The selection (Luke 9:51-62) belongs to the Lucan travel narrative that begins in 9:51 and ends in 19:27. It is also in this section that we find Luke incorporating Jesus' sayings on discipleship and the Christian life. The mood of the whole section is set by the resoluteness of Jesus to go to Jerusalem. "He hardened his face" is the expression that Luke uses echoing a passage from the Servant Songs: "I have set my face as flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame" (Isaiah 50:7). Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem where prophets meet their death; the time has come for his analempsis, his "being taken up". This "being taken up" has been referred to earlier by Moses and Elijah as his exodus (cf. 9:31) and is a journey that will take him to the cross, and to his glory (cf. Luke 24:26).
The first act of Jesus was to send messengers -- literally "angels" -- as his advance party to prepare the Samaritans. His ministry among the Galilaeans has ended; he now passes through the Samaritans towards the stronghold of Judaism. The reaction of the Samaritans to him would seem to reflect current anti-Jewish animosity. However, we know that historically the Samaritans had tried in the past to discourage the Jews returning from exile to rebuild Jerusalem (cf. Nehemiah 4). "They would not accept him because he has set his face towards Jerusalem" (v.53). This is the first time that Jesus' ascent to Jerusalem encounters a hindrance. The second time will be from sympathetic Pharisees who ask him to leave the regions of Judea because of Herod's plan to kill him (13:31-33).
The reaction of James and John might well be that of men who would like to please their Lord. Before this, John had tried to prevent someone who is not their companion from using the Lord's name in exorcising demons (cf. Luke 9:49-50); for this he was corrected by Jesus. Now, the brothers wish to call down fire from heaven that would burn up the Samaritans. The very short statement that we find in verse 55 of modern bibles is based on two ancient papyri. Other ancient documents have the following for verses 54-55:
54 His disciples James and John saw this
and said
Lord would you like us to call down fire from heaven
so as to destroy them
as Elijah did?
55 He turned around and rebuked them saying
You do not know of what spirit you are
for the Son of man did not come
to destroy the lives of men
but to save them.
And so they passed through another village.
According to this textual tradition (which is reflected in the AV and Douay-Rheims, among others), the sentiments of James and John reflect that of Elijah in 2 Kgs. 1:10.12. In this "man of God" tradition the legendary attribute of Elijah as one who possesses the power of Yahweh Lord of lightning and thunder may have been built on an earlier feat, that of his victory against the priests of Ba'al (1 Kgs. 18) where he called down fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice. However, the apparent senseless deaths of those two captains and one hundred soldiers while inspiring fear and humility on a third captain, remains a show of power from the part of Elijah. From Jesus' response in verse 55, we get the hint that he rejects such show of power. There is another allussion here: to the Spirit that will later on descend as fire on the disciples gathered in the upper room of Jerusalem. In contrast to the violent spirit of James and John, that Spirit will be sent for salvation, not for destruction.
The Lord's sentiment is consistent with that already shown when he rebuked John on the matter of the exorcist who was not of their company (literally, "he does not walk behind [the Lord] with us"). In that episode, Jesus rejects a club-mentality among his disciples. The center of their lives is not "the company" but Jesus' name. Paul would re-express the mind of the Lord later on when he writes: "Of course, some preach Christ from envy and rivalry, others from good will... But what difference does it make, as long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed. And in that I rejoice. (Phil. 1:18)"
What follows the Samaritan incident does not seem to be connected to it at first glance. However if we keep in mind the idea of the Lord's unimpeded progress towards his goal, then we realize that there is a connection with the episode in vv. 57-62. We also find a similar pericope in Matthew 8:19-22. In Matthew, we find the episode of the would-be followers of Jesus placed between two miracles: that of healing (8:16-17) and the calming of the storm at sea (23-27). Sayings of Jesus that are common to Luke and Matthew are said to derive from a Q tradition which is found to be better preserved in Luke. In other words, as far as this sayings to the would-be followers of Jesus are concerned, Luke's version of it is closer to the original. Here are the passages in parallel:
In Matthew's narrative, this episode occurs at the end of a healing session. Jesus had just told his disciples that they were going across to the other side of the Lake and were on the way to the boats. It was then that a scribe comes up to express his desire to follow Jesus, motivated perhaps by the wonders he has just witnessed. And then there was a disciple who realizing that their company may be gone for awhile asks Jesus permission to bury the father who now -- presumably -- lies in state. We don't know whether these two finally followed Jesus, but the sayings are expressive of the way Jesus looks at his work: their is no comfort to be found there, and it cannot hold second place in a person's hierarchy of values: it must be at the top of one's priorities.
The severity of discipleship becomes transparent in the way Luke puts it at the beginning of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. Jesus would not allow himself to be delayed by the inhospitality of anyone nor by the mistaken notions of discipleship a James and John could have. He goes forward knowing that in Jerusalem he will meet a prophet's death (cf. Lk. 13:33). The ascent to his glory begins with the ascent to Jerusalem. The three sayings of Jesus that Luke puts here gives emphasis on the difficulty of the way of Jesus and its non-compromising nature. The first saying acts like a sift against those who have mistaken notions about the way of Jesus. As in Matthew, the emphasis is on the lack of stability and comforts of normal life. The picture of the Son of Man not having a stone to lay his head on is a hyperbole -- as the rest of the sayings are -- to indicate his utter dependence on God and the humble conditions of his work. Working for the kingdom does not guarantee good working conditions. In Luke, the two last sayings are connected to the kingdom of God. In verse 60, the proclamation of the kingdom of God cannot be outweighed even by the duty of burying ones parents. What the saying means is consistent with another saying of Jesus: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26)
The saying about the plow (v. 62) is about fitness to be in the kingdom of God. Here emphasis is on full attention and focus. The plow was held with one hand while with the other, one guided the ox. Plowing required concentration. To be fit for the kingdom of God, one must accept it whole-heartedly. The saying is similar to the one about patches and wineskins:
"No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment;
if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins;
if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled,
and the skins will be destroyed.
But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
And no one after drinking old wine desires new;
for he says, 'The old is good.'" (Luke 5:26-39)
The newness of the kingdom requires new men, not half-hearted ones who taste the new yet keep thinking of the old.
The journey to Jerusalem separates the men from the boys. It is also a journey where one decides to be with Jesus or not at all. The journey leads to the cross, the scandal of discipleship. Discipleship -- given the conditions that Jesus describes -- is not something one achieves: it is a gift given by the Risen Lord. "With God," he said, "all things are possible."
