PO/Box 1367, KUILS RIVER 7579 SOUTH-AFRICA Tel:+27(0)21 903 1901 Fax:+27(0)21 906 2637
E-mail: info@kerugma.org.za Web: www.kerugma.org.za

THE SON OF MAN HAS NOWHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD

- Ignatius A le Roux

"Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." These words surely sound genuine. It is so easy to say this to the Lord. Yet, when one looks at the Lord's reaction to this, you might want to think twice before you also utter it. His answer was clear: "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

With these words the Lord Jesus gives us an indication of the type of life He led. More than that, He thereby tells the person who so gladly wants to follow Him, what to expect. Surely he will share the life of the One he follows. A disciple, the Lord taught us, is not above his teacher. Whatever befalls the teacher, will also befall the disciple (Matt. 10:24; John 15:20).

The Lord Jesus was born in a stable and grew up in a poor home. Thus He also lacked the basic necessities of life. He could not offer anyone who followed Him anything. Anyone who wanted to follow Him, had to be aware of that before he put the hand to the plough. You see, Jesus practised that which He preached properly. When, in the Sermon on the Mount, he mentioned how his heavenly Father cared for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field (Matt. 6:25-29), He Himself had no place of his own. He did not have any fixed property, home or even a tent.

John MacArthur comments about this: "After the dispute about Jesus' healing of the blind man, "everyone went to his home," John tells us: "But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives" (John 7:53-8:1). Whereas others went home to spend the night, Jesus spent it alone under the stars, in prayer with His Father. We are told of His often spending time in the home of Peter in Capernaum and of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany, but we are never told of His spending even an hour in His own house, because He had none." Of course this does not mean that the followers of Jesus may not have possessions. Both the wealthy (1 Tim 6:17-19) and the poor (Rom 15:26) may, if possible, own houses and other possessions. Even those whom the Lord calls to sacrifice all additional forms of income (2 Tim. 2:4) in order to be employed full-time in His service, may have the necessary possessions. This is if the Lord so ordains it. According to indications in the Bible, Peter and John for example had their own homes. Then there are those called to be full-time in the service of the Lord (Rom. 10:14-15), but they do not own anything and they have no set income. Their hope for everything they and their families need, as well as for the ministry in which they work, is on Him alone. What do they live from? This question can be answered by looking at the answer of another question:

WHAT DID JESUS LIVE FROM?

Except for a few indications from Scripture, we do not exactly know the answer to this question. One indication that we do have though, is that some served Him with their belongings. We read in Luke 8:1-3 that Jesus:

Is that not what all who have possessions should do? You see, it does not matter if we own something or not, what counts is our attitude towards money and material things. We brought nothing into this world and it is clear that we will take nothing with us (1 Tim. 6:7). But what we do with that which we handle during our lifetime is what matters. Are we busy gathering treasures here on earth for ourselves? Then everything will perish with us. We are going to lose everything, the moment we die. If, however, we are busy seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness, yes, his will, then treasures are accumulating for us in heaven by themselves. These are treasures with an eternal value (Matt. 6:19-34). The question is not if we have anything and how much, but if that which we own is available to the Lord.

When one receives the gift of eternal life at your rebirth, a whole different perspective opens in your life. Is your life already governed by this perspective? It is the attitude that you know you are merely "aliens and strangers" (1 Pet. 2:11,12) in this world. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20-21). Those who live with this attitude, are people who, when they buy something, buy "as though they did not possess; and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away" (1 Cor. 7:30-31).

What is important, is what God's will is. John puts it like this: "And the world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever" (See 1 John 2:15-17). Are we actively searching for God's will in everything we do - even every item that we buy? The Lord Jesus answered the scribe by saying that He is in a worse position than the foxes of the field or the birds of the air. One lesson that we learn from these animals is contentment. They are content with what they have. And in a certain sense this is the message that comes to us in these words:

The instruction under which we stand is clear:

Coupled with that, we read this truth:

Do we have this characteristic which is described by the word contentment? In the original Greek the word means to satisfy or please yourself. You have, as it were, an inner ability to motivate yourself to be happy and satisfied with the circumstances in which you may find yourself. It is not a characteristic that man possesses by himself. According to 1 Timothy 6:6 it is accompanied by the concept of godliness. This word in the Greek means to be focussed on God in the sense that your visible lifestyle lines up with God's standard and requirements. Your conduct reflects the inner strength that the indwelling Holy Spirit works in your life day by day. He is the One who is renewing your inner man day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). It is therefore only possible for a child of God in whom the Holy Spirit does this renewal daily, to order his life according to the will of God. As you do this, you receive the strength to orientate yourself to be satisfied with what you have as well as the circumstances you find yourself in. Sometimes it can be good and pleasant circumstances, but often also very desperate ones.

Peter therefore instructs the Christian slaves of his day to:

He then explains that we are called, also, like the Lord Jesus Christ, to often suffer unjustly:

When the Lord Jesus therefore tells us to follow Him, but to take into account that the Son of Man Himself did not have a place to lay his head, we must be prepared for a road of total self-denial. What is interesting, is that the meaning of the word "contentment" also imply that it has the power to inspire others around you. It is almost contagious. Where you are obedient to the Lord Jesus and may come under all sorts of spiritual and physical persecution and financial strain, there your life becomes the source through which the Holy Spirit inspires others. Even if you do not sense anything of it, the Holy Spirit works from within your life through to others. Also where you follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus and sometimes experience blessing and prosperity, the indwelling Holy Spirit protects you from temptations such as the love of money and haughtiness. The fruit of contentment will also speak to others in such a case. It can be an inspiration to them to also follow the Lord or they might reject you.

Have you ever made the following promise to the Lord Jesus?

"Teacher, I will follow You wherever you go."

How does one follow the Lord today wherever He goes? By speaking to Him daily, but also in every situation. Pray daily to Him by surrendering yourself every morning to Him and by saying you want to do only his will that day. As the day passes and you find yourself in a situation where you need to make a decision, quietly in your heart ask the Lord what He would have done had He been in your shoes. Do that for which He gives you peace.

If you do not know immediately what the Lord Jesus is saying, remember 1 Peter 2:21 says that He left us an example to follow in His steps. Think about his life and do what you think He would have done under your circumstances. By doing that you will gradually learn to walk more and more in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. He is our Good Shepherd who walks ahead of his sheep to lead them to green pastures. Peter explains that we were formerly like straying sheep, but because He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, we can now live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24-5). Apart from prayer we also have His word out of which we can learn what His will for us is. When, for example, we should suffer unjustly and are insulted, we have in 1 Peter 2:22-23 his example for our behaviour:

Are you a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ? Then always remember this example and ask Him to grant you His power by His Holy Spirit to also enable you to do this. He is our High Priest who, out of His position on the throne at the right hand of his Father, gives us the power to follow his footsteps in our situation today.

A SCRIBE FOLLOWS JESUS

Generally speaking, the New Testament paints a negative picture of the scribes. On one occasion, namely in Matthew 13:52, Jesus makes a positive comment about one. It is true that the scribes were influential figures amongst the people. When the Lord Jesus says to this man that He did not have a place to lay his head, He puts His finger right there where it matters. To follow Jesus would have cost his status in society, the esteem of his family, his income and maybe his house. What does it cost you to follow the Lord Jesus? Have you ever thought about how important these various issues are for you? Your position at work; the respect of your family; your belongings; and who is in control of your salary? Do you handle that just the way you like or is the Lord Jesus in control of your salary? Maybe it is easy to say: "Lord I will follow you just where you lead me", but are we really busy doing it? Do we really live according to that we know He says in His word. Do we furthermore do, in every situation, that which we know in our hearts that He instructed us to do by His Spirit? Do we obey His voice? When someone comes up in our thoughts, do we pray for the person or do we ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit. When He quietly instructs us deep in our spirit to do something for someone, to give or to send, do we obey or do we argue away the whispering within of his voice?

"Teacher, I will follow You wherever You lead"

Let us surrender ourselves unconditionally to the Lord so that He can lead us. Yes, let us be true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ ! people who please Him in everything and live in a true relationship with Him.

Copyright © 1999 Kérugma^® Productions. All rights reserved.
PO/Box 1367, KUILS RIVER, 7579 SOUTH-AFRICA Tel: +27 (0)21 903-1901 Fax: +27 (0)21 906-2637
E-mail: info@kerugma.org.za; http://www.kerugma.org.za/