Bob Wilkin (3:14)

Right.

Ken Yates (3:15)

He's basically trying to discourage him.

Bob Wilkin (3:17)

For example, today, if you follow Jesus Christ, you're probably going to have a place to lay your hands.

Ken Yates (3:21)

Right? Right. And basically, if you remember, in Luke 14, which is five chapters later, Luke is meeting with a Pharisee, and it's a believing Pharisee, and he asks him to count the cost of discipleship. And there is a cost to discipleship. Now, a lot of people confuse this because they think the call to discipleship is the call to everlasting life. And so they say, count the cost of being born again. Well, there is no cost to us of being born again. Jesus already paid the cost of being born again. He died on the cross for us and removed the sin barrier so that he's paid it all. There's nothing for us to pay. But some people look at these three people and say, all three are talking about evangelism. No, all these are talking about discipleship.

Bob Wilkin (4:10)

Yeah. I would say these guys are pictures of believers.

Ken Yates (4:13)

Yes.

Bob Wilkin (4:13)

I want to follow you.

Ken Yates (4:14)

So let's take the second example. He says. How does he say it? Let me go and bury my father? Is that what he says?

Bob Wilkin (4:21)

Let me first go and bury my father? So Jesus says, follow me. And he says, let me first go and bury my father.

Ken Yates (4:28)

Okay. Now, most commentators say, and this doesn't mean it's right, but most commentators say that this man does not mean that his father was already dead.

Bob Wilkin (4:38)

Right.

Ken Yates (4:38)

Like his funeral is this afternoon.

Bob Wilkin (4:41)

Right.

Ken Yates (4:41)

What he's saying is, my father is elderly. My father is probably going to die within the next year or two. So let me go and be with my father until he dies. And then after he dies, I'll be ready to follow you.

Bob Wilkin (4:54)

And let me just add something else on that. There's an inheritance involved probably as well.

Ken Yates (4:58)

In other words, jeopardize his inheritance by leaving.

Bob Wilkin (5:01)

That's right. You can hear his thinking, I want to follow you. But listen, I could do more for you. If I get my inheritance here, I'm about to lose this. Now, normally that might be pretty good advice, especially if your parents were elderly. Today, if your parents are elderly, you might sit back and say, well, I have a responsibility to my parents, but these are unique times.

Ken Yates (5:24)

That's right. And when he says, let the dead bury the dead, he's clearly speaking metaphorically here. Paradoxically, when he says, let the dead bury the dead, the second dead refers to the physically Dead. Right. The first dead does not refer to physically dead people because they're not burying anybody. He's talking about the spiritually dead. Let people who lack everlasting life bury the physically dead. You need to be involved in sharing the message of eternal life. Now, it didn't mean that he couldn't be there for his father's funeral. What it meant is you're not going to spend years going back to your house and being with your father and his family in lieu of being with me. And as you say, this is a unique time. Jesus was only on earth in terms of his public ministry for three and a half years. If you had the opportunity to walk with him and hear him teach for two, three, four hours a day, would you turn that down so that you could go spend two or three, those same two or three years to be with your family? I'd say that would be foolish.

Ken Yates (6:36)

It's coming. It'll be here before you know it. What am I talking about? The Grace Evangelical Society's National Conference, 2026, May 18th through the 21st at Camp Kopas, an absolutely beautiful campground in North Texas, right on the lake with lots of recreation, great food, a great place to stay, wonderful fellowship and wonderful free Grace Bible teaching information and online registration now@faithalone.org events first timers waive registration fees. Faithalone.org events and let me just say something else.

Bob Wilkin (7:12)

Notice the context. In the next verses, he sends the 70 out to proclaim the kingdom to the nation of Israel. Okay. And I'm going to.

Ken Yates (7:21)

Starting in chapter 10, verse.

Bob Wilkin (7:22)

Very next verse. Yeah, very next verse. So here you go. Now, this may seem weird or radical. These three had that opportunity.

Ken Yates (7:31)

Now, we haven't discussed the third one yet, right? The third one is the one who says he wants to go back and bid farewell to those in his house. And basically what he means is something similar to what the second one.

Bob Wilkin (7:45)

Exactly.

Ken Yates (7:46)

He doesn't mean he's going to go home and say hasta la vista. And he leaves five minutes later. He's saying, I need a year or two to kind of settle all my affairs.

Bob Wilkin (7:56)

Absolutely. Got a house to sell, things to do.

Ken Yates (8:00)

And then Jesus says in verse 62, another verse that confuses people. He talks about being fit for the kingdom. What does he say in 62?

Bob Wilkin (8:10)

No one having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Ken Yates (8:16)

Now, a lot of people interpret that to mean if you put your hand to the plow and turn back, you're not going to get into the kingdom of God.

Bob Wilkin (8:22)

Exactly right.

Ken Yates (8:23)

But that's not what it says. He talks about fit for the kingdom. And the issue here is, is the person prepared for the kingdom? That is, is he prepared for the Lord to return and establish his kingdom? And the answer is no. This person, if he's putting his hand to plow and then looking back, he's regretting serving the Lord. So, you know you're not going to plow straight if you're looking in the opposite direction. He's saying that person isn't fit for the kingdom. The issue is fit to rule and reign in the life to come.

Bob Wilkin (8:56)

We could even say worthy, right? Worthy of an inheritance in the kingdom.

Ken Yates (9:00)

Yes.

Bob Wilkin (9:00)

And these three guys, what Jesus is telling them is, listen, this is unique time. We're proclaiming the kingdom to Israel. Don't think this is an easy time. I have no place to lay my head.

Ken Yates (9:13)

Right.

Bob Wilkin (9:14)

Let the dead bury their dead. Don't put your hand to the plow and look back and get your affairs in order. You got to get with the program.

Ken Yates (9:21)

Don't be like Lot's wife.

Bob Wilkin (9:23)

Exactly. Don't look back. And let me just go back again to the 70. If I'm correct, and these three could have had the opportunity to be one of the 70, what did those 70 get to do?

Ken Yates (9:35)

Yeah, they get to go out and they were actually casting out demons and they were proclaiming the kingdom was coming for that generation if they had accepted it. And in Luke 10:20, which is just a few more verses, Jesus says, don't rejoice the demons were subject to you. Rejoice your names are written in heaven. In other words, rejoice your names are in the book of life. Rejoice that you are eternally secure. Hey, it's great to be able to cast out demons, but that's really nothing compared to knowing that your name's in the book of life.

Bob Wilkin (10:07)

And when it says here in verse 20, when it says, rejoice that your names are written in heaven, do you think it is possible that he means more than you have eternal life?

Ken Yates (10:17)

Okay, what would he mean?

Bob Wilkin (10:18)

Like, that they are registered in heaven, like one of the rewards.

Ken Yates (10:22)

Okay, yeah. You know, one of the theories in Revelation 3, 5, it says, I won't blot the name of the overcomer out of the book of life. And it doesn't say he's going to blot anybody's name out of the book of life. And one understanding of that was a paper written in jets about maybe 1980 or something. And the person said that the word name Anama can often refer to reputation. Maybe in the book of life, there's going to not only be the names of everybody who has eternal life, but some people are going to, like, be bolded because they're an overcomer. So he may blot out your reputation as an overcomer, even though your entry is still there. Because if you read Revelation 3. 5, he talks about, I'm going to confess his name. Not only is he not going to confess, blot his name out, he's going to confess his name at the judgment seat of Christ.

Bob Wilkin (11:20)

And also in Revelation 2:20, when it says the overcomer, I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a name written which no one knows. So I'm not saying it is. But even here is Jesus telling the 70, you guys have been faithful to me, I've sent you out, your name is written.

Ken Yates (11:40)

So they might have the white stone.

Bob Wilkin (11:43)

Right? And so these three guys at the end of chapter nine had the opportunity to be that. But they're saying, well, I need to go sell my house.

Ken Yates (11:54)

Let me take care of my stocks.

Bob Wilkin (11:56)

Right. I need to get my inheritance in order here. And Jesus is like, no, not at this time.

Ken Yates (12:01)

And by the way, even though we're not during those three and a half years, we're in a very urgent time because Jesus could return any day. And so we should have the same sense of urgency that those three men should have had.

Bob Wilkin (12:15)

These guys blew it. They made a wrong choice. They did. And they were believers.

Ken Yates (12:18)

Yep.

Bob Wilkin (12:19)

Yeah. They were wanting to follow him as disciples. Right. Well, thanks for the question. We hope this helps. And until next time, remember, keep grace in focus.

Ken Yates (12:31)

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Bob Wilkin (13:45)

The proceeding has been a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.