Tagalongs or Followers

Remember the scene from Forrest Gump when he starts running and all along his path he picks up other runners until he has quite a crowd in tow. I believe the scene ends somewhere out west along some lonely, isolated stretch of road when Forrest just stops running, and begins to walk home. There was no point in all that running and no real destination. There were merely tagalongs who just got caught up in the moment and wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves even if it had no point. Some folks just want to be where the "action" is. If they cannot be in the spotlight, they want to be standing near those who are. That's where the excitement is. That's where the tension is. That's where the possibilities are.

We turn our attention to Matthew 8:19-22 and Luke 9:57-62. Since I am following A.T. Robertson's Harmony of the Gospels, this is the next section along our journey to discover the mind of Christ. This section is difficult to place contextually, and it may not be as important to do so as with other texts. Surely there were lots of tagalongs during Jesus' three years of ministry, and some became true followers. But, in this story, at least three of them are going to be challenged by Jesus as to their real understanding of what it means to follow.  The word "follow" comes from a Greek word that is actually two words meaning "union" and "road." It has the idea of joining someone on the road. Luke has the most complete version of the story, and begins this section with "As they were going along the road..." Jesus and his disciples were on the road traveling to their next training experience, and Matthew says a scribe approaches them and calls Jesus "Teacher." Was this man seeking to enroll in Jesus' school? If so, the entrance exam will be difficult to pass. This might look like a rag-tag band of disciples, but this was the most elite school in Israel, training the most elite teachers the world will ever see. Just as not everyone is cut out for Navy Seals or Med School or to be a Rhodes scholar, not everyone will qualify for Jesus' school. The scribe put the right word on his application, i.e. "wherever." To join Jesus on the road one must be willing to go "wherever" Jesus goes. But, Jesus was not looking for the right word; He was looking for the right commitment.

Imagine when we begin with Jesus we hand Him a signed blank check that represents everything we have, even our own lives. Jesus gets to fill in the amount. Would you trust Jesus to do that? Would you let Jesus draw out everything in your account to be used for the journey? It reminds me of the conversation a chicken and a hog had about providing breakfast for their owner. The chicken thought it was a good idea. The hog's response was "for you Mr. Chicken it is a contribution, but for me it is total commitment."