In the last two parts of the passage, we encounter a man who wants to bury one of his parents and another who wants to say goodbye to their family, both before following Jesus. From our perspective today, it seems Jesus is telling potential followers to value family ties less than their commitment to following Jesus. In our hyper-individualistic society today, valuing following Jesus above family ties misses the cultural context of this passage. Many Christians today sacrifice their family in following Jesus and miss the point of the passage entirely.
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This is Part 3 of Caring for Those Outside the Tribe
(Read this series from the beginning at Part 1 and Part 2.)
Luke 9 isn’t about family as we think about it today as much as it is about economics. Jesus wasn’t against family. He did critique the economic system of his day, which made a person’s economic survival directly dependent on the family system they belonged to. Jesus called his followers away from the family-based economic system that led to the harms widows and the fatherless who had lost their patriarch faced to a community-based economic system rooted in access and acceptance, one where social safety nets took care of all who were in need whether they were family or not.
In Ched Myer’s book Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus, Myers states, “Among members of a family, goods and services were freely given (full reciprocity).” (Carney, p. 48). Among the members of a clan or family, help, care and gifts would be often given; but an attention was also given to maintaining a balanced a balance on receiving from those to whom the help was given, as well. This was a form of balanced reciprocity: receiving help but expected to serve the family’s needs, as well. Jesu called his followers to care for those outside the tribe. In Jesus’ vision of the kingdom, mutuality would not end at family tribal lines, but rather envelope the entire community.
To understand Jesus’ deprioritizing family ties in gospels in a life giving way, we must understand these portions of the Jesus story in their cultural economic setting, not the nuclear family model that is prevalent today. Jesus was calling for a new economy, the economy of “the kingdom” mentioned in Acts 2-4, where poverty was eliminated not just within a family but across the entire Jesus community.
Where does this leave us today? Not belittling family ties, but working for economic justice. Wealth inequality continues to widen globally. Many workers struggle to earn a living wage, while a small percentage hold disproportionate economic power. Fair access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities remains uneven, particularly for marginalized communities. Rising costs of housing and basic needs further strain low- and middle-income families. Economic justice calls for policies that ensure fair wages, progressive taxation, and affordable healthcare. It also involves addressing systemic barriers rooted in race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, and more. In today’s world, achieving economic justice means creating an economy that prioritizes human dignity, shared prosperity, and the common good over excessive profit and unchecked corporate power.
The family based economic system of Jesus’ day created vast wealth for some but economic hardship and poverty for many others. Today, we can take a page from Jesus’ critique and work for economic justice for everyone in our society.
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