The Cost of Discipleship

Matthew 8:18-22

Immanuel – 3/24/24

We’ve been progressing through the Gospel of Matthew at a steady pace; seeking to mine as many treasures from it as God allows. And without altering our progression, I love that He has brought us to this passage for Palm Sunday. Of course, Palm Sunday remembers Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where crowds of people shouted their praises. We’ll read about this in chapter 21 of Matthew.

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in this highest! -Matthew 21:9

For a moment, it seemed that Jerusalem was ready to receive her prophesied Messiah, the Son of David. But when people began to realize that Jesus was not the Messiah they expected, things took a deadly turn.

Jesus was not going to wield the military and overthrow Rome, He was not going to restore geopolitical Israel to its former wealth and glory, He was not going to submit to the corrupt traditions of the elders; and still Jesus made Messianic claims. He made divine claims! Within the span of a week, those joyful hosannas would turn to hate-filled shouts of “Crucify Him!”

Though Jesus’ path was leading Him to the throne, it was not the throne people expected. Though glory was ahead, it was not the glory that the people wanted. Because Jesus’ path was always leading first to the cross. The grave must come before the throne, suffering before glory, humility before exaltation.

As it was for Him, so it is for us.

Purpose

1. Jesus’ disciples must make Him their greatest priority.

2. Are you following Jesus?

Read vs 18

Let’s do a little scene setting. First, there is some unknown gap of time between verse 17 and verse 18. Jesus is somewhere in Capernaum, presumably near the shores of Galilee. And once again, the crowds press upon Him. They have come to be amazed and, very likely, to receive healings.

Jesus’ teachings have stunned the Jewish people. As we read at the end of chapter 7, the crowds were astonished at His teaching. They have never heard anyone say the things Jesus was saying, nor have they heard the authority with which He spoke. He was speaking as if He were Yahweh.

And if that wasn’t enough, He is also healing every sickness and affliction, and casting out demons. There was no form of human suffering that Jesus could not instantly and completely heal. Such concentration of power and proclamation had never visited Israel before.

It is no wonder crowds were constantly forming around Jesus. Make no mistake, the crowds that were swarming to Jesus were not small. Hundreds of people – and likely more – coming from everywhere. As 4:25 said, Great crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

I imagine, on the particular day we are transported to in Matthew 8:18, the crowds had swollen to an unmanageably large number.

So, subverting the expectations of the entire crowd and contrary to inexhaustible appetite of so much need, Jesus chooses to separate Himself from the crowds. He tells His disciples to prepare a boat to sail across the Sea of Galilee.

This undoubtedly would have been a surprising order, perhaps even a bit confusing. For on the other side of Galilee were Gentile lands. That was the region of the Decapolis, where a confederation of five Hellenistic cites ruled. Jesus was withdrawing from Jewish lands. And being that the Jews of those days considered Gentiles to be unclean dogs, why would any self-respecting Jew go over there?

Jesus plans this trip across the lake to continue introducing humanity to the kingdom of heaven, filled with love, offered to both Jews and Gentiles. But before there can be such a heavenly unity, there must first be separation and suffering. Jesus had come to plunge Himself into such a storm of separation and suffering so in the midst of it He could rise and speak peace.

He commands His disciples to go with Him there, to the other side.

Read vs 19

Home

It’s remarkable that a scribe emerges from the crowd and says that he will follow Jesus. Scribes were a part of the religious establishment – the religious establishment that had become more about self-justification rather than loving and serving God. It was an establishment that Jesus opposed (which we will see very strongly towards the end of Matthew).

It would thus have been quite surprising to Matthew’s first readers – that were predominantly Jewish – that an official scribe would humble himself, call this man from Nazareth, “Teacher,” and declare he would follow Jesus “wherever.” He would even go into the Gentile lands on the other side. Surely, this indicates that the scribe saw something remarkable in Jesus not found in the Jewish religious establishment.

So it is that this scribe rises above the clamor of the crowd and grabs Jesus’ attention with, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” At first glance, it seems like such a powerful profession! And yet, something is not as it appears; for Jesus rebuffs the scribe.

Back in chapter 4, we saw Jesus called His disciples by name. This scribe was not called. Instead, he asserted himself. And it seems like he did this impulsively, as a reaction to Jesus preparing to go to the other side. He says, “I will follow,” without truly understanding what those words mean.

Jesus does not want followers who have no idea what they are getting into, who are filled with passion and ignorance. He wants His followers to know the cost, to think carefully, and to realize that Jesus is worth the price. Thus, He rebuffs the hasty scribe.

Read vs 20

(Parenthesis)

For the first time in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus has called Himself “the Son of Man.” When He refers to Himself in His Messianic role, “the Son of Man” is His preferred title. It is a title that emphasizes the two roles of Christ.

First, Son of Man was not an accepted Messianic title in the 1st century. It could simply mean man – descended from other men.

O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. -Psalm 144:3-4

All over the Old Testament, son of man was just a way to speak about a man, or a representation of mankind. Son of man is a phrase often coupled with humility, as in Psalm 144: the son of man whose days are like a passing shadow. “Son of man” emphasizes the humility, dependency, and weakness of mankind.

But there is another usage of this title – Son of Man – that is altogether different. A number of you know where I am about to go: to the vision of the prophet Daniel.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. -Daniel 7:13-14

Truly, the Son of Man from Daniel’s vision is the Messiah, anointed by God (the Ancient of Days), to rule the earth with an everlasting and unfailing dominion. All authority in heaven and on earth is given to the Son of Man, clothed in humility.

(Close Parenthesis)

Remember, from the Sermon on the Mount, where we read that God cares even for the birds of the air (Matthew 6:26)? He cares for the foxes too and gives them both homes. And that is a comfort to us, for if God values us much more, then much more will He provide for us.

How remarkable it is, then, that Jesus would say, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” For though He is the most beloved by the Father, He has no home in which to lay His head. Indeed, that very night, the only place for Jesus to lay His head was on the stern of a stormy boat. Surely, He is not the Messiah that anyone expected: The King of heaven and earth clothed in humility, a homeless vagabond.

So, when Jesus says that “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head,” these words are layered with revelation of His humanity and divinity, His mission, and the nature of His kingdom. But, are His words not also a summons? If the scribe wants to follow Jesus, then he must follow Jesus even where there are no earthly comforts or securities – the types of comforts and securities found in a home.

If Christ would call us to the other side, then we must be ready to leave everything, even our homes. And leave it though there is no security on the other side, no guarantee of safety or comfort. It is a summons to follow Jesus though you follow Him into the loss of all things.

Paul sums this up perfectly: Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

-Philippians 3:7-9,10-11

So many people, like the crowds that pressed Jesus, show up just to get stuff: a healing, some happiness, a little peace. In His kindness, Jesus may give such things. But to His disciples He also gives a share in His sufferings, that through suffering we can be made more like Him. O that we would see these truths as far more precious than the security and comfort we gather in houses!

For Christ is our security and our comfort. In Him we have all that we need. Though we be strangers, He knows us. In our desperation, He is peace. In our pain, He is our joy. In our longing, He satisfies the soul. In our lostness, He is home.

Read vs 21

Family

Once again, I remind you that Matthew wrote his gospel for us, he did not write it to us. But to every Jewish reader that he did write to, they would have immediately understood the preposterous nature of this man’s request. Again, we need a little context.

According to Jewish custom, burial of a father took priority over all other responsibilities. The Mosaic Law even supports a measure of this. Daily prayers, study of the law, temple service, and more, could be neglected so a son could bury his father. And it was also customary to bury the dead that very day, with about a week of mourning to follow.

So, if this man’s father had just died, there is no way he would be hanging around the shores of Galilee. He would be busy with family and funeral arrangements, not speaking to Jesus about discipleship.

No, what this man was saying was that he wanted to fulfill these duties when his father did die, whenever that might be. But we’ve all seen it: The elderly can go quickly, and they can linger for years. This son is in effect saying, “Someday, after my father dies, I will be your disciple.” He wasn’t ready to follow Jesus just yet. But when the time was right, he would follow.

Now we are able to understand Jesus better.

Read vs 22

Sometimes Jesus can sound so harsh. But as with many things He says, there are layers here. His words are hard only because we feel the cut, and the sword of His word renders salvation for some and judgment for others.

We can understand Jesus to be saying, “Let one dead man bury another.” The Bible testifies that anyone who has not come to Jesus for life, who has not come to follow Him, is dead in their sins.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world…and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

-Ephesians 2:1,3

Though it is virtuous to responsibly care for your loved ones at the end (It is a good work!), death is ultimately the business of the dead. Those without Christ are spiritually dead. “Let the dead bury the dead.”

But the followers of Christ are in the business of life. Just as Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), so He commands His disciples to seek and save the lost. For through our proclamation of the gospel, God calls the spiritually dead to life everlasting!

Again, as Paul writes: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

-Romans 1:16

If you are a new creation in Christ, then He has given you life so you can be His. You have been commissioned to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of all nations. There is no waiting around until the time is right, until you have your house in order, until risks have been mitigated. Christ’s summons to discipleship takes priority over all the rest of life. Love for Jesus must take priority over love for parents – or siblings, or even children.

If you love any of these more than Christ, so that you would delay following Him to the other side, you are not fit to be His disciple. As Matthew Henry comments, “Let the dead lie unburied, rather than the service of Christ be neglected.” Physical death is not nearly as great a threat as is the eternal death from which all men must be saved! We are in the business of life!

Whatever storms may come, whatever security and comforts must be left behind, and even separation from those we love, is not Jesus worth it? In Christ you are secure: Isn’t it then worth leaving your temporary home so that the lost may find an everlasting home in Christ? Is it not worth forsaking the comforts of this life to save others from an eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth?

Christ thought it was worth it, and though He is God, He stepped down from glory to take the form of a servant and was born as a son of man. With the utmost humility and self-sacrificial love, He was obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross; dying the death we children of wrath deserved. Then He defeated that death through His resurrection, so that by faith we too might rise to life everlasting.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -Philippians 2:9-11

I ask you, you who would say that you would follow Jesus wherever, are you prepared to leave even your family so that others may hear the gospel and believe? If you are not, the implication is clear: You are not fit to be Christ’s disciple.

Truly, if we follow Jesus like this – in such a way that we are ready to leave our homes and our families – people will label us fanatics. Our very existence would disrupt the comfortable, secure lives that everyone on earth is chasing. Yes, to the dying, such living is fanatical.

It is why people went from shouting “Hosanna!” to “Crucify Him!”

But we followers of Jesus know that there is no rest in plush beds and comfortable bank accounts. Rest comes by following Jesus, from being in His presence. We lay our head where He lay His.

He said He had nowhere to lay His head. But that was temporary, for in a few short years He did indeed find somewhere to rest His head.

“It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

-John 19:30

The Greek word for bowed is the same word for lay. Finally, after all was accomplished, Jesus lay His head -wreathed in thorns – upon the cross.

Indeed, the cost of following Jesus is very great; for He went to the cross and He summons us there.

Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” -Matthew 16:24-26

The grave before the throne, suffering before glory, humility before exaltation. For just as His cross is yours, so is His life your life; His glory, your glory.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

-James 1:12