"Give us each day... Luke 11:1-13"

The Backstory:  The Israelites were living in their land but under Roman rule and they longed for their Messiah to come and restore the kingdom to Israel. God sent them Jesus, who was announced by John the Baptist, anointed by the Spirit at his baptism, and affirmed to be God’s Son by the voice from heaven. Jesus overcame the devil’s temptations, and in the power of the Spirit he preached ‘good news’ and he cast out demons, healed the sick, cleansed lepers, feed the hungry and even raised the dead. He gathered a new 12 around himself designating them as his Apostles. When they recognized his identity as God's Messiah Jesus told his disciples that he would suffer, be killed and on the third day raised to life. This didn't really make sense to them, yet Jesus proceeded to Jerusalem to bring his ‘Exodus’ to fulfillment. Jesus sought to impart to his followers what they would need to know to follow Jesus and to be useful in the expansion of the kingdom that Jesus was bringing about through his death and resurrection.    Luke 11:1–13 

Jesus finished praying and a disciple asked him to teach them to pray as John had taught his disciples (11:1). Jesus regularly prays and to follow Jesus his disciples want to be taught to pray as Jesus did. Jesus advised them to pray to God as their Father, and to pray that God’s name be honored and for his kingdom to come. They were also to ask for daily bread, daily forgiveness and daily protection from temptation (11:2-3). Jesus was warning his disciples that they are in a kingdom battle and daily they were in need of God’s grace, his provisions and his protection.  

To encourage them to pray Jesus tells them to imagine that they needed to provide hospitality for a visiting friend, but that they had no bread. Hospitality was and is an important Middle-eastern cultural value. They go to a friend for bread to provide for their visiting traveler, but their friend won’t get up and give them what they need. Jesus says that even if he won’t give the bread because their friendship he will provide the need because of your boldness in asking. But this story goes beyond cultural expectations and is about boldly asking for needs consistent with Christ’s kingdom. The story is tied to Jesus’ exhortation for them to pray in daily dependence and to do it boldly and persistently. (11:4-8)

Jesus exhorts his disciples to ask to receive, seek to find and knock until doors are opened. Moreover, he encourages them that persistent asking, seeking, and knocking will result in receiving, finding and the opening of doors. This exhortation and promise is followed by another important encouraging statement. “What father if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake, or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (11:9-11)

Luke finishes this episode with Jesus encouraging them that even when sinful fathers are asked by their sons for fish or eggs they wouldn’t give them a snake or scorpion instead. No, even sinful human fathers know how to give good gifts to their children. How much more will God our heavenly Father, who knows what we need, willingly give us the good we need. Luke's version of this prayer ends with the promise that God will not withhold himself from his sons and daughters; he gives the Holy Spirit.  

So in Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer when asked how to pray (11:1), Jesus gives five essential requests. Addressing God as Father, we are to request that God’s name be honored and that his kingdom would come (11:2). Then requests are to be made for daily bread, for the forgiveness of sins and protection from temptation (11:3–4). We are to consistently pray for the honor of God's name of and for the advancement of Gods' reign (11:2c).  Each day we are to ask for daily bread, daily forgiveness and daily protection against evil (11:3-4). Seeking and finding forgiveness implies the responsibility to forgive others. Lastly, to request that we not be led into temptation is like praying, ‘Do not bring us to the time of trial’. Without God’s gracious protection in trials we're sure to fall into temptation.  

Only Luke tells this short parable (11:5–8) about a man whose midnight visitor needs bread. He goes to another friend’s home and boldly requests until he gets up and supplies his needs (11:8). The reluctant friend fulfills his cultural obligation because of his friend’s bold, shameless persistence in asking. Our gracious God, by contrast, encourages us to pray persistently because God is not reluctant to give what we need. Jesus exhorts his disciples to ask, seek and knock because God is the good giver of good gifts. In fact, God will not withhold himself  (his Spirit) from those who diligently seek him (11:9–10).

Here God is a friend and a Father, while he has his children around him he is not in bed and asleep. The friend outside has a problem, and the sleeping friend can help if he is willing. The practice in the ancient Middle East was such that if a traveler was in need of food and shelter one was culturally obligated to provide it. The friend outside knows that the friend inside would help if the roles were reversed. God, however, isn’t a sleepy friend. Jesus is encouraging a bold asking, a persistent knocking and a search that refuses to give up. 

Luke’s version of the 'Lord’s Prayer' is no routine formal prayer; it’s not a going through the motions or a ritual. There are dark powers at work in our world and we are in a struggle through prayer—for the coming kingdom and for whatever else we need. This is a planned, disciplined and persistent prayer for our good Father to provide what we need in our struggle. Effective prayers need the same determination that we would use to wake a sleepy friend to help when we’re in a difficult spot. Yet, God by contrast is a good and caring Father. God will give good gifts to his children. Even sinful Fathers will their children nutritious food when asked and something poisonous. God is a good God who knows what we need and gives us what is good for us. 

In the Exodus, God as a Father rescued Israel his firstborn son out of slavery in Egypt. To call on God as our ‘Father’ is to call on the liberating God of the Exodus. Moreover, Jesus was bringing his ‘Exodus’ to fulfillment and on the way he promises bread for the hungry, forgiveness for sinners, and deliverance from evil. These are themes that we find being brought about by Jesus in Luke gospel (5:24, 7:48-49, 8:26-39, 9:10-17, 9:37-43). Here in this story, Jesus is heading to Jerusalem and to the cross and on the way Jesus teaches his disciples to talk to their Father. It is through prayer that they and us today will experience God, see his kingdom advance and be able to meet the needs of people. 

Better Listen (Luke 10:38-42).

Luke 10:38–42

Backstory: Jesus had been announced by John and confirmed to be God’s Son by the voice from heaven. He was ‘anointed’ by the Spirit to preach the gospel of the kingdom and liberate captives. He gathered a ‘new twelve’ around himself designating them as his disciples. They heard Jesus’ preaching and they witnessed his authority over demons, over sin and sickness and he had even restored people who had died back to life. They recognized Jesus’ Messianic identity, but were apparently blind to his need to suffer, be killed and rise again. Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem to bring his ‘exodus’ to fulfillment through his ‘cross and resurrection’ (Luke 9:31). In a previous story Jesus had rebuked his disciples for wanting to call down fire on Samaritans (9:54). He also told a story in which a traditionally 'hated Samaritan' rescues a ‘wounded Jew’ in true neighborly love (10:25-37). The kingdom that Jesus was bringing about was breaking out from the traditional Jewish boundaries. 

In their travels Jesus enters Bethany (John 11:1), a typical small village, where a woman named Martha welcomed Jesus into her home. Martha’s sister was sitting beside Jesus and she was listening to everything that Jesus had to say. However, Martha was distracted and pulled away from Jesus because of the pressure she felt to make all the various preparation and chores. Then Martha goes up to Jesus, and Martha accuses Jesus of not caring about her. Moreover, she tells Jesus to tell Mary to help her (10:38-40).

But why is Martha letting herself be pulled away from Jesus and get burdened down with the various preparations she had to do? How is it that her sister, Mary, was sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to Jesus and leaving the serving to her sister? Isn’t cooking food, preparing your house for guests and showing hospitality and serving Jesus commendable? Why is Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to Jesus better than Martha serving Jesus? Martha had a good thing. She had opened her home and welcomed Jesus in and she was serving Jesus! Surely, she would have received Jesus’ blessing of peace (10:5). She was showing hospitality and serving Jesus and she is to be commended for that.

It, however, seems that Martha’s preparations distracted and drew her away from Jesus. So we find Martha full of anxiety and worry. So the overly anxious Martha approaches Jesus telling him, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” The Lord gently but firmly reproves her and addresses her saying, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary had chosen what is better, what is essential, and it won't be taken away from Mary! (10:40-42)". So, what was going on inside Martha.

First, we learn that Martha’s serving of Jesus distracted her from Jesus (10:40a). Secondly, we find Martha accusing Jesus of not caring about Martha (10:40b). Then she complains of all the work she had to do by herself and that it wasn’t fair for Mary not to help (10:40b). Martha tells Jesus what he needs to do in order to remedy this unjust situation (10:40b). Martha wants Jesus to make Mary help Martha and this would take Mary away from Jesus (10:40b). Then Jesus tells Martha she was worried about many things (10:41b). Jesus in a roundabout way was telling Martha that what she was doing was fine, but that it wasn't actually necessary (10:41b). Jesus hadn't told her to do it and it wasn't the thing that was actually needed. The serving of Jesus is noble and honoring work but in this case Martha was too busy trying to serve Jesus to sit and listen to Jesus (10:41). Martha was listening to Jesus and Martha even wanted to take this away from Mary!  

When it comes down to it, Martha was too busy serving Jesus to sit and listen to Jesus (10:40, 42). Mary’s serving was a good thing, but ceased to be a good thing when it ended up distracting Martha listening to Jesus. The listening to Jesus is more essential than serving Jesus. Her serving Jesus ended up pulling her away from being present with Jesus. While Martha was doing what was ‘right culturally’, Jesus hadn’t actually told Martha to do it. What Martha was doing was not actually necessary to Jesus. Jesus would only be there a short time and being present with Jesus and listening to Jesus was the thing that was needed. Serving is good and listening is good, but serving without listening becomes a problem... sitting and listening to Jesus is better. Serving without listening is not good, listening then serving is better! 

Being busy serving Jesus without listening to Jesus is a challenge for anyone to ministry. This is important, however, there is more going on here as well. Remember that Jesus tells a story of a despised Samaritan as an example of a loving neighbor. Also Jesus is moving, though not in a straight path, towards his death and resurrection in Jerusalem. In this story Jesus is crossing over some traditional cultural distinctions between men and women. What is at issue here is not really about the chores and preparations. The preparations are important, but they’re not the most important thing. Why find Martha playing the traditional culturally acceptable woman's role, but Mary was doing something radically alternative.

Mary crossed a Jewish cultural boundary by sitting down among the men. She sat down beside Rabbi Jesus. Mary was sitting at his feet in the way that Saul of Tarsus sat at the feet of his mentor Rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). This meant that Saul was being mentored as a devoted follower of Gamaliel. This means that Mary sitting in a place reserved for men and she was positioning herself as a devoted disciple of Rabbi Jesus. Mary was listening to follow Jesus with all her heart, soul, strength and mind and Jesus was more than happy to do so. Mary, according to Jesus, was doing the necessary thing.  

Now Martha’s complaints and demands about the preparations shows that her serving was a distraction. Martha’s adherence to cultural expectations distracted her and left her overly anxious. Mary, on the other hand, chose to do what was counter-cultural and Jesus said that what Mary did was better. Mary sat in the presence of Jesus and she was listening intently. Martha was distracted, and wanted to pull Mary away from Jesus as well! So the story depicts Jesus’ inclusive and expanding kingdom. As Jesus travels towards his ‘cross and resurrection’ we learn of a ‘hated Samaritan’ who is the picture of true neighborly love. Then in this story we learn of a woman who sits at Jesus’ feet as a full-fledged disciple of King Jesus! 

'Having Compassion and Doing Mercy!'

Luke 10:25-37

Here in the section of Luke 10, Luke tells us of an encounter between Jesus and a man who is a lawyer or an expert in the law. 

1) What might we learn about this lawyer from what he does and says? (Luke 10:25)

The man was bold to stand up among the crowd and was willing to ask Jesus a question. However, he wasn’t asking to learn. Rather the man, we are told, was testing Jesus. He asks Jesus what he must do to inherit ‘eternal life’. He wanted to know what people should do to be in God’s favor and to inherit and live under the blessing of God in the age to come when Messiah comes and brings an end to the present evil age and ushers in the ‘age to come’ or the Messianic age. What do I have to do to be a faithful Jew so that Messiah will come and how can I make sure I will experience the favor of God, now and forever, when Messiah ushers in the Messianic age.  

2) What can we learn from Jesus’ response to this lawyer or law-expert?  (10:26)

Jesus flips it back on the lawyer. Essentially, Jesus telling this man that he is a trained so-called expert in the law. What then does the law say about your question? You’re trained in the law as a so-called expert what is your understanding of what the law says?

3) The lawyer summarizes the law (Dt.6:5, Lev.19:18). What can we learn from the dialogue that results between Jesus and the lawyer?  (10:27-29)

This trained scholar knew full well how to summarize the law. He knew he was to love the Lord, the God of Israel, from the heart with his whole soul and mind and with everything he could gather from within himself. He also knows he was responsible to love his neighbor as himself. He knew this and stated a common summary of the law that Jesus himself used at times (Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:29-31). So Jesus tells that he had answered correctly, but the man wants to find a loophole and ‘justify himself’. The lawyer asks Jesus to further define ‘neighbor’. In other words, the man wants to know who he is actually responsible to love as himself.  

4) Jesus tells the ‘Parable of the Good Samaritan’. (10:30-37) What can we learn from the ‘Priest and the Levite’? (10:31-32)

Jesus tells a story of a Jewish man who while traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked, stripped of his possessions, beaten and left for dead on the road or the ditch. Then Jesus tells of both a ‘Priest and a Levite’ who look to themselves and not to the hurting man. Remember that this man is coming from Jerusalem and would have been a fellow Jew who had been robbed, beaten and left for dead. Neither the ‘Priest or the Levite’ can see past their own concerns. They fail to look through ‘a window’ to the man heart and life of the dying man. They look in a mirror and they only see their own concerns and fears. They both ask themselves what will happen to me if I seek to help this man. The most likely conclude that they would be made ceremonially unclean and to care for the man would put them both at risk of being attacked by robbers themselves and so the choose to look the other way and pass by the ‘dying man’.  

5) What can we learn from what the Samaritan does? (10:33-35)

However a Samaritan who was considered the enemy of the Jew came to where the man was (Luke 9:54, John 4:9). Also note that Jesus’ own disciples, James and John, wanted to call fire down from heaven and punish a Samaritan village that didn’t welcome Jesus into their town because Jesus was headed to Jerusalem. Samaritan, by contrast, looks through ‘a window’ into the life of the dying man and thinks that this man will die if I don’t help him. The Samaritan sees the dying man and his heart went out to the man with compassion. He gave him first aid, disinfecting his wounds with wine and oil and bandaging them at his own expense. The wine, oil and bandages cost him money and took the time to help and even put himself at risk. Then he had to lift the man up onto donkey and took the man to an inn where at his own expense he cared for him through the night. In the morning he gave a couple of day’s wages to the innkeeper and asked him to take care of the wounded man. He gave the innkeeper a couple of days wages and promised if the innkeeper had to spend any more money caring for the man the Samaritan would repay the innkeeper when he returned. This Samaritan went way out of his way and at his own expense took care of a dying Jew who would have been considered by most in that day as his enemy.

6) How does the story apply to the Jewish lawyer? (10:36-37).

Jesus asks the lawyer which of the three, the Priest, the Levite or the Samaritan was a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers. Jesus doesn’t define who the lawyer’s neighbor was; rather he tells a story that depicts what being a neighbor looks like. Ironically, it was he despised Samaritan who was a neighbor to a Jew who under other conditions would have rejected any interaction with a Samaritan. It was the despised Samaritan who treated the ‘dying Jew’ with compassion and in a neighborly way. The Jewish scholar had to admit that it was the Samaritan who should mercy and that the Jewish Priest and the Levite who looked away and passed by their fellow Jew.  

7) How does the story apply to us? (10:36-37).

First Jesus asked this lawyer questions to open him up and to seek to understand him. We are to ask and listen to understand others.

Secondly the man knew what to do to get on and stay in God’s favour! He was to obey the Law of Moses which at its core it was about ‘loving God and neighbour as self’. He knew what to do; the problem was in the doing of the thing. Moreover, none has or can do this consistently and truly from the heart. This lawyer and everyone else ‘falls short’ of loving God with other as self. We can exclude people, tribes, races or classes of people from the category of neighbour. We are responsible to love all people and we’re not to demonize and exclude people and groups. We all ‘fall short’ and to ‘inherit eternal life’ we’re going to need a ‘saviour to save us from our sins’. Jesus was despised and rejected for us. He was beaten and left for dead, like the Jew in the ditch, in our place on the cross and for our sins.

We need Jesus to ‘die for our sins’, but we also need his ‘righteous life which he lived for us’ in our place on our behalf. Jesus is also the ‘truly other-centered loving and good Samaritan’ who lived a perfect life of loving obedience to God and neighbour. We are to look in faith to Jesus who lived and having conquered ‘sin and death’ for us he gives us ‘new resurrected life’.

Then having embrace Jesus as our ‘suffering servant and conquering king’ we are to seek to love others, even the ‘outsider and the outcast’ as we love ourselves. We are to love even those opposed to us! Why should we do this? We are to love others because that is what Jesus has done for us and when we to reflect him, especially when we love those who can never repay us. We are to love with our others at a personal cost to ourselves, in terms of time and resources, and when we do this we are actually doing it to our Lord Jesus (Luke 9:48, Matthew 25:45).  

'A Plentiful Harvest among wolves'

 Luke 10:1–24 

The Lord appointed seventy followers to send them out, two by two, into the towns ahead of him. The seventy is reminiscent of the 70 of Jacob’s family that had gone down to Egypt and Moses’ 70 elders (Ex.1:5, Num.11:24-25). Jesus told them that the harvest was plentiful but the harvesters were few. They were to pray to the Lord of the harvest to ‘raise up’ workers for his harvest field.  Jesus was sending them out like ‘lambs among wolves’ and they weren’t to bring a ‘purse, or a bag or additional sandals’. Here there’s a greater sense of urgency then when Jesus had previously sent out his twelve disciples (Luke 9:1-6). Jesus is heading to Jerusalem and the cross and so the opportunity to respond to Jesus and his kingdom message is now. The urgency is also seen in that the seventy weren’t even to stop and greet people on the road.

Jesus tells them to enter a house and say ‘peace to this house’. If the head of that house was a man of peace then their peace would rest on that house, but it not their peace would return to them. But once they found a house to stay they were eat and drink what they were offered and not move around from house to house. When a town welcomed them they were to heal the sick and proclaim the “Kingdom of God”.  If a town wouldn’t welcome them, they were to wipe the dust of that town from our feet as a warning against that town and they were to tell them that the ‘kingdom of God had come near’. (10:5-10)

Jesus said it would be more bearable on ‘that day’ for Sodom than for the towns rejecting Jesus.  Jesus pronounced a ‘Woe’ on Chorazin and Bethsaida saying that if Tyre and Sidon had seen the miracles they’ve seen than Tyre and Sidon would have repented and therefore it will go better for them at the judgement then these towns that have seen the miracles but have failed to respond to Jesus. Towns like Capernaum, would not be ‘lifted up’ but brought down on the ‘day of judgment’. So there is an ‘urgency to respond’ to King Jesus and there is this ‘pending judgment’ for rejecting Jesus. (10:12-15)

Earlier in Luke we have Jesus telling the twelve that to welcome a little child in Jesus’ name is to welcomes Jesus; and to welcome Jesus is to welcome the one who sent Jesus. In fact the least disciple would be the greatest (Luke 9:48). Here Jesus tells them that to listen to the seventy was to listen to Jesus, but to reject the seventy was to reject Jesus. Moreover, to reject Jesus was to reject the Father who had sent Jesus (Luke 10:16). Again we get this sense that to receive or reject the representative is to receive or reject both Jesus and the Father who sent Jesus.  

Then ‘the seventy’ returned rejoicing that the demons had submitted them in Jesus’ name.  Jesus said he had seen Satan fall like lightning and that he had given them ‘authority to overcome the power of the enemy’. However, Jesus told them that they should actually be rejoicing that their names were written in heaven. In this story the healing of the sick and the liberation from the demonic is integrated into Jesus’ kingdom proclamation. Yet, at the same time there is this greater enduring sense of joy in becoming a ‘citizen of heaven’ through identification with King Jesus.

Then we have Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, praising his Father, the Lord of heaven and earth. Jesus says that the Father was pleased to hide these things from the ‘wise and learned’ and reveal it to little children. Then Jesus talks about no one knowing the Son except the Father, and no one knowing the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal the Father.’ In other words, the Father has this ‘unique and intimate knowledge’ of Jesus, but Jesus ironically has the ‘equivalent unique and intimate knowledge’ of the Father. Jesus also says that no one knows the Father unless Jesus reveals him (10:17-22). These are extraordinary claims about the ‘equality and exclusivity’ so that we can deduce that Jesus is both equal with the Father, and exclusive revealer of the Father!

Then Jesus tells his disciples in private that their ‘eyes and ears were blessed’. They were seeing and hearing what many prophets and kings had wanted to see and hear but were unable to see and hear. What did they see? They saw King Jesus (10:23-24); the long anticipated Messiah, but the story tells us he was much more. First response to Jesus is urgent and central to the coming judgment. Two, receiving Jesus’ representatives and their message is identification with King Jesus. Thirdly, King Jesus represents and reveals the Father because Jesus has this equality with the Father. Jesus claims that ‘his knowledge of Father was equivalent to the Father’s knowledge of him (10:22). In other words, Jesus had the exclusive prerogative to reveal the Father because this story reveals that Jesus is not only the Messiah, but the ‘Divine Messiah’!   

"Fit for Service in the Kingdom"

Luke 9:51–62

Jesus is aware of a transition in his mission. As 'God’s Anointed'Son, he had gathered a ‘new twelve’ around himself. He was preaching the kingdom and his disciples had now recognized his ‘Messianic identity’. Now Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem where he would fulfill God's purpose.  Here Jesus sends messengers into a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival, but these Samaritans refused to welcome Jesus since he was heading to Jerusalem. A Messiah who would set up his kingdom in Jerusalem was not what the Samaritans were interested in (John 4:19).

James and John see this and want to call down the vengeance of God upon them and make them pay. The want to put themselves in the place of Elijah (2 Kings 1:19-12), when God was opposes an Apostate king in Samaria. Contrary to this, Jesus had come to reconcile them to God and one another (Acts 1:8). On their previous mission through Israel when a town rejected them they were to ‘shake the dust from their feet’ and move on. So Jesus rebukes them and simply moved on to another village (Luke 9:5, 52-56).  

As they walked along the road, Jesus encounters a man who claims to be willing to follow Jesus anywhere. The man says, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus has ‘no abiding home’ in this world and was on his way to Jerusalem to suffer and die. Jesus tells the man, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  Jesus tells another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus tells him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (9:57-60).  This man wants to wait until his father dies and is buried before following Jesus. Jesus has what comes across as a ‘rather harsh’ response for him. But commitment to Jesus must surpass all cultural and familial commitments.  For Jesus the time to proclaim the kingdom is now! If the kingdom has come and the king is here then ‘Lord wait’ is an inconsistent and unacceptable statement.

Still another man said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” This man tells Jesus that he wants to follow Jesus., “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (9:60-62). This is reminiscent of Elisha’s call to follow Elijah. Elisha went back and said goodbye to his family. However, it was not a prerequisite to his following Elijah. Moreover, Elisha slaughtered his oxen, burned his plowing equipment, cooked the meat and gave it to the people. He accepted the call and he went and said ‘goodbye’ and never looked back.  He said goodbye to his family and then went and followed Elijah, but he also forsook all. You cannot plow a straight furrow in a field if one is looking back. This man needs continue to follow Jesus on the road to Jerusalem and not turn back and do something else.

The disciples had fought over who was the greatest and had even tried to stop a man freeing the demonized in Jesus’ name. They have recognized Jesus’ Messianic identity, but their ambition was hindering their usefulness in God’s kingdom. Now Jesus moves out towards Jerusalem, but this is no mere trip in remembrance of Israel's ‘Exodus. Jesus must go to Jerusalem in order to ‘fulfill’ a ‘new exodus’ that will culminate in his ascension into heaven (9:31, 51).

As they start out, Jesus went directly to Jerusalem through Samaria and sent out messengers ahead (9:52) into a Samaritan village to make preparations. Jesus disregarded the quarrel between the Jews and the Samaritans (John 4:9), and extended his hand of friendship.Yet, because Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem they refused to welcome him (9:53). James and John want to call down the judgment of God upon them (See 2 Kings 1:10–12). But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then Jesus addresses those who claim to want to follow him. Jesus addresses a man who claims he will follow Jesus wherever Jesus goes (9:57). But, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and a ‘Roman cross’ and exhorts the man to consider the cost of following him.  Another man, who calls Jesus ‘Lord’ wants to first go and bury his father (9:59) and the other wants to first say goodbye to his family (9:61–62; compare 1 Kings 19:19–21). Yet, for Jesus, to follow him cannot be secondary to any cultural or familial obligation. Jesus’ reply indicates that nothing can be of a higher priority than following Jesus. Jesus calls us to a single-minded and unwavering devotion to his Lordship. No racial distinction or cultural or familial obligation can supersede service to King Jesus. This is what it means to be 'fit for service' in the Kingdom of God, both back then and today.