Show Notes
Matthew 8:18-22
Pastor Stephen Lauer
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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Lets pray.
[00:00:01] O Lord our God, indeed, our hope is in you. We look to you and we place our trust in your promises of love, promises that you have sealed on us, on our hearts through the death of your son, Jesus. O God, we know that having given your son up for us so that you might redeem us, we trust that you will freely give us all the things that we need.
[00:00:30] O God, we need you to turn our hearts to you.
[00:00:36] We need you to show us your grace and more of your love, to show us more of Jesus, your son.
[00:00:49] Oh God, we thank you that you have given us a way to see more of Jesus, more of your steadfast love and glory in your word.
[00:00:59] And we ask now that, as you promised to do, that you would anoint our hearts with your Holy Spirit, and that by his anointing and his work in our hearts, we might understand your Word and be empowered to believe it and to obey and follow the Lord Jesus our Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.
[00:01:25] We're going to read God's Word now From Matthew, chapter 8, Matthew 8, beginning in verse 18 and reading through verse 22.
[00:01:49] Hear God's Word.
[00:01:51] Now. When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
[00:01:57] And a scribe came up and said to him, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.
[00:02:05] And Jesus said to him, foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
[00:02:16] Another of the disciples said to him, lord, let me first go and bury my Father.
[00:02:24] And Jesus said to him, follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead.
[00:02:32] And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
[00:02:37] Please be seated.
[00:02:52] We live in a society that has lots of leaders and followers.
[00:03:00] Now, it happens in a very peculiar way that I think very few preceding generations would have understood or anticipated.
[00:03:10] We pull one of these things out and we follow people through this little device.
[00:03:18] We follow people on all sorts of social media, right?
[00:03:22] People follow politicians, they follow thought leaders in business, they follow people because of. For fashion reasons. They follow people who.
[00:03:35] From whom they learn about different aspects of fitness, different hobbies. All sorts of leaders in all sorts of spaces and ways. All kinds of followers. And all of these people offer something, right? All of these leaders offer their follows. Maybe they offer them entertainment.
[00:03:54] Maybe they offer them principles for living a good life.
[00:03:59] Maybe it's success in business, maybe it's victory over your emotional struggles, all sorts of promises. And of course, if you're following politicians, there's all of the promises they offer and maybe sometimes deliver, right?
[00:04:16] We get this idea of being a follower and following someone who promises to offer us good things.
[00:04:25] That dynamic is at the heart of this passage.
[00:04:30] Jesus is a leader, a teacher, and he has followers.
[00:04:36] We're going to look at this idea of following Jesus under three points. First, the followers, the disciples.
[00:04:46] Secondly, following Jesus anywhere.
[00:04:50] And thirdly, following him no matter what. So the followers following Jesus anywhere and following him no matter what.
[00:05:02] The followers.
[00:05:04] At this point in the Gospel of Matthew, there's a big crowd, not just one crowd, but many multitudes, many, many crowds following Jesus.
[00:05:20] He had a large following.
[00:05:23] If you go back to Matthew chapter four, there's Matthew four, which tells us about the beginning of Jesus ministry in this region of Galilee. And then Matthew 5, 6 and 7 are what we call the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus teaching that he gives to his followers, his disciples. And now here we're in Matthew 8, 8, and we're beginning to see some of Jesus miracles and some more of his teaching.
[00:05:51] But if you go back to chapter four, you see there, Matthew tells us who Jesus is and what he came to do.
[00:06:01] Jesus was a king who came to save a people, his people.
[00:06:08] And it tells us that those people that he came to deliver were living in darkness, sitting in the shadow of death. In other words, they were living in rebellion against God in their sins. And as long as they were left there, they were bound over to death and destruction.
[00:06:27] Jesus came to save them from that darkness and to bring them into his kingdom.
[00:06:34] And he did that through his preaching. Everywhere he went, he preached, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In other words, turn from your sins. That's repentance. Turn from your sins, follow me and join me in my kingdom.
[00:06:51] And as he did so, great multitudes gathered around him. Matthew 4. 25 says that as Jesus is in the northern part of Israel, up in Galilee, out in the countryside, great multitudes came to him. And it says they came to him from all over.
[00:07:11] From Decapolis, that's a Gentile region, to the north of Galilee from Jerusalem, that's the main city in the south from Judea, and then from beyond Jordan, that's to the east of Judea and Galilee. So in other words, from all over the region of Israel, even from the fringes and beyond the region of Israel, people came traveling to this king and to hear about the kingdom he was setting up.
[00:07:43] Why did they come?
[00:07:45] Why did they come and begin to follow Jesus?
[00:07:48] Some of them were impressed with his teaching.
[00:07:52] We read that in fact, people were astonished at his teaching.
[00:07:56] The end of Matthew 7, we read that they were impressed, astonished because he taught with authority.
[00:08:03] And if you've read the Sermon on the Mount, it's marvelous teaching. It's remarkable teaching. Teaching that gets to the heart of our problems.
[00:08:12] They were impressed with his teaching, and so they flocked to him.
[00:08:17] But many more flocked to Jesus, especially because of his power, power displayed in healing.
[00:08:28] We read in Matthew 4:24 that he healed all who came to Him. Without exception, everyone that came to Jesus needing healing, he healed.
[00:08:39] They were impressed with his power in teaching, his power in healing.
[00:08:45] But many, even most, did not believe him for who he said he was.
[00:08:51] They didn't accept that he was the Savior or the Messiah of the Jews.
[00:08:57] They didn't turn from their sins, repent, and follow after him and enter his kingdom.
[00:09:03] They didn't become his disciples.
[00:09:07] They weren't really ready to follow Jesus out of darkness and into light, out of slavery, to sin, into and into his kingdom of freedom.
[00:09:17] And of course, if you've read the whole of the Gospel of Matthew, you know that's very clearly the case because the Jewish people rejected Jesus and put him on the cross.
[00:09:29] Most of the people who came to him didn't truly follow him out of sin and into forgiveness and freedom.
[00:09:37] But there was a smaller group of those who gathered who stuck with him.
[00:09:42] His disciples, that's what they're called in Matthew.
[00:09:47] The first group of them in Matthew chapter four that we meet are Peter, Andrew, James and John. If you memorized that little rhyme as a kid.
[00:09:56] There were Peter, Andrew, James and John, two pairs of brothers who lived by the sea till Jesus said to them, follow me.
[00:10:06] And that's what he said. Matthew 4:19, follow me. And they left their fishing nets that they were mending. They left their boats. They left their jobs, their livelihood, their families, even to follow after Jesus.
[00:10:21] The people whom Jesus saves become his disciples, and they follow him.
[00:10:27] And that means some very specific things.
[00:10:30] Doesn't mean you just come and hear him, come and receive healing, and then leave and fall away like most of the crowds did. It means you come and you stick with him and you follow him around all your life long.
[00:10:46] And in particular, there are several things that the Gospel of Matthew tells us about disciples. One of them is that a disciple studies or learns from his master.
[00:10:57] If Matthew, chapter four, five, sorry, five, six and seven is Jesus grand sermon on the mount, his teaching. If you go back to Matthew, chapter five, verse one, you see where the disciples are. It tells us Jesus went up on the mountain. And after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And opening his mouth, he began to teach them.
[00:11:19] First thing that a disciple does who follows Jesus is he receives Jesus teaching.
[00:11:26] He listens to it attentively. He learns from Jesus.
[00:11:30] And the second thing is that he follows after his teacher.
[00:11:35] What does that mean?
[00:11:37] As you read the Gospel, you see that following after Jesus doesn't mean just walking around after him.
[00:11:44] It also means following his teaching.
[00:11:49] It means learning to live like Jesus lives, learning to do things the way he does them.
[00:11:56] And of course, during Jesus ministry, it meant literally following after Jesus, as these 12 men did.
[00:12:06] There's one more thing, there's more. But there's one more thing in particular about being a disciple that we see in our sermon text today. Matthew 8, 18.
[00:12:21] Disciples receive Jesus teaching. They follow him, they follow his teaching, they become like him, but in particular, they obey his commands.
[00:12:33] Jesus gave a command that they depart to the other side.
[00:12:40] And if you keep reading this story, you find out that this means that they were going to get in a boat and go across the Sea of Galilee over to the other shore.
[00:12:49] He was commanding that they leave Galilee, the land of Israel, and go over into Gentile territory with Him.
[00:13:01] Disciples are to obey Jesus commands.
[00:13:06] What about disciples today?
[00:13:08] Jesus doesn't walk around on the earth. He's not there for you to literally follow after him, to stay in the hotels that he stays in to, to go to the people's homes that he goes to.
[00:13:19] But Jesus is still saving men and women from darkness and rebellion.
[00:13:25] Jesus is still calling men every day to follow him, to become his disciples.
[00:13:33] And it means the same things it did in Jesus day when he was here on earth.
[00:13:39] It means we receive his teaching, we strive to become like him.
[00:13:45] We follow after him, his example, just like Peter, Andrew, James and John did.
[00:13:51] If you would be Jesus disciple, his follower, you must follow him.
[00:13:56] You must trust him as Savior, the One who delivers you out of darkness and into light.
[00:14:02] And of course you follow his teaching, his example, and most especially his commands. Well, there's something about what being a follower of Jesus is.
[00:14:13] Secondly, we said we would look at following Jesus anywhere He gives a Command in verse 18 to follow, go across to the other side.
[00:14:25] And as Jesus and his 12 disciples, those who he had gathered close to Himself as they prepared to get in the boat and, and go across, are going on a boat journey. You know, we go on road trips. You get ready, you pack, they're getting ready, following Jesus orders, getting ready to get on this boat and cross the sea. Of Galilee. And a man came up and said, jesus, I want to become one of your disciples. I want to follow you.
[00:14:53] Actually, two men, but the first one we meet in verse 19, we're told he's a scribe.
[00:15:01] Now, the scribe here is making a commitment to follow Jesus.
[00:15:07] And it's a pretty serious commitment. He says, I'll follow you wherever you go.
[00:15:15] We see immediately, based on what we've been talking about, about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, his disciple, that his commitment is correct.
[00:15:26] The scribe is saying the right things.
[00:15:30] There's a certain desire in his heart. That's correct. He says, I want to become your disciple. I'm going to follow you, Jesus.
[00:15:40] His very words reflect the words in Jesus command.
[00:15:45] There's a desire to follow.
[00:15:48] It isn't just a desire to follow Jesus.
[00:15:53] Verse 18. Jesus gave orders to go over to the other side, Literally to depart.
[00:16:00] Go to depart.
[00:16:02] And he says, I will follow you wherever you go.
[00:16:06] Or more literally, wherever you depart. Jesus, you're going to go away, and I'm going to go away with you wherever you go.
[00:16:14] His words mirror Jesus command, showing he's heard, he's listened, and he's making a commitment to obey.
[00:16:25] Secondly, this is an absolute commitment that he's making.
[00:16:31] It's a promise to go wherever Jesus goes.
[00:16:36] That's a big commitment.
[00:16:39] Wherever it is that Jesus goes. When they get in the boat and they cross over into Gentile territory and into this unknown somewhere on the other side, I'll go with you, Jesus, wherever you go. I want to be your disciple.
[00:16:53] The scribe has said the right thing.
[00:16:57] He's promised to follow and obey Jesus.
[00:17:00] And Jesus answer affirms that the scribe is saying the right thing.
[00:17:08] Yes, if you would follow me, you would be my disciple.
[00:17:13] You must go wherever I go.
[00:17:18] Let's look closely at how Jesus answers the man.
[00:17:24] It may seem a little obtuse or mysterious to you and I.
[00:17:30] Foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
[00:17:38] Jesus is addressing this scribe's heart.
[00:17:42] Your words have said, you'll follow me wherever I go. Will you really?
[00:17:50] Do you know where I am going?
[00:17:56] You're a scribe. You're a teacher of the Bible.
[00:17:59] You know the prophets.
[00:18:02] You know that I've come claiming to be the Messiah, the Son of man.
[00:18:06] That's one of the titles in the Old Testament for the Messiah, the Savior that God would one day send to deliver his people, Israel.
[00:18:15] You know where the Son of man is going?
[00:18:22] What is the destination of the Son of Man, the Messiah.
[00:18:26] Well, if you've read your Old Testament like this scribe, this teacher of the law had read it, you would know where Jesus is headed.
[00:18:37] He's headed for the eternal kingdom of glory.
[00:18:41] Daniel, chapter seven.
[00:18:43] God shows the prophet Daniel a vision, and there he sees one like a Son of man.
[00:18:50] And God gave to that Son of Man an eternal kingdom.
[00:18:55] Daniel 7:14. To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom.
[00:19:02] This man described appears to have accepted that Jesus is that Messiah figure, that Son of Man.
[00:19:10] I want to go, Jesus, where you are going, I will go. Wherever you go, Son of Man, I want to go and receive that kingdom that you are receiving.
[00:19:23] We read in Daniel 7:18 that the saints of the Most High will possess that kingdom with the Son of Man, they'll possess it forever.
[00:19:36] The scribe says, I will go wherever you go, Jesus.
[00:19:41] I want to go with you to be in that eternal kingdom that you are bringing. You came preaching. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. I want to go and be in your kingdom.
[00:19:54] Jesus asks, do you really.
[00:19:59] Are you really willing to go wherever I will go?
[00:20:05] Jesus says, the foxes have holes. The birds of the air have their nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.
[00:20:17] This is the part that's easy to understand, right?
[00:20:22] Foxes have cozy dens in which to sleep in.
[00:20:29] They're safe, they're warm. They can raise their pups in them.
[00:20:33] The birds of the air may be a little less so. Birds migrate. They move around freely.
[00:20:39] But even birds have some kind of a resting place.
[00:20:44] Either they roost, they find a tree someplace comfortable to roost and sleep, or many of them can actually make a nest wherever they go. They can build a nest and raise their young and get their sleep.
[00:20:58] But Jesus says there's no home for the Son of Man. And for those who follow Him.
[00:21:05] There's not even a comfortable place for me to lay my head at night.
[00:21:11] What Jesus is saying is, my home is not of this world.
[00:21:18] You're right. I'm the Son of Man who came to bring the eternal kingdom and to bring my people out of darkness and into that kingdom.
[00:21:27] And that means that this world is not my home.
[00:21:31] And if you would be my disciple and you would follow me wherever I would go, then this world can no longer be your home.
[00:21:40] It can no longer be that place of comfort and rest and safety for you.
[00:21:45] If you were to follow me, if you would follow me and be my disciple, you must be willing to follow me in my earthly homelessness so that you would have a heavenly, eternal home.
[00:22:01] Paul says of Jesus that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor.
[00:22:08] Jesus came and did this for you, and then he calls you to follow him in it.
[00:22:16] Would you follow the Son of Man as he goes to his eternal home?
[00:22:22] Then you have to give up your earthly one.
[00:22:25] To follow him means giving up claim to earthly tribulation. Treasures don't lay up treasures on earth.
[00:22:34] It means giving up even earthly comforts.
[00:22:38] Wherever Jesus calls you to go, however uncomfortable, he says, you must follow me.
[00:22:47] Many people would profess to be Jesus disciples, like this scribe.
[00:22:51] They say the words, I will follow you, Jesus, wherever you go.
[00:22:56] They hear about the glory that he offers. Maybe they even see the healing, the compassion of Jesus.
[00:23:03] And they say, I want these things, Jesus. I will follow you for these things. I will follow you to receive the comforts and the glory.
[00:23:12] But they don't yet understand what their commitment is.
[00:23:17] This man didn't.
[00:23:20] Dear friends, dear children who grow up in the church, before you commit to following Jesus, you need to grapple with what Jesus is saying to you here.
[00:23:32] Today it may be legal to be a Christian in America, but in many places it is not.
[00:23:40] Tomorrow you may be forced to leave a job in order to be faithful in following Jesus.
[00:23:48] And someday, like many of our brothers around the world, someday, you may be faced with the choice, Do I follow Jesus and remain locked in a prison, or do I deny him and go free?
[00:24:05] Are you willing to give up the comforts of this life to follow Jesus?
[00:24:10] To let go of this world and its riches, to receive greater ones through Christ in the future?
[00:24:19] Will you follow him anywhere?
[00:24:23] That's what Jesus is asking this man and asking us.
[00:24:28] Thirdly, we said that we would look at following Jesus no matter what.
[00:24:34] If that sounded heavy, maybe even difficult, this just sounds harsh.
[00:24:45] We have the command to go to the other side.
[00:24:49] The second man we meet in the story Here in verse 21, this man is already a disciple, already someone who's following Jesus more closely. I don't know if he's one of the 12 or not. Probably not, since his name isn't given.
[00:25:05] But he's been following Jesus for some time.
[00:25:08] And he comes with a request, one that our hearts ache as we hear it. A sincere request.
[00:25:17] This man's father had just died, probably very recently, probably within the last 24 to 48 hours.
[00:25:25] They didn't have morgues back then with refrigerators so that they could preserve the body and keep it from decaying. If someone died, you buried him within a Day or two at most.
[00:25:35] This man's father had just died, and he comes to Jesus and he says, jesus, I want to follow you and get in that boat and go across with you, but please, first let me go and bury my father and mourn him with my family and my friends, and then I promise I will come and follow you.
[00:26:03] And then we hear Jesus words, follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead.
[00:26:13] Tell me that's not harsh. Hmm?
[00:26:19] Can we unwind this knot?
[00:26:21] Can we see the compassion of Christ in these words?
[00:26:28] Jesus first. What probably first strikes our ears is the strangeness of Christ's words.
[00:26:40] He says, leave the dead to bury their own dead.
[00:26:44] Who's he talking about?
[00:26:46] Well, if this man goes with Jesus, who's going to be left behind to bury his father, his friends and family? That's who's doing the burying. If this disciple goes with Jesus.
[00:26:59] So the ones doing the burying are his friends and family who are mourning the loss of his father.
[00:27:05] Jesus says, leave the dead to do that burying.
[00:27:09] In other words, it's like Jesus is saying this.
[00:27:13] Your family and friends are a bunch of walking corpses.
[00:27:17] Leave them to take care of the corpse of your father.
[00:27:22] Let the dead bury their own dead.
[00:27:27] What do you do with this?
[00:27:31] How would that strike your ears if you had just lost a loved one?
[00:27:37] Remember, remember what's going on we've been talking about here in Matthew. Jesus had gone to Galilee, where this man lived.
[00:27:46] And Matthew 4 tells us that when he entered the region of Galilee, he entered the place where people were walking in darkness and sitting in the shadow of death.
[00:27:59] Jesus had entered the realm of spiritual death.
[00:28:04] And he did so to deliver people out of that spiritual death, to bring them to life, to union and communion with with God.
[00:28:15] And this disciple knew that because he had answered Jesus call to repent and to join Christ in his kingdom, he had turned from his sins and spiritual death and come to find life and freedom and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
[00:28:33] He had come out of spiritual death and into eternal, eternal life.
[00:28:41] What Jesus is saying is that if this man were to go back to his family, he were to go back to people who are walking in spiritual darkness.
[00:28:51] Walking, going back to walking corpses, back to people who, just like he, the disciple, people who had, just like him, had heard Jesus come and preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. People who, just like him, had seen Jesus bring healing.
[00:29:10] They'd seen and heard the power of the kingdom of heaven.
[00:29:15] This man accepted it and followed Jesus. His family and friends rejected it and stayed behind.
[00:29:24] It's not harsh.
[00:29:26] Jesus is warning him of the truth of his family's situation and of what he would be turning back to if he were to turn away from following Jesus.
[00:29:38] Now why does he not allow him to bury his father and mourn him?
[00:29:45] The key word here is in his request, allow me first to bury my father. Allow me first to bury my father. Jesus has just commanded him to follow Jesus the king to get in the boat and cross over to the other side.
[00:30:03] And this man pleads with Jesus that he would be allowed to do something else first other than following Jesus.
[00:30:15] Do you hear the problem now?
[00:30:19] Jesus is demanding an absolute commitment from his disciples.
[00:30:24] An absolute commitment at all times, at all places. Whatever is happening, whatever comes to you in following me, you must follow me and obey my commands. That's what Jesus is saying to say, wait a minute, Jesus, I want to do something else I need to do. There's something more pressing than following you, my king. There's something that at this moment matters more to me than. Than you, Jesus.
[00:30:54] And Jesus says, that can't be the case for my disciples.
[00:30:58] No matter what happens, I come first.
[00:31:04] He demands complete and utter allegiance from his people.
[00:31:11] Jesus is saying that there is nothing, nothing that permits you to disobey his orders.
[00:31:19] Nothing that can come between you and Jesus.
[00:31:25] Jesus is not harsh.
[00:31:28] He tells the truth because we need to hear it. And this man needed to hear it.
[00:31:34] Jesus is not harsh. He is a loving savior.
[00:31:38] He's a savior who would lead this disciple out of death and into eternal life.
[00:31:44] For this man to turn his back on Christ and do something else first is to turn his back on the King who gives life and to turn towards death, to go back to sin and darkness.
[00:31:59] And Jesus will not allow his disciples to do that. He will not allow you to do that.
[00:32:07] If you would come to Jesus and say, jesus, I'm going to follow you. But first I need to go and engage in this or that sin.
[00:32:15] First I need to go to attend to this or that thing.
[00:32:19] Jesus says, no, me first.
[00:32:23] I came to give you life, to deliver you from death.
[00:32:28] Follow me and leave the dead to do the things of the dead.
[00:32:36] Leave sin for the kingdom of darkness and death.
[00:32:40] Oh, Christian, would you turn from following your master to first do something else?
[00:32:53] That's what Jesus is asking you today.
[00:32:57] No matter where he calls you to, no matter what comes up in your life, he calls you to press on in following him.
[00:33:07] There is never a single reason, there never will be a reason that you need to turn from following Jesus.
[00:33:16] There's nothing that we can bring to Jesus and say, lord, let me first do this and then I will follow you.
[00:33:24] No Jesus call is unwavering. Follow me wherever I go and whatever I bring into your life, keep following me.
[00:33:39] And one last thing about Jesus, call to follow him.
[00:33:43] He calls you to follow him. He calls you to follow him no matter what.
[00:33:48] But he does not call you to do anything by yourself.
[00:33:54] If he were to leave you by yourself, it would be lonely. It would be discouraging. And sometimes we feel that way.
[00:34:03] Not because he's far from us, but because we're not looking to Him.
[00:34:10] This becomes especially difficult when the difficult things happen in life and we're tempted to turn to sinful shortcuts.
[00:34:19] When we risk losing our family members because we follow Jesus and they don't. When we risk losing our job because we're called to follow Jesus and the world wants us to do something else.
[00:34:33] When we risk losing our home.
[00:34:38] It's hard.
[00:34:40] But everywhere Jesus calls you. Everything he calls you to experience.
[00:34:46] Jesus himself goes before you and goes with you.
[00:34:52] The call to follow Jesus is a call to follow me. Jesus says, follow me. In other words, he's right in front of you. As you go through those things, he's with you. He never leaves you or forsakes you.
[00:35:09] If you suffer or you struggle in any way following Jesus, you're following in his footsteps right after him.
[00:35:18] Does your fellow man look down on you for following Jesus?
[00:35:23] Jesus people the Jews rejected him.
[00:35:29] Does your family not understand your faith?
[00:35:32] Jesus family came and wanted to take him away because they thought he'd lost his mind.
[00:35:37] He was crazy.
[00:35:39] Jesus opponents hated him and tried to trick him to undermine his ministry.
[00:35:45] When they failed, they conspired to murder Him.
[00:35:51] When you follow Jesus through hard things, you're following him where he has gone and he's with you.
[00:36:03] Jesus says that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
[00:36:09] Literally nowhere to rest his head.
[00:36:14] If you read through the four Gospels, you will find that it tells us of one place where Jesus rested his head.
[00:36:24] John 19:30.
[00:36:26] So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished.
[00:36:32] And resting his head, he gave up his spirit.
[00:36:38] The Son of Man had nowhere to lay his head in this life except when his work was finished upon the cross. And there, as he gave up his life for you, he bowed his head and rested it.
[00:36:55] Jesus calls you not just to hard things, but to take up your cross and follow him, to suffer as he suffered, to be like him, to be with Him.
[00:37:10] And he promises to be with you to the very end.
[00:37:18] Now, this text, as it probes our hearts, this story raises and leaves us with one question.
[00:37:27] If you read the story, it's obvious you're wondering.
[00:37:32] Verse 23 says, when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
[00:37:40] And you know the question. You're wondering it, aren't you?
[00:37:45] What happened to these two men, the scribe and this disciple, who asked Jesus if they about four following him?
[00:37:54] Did they follow Jesus?
[00:37:57] We want to know.
[00:37:59] And Matthew leaves us hanging.
[00:38:02] He doesn't tell us.
[00:38:04] I'm sure Matthew knew, but he leaves it out.
[00:38:08] And he leaves it out in part anyway, to invite you to ask the question of yourself.
[00:38:16] Will you follow Jesus?
[00:38:20] If you would.
[00:38:22] You are committing to follow him anywhere he calls, no matter the cost.
[00:38:28] But don't delay. Nothing else comes first.
[00:38:33] Follow Him.
[00:38:35] Today, perhaps you say, I know my sin.
[00:38:40] I know the depth of my sin. I know how dark my heart is. I know what I've done.
[00:38:49] But I know Jesus can save me. I know he's the great Savior.
[00:38:54] But this following, it's hard.
[00:38:57] If I follow, I may have to give up my family, my home.
[00:39:03] Let me take some time first.
[00:39:05] I know sin's bad, but Jesus can save me.
[00:39:09] But let me enjoy life.
[00:39:12] Then I'll come follow Jesus.
[00:39:17] The problem here is that to delay, to do something else first is to reject Jesus.
[00:39:26] You must come to him today. He calls you personally. Follow me. Repent. He calls you, turn from your sins. Obey me.
[00:39:37] Follow me in this life, in suffering, trial, cross, death, for my sake. And I will lead you into glory. Let's pray.
[00:39:50] Lord Jesus, you are the true king, the Savior of your people.
[00:40:00] You are the hope of the nations.
[00:40:04] There is no one else to wait for, no other hope.
[00:40:13] And we thank you for what you call us to.
[00:40:19] That as you call us to follow you. You are leading us into green pastures and by still waters.
[00:40:27] And that even if you were to call us to walk with you through the shadow of death, the valley of the shadow of death. You are with us, Lord Jesus. We thank you that there is nothing that we can face that you have not faced, nothing that we can face that you have not already overcome.
[00:40:52] Grant us courage as we look to you, fill our hearts with love for you.
[00:40:57] And we ask that you would push out a love for the things of this world, take away all of the hope and desires that we had in earthly things, and fill us with a longing for you, a longing to serve you all the week long, all our lives long, and a longing to see you for you to come quickly.
[00:41:20] We ask Lord Jesus, that until you come that you would reign as king from heaven on high over us, your people.
[00:41:28] We ask that you would deliver us from every evil, that you would preserve and protect and keep us. Our hope is in you.
[00:41:37] We ask that you would deal not only with our hearts, but that you would provide and protect in physical things, that you would reform our government and use it for good in society.
[00:41:52] And that we, your church, may proclaim the gospel freely. We ask that your kingdom would come, that you would turn the hearts of the lost to yourself.
[00:42:03] We ask that you would provide for us in our families, give us strength in our work, bless us in our marriages with unity and love. That they would show forth Christ and his love for the church.
[00:42:19] We ask that you would preserve and bless our children, bringing them to saving faith in you.
[00:42:26] We ask that you would be with those brothers and sisters who suffer pain and chronic illness.
[00:42:33] That you would sustain them and heal them.
[00:42:36] We ask that you would be with those who are elderly, that you would comfort them, be near to them in their struggles and in their loneliness.
[00:42:44] Lord Jesus, we thank you that you know every need of your people and that you grant us all that we need.
[00:42:51] We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.
