Luke 9:46-62
Who Will Be the Greatest?
46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.”
49 “Master,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”
50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
Samaritan Opposition
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56 and they went to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
I think these three sections go together, but in an awkward fashion...When I first read these sections of Luke, I thought it was interesting to hear the disciples talking about which one of them would be the greatest...Jesus never taught anything like this...Then in the next section the two disciples James and John ask Jesus if they should call fire down from heaven to destroy some Samaritan opposition...He did not teach violence...Jesus taught love, humility and helping others...He said and taught that the first would be last, and the last would be first...He did not teach about leading others and being great...He taught about helping and serving others...He wanted His disciples (if they were to do any leading) to lead people to His Father...He also did not teach violence...Jesus could have destroyed the entire Roman Army and Roman Empire, if He wanted, but He did not...Jesus taught that those that those who live by the sword will die by the sword... Violence usually brings on more violence...James and John seem content (here) on burning down Samaria and the Samaritans, instead of saving them...
The disciples were still learning from their Teacher...Their hearts were still ignorant of what He was teaching...I think, they had a desire to please Him...A desire to do good in His eyes...They were learning from their Master, but still needed more teaching...Often we say things around our friends, that sound like the things the disciples were saying...What makes this even more interesting is that just a bit earlier (Luke 9:40) the disciples could not even drive out an evil spirit in a boy that was brought to them...Yet, know they thought they can bring fire down from heaven to destroy the opposition...The disciples were not one group yet, or a team...They were talking about who will be the greatest...This is an individual mentality and not a team mentality, which they would eventually need for the Great Commission (to teach the world about the gospel)...Wanting to be the greatest is not a testament to His teaching -My command to you is this: Love each other as I have loved you (John15:12)...Following Jesus means putting Him first, and other things aside (like being the greatest)...It means power and fame are not important, He is important...Anything that gets in the way of His teachings has to said good-by to...Anything that would hinder the gospel would have to put to one side to follow Him...
I think the section on the Cost of Following Jesus, puts these things more into context...Jesus, more than once, spoke of the high cost of following Him...He wanted His disciples and followers to know of what it takes to follow Him and the cost in their lives (not only of money, time, commitment, trust, all these things)...It was not that Jesus did not or does not want disciples or followers, He does...He wants those who follow Him, to know the total commitment, time, effort, hard teachings (in some cases), and what discipleship is all about...
It is nice to love the one you follow, your leader and boss...It is good to have a zeal to perform well...But our emotions, feelings, and drive must be directed to the right and proper place...There is a right way to do things...Jesus teaches them that to follow Him, one has to pay a price...There is a proper and right way to follow Him...The disciples were just starting to learn about the good and holy way of the good news...Their learning process was far from complete...