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Learn to Manage

June 12, 2022

Luke 9:51-62

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 Then he and his disciples went to another village.

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 dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he 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 goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Read Luke 9:51-56

  1. What comes to mind when you read that Jesus ‘resolutely’ set out for Jerusalem?
  2. The Samaritan villagers refused to welcome Jesus ‘because he was heading for Jerusalem.’ Why would they reject him because of that? (This article may be helpful).
  3. Why do you think Jesus rebuked James and John?
  4. What are the implications of this passage in our present-day world?

Read Luke 9:57-62

  1. This passage contains a series of three encounters that people had with Jesus. What elements do these three encounters have in common?
  2. How is each encounter unique and distinct from the other two?
  3. Looking at the things Jesus says to the three individuals, how would you summarize what Jesus says in this passage?
  4. Do any of Jesus’ responses seem a little harsh to you? Which one(s)? Why?
  5. What do you think is involved in ‘putting a hand to the plow and looking back’? What problems would looking back create while plowing? How would we describe the same idea today in our modern, non-agrarian context?