This "expert in the law" wants to follow Jesus, but Jesus wants to curb his enthusiasm a bit. Why? I suppose Jesus never seems that desperate to recruit followers. Other than when He picks out the twelve, He never seems to be trying to add to His entourage. Jesus usually doesn't give just random responses, so what is it about His statement that is directed specifically to this man?
I will totally assume all of this, but perhaps this guy was expecting to benefit from following Jesus. It's reasonable to think that way. Usually, it could be a good idea to associate oneself with the right people (i.e. Jesus) because there would be some sort of worldly benefit. More often than not, there's some sort of money involved with these guys. But, Jesus isn't like the others, and so He warns that man that he'll be worse off if he decides to follow Jesus (at least in a worldly sense). You never find Jesus trying to trick anyone into following Him.
The second guy tells Jesus he wants to bury his father before coming to follow Him. This time, Jesus tells him not to bother and to come follow Him now.
As I stop to think about it, I think these two stories have something in common. Jesus makes them both stop and think. Both will have to sacrifice something. The first will have to sacrifice the comforts he has become accustomed to as a important person in the community (expert in the law). The second will have the sacrifice related to not honouring his father (which was a pretty big disgrace as I understand it).
He doesn't emphasize the benefits. I pass church signs all the time that announce the benefits of following Jesus. Usually, He doesn't.
I started to follow Jesus later in life. I didn't know what I was getting myself into (although I wouldn't ever say it was a mistake). I don't remember thinking it would vastly improve my life, nor was I aware of the sacrifices I'd have to make. It's just somewhat comforting to me, for whatever reason, to think that as Jesus interacted with people, He wanted to make sure they had a better understanding of the implications of their decision to follow Him.
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