Luke ix. 57 — 62. It came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man hath not ivhere to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead : but go thou, and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I ivill follow thee ; but let me first go bid them fareioell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
TO investigate and unfold the expressions of Holy Writ is an office in the discharge of which a minister renders most essential service to the Church of God: and hence it constitutes a very great portion of a minister's labours; so far, at least, as respects his public addresses to his people. But the eliciting of characters, as portrayed in the inspired volume, is also a work of great importance ; inasmuch as it enables a multitude of persons to behold themselves, as it were in a glass, and to arrange themselves under the different classes to which they belong. It is this latter office which I shall endeavour to discharge at this time. Here are three distinct characters brought to our view, with distinct addresses to each. On the particular terms that are used, I shall say but little ; my intention being rather to take the subject in one collective view, and to suggest reflections upon it as a whole.
Let us, then, contemplate,
I. The characters here presented to our view —
They all express different measures of regard for Christ and his Gospel : the first is all willingness ; the second is all reluctance; the third is a compound of the two former, being partly willing, and partly reluctant, to obey the Gospel call.
The first professes the utmost willingness to follow Christ—
[" Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.' This is well spoken, on a supposition that it convey the deli- berate purpose of the heart. Such a state of mind as this is a counterpart of heaven itself; where all the redeemed are said "to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goetha." But, from the answer of our Lord to him, it is evident that the man knew not what he was undertaking. He had not considered what con- flicts he would have to maintain, what sacrifices to make, what self-denial to exercise. The very confidence with which he expressed himself argued a sad ignorance of his own heart, and a very partial acquaintance with the duties which he was so ready to engage in. He seems to have been under an impres- sion that the Lord Jesus was about to establish a temporal kingdom; and, like the mother of Zebedee's children, to have
a Rev. xiv. 4.