In Luke 9:57–62, three people are given the opportunity to follow Christ. These are people who are believers and who can now walk in His footsteps as disciples. While each has eternal life, none of the three understands what it will cost to be a student of the Lord and to be great in His kingdom. 

The first and third men approach the Lord and tell Him they want to follow Him in discipleship. The second guy is different. Christ approaches him. The Lord singles him out and offers him the privilege of being close to Him. When He says, “Follow Me” (v 59), one is reminded of the Lord’s saying the same words to Levi when He called the tax collector to be in His inner circle (Luke 5:27). This man was a privileged individual! 

The man does not understand how privileged he is. He tells the Lord that he will follow Hin, but that he needs to bury his father first. His father is still alive, and the man wants to wait until his father dies so he can perform the duties of a faithful son that were expected in that culture.  

The problem was that this was a unique period. The Lord was headed to Jerusalem to die. He was offering the kingdom to the nation of Israel. Time was of the essence. This was the main reason He told the man to “let the dead bury [the] dead.” The man said he would accept the Lord’s offer, but on his own schedule. It might be a year or two before he could follow the Lord. He did not know that by that time, the Lord would have already died, risen, and ascended, and would be seated at the right hand of the Father.  

Nobody today has had a calling like that. The Lord has not personally walked up to any of us and told us to follow Him on the road to Jerusalem. He has not told any of us to ignore our familial responsibilities. 

Preachers and others involved in ministry sometimes point to a verse like this when they talk about their “calling.” Like the man in Luke 9:59, they claim to have a special calling to follow the Lord that other believers do not have. Of course, unlike the man, they obey their calling.  

All of that is mumbo jumbo.  

The fact is that every believer is called by the Lord. The author of Hebrews tells his readers that they are “holy brethren” and that they have a “heavenly calling” (Heb 3:1). That calling is to reign with Christ in His kingdom. They respond to that call by remaining faithful to Him amid the difficulties they face.  

Peter says the same thing. He tells his readers that they are to make their “call and election sure.” He tells them to grow spiritually in order to have an abundant entrance into Christ’s kingdom (2 Pet 1:5–11). The Lord has called every believer to be great in His kingdom and to be greatly rewarded by Him. 

The Lord has not personally told any of us to abandon a parent. His earthly ministry in Israel was unique in many ways. But He has called us. He calls us to be faithful to Him in our current circumstances. He calls us to be great in His kingdom. 

In that way, we are just like the guy in Luke 9:59. The Lord, through His Word, says, “Follow Me!”