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Matthew 8:18-27

(Mat 8:18-19 KJV) Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. {19} And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

KEY INSIGHT: The Scribes were the ones who studied the law and copied the law.

They were experts in the Word of God.

FIRST I WANT US TO NOTICE what Jesus did NOT do!

He did NOT say

“A Scribe wants to follow me anywhere.

My line-up is really a pretty rag tag group of guys at the moment.

But the people would really be impressed with me if I had a Ph.D on board.

Hey one of you fisherman mind stepping out of line so I can put the scribe in here.”

THAT would be the track that most any business would take, and most ministries today.

Corporate image…. Corporate head-hunting!

By man’s standards, Jesus made some horrible By man’s standards, Jesus made some horrible PR PR

decisions in regards to those He chose to be on His decisions in regards to those He chose to be on His

team.team.  

1.)1.) He He neglected neglected the upper class.the upper class.

Every politician knows that you NEED to butter up the Every politician knows that you NEED to butter up the

rich to support your cause.rich to support your cause.

2.) 2.) He He never tried never tried to to talk people into talk people into following Him.following Him.

He actually LET people walk away from HimHe actually LET people walk away from Him

One in particular was YOUNG, RICH and One in particular was YOUNG, RICH and POWERFUL.POWERFUL.

3.)3.) He He refused to compromise.refused to compromise.

In politics, or in corporate upper management, there In politics, or in corporate upper management, there is always give and take…. It’s all about being able to is always give and take…. It’s all about being able to negotiate.negotiate.

Jesus wouldn’t compromise - Jesus wouldn’t compromise - “DO you want to you “DO you want to you

leave me too?”leave me too?”  

4.)4.) Then there were Then there were the guys He DID choose the guys He DID choose to to

represent Him.represent Him.

They had little education.They had little education.

They had even less spiritual perception.They had even less spiritual perception.

They were more or less clueless as to the nature They were more or less clueless as to the nature

and mission of Jesus.and mission of Jesus.

Except for one of them (Andrew) they had no real Except for one of them (Andrew) they had no real

people skills. people skills.

In fact, they just plain had bad manners.In fact, they just plain had bad manners.

When the people following Jesus were tired and When the people following Jesus were tired and

hungry, Jesus would say hungry, Jesus would say “Let’s feed them” “Let’s feed them” and and

they would say they would say “Send them away.”“Send them away.”

People brought kids to Jesus and they would say - People brought kids to Jesus and they would say -

“Get them out of here”“Get them out of here”

KEY INSIGHT: KEY INSIGHT: There was a METHOD to His There was a METHOD to His MADNESS.MADNESS.

Much of the ministry of Jesus was spent on Much of the ministry of Jesus was spent on TRAINING a team of people who would be left to TRAINING a team of people who would be left to carry on the work and the message of the Gospel. carry on the work and the message of the Gospel.   KEY INSIGHT: KEY INSIGHT: The ministry of Jesus to these men The ministry of Jesus to these men teaches us that teaches us that He was not so much concerned He was not so much concerned about credentials about credentials and and formal training formal training as He was as He was with finding the kind of individuals that would be with finding the kind of individuals that would be teachable teachable and and humblehumble. .

His selection process is based upon a set of criteria that is RADICALLY DIFFERENT from that of man!

1 Cor 1:26-29 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29That no flesh should glory in his presence.

PERSONAL TESTIMONY

So here comes this highly qualified guy

Stating in glowing terms about how much he wants to come along side of Jesus -

In what (at this time) looks like an unstoppable political/spiritual movement.

19….. I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

You students of Scripture - Take note of this –

It is the first of thirty-two times in Matthew’s gospel alone that He will call Himself the “Son of Man.”

This is the first time.

It’s a direct reference to Daniel 7 where it says,

(Dan 7:13 KJV) I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

As you continue in Daniel it becomes clear that this is the Messiah.

So Jesus uses this term because the Jews know that it is a reference to those two verses in Daniel 7.

He’ll use it thirty-two times to describe Himself.

21And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

KEY OBSERVATION: Along comes a second man

The second man is the exact opposite of the first man.

The first man was IMPULSIVE

While this one is CAUTIOUS.

The first man was WILLING, but UN-READY.

But this second man is someone who might be said to be READY, but UN-WILLING.

KEY OBSERVATION: Jesus used different methods in dealing with these two types of people.

We see Jesus CHALLENGING the first man's professed commitment.

In the second case we see Jesus CALLING for a commitment.

The first man APPROACHED Jesus and made heavy claims.

But the other man is quite different.

He is making no great claims.

KEY OBSERVATION: Jesus had to challenge the FIRST man with the REALITIES of His Kingdom.

He looked at Jesus and saw

The MASSIVE CROWDS

AMAZING levels of POPULARITY

AWESOME demonstrations of POWER

Then there were WORDS of Jesus….. Like no other words he had ever heard!

And to top it all off…

There was the GRACIOUSNESS and COMPASSION that stood along side of His Power and Popularity.

Whatever it was that this Jesus was up to …. The first guy was WILLING to get on board.

Jesus had to let this man know in no uncertain terms that things weren’t all that they appeared to be.

Don’t let the CROWDS or the POPULARITY fool you.

“This is not my environment. I’m not at home here.

The birds have they have their nests.

They are created and made to flourish in this environment.

And the foxes they have their holes.

This is their environment.

But I (the Son of Man) have no where to lay My head.

In man’s eyes - the movers and shakers in our society have plenty of paces to lay their heads (20,000 sq. ft…. Multiple houses…. Private jets)

IF you want to follow me you HAVE TO realize that I’m a pilgrim, I’m passing through.

This is not my environment. This is not home.

Following Me DOES NOT mean court side seats at NBA games or corporate boxes at NFL game…. Getting seated in restaurants where there are year waits for a reservation…

Following Me means relinquishing your hold on all that’s in this world because My Kingdom is not about this present world.

KEY APPLICATION: All of us are pilgrims.

Isn’t it interesting that we Christians can so easily get so caught up grabbing and holding on to this world?

And when we get whatever it is that we think we have to have we’re miserable.

You want a new car. Then you finally get it.

You bring it home…. You’re driving around in it.

Go to the new Nugget Store and come out and somebody has scraped it or dented it or bashed it.

Or you get some new fishing rod and you slip on a rock and it falls and it breaks.

I mean we really need to remind ourselves that stuff doesn’t cut it.

The one and only place that we will be completely satisfied is that city that we’re headed for –

The Scriptures call it a BETTER city.

A HEAVENLY city that has foundations whose builder and maker is God.

When our eyes finally eyes gaze upon it

with it’s streets of gold

walls of jewels

with the throne of God in the middle of it

we will say - THIS IS IT!!! PERFECT in every way!!!

It will be the place that we have been prepared for.

We will come into it and it will be completely satisfied -

An experience we have never had on this side of heaven.

Search as you may, but in this world it’s not going to happen.

KEY INSIGHT: You don’t find this expression ‘lay His head’ until John’s 19 as Jesus is on the cross.

It says, “When He had spoken His last words that He gave up the ghost and bowed His head.”

WHEN did Jesus finally rest His head?

Not until He had finished His work.

THAT is when He rested His head.

Note also WHERE it was that He finally rested His head.

On the cross.

KEY POINT: That’s a little depressing because you definitely get the idea there really is not any rest in this world.

We’re ALL looking for a break.

Have you ever noticed how it never comes?

“If I could just get a break. I feel like I just need a break. I want a break.”

It’s almost like a carrot on a stick. It never really comes. (TIGER WOODS - Won’t retire until his family is financially secure…. WHAT is security then?)

LISTEN guys - There is no break in this world.

There’s a lot to do.

The harvest is ripe the fields are great.

There’s lots to do here.

There’s no rest.

This is not our home.

21And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Unlike the scribe - this man makes no great claims to WILLINGNESS…. But Jesus knows his heart.

So Jesus INVITES this cautious man to follow Him. 

This morning we’ll start to look examine the words of Jesus to this cautious man (finish next week).

KEY OBSERVATION: Jesus spoke to this man and said,“Follow Me.”

KEY QUESTION #1 - WHAT does it mean to follow Jesus?

KEY INSIGHT: There are TWO things that will be involved:

1.) TRUST = Believe what Jesus says!

2.) OBEY = DO what Jesus says!

KEY QUESTION #2 - HOW is that to be done?

1.) IMMEDIATELY

2.) FULLY

3.) CONTINUOSLY

THE ENTIRE CHRISTIAN LIFE is summed up in this ONE command - “follow Me”

That is a FAR cry from attending a church… or belonging to a small home group… believing certain doctrines….. It is REALTIONAL / DIRECTIONAL

THINK OF THESE WORDS IN THEIR VERY REAL CONTEXT

Here is a PERSON saying FOLLOW ME.

A PERSON and a DIRECTION

To FOLLOW Jesus meant LEAVING one direction and FOLLOWING Jesus in the way HE is going.

It is a life in which you place JESUS IN FRONT of you and the WORLD BEHIND you SO THAT you can have a relationship with Him!

KEY OBSERVATION: This passage fits so well with what we studied Monday night in our study of Joshua 3.

By the way - I LOVE studying through the Bible systematically because as we do we aren’t going to find ourselves groping in the dark trying to find out what God wants to show us individually/corporately.

We pick up right where we left off…. No skipping around to make our own points or emphasize what we want to emphasize.

Instead we find in the flow of the Scriptures God EMPHASIZING what He wants to emphasize.

In Joshua 3 we saw the Israelites crossing the Jordan River….

It was impossible barrier that stood between them and all that God had promised to give to Abraham and his descendants.

Their crossing of the Jordan River is a picture of the Christian Life….

LEAVING behind the wilderness life centered on self… based on your own wisdom…. Lived in your own power.

The WAY OUT of the wilderness and INTO the Land of Promise was made very clear by God

Follow the Ark of the Covenant through the Jordan and into the Land of Promise.

As we learned in Exodus 25 - The Ark of the Covenant represents JESUS.

Also - Inside of the Ark of the Covenant is where the Law of God was kept.

THE PICTURE for us -

FOLLOW JESUS

TRUST/OBEY His Word

CRUCIAL OBSERVATION: They had to stay in a position where they could have a clear view of the Ark.

PERSONAL APPLICATION FOR US - Get a clear view of Jesus so that we can FOLLOW Him.

Many professing Christians DON’T FOLLOW Jesus well because they NEVER get a clear view of Jesus.

TWO REASONS FOR THAT

1.) What the average church-goer wants to see most ….. Wants “church” to show him…. are those bits and pieces of the Bible that can help them have a better family life…. Better marriage…. a “better” life.

2.) The average church RARELY gives the average Church-goer a clear view of Jesus.

He is never spoken of as seated at the right hand of God MAKING INTECESSION for them......

Never spoken of in His awesome power.

LISTEN to what Paul prayed in EPHESIANS:

Eph. 1:18-22 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

He didn’t pray

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know how to be a better wife/husband/mom-dad/businessman

JUST THIS WEEK in the Bible Bus - Luke 24

27And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself….. 32And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

When we see Him - we WANT to follow Him!

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