It is not uncommon to see Jesus portrayed as a long-haired, hippy pacifist, slight in build and slight in His requirements of us. After all, His yoke is easy, right? Matthew 11.28-30 says:

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”

Over the next two days’ Daily readings, we will be exploring “The Cost of Following Jesus”. Today, we see what seems to be a harder side of our Master, setting up tomorrow’s even harder verses.

What gives? Is His yoke easy, or is service to Him a hard life?

Let’s dive in and consider.

[Luke 9.57-59]

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ In verse 57, Jesus is told by a would-be talmid/disciple “I will follow you wherever you go.” Where was Jesus ultimately going that probably made this man’s pledge seem vapid to Him?

+ What is Jesus doing by saying that he has “nowhere to lay his head”? Could it be that following is far more than “tracking behind him geographically”? What does being a “follower” of Jesus mean to you?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ In today’s verses, Jesus follows a man’s pledge with a statement of how He has nothing to be desired in terms of worldly standards. No condemnation or guilt, but when you weigh what you have or “need” to get by in this life, how far off do you feel from Jesus’ path? How much do you feel like the men in this reading? Tomorrow, Jesus continues to ask questions because He knows what motives are hidden in their hearts. Seek out the Father’s face that He might purify your heart that His Son might draw nearer.

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

+ We’ll reaffirm this question for the third entry in a row as -- like we stated a couple of weeks back -- we wrestle with this question ourselves: are you being discipled or seeking disciples to walk with you?

+ If you aspire to either path at this point in your life, how might you take the next step, and how might you invite Christ’s Spirit to walk with you? Jesus offers a light yolk, because what He offers also comes with His Spirit be with us and to do the heavy lifting. In contrast, when we chase the world’s treasures and accolades, we are doing it on our own, and it eventually wastes away to nothing. Pray about how you can experience the fullness of Christ’s “yoke” and His humble and powerful heart in your life...if you would walk as a disciple.