WEBVTT 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:12.800 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:28.079 Please take your Bible, if you have one, or your device, and make your way to the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 8. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.039 Matthew chapter 8. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:46.479 Here at Faith Evangelical Free Church, we have as our goal, and we probably would even say beyond that, our duty to make disciples. 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:58.240 You will see and you will hear again and again and again that we are here to declare the Word of God, to bring people to faith in Christ so that they become disciples of Christ. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:06.959 And then we take those disciples and we want to move them to a place of greater maturity and devotion in following Jesus. 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:11.200 So I'm glad you're here today to be a disciple. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:15.040 But what kind of a disciple are you? 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:27.200 Before we read the Word of God together, and before we get into what Jesus says, just take a moment and think about that question. 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.920 What kind of a disciple are you? 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:38.640 Now we don't want to participate too much in comparisons of one another. 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:43.120 God has something for each one of us individually in life. 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:45.359 He guides each one of us. 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:53.920 But is your following of Jesus, is your devotion to Christ, what it should be? 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:09.840 That's the kind of question that ought to be running around in our brains and bouncing around inside of us as we read Matthew chapter 18, beginning in, sorry, Matthew 8, beginning in verse 18. 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:18.719 The word of God says, when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:28.560 And a scribe came up to him and said, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:40.560 Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:49.520 Another of the disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:55.439 Jesus said to him, Follow me. 00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:59.520 And leave the dead to bury their own dead. 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:01.039 Amen. 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:08.800 Some challenging statements here about discipleship. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:12.319 Some confusing ones, I might add. 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:20.879 But in the end, it asks us the question: where is my devotion to Christ? 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:24.319 Am I first a disciple of Jesus? 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:32.000 And then if I am a disciple of Jesus, where am I on that road of following him? 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:34.800 Am I stagnant? 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:39.439 Am I crawling at a snail's pace? 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:42.319 Am I running? 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:46.479 Am I even following the right path? 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:51.439 Those are all appropriate questions to ask ourselves every once in a while. 00:03:51.680 --> 00:04:04.800 Now, as we finished the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, we encountered and entered a section of Matthew's gospel that frankly is uncomfortable to our modern psyche. 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:10.800 Because Jesus proclaimed that there is only one way to true life. 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:16.959 There's only one way to God and only one way to the kingdom of heaven. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:20.639 That doesn't go over well today. 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:28.000 That's why Jesus said in chapter 7, verses 13 and 14, enter by the narrow gate. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:34.800 Because there's a wide gate and there's a wide road that just leads to destruction. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:40.800 It's why he said, Not everybody who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:43.040 Chapter 7, verse 21. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:49.920 That's why he went on to give the illustration of the two builders in chapter 7, verses 24 to 27. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:59.120 The builder who established his house on the rock and it stood firm, and the builder who established his house on the sand and it collapsed. 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:09.839 You see, everyone wants to experience the benefits and the blessings of God's kingdom. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:12.399 Who doesn't want good things, right? 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.199 Who doesn't want another stimulus? 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:20.000 I mean, who wouldn't want more money in your bank account? 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:21.759 Oh, the national debt? 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:22.079 What? 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:24.079 No, let's not go there, sorry. 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:26.000 Forgive me. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:30.319 We like blessings, we like benefits, we like to receive things, right? 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:37.680 And if God is dispensing good things, why wouldn't we want to receive them? 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:44.879 God gives special blessings to some, but all people want to receive those blessings. 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:51.680 For example, if you're in chapter 8, at the beginning of chapter 8, a leper came to Jesus for healing. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:56.560 Without, it seems, even believing truly in who Jesus is. 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:07.519 He had heard that Jesus is able to heal, is able to transform a diseased person, a diseased body into something that is whole. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:13.040 Something that is without that disease ravaging it. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:14.399 He wanted that blessing. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:18.560 A Roman centurion then came to Jesus seeking help for his servant. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:28.240 He exercised great faith in Jesus, the kind of faith that Jesus links to the narrow gate and to the narrow road. 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:39.839 And then there were crowds of people in need of spiritual and physical healing, all of them apparently receiving the blessings of God's gracious mercy. 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:49.839 But not all of them believed in Jesus as the eternal God who became man in order to redeem him from his sin. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:58.000 Some who received his blessings did not know him. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:08.160 In fact, at the end of this chapter in chapter 8, Jesus brings healing and life to a man who'd been demon-possessed. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:12.079 And then Jesus is kicked out of the country for doing it. 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:25.600 As Jesus implied through the narrow and wide gates and the hard and easy roads. 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:36.000 Believing in Jesus and then following him in discipleship is not a simple, easy process. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:39.439 Why? 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:47.920 Well, if we just make it very simple, it's because believing in Christ is contrary to our natural and worldly thinking. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:52.800 And because following Jesus is costly. 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:55.680 It will cost you. 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:58.959 This is what is highlighted here in this passage. 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:10.079 Like many Christians, I had a moment in high school where I came face to face with the reality of the cost of discipleship. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:20.959 I went to a public school in a small Montana town where I was, where I unexpectedly encountered a decision that would set me at odds with the rest of the school. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:23.519 And it was an issue of discipleship. 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:28.720 Was I going to follow Jesus no matter what it cost me? 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:34.879 I want you to notice here this theme of following Jesus. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:35.919 Verse 19. 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:39.519 Scribe comes up and says, Teacher, I'm going to follow you. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:42.240 Wherever you go, I'm going to follow you. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:47.519 Verse 22, Jesus says to the second individual, follow me. 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:55.919 Then in verse 23, all of his disciples followed him into a boat. 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:05.039 This is about the process, the life of a disciple in following Jesus wherever he goes. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:06.080 What does that look like? 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:07.440 What does it entail? 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:09.200 How do we do that? 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:14.159 We see here that a crowd had gathered around Jesus in verse 18. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.480 That happens all the time, right? 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:26.639 If you go back to verse 16 and verse 17, Jesus spends an entire evening, maybe even late into the night, healing everyone who was brought to him. 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:30.639 And when that begins to happen, a crowd gathers, right? 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:33.120 Word spreads, a crowd gathers. 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:44.000 Jesus begins to be overwhelmed simply by the presence of the people, and so he gives orders to his disciples to prepare a boat so they can get out on the lake and get out of there. 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:45.919 Move somewhere else. 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:49.519 Crowds are important in the ministry of Jesus. 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:55.360 Fifty times in the Gospel of Matthew, we see crowds. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:57.519 Fifty times. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.000 It's almost twice a chapter. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:03.200 More than any other gospel record. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:12.480 If we look over at chapter 14, about verse 15, 14, 15, 16, you'll see that Jesus often had compassion on the crowds. 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:17.279 When people gathered together in crowds, that indicated something to him. 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:20.000 And he was compassionate toward them. 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:23.919 But here he sees the crowd gathering and he issues orders. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:32.080 He gave a command to float, to get in a boat and go out on the Sea of Galilee. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:40.159 And that then serves for the rest of this chapter and even into chapter 9 to sort of take us from place to place. 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:47.360 They're on one side of the Sea of Galilee, then they're going to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and then they're going to come back to the where they started from. 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:49.279 They're going to go back and forth. 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:54.480 Jesus gives his disciples a directive. 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:57.200 Get in the boat. 00:10:58.480 --> 00:10:59.840 Get in the boat. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:03.200 We're going to look more at this next Sunday. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:05.679 But there's an implicit truth there. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:12.639 Jesus has the authority to give orders. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:16.720 Jesus possesses the authority to give orders. 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:18.799 He requires obedience of his disciples. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:23.200 He determines when they move, where they move, how they move to their next location. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:26.639 He gives the direction, and they respond in obedience. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:42.639 And that giving of orders, that giving of a command, and the understanding of obedience, of responsiveness, of following that helps us understand why Matthew continues on to write about the expectations in discipleship. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:50.000 And he teaches us about the expectations in discipleship by highlighting three individuals. 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:52.799 So if you're taking notes this morning, that's going to be our outline. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:56.399 We're going to look at just these three individuals that are present here in this passage. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:01.519 The first one is the scribe, the scribe. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:08.799 We might refer to him as a respected religious leader, because that's what he was. 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:21.840 Initially, scribes were, we might call them an educated group of individuals who served as Bible copiers. 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:34.559 That was their initial duty to hand copy the Old Testament and make sure that they were as accurate as humanly possible when you're hand copying something. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:42.799 But by the time of Jesus, this group of scribes had risen to one of the upper class groups of Jewish society. 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:51.200 And so they still did the copying of the Jewish scriptures, but they also taught the Jewish scriptures in the synagogues. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:56.720 But in order to teach, they generally began their education at age 14. 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:01.039 They were disciples of a teacher. 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:06.000 So, for example, the Apostle Paul tells us that he was a disciple of Gamaliel. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:15.039 They were disciples of a teacher, and as disciples, they were in continual contact with that teacher. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:21.440 They would work then to become, in essence, lawyers of the Jewish scriptures. 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:32.639 One person who could be competent to make decisions and rulings on matters of religious law and justice and ceremony regarding Judaism. 00:13:32.799 --> 00:13:41.679 They studied the Old Testament and Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament to perfection, most often completing their studies at age 40. 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:46.960 I know it's still early on a Sunday morning, so it's difficult to do math that early. 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:49.679 But I wrote it down. 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:53.519 That's 26 years of education. 00:13:55.759 --> 00:14:01.519 That's 26 years of in-depth education in the Old Testament. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:06.720 And in the interpretation and the application of the Old Testament. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:10.159 This guy knows what he's doing. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:12.399 He knows his stuff. 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:14.080 He knows his Bible. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:19.440 He understands what it means to be a disciple. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:25.600 And so he would be acting at this point in time, perhaps as a judge or maybe as a rabbi himself. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:34.080 Maybe he was in some kind of ruling court in an administrative position of justice or government or education. 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:38.399 Some of the scribes were members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:43.360 This particular scribe was not one of Jesus' twelve disciples. 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:48.399 But he was apparently a follower of Jesus. 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:56.000 He was interested, it seems, in becoming one of those regular disciples, like the other twelve. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:10.320 And so he was following the normal pattern of the time where a student would identify a particular teacher, a particular rabbi that he wanted to learn from and study under and follow. 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:13.200 And he would then ask, Can I become your disciple? 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:17.679 I want to follow you, and by following you, be your disciple. 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:21.279 He says, I'm a learner. 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:23.120 I want to learn from you. 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:24.879 I want to follow you. 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:34.080 The interesting thing is that we never see that particular method happening with Jesus. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:42.240 We don't see someone coming up to Jesus and asking him, Hey, can I be your disciple? 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:43.759 Can I follow you? 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:47.840 And Jesus saying, Yes, absolutely, you're one of the 13 now. 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:51.200 Instead, we see the opposite. 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:55.039 Jesus chooses his own disciples. 00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:01.759 Jesus goes against the flow of culture and sovereignly chooses his own disciples. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:11.600 That should give us a little bit of a hint as to what's going on with this disciple and what's going to happen to him. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:18.080 So he says, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:23.200 We've had to smooth that out to make it a little more readable in English. 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:29.279 If we didn't smooth it out, it would say something more like, wherever you may go, I will follow. 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:44.159 Wherever you may go, whatever place you take me, whatever place you travel, whatever circumstances you go through, I will follow you. 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:51.600 So it gives us the impression that this individual, this scribe, is ready to go whenever, wherever, and however Jesus moves. 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:56.320 So he's heard, he's heard Jesus' order to cross the lake, right? 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:05.119 And he takes the opportunity to express his own perceived willingness to go with the group of disciples. 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:10.720 He's declaring his wish to become one of Jesus' disciples. 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:17.039 But interestingly, he calls Jesus a teacher. 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:22.480 Look down at verse 21 to the other individual. 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:29.920 And you will see that that individual refers to Jesus as curios, Lord. 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:36.160 There's a difference between these two individuals, and we have to ask ourselves, what is the difference? 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:51.039 Any time in the Gospel of Matthew that you see someone referring to Jesus as teacher, they are never a genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:17:53.920 --> 00:18:01.279 Every single time someone refers to Jesus as teacher, they are not coming to him in faith of who he is. 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:07.599 So Matthew's hinting here at the true heart of this scribe. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:11.599 He's telling us that this scribe wants to follow and learn. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:17.759 He wants to be a student, but he doesn't understand who Jesus is. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:35.839 I'm afraid we have churches full of scribes who, for one reason or another, feel compelled to be part of a religious association, a group of people, because they have an interest in learning. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:41.839 They have a desire to grow in whatever means of faith they have. 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:51.359 Maybe they're like this scribe and they're they're bright, well-educated, religiously devoted people, and they're they're thinking, hey, Jesus is a good guy to learn from. 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:59.920 But they don't truly know who it is they're wanting to follow. 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:11.279 We have eager folks who are interested in deepening their spiritual and biblical education by coming to church, but they don't really know who it is they desire to learn from. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:26.960 They desire good things, they desire the blessing, but they fail to realize that the one they desire to follow is in reality the sovereign Lord of all creation. 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:44.240 You see, following Jesus is not discipleship if you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as God the Son. 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:52.079 Matthew's telling us that the scribe doesn't understand what it truly means to follow Jesus. 00:19:52.319 --> 00:20:08.160 He doesn't understand that to follow Jesus means to follow him down into the boat that's going to cross the Sea of Galilee during a horrendous storm where the disciples are going to become scared to death of survival while Jesus is sleeping. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:19.440 The scribe doesn't understand that follow means even to Gethsemane, to Galgotha, to a tomb. 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:28.319 He doesn't understand that to follow Jesus means to take up your own cross and carry it daily, to crucify yourself day by day. 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:30.640 And so Jesus responds to him. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:36.480 And we would naturally respect Jesus to expect Jesus to respond like any rabbi. 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.920 Hey, great! Another follower, wonderful. 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:41.680 How many do we have now? 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:51.039 Jesus, if he's a normal rabbi, would be eager to educate and and train another person. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:21:00.640 But instead, we we see this cryptic response about foxes and birds and the son of man. 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:10.240 Jesus says, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:13.039 Jesus had a home base. 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:16.319 Most likely it was Peter's home in Capernaum. 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:19.599 But he had no home of his own. 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:25.039 So Jesus is, on the one hand, highlighting his itinerant ministry. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:30.160 He said, if you're gonna follow me, there's no way of knowing where you're gonna be. 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:32.079 Nowhere of known. 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:36.319 But let's look a little bit more at what he means by this. 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:43.200 Back in Psalm 104, we have a hint of where Jesus is going with this. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:52.079 In Psalm 104, the psalmist is talking about God's sovereign work in creation. 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:55.680 What kind of details God has done in creation. 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:59.759 And in verse 10 of Psalm 104, it says, You must. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.799 They make springs gush forth in the valleys, they flow between the hills. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:10.240 They give drink to every beast of the field, the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:14.880 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell, they sing among the branches. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:21.200 From your lofty abode you water the mountains, the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:33.440 Then down in verse 17, talking about the trees of Lebanon, in them the birds build their nests, the stork has her home in the fir trees. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:39.119 The high mountains are for the wild goats, the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:49.279 See, the psalmist is highlighting God's detailed provisions even for the animals, for the creatures in his creation. 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:56.720 Remember back to the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus said, Don't be anxious. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:58.240 How could you forget that, right? 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:00.480 I only preached about six weeks on it. 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:05.119 You're thinking, oh, here we go again. 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:07.680 What did Jesus do? 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:12.960 To help calm our anxious spirits, what did he tell us to do? 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:14.799 Look at the animals. 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:17.759 He said, Look at the animals. 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:19.759 God cares for them. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:23.680 So here the psalmist is saying, God has provided for everything. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.839 Jesus may be referring specifically, though, to Psalm 84. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:42.720 In Psalm 84, in verse 3, we read, even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:56.799 See, the Old Testament highlighted God's care and provision for the animal world, for his creation, even to the point of saying, I gave the birds a place to build their nests. 00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:01.759 I designed a place for foxes to rest. 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:20.559 By the time of Jesus, there was a fairly common belief among the Jewish people where they held the fox and birds in contempt. 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:25.119 They were sort of despised critters. 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:30.559 With that in mind, notice the contrast. 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:53.039 Now that's played out, literally. 00:24:53.519 --> 00:25:06.720 When they reach the other side of the lake and they encounter the demoniac, and he's he's cured, Jesus drives out the demon and heals him. 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:12.480 And instead of being accepted, the townspeople say, get out of here. 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:14.000 You have no place here. 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:20.880 Foxes have a place to live, to make their own, to settle down in. 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:24.319 Birds even have a place to roost, to build a nest in and raise their young. 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:38.640 But in the context of discipleship to Jesus, our desires for comfort, for homes, for families, for possessions, for freedoms must take a back seat to the sovereign will of the master. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:48.960 You see, as disciples, men and women are called to be in complete submission to the will of the Father, just as Jesus was. 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:53.839 We have to come to realize, Chad, thank you for praying this way. 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:57.200 We have to come to realize that our citizenship is in heaven. 00:25:57.680 --> 00:25:59.519 Philippians 3.20. 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:07.279 We have to come to realize that 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 1 says we are strangers and aliens on this planet. 00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:14.640 That's why John writes, don't long for, don't desire the things of the world. 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:26.720 Don't pursue the things of this world as being fundamental to your lives and held onto for dear life, because it's Jesus who bought us with his blood, and we are not our own. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:41.519 Unfortunately, there are many strands of Christianity today that make discipleship about what you have and about what you can get. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:53.920 Oh, when Jesus says, if you're gonna follow after me, be prepared to be like me. 00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:57.839 Now that doesn't mean that we cannot own a home. 00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:05.279 Doesn't mean that we can't have possessions or nice things or even have close family relationships. 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:08.799 But my friend, be ready. 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:20.799 Be ready because your Lord, if you are a disciple, may call you to relinquish your rights and your controls over anything that you have for his service. 00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:28.400 Don't forget that the key issue here is who Christ is. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.160 It's not about what we have, it's about who Jesus is. 00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:39.920 He deserved everything, but had nothing. 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:50.799 It's as if Jesus is asking the scribe, are you willing to give up everything you have and everything you are to follow me? 00:27:55.839 --> 00:28:06.240 What would be the most difficult thing for you to give up or to walk away from if it meant doing so to follow Jesus? 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:16.559 Do we even inadvertently communicate that discipleship is about what we get out of it? 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:24.960 Because if we do, then we're making discipleship about us and not about the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:31.359 So Jesus challenges this scribe. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:40.559 He says, listen, discipleship isn't merely about following me in a literal sense, going down the hillside and getting in the boat and getting out on the water. 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:44.559 It isn't simply listening to what they have to say. 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:48.559 It's not learning from Jesus as students did with their rabbis. 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:52.640 It's not just about going to church and listening to sermons and teaching. 00:28:52.880 --> 00:29:00.160 Following Jesus involves, at the very least, submission to the Lord's will, even if it means a total change in your life. 00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:16.720 Jesus expands this scribe's understanding of following to mean an urgent, wandering, homeless kind of ministry. 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.880 Now maybe he hasn't called you to that. 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:29.839 But we do know that discipleship in and of itself is a rigorous and self-denying life. 00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:34.319 And Jesus calls us to be like him in that. 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:40.000 And to kind of demonstrate all of that, Jesus highlights a second person. 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:46.799 This second individual is the Son of Man, the glorious and divine ruler. 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:54.480 This is a concept that Jesus will refer to many times in the Gospel of Matthew, more than ten times. 00:29:55.519 --> 00:30:00.000 And this is the first time that he refers to himself as the Son of Man. 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:05.359 And throughout the Gospel, he says the Son of Man has the authority to forgive. 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:08.559 The Son of Man is coming again. 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:13.440 He's someone who associates with tax collectors and sinners. 00:30:13.920 --> 00:30:16.000 Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath. 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:21.359 He's compared to Jonah in his death, burial, and resurrection. 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:24.319 The Son of Man has angels to command. 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:28.960 The Son of Man will come again with the glory of the Father. 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:36.000 Over and over and over again, Jesus highlights this Son of Man. 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:42.480 The scribe is not knowing yet everything that's yet to come in Jesus' ministry. 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:46.960 But this scribe is an expert in the Old Testament. 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:50.160 And as an expert in the Old Testament, he knows. 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:58.880 He knows that the one place that is highlighting the Son of Man in the Old Testament is the book of Daniel in chapter 7. 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:15.599 Where Daniel has a vision of heaven, where the ancient of days sits enthroned in heaven, surrounded by his glory, and there with him is a son of man to whom will be given all dominion. 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:25.759 It says God's going to take away all of the dominion, all of the authority from any human leader that exists, and it's all going to go to this person. 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:33.279 And Jesus says to the scribe, Do you understand that I'm the Son of Man? 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:38.960 Because if you don't, you can't be a disciple. 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:46.960 If you don't understand who Jesus is, then you're simply following. 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:49.039 You're not a disciple. 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:54.000 Jesus may look like a poor, itinerant teacher with a handful of followers. 00:31:55.039 --> 00:31:58.799 He may look like just a poor guy who has a good following. 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:03.279 But in reality, he is the promised one. 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:10.240 He is the coming one who now leads his disciples with full authority, and he will one day rule the world with full authority. 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:16.960 So when he commands his disciples to get into a boat, even with a storm approaching, you get in the boat. 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:32.960 Seems that Jesus knows that the scribe may struggle to follow and obey when the going gets rough. 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:40.960 And you're much more likely to stop following Jesus if you don't truly believe in who he is. 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:47.920 You're also much more likely to keep pursuing if you do know who he is. 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:57.599 You remember what Jesus did with Peter right before his ascension into heaven? 00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:02.000 You remember good old Peter, he denied Jesus three times, right? 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:06.400 And then he thought, just I'm I'm done, what good am I? 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:12.960 But Jesus then meets him on the seashore on the on the Sea of Galilee and he cooks breakfast for him. 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:18.079 And he says to Peter, Peter, I want I want you to feed my sheep. 00:33:20.559 --> 00:33:22.880 I want you to keep on following me. 00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:27.119 But he does it in a really strange way. 00:33:27.440 --> 00:33:35.680 Jesus asks him three times, do you love me? 00:33:37.119 --> 00:33:38.559 Do you love me? 00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:42.799 Peter says, Well, yes, you know this. 00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:44.240 Why are you asking me that question? 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:45.200 You know that I love you. 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:48.480 And Jesus says, he gives a command and he says, Do what? 00:33:48.880 --> 00:33:50.480 Feed my sheep. 00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:52.480 Feed my sheep. 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:53.680 See, here's the deal. 00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:59.440 We come to truly believe in who Jesus is. 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:06.880 When God gives light to our souls, we come to understand the person of Jesus Christ. 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:10.719 That He's not merely a human being who was a good teacher. 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:15.280 He was not merely somebody who was able to be a good doctor. 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:19.280 But this is God taking on human flesh. 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:22.239 This is the sovereign of the universe. 00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:26.800 And that sovereign of the universe came to give himself for you. 00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:33.199 So we come to be true disciples when we truly believe in who Jesus is. 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:41.119 And then we begin to grow in our grasp that our obedience and our submission to Christ comes from two realities. 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:50.559 His ultimate lordship over all things is one, to which we humbly submit and obey. 00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:55.119 And secondly, his giving of himself for us. 00:34:56.400 --> 00:35:08.000 And when we come to understand his giving of himself for us, our obedience and our submission to the Lord of the universe moves from being mere duty to love and devotion. 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:17.039 Jesus said to Peter, Peter, if you love me, go out and do your work. 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:30.320 We grow as disciples in our submission and our obedience to Jesus, the more we understand his lordship and the more we grasp his giving of himself for us. 00:35:31.360 --> 00:35:37.440 That's what we mean when we speak of growing in maturity in discipleship. 00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:46.400 Is know Jesus more and obey Jesus more and love him more because they're all tied together. 00:35:47.440 --> 00:35:50.800 But the scribe didn't pass go. 00:35:53.760 --> 00:35:57.519 He wanted to pass go and collect the$200, but he couldn't even get that far. 00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:01.119 Because he didn't understand who Jesus is. 00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:04.480 Jesus says, You don't understand who I am. 00:36:08.159 --> 00:36:13.280 So we move then to the third individual who's a sincere disciple. 00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:16.079 He's an earnest individual. 00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:17.519 He wants to follow Jesus. 00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:18.800 He is following Jesus. 00:36:19.199 --> 00:36:24.159 He's become a genuine disciple, but he's sort of double-minded. 00:36:24.880 --> 00:36:34.400 And we see him here like we do the individual in the first chapter of James, a double-minded man who's tossed by the waves, driven by the wind. 00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:41.679 So he comes to Jesus and he says, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. 00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:44.880 Jesus, I know you want us to get in the boat. 00:36:47.119 --> 00:36:49.760 But I have some family responsibilities first. 00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:55.360 We don't know who these guys are. 00:36:57.119 --> 00:37:00.079 No names are given to us in any of the gospels. 00:37:02.239 --> 00:37:09.519 I personally happen to have the opinion that this second individual is one of the twelve disciples. 00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:19.760 Because I think it follows in line with Jesus giving orders to get into the boat, and he's saying, Um, Jesus, I've got some business I need to take care of first. 00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:23.840 Just my opinion. 00:37:24.480 --> 00:37:29.199 But we know that this guy is different from the scribe. 00:37:29.519 --> 00:37:40.320 It says, another of the disciples said to him, that word another tells us that this scribe is a disciple, but he's a different kind of disciple than the scribe. 00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:47.199 We have to be careful because a disciple is not always what you think. 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:52.400 Different writers mean different things and can use the same word in different ways. 00:37:52.719 --> 00:37:58.800 Matthew makes it clear right here that there are two different kinds of disciples to which he's referring. 00:37:59.679 --> 00:38:03.440 The first are those who are curiously interested in Jesus. 00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:10.880 They're not merely following him like those at the feeding of the 5,000 that just want to get a free meal out of it. 00:38:12.239 --> 00:38:14.800 No, they're there because they are interested in him. 00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:16.960 They want to follow him because he has good teaching. 00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:22.320 They see some benefit in it and some value in it, and they want to receive that value and that blessing. 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:24.800 They have a curiosity of sorts. 00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:31.440 They don't believe in who he is, but out of a certain sense of religiosity, they follow in order to learn. 00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:32.559 But that's all. 00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:34.639 They don't believe. 00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:37.119 This man is different. 00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:40.559 And Matthew makes that undeniably clear. 00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:44.079 For that word another, he uses the Greek word heteros. 00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:49.920 It's a word that generally means another one, but it's another of a different kind. 00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:54.400 That's why we we have the term in English, heterosexual. 00:38:54.800 --> 00:38:56.320 It's a different sex. 00:38:57.679 --> 00:39:03.440 It's a human being, he or she is a human being, but they're different sexes. 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:06.960 They're in the same class, but yet different. 00:39:07.119 --> 00:39:12.079 This is the class of disciple, but it is another disciple of a different kind. 00:39:12.400 --> 00:39:18.960 And this second kind of disciple to which Matthew refers is one who genuinely believes. 00:39:19.119 --> 00:39:24.719 They follow Jesus and learn from Jesus because they have come to believe in who he is. 00:39:26.480 --> 00:39:32.880 In that sense, every person who genuinely believes in Jesus is a disciple. 00:39:35.840 --> 00:39:45.679 No matter where you are on the narrow road of following Jesus, if you genuinely believe in who he is and are genuinely converted by faith in him, you are a disciple. 00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:53.119 So this is a man who seems to have understood in some sense and accepted the demands of being a disciple. 00:39:54.960 --> 00:39:57.519 Notice that he calls Jesus Lord. 00:39:59.440 --> 00:40:09.039 That's a direct contrast to the scribe who comes to him and says, Teacher, this guy comes and says, Lord. 00:40:11.360 --> 00:40:14.079 Again, it's Matthew's way of telling us this man is different. 00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:22.719 This disciple understands who Jesus is, and he's placed himself as a disciple under the direction and the lordship of Jesus, the Son of Man. 00:40:22.880 --> 00:40:33.599 And so he asks then, Lord, I know you're wanting us to go get in the boat, but can I can I go home and bury my father first? 00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:39.280 Perfectly reasonable request, right? 00:40:40.880 --> 00:40:41.840 Maybe. 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:44.719 Maybe. 00:40:45.760 --> 00:40:54.480 This action was implicitly required in Judaism to honor your parents. 00:40:54.719 --> 00:40:58.559 It was the duty of the firstborn son to bury his father. 00:40:59.360 --> 00:41:11.760 Later on, after the time of Jesus, it actually came to be explicitly recorded in Jewish tradition where burial of the dead superseded all other religious duties. 00:41:12.480 --> 00:41:16.159 That wasn't yet at the time of Jesus, but it was getting close. 00:41:16.800 --> 00:41:20.320 Now we don't know exactly what this individual meant. 00:41:21.119 --> 00:41:27.440 Is he saying, you know, Jesus, I'm ready to follow you even across the lake if that's what you want to do? 00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:30.800 But I need to wait until my dad dies? 00:41:34.239 --> 00:41:38.559 Or is he saying, I need to wait until the second burial? 00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:39.679 And you're saying, what? 00:41:40.079 --> 00:41:41.599 What do you mean by second burial? 00:41:41.760 --> 00:41:44.480 Well, in Jewish culture, there's two burials. 00:41:44.639 --> 00:41:47.440 There's the initial burial when a person dies. 00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:58.320 And they're generally laid out on a flat place like Jesus was, wrapped up, anointed with spices, and so on, as the body decays. 00:41:59.119 --> 00:42:10.639 Then later, about a year later, after the body has decayed, they would go back in and they would gather up the bones and put them in a stone box, most often a stone box, sometimes a wooden box called an ossuary. 00:42:11.360 --> 00:42:13.280 That was the second burial. 00:42:13.760 --> 00:42:15.920