Mat 8:18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
Mat 8:19 And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Mat 8:20 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
Mat 8:21 Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
Mat 8:22 And Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
One of the most important theologians of the twentieth century illuminates the relationship between ourselves and the teachings of Jesus
What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life. Amazon.com From used USD 3 92 - 11.92
To Follow Jesus You Must be Wholehearted.
We don’t know the outcome of what Jesus said in the lives of the Scribe nor the other man but here Matthew makes clear what Jesus is looking for in a disciple. He saying nothing about the ultimate attitude of either of theses two men. L.M.p.199
Mat 8:18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
Notes
The huge crowds that followed Jesus at this time may have just wanted to see the healings or to listen to his Preaching and Teaching. But a crowd does not make a church nor does church attendance make a disciple. To be in the crowd is not all that Jesus wanted. Jesus told the twelve to get in the boat and go over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Perhaps He wanted some rest and quietness. Personal Ministry with many people can be very taxing and so ministers must have a place of retreat.
Mat 8:19 And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Notes
Before Jesus could leave a scribe approached Him first. This was man well versed in the Jewish Law and was thus interested in the Service of God. He appears to be very favourable to Jesus and His teaching while most Scribes were not.
He said to Jesus, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Was He wanting to become a dedicated follower or disciple of Jesus? Or was he just one who wanted to follow Jesus around like church attendees who are never really committed to Jesus Christ and obedient to His Word.
I will follow you wherever you go.
Was He willing to be with Jesus through thick and thin? Wherever Jesus happened to go and whatever happened in the future.
Perhaps he had not really considered the Cost of Discipleship.
Illustration
Once in Africa after watching the Jesus film in their own language first the first time in the Public Market, two young Muslim young Traders came to me and said they wanted to follow Jesus.
I said, “Have you considered what the Cost or the consequences of this decision would be for you. You will be ostracised by your family. They will chase you from your home and your job.You know their is cost to following Jesus with a full commitment.” I said you go and you think about what I have said and come back if you still are willing to Follow Jesus.” They remained friends but did not return to follow Jesus up until the time I left their country.
Mat 8:20 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
Notes
Jesus is looking for complete Commitment. Not someone who is attached to earthly wealth and assets more than to Him. Jesus had no earthly foxhole or nest.Cp Matt :6:26 shows that the Heavenly Father cares for the birds and feeds them and He will care for us.
Are you leaning on your wealth or bank balance or are you Secure in the father’s Love and provision.
Illustration
Early Congo Missionaries travelled like this
Many Years ago a dear Man of God, Elvyn Lee, ex CEM Congo Missionary, gave my wife and I a promised from the Word of God from
2Ki 25:27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.
2Ki 25:28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
2Ki 25:29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table,
2Ki 25:30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.
WE have never lacked God’s daily allowance all the days of our lives. God is faithful to His Word
.”..the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." The Son of Man is Jesus favourite expression when referring to Himself. Matthew uses it 6 or 7 times to refer to Jesus’ Earthly Mission; 10 times when referring Jesus’ rejection, suffering, and death, and 1 time when referring to the His future glory It is often a reference to Daniel . 7: 13-14
Another Disciple and Full Commitment
Mat 8:21 Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
Notes
Another of the disciples said to him,
And another of his disciples ... - The word “disciple” properly signifies “learner,” and was given to the followers of Jesus because they received him as their teacher. See the notes at Mat_5:1. It does not of necessity mean that a “disciple” was a pious man, but only one of the multitude, who, for various causes, might attend on his instructions. See Joh_6:66; Joh_9:28.
said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
Notes
Addressing Jesus respectfully as “Lord” [Sir], this man must have made some sort of commitment. He understood that being a real disciple of Jesus meant severing of home ties. He seems to have been willing to do just that.
Burying your Father was an important family responsibility for the Jews. See Gen 50:5-14
Lev 21:1-2
Since burial was usually carried out on the Day of Death. If the father had in reality died it meant only an absence of a day or so.
But it seems more likely that he had elderly parents and that he should look after his father inhis declining years.
Mat 8:22 And Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
Let the dead bury their dead - The word “dead” is used in this passage in two different senses. It is apparently a paradox, but is suited to convey the idea very distinctly to the mind. The Jews used the word “dead” often to express indifference toward a thing; or, rather, to show that that thing has no “influence” over us. Thus, to be dead to the world; to be dead to the law Rom_7:4; to be dead to sin Rom_6:11, means that the world, law, and sin have not influence or control over us; that we are free from them, and act “as though they were not.” A body in the grave is unaffected by the pomp and vanity, by the gaiety and revelry, by the ambition and splendor that may be near the tomb. So people of the world are dead to religion. They see not its beauty, hear not its voice, are not won by its loveliness. This is the class of people to which the Saviour refers here. Let people, says he, who are uninterested in my work, and who are “dead in sin” Eph_2:1, take care of the dead. Your duty is now to follow me.Barnes Notes
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