Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.
Perhaps some of us have had the experience of having had a really good teacher, one who was not only able to effectively convey content, but who seemed to make us better, and who made us feel closer to achieving the purpose of our lives. Maybe when it came time to part ways with that teacher it was difficult, for we sensed that we would have less direction without him. This scribe appeared so impressed with Jesus that he did not want to be deprived of his influence, so much so that he gave Jesus carte blanche to lead him wherever he would go. Or so he thought. But Jesus sensed limits in his intention that were not present in his words. He knew that the scribe was expecting great things, profound knowledge, and peak experiences. But he knew that the scribe only recognized him as a teacher, as one from whom he stood to benefit. He did not recognize him as Lord, one who could lead him in difficult circumstances and where there was no immediate benefit. A teacher he would follow as long as he continued to receive what he wanted. But he could only follow where Jesus was actually going to go if he recognized him as Lord, and therefore in a better position to judge what he needed and ought to receive than he himself.
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Jesus wasn't going to lead anyone to an earthly palace, like the one that belonged to "that fox" (see Luke 13:32) King Herod. He was not actually going to lead to any permanent destination on earth. He was an itinerant preacher leading a pilgrimage or an exodus, with no lasting place to rest his head. He was communicating what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews meant when he wrote that, "here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come" (see Hebrews 13:14). Had Jesus been the Buddha he might have said to keep his teaching as long as it was useful to get somewhere and then discard it once the goal was reached. But Jesus was not a teacher whose teaching pointed to some final goal or condition apart from him. He himself was the content and goal of his message. Therefore the thought of finding rest in something other than him was inherently flawed.
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.”
Jesus called for a radically different relationship to the world and society than anyone expected. Burial of the dead was after all a sacred duty. Even Elijah had permitted Elisha to go and say farewell to his parents before following him (see First Kings 19:19-21). But the urgency of the call of Jesus was greater than that of Elijah, just as he himself was infinitely more preeminent than Elijah or any other prophet. It was right for Jesus to preempt even one's obligations to one's own family in a way that no mere prophet would have claimed. In order to discharge well one's earthly obligations one would need to first ensure that he was faithful in his obligations to God himself. Since Jesus was Lord, these obligations extended to him as well. But this disciple, like, perhaps many of us, treated Jesus as one obligation, mission, or task, among others, as one no doubt important goal among many. It was this mistaken approach that Jesus sought to correct. Indeed, had he been entirely committed to following Jesus, Jesus might have sent him to perform the burial since it would not in that case have been a conflicting priority, but one assigned, as it were, from the top down.
We can profitably ask ourselves what limits we've placed on where Jesus can lead us. Are we still using him for his teaching only when it suits us, or do we regard him as Lord, and trust him to lead us even more than we trust ourselves? Is Jesus one priority among many for us? Or is he rather the one thing necessary, and therefore the ordering principle for everything else? In order to truly walk in the freedom that Jesus can give, in order to truly call him Lord and mean it, we need the help of his Holy Spirit. And while we've all probably received the Spirit in some measure, Jesus always has more for us.
Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit (see First Corinthians 12:3)
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