lay down my life for thy sake.” In reply to Peter’s impulsive vow of loyalty, Jesus predicted Peter’s denial “before the cock crow.”

This first man said, “I will follow thee.” Before we make such a vow of loyalty to the Lord, it would behoove us to exercise a little foresight and count the cost. Jesus replied, in effect, that “I have no home, no certain dwelling place, and if you follow me you will likewise be called upon to sacrifice all such material comforts.” The extent to which one is able to fulfill the promise to “follow whithersoever thou goest” will depend on how well one has prepared himself to put the Lord first.

The second person mentioned by Luke received an invitation from the Lord to “follow me.” As is true of many people, this man was not quite ready to accept the responsibility of discipleship. No doubt, he could appreciate the blessings that would flow from following Jesus and genuinely wanted to do so. But for whatever reason, he asked the Lord to wait. I have talked with many who have expressed faith and a desire to obey the gospel of Christ, but have asked the Lord to wait until they are ready. There seems to be the feeling in their heart that “Oh well, the Lord is always ready, and he will not mind a few days, months, or years.” Whether Christ minds or not is not the problem. The problem is in thinking that something else is more important than following when Christ says, “Come unto me.”

Family matters occupied this second man's attention. Before he could follow the Lord, he must take care of his duties at home. His father had to be buried. Some have professed to see in Jesus’ reply a lack of sympathy or feeling for the dead. It is not that, for he expressed compassion for such on other occasions. The great question is: “Is there anything that should take precedence over accepting the invitation of Christ to follow him?” If so, what is it? What is more important than obeying the gospel of Christ? This second man delayed or procrastinated in his service. Jesus said that the spiritually dead can bury the physically dead.

The third man mentioned by Luke also makes a promise to follow Jesus, “But ...” Can you imagine someone putting conditions in his vow of service? “If you will let me do this, Lord, I will follow you.” I wonder how many of us subconsciously do this without realizing it? Are you aware of the reasons or excuses you use for missing the assembly of the saints? Are you aware that when you rationalize and think, “Oh well, the Lord surely won’t mind if I stay home to cook my meal for company”