Topic: I Want to Follow (Matthew 8:18-22)
In Matthew 8, Jesus has finished His Sermon on the Mount. Great multitudes followed Him down the mountain on the way to Capernaum. During the Lord's ministry, Capernaum was a well-known city on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Starting in vs. 18, the great crowd wants to follow but must do other things first. The point Jesus makes is there is no room for “but must first” attitudes.
Jesus Christ is the one and only eternal Son of God. Our crucified and risen Savior will reign forever as the rightful King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He deserves our utmost love and loyalty. But what happens to us when we try to follow Jesus Christ without understanding the sacrificial cost in following Jesus?
When we seek to follow Jesus, He will help us count the cost of following Him. This is one of the lessons taught in verses 18-20.
In vs. 20 Jesus helped the scribe count the cost of following Him by pointing out part of His great sacrifice for us, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." The Lord who owns all of Heaven and this whole universe did not own a home during His earthly ministry.
Following the scribe was another man who also desired to follow Jesus but askes to be permitted to go bury his father (vs. 21). Jesus responded with a statement that teaches the sacrifice of following. Was the Lord saying that we shouldn't care for our parents? Of course not. Most of us know that one of the Ten Commandments is: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you." That's the Lord's fifth commandment, and it's found in Exodus 20:12. The Apostle Paul repeated it in Ephesians 6:1-3, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother,' which is the first commandment with promise: 'that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.'''
The Lord would never tell us to neglect or abuse our families. Rather, in Matthew 8, Jesus is showing us the urgency in following Him. Time is short. We must do what we can while we can. In John 9:4, Jesus said, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work." And the Lord wants us to understand the urgency of our service.
A 35-year-old woman from England woke up to this urgency in a remarkable way. Her name was Anita Goulden. In 1958, she went on vacation to visit her brother in Peru. While in Peru she saw an unbelievable sight. Children with tuberculosis and meningitis lying neglected and abandoned.
Anita wrote in her diary: "In my wildest dream, I had never thought of human beings in such shocking conditions. The appalling poverty; the indifference of those around. I can only liken it to visiting a store and finding all the goods priced wrongly: Precious goods worthless. Worthless goods precious." So, Anita stayed to help for the next 44 years.
How did Anita Goulden get the faith to turn a vacation into 44 years of helping abandoned children in Peru? The Lord helped her to see the urgency of the work He wanted her to do. And that's what He wants to do in our lives. It doesn't have to be in a faraway place like Peru. It can be right where you are. And it may deal with people who have big bank accounts, but empty hearts. Ask the Lord, and He will show you what to do and give you the urgency to accomplish that ministry at hand.
See you Sunday!
Dr. Scott Kallem