Matthew 8:14-22
Following the King
Read…
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back, no turning back.
The world behind me, the Cross before me
Tho' none go with me, still I will follow
No turning back, no turning back.
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
No turning back, no turning back.
Pray
Intro
√ Following the King
In the midst of Matthew’s extensive record of the great miracles that Jesus did, the credentials that prove that He is the King…
…Matthew records Jesus’ commentary on what it means to follow the King!
It would have been easy to get swept away by the excitement that surrounded Jesus and all the miracles that he was doing.
Yet, to really follow Jesus meant far more that just listening to great sermons and watching Him do great miracles.
There is a cost to follow the King.
Jesus understood that many who professed to be His followers were following Him for wrong reasons.
They didn’t really love Him.
They loved what He did for them.
They loved the fame of being associated with Him.
So, in the midst of all the excitement, Jesus begins to teach people what it really means to follow the King.
Ap. At what cost will you follow Jesus?
Many Christians only see ministry from the outside looking in. They see the…
Crowded stadiums that gather to hear a Billy Graham
Honor that comes to a Mother Teresa
Excitement of sharing the adventure of a Amy Carmichael
Admiration of the world for a Eric Liddle
But, what they don’t see is the cost born by these hero’s of the faith, the…
Years of obscurity and hard labor
Loneliness of the spiritual wilderness
Endurance required to see God’s work to the end
In fact, for every Billy Graham there are 10,000 evangelists known only to God.
It’s easy to sing…
“Tho none go with me,
still I will follow”
…while in the comfort of a church family.
But, the real faith that pleases our King is demonstrated when the way to follow Jesus gets rough and all our friends turn aside…
…yet, we still follow.
So, let’s look at the Lord’s instructions on following the King.
The glory (vs. 14-17)
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“He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.”
√ Peter’s mother in law!
We can’t move forward until we make note of an important fact…
…Peter was married!
Note vs. 14…
“Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.”
Mark’s Gospel says…
“But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and
they told Him about her at once.” ~ Mark
The point is that Peter, as well as most of the other disciples, were normal men who were married.
Paul makes that clear in his letter to the Corinthians…
“Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas (i.e. Peter)?” ~ 1 Cor. 9:5
These 3 verses completely dismantle two false doctrines taught by the Roman Catholic Church.
1) The celibacy of the priesthood
2) The perpetual virginity of Mary
While we don’t want to make a practice of bashing Roman Catholicism…
…it is important to make a clear distinction between what is true and what is false.
Why? Because false doctrine is powerless to change our sinful nature!
Ex. Celibacy
God didn’t call most people to a life of celibacy.
To artificially enforce such a requirement on those who seek to serve the Lord is bound to produce more sinful behavior, not less.
So, the Roman Catholic doctrine that claims that Peter and the apostles were not married is simply not Biblical…
…nor does it provide men power over their flesh nature.
Ex. Mary
The historical record of the Scripture makes it clear that Jesus had both brothers and sisters.
The false teaching that Mary never had any other children and that she was a “perpetual virgin” only serves to exalt her to the position of an idol.
Thus we find that many in the Roman Church worship Mary in the same way, and sometimes more, than they worship Jesus.
Mary can’t save anyone!
Ap. The Bible is our final authority!
Will protect us from false doctrines that lead to sin or worse, a false assurance of salvation.
√ The glory
Matthew records two more examples of the miracles that Jesus did…
Heals Peter’s mother in law (fever gone, strength to serve ~ that falafel lunch!)
Casts out demons and heals all the sick brought to Him
Capping off an incredible day!
Ex. Exciting to follow the King
For the crowd that gathered in
His powerful teaching
His power over sickness and disease
His power over Satan’s kingdom
At this point everyone wants to follow this Jesus!
Ex. My first Billy Graham Crusade
It looked so exciting to be involved in such a ministry…
To be in a stadium full of people all listening to Billy
To watch as thousands respond to the invitation
To speak with a
Watching from the sidelines everyone wanted to get involved!
But what I wasn’t prepared for was all the work required to get ready for that one night!
The reality of ministry, of following the King…
…is that there’s a personal cost to follow Jesus.
It isn’t all excitement, miracles, lights, and fame. To really follow the Jesus requires us to surrender our…
Will
Comfort
Security
…to the King.
The cost (vs. 18-22)
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√ The cost
Mark tells us that the events recorded here take place the next day.
Jesus tells His disciples to get ready to cross the lake so
that He can take His message and ministry to the other towns and villages of
As they’re preparing to leave, a couple of people approach Jesus and tell Him they want to follow…
…but on their terms!
1) Cost you your comfort
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Finally one of the religious leaders responds in a positive way to Jesus! He says…
“Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
Sounds spiritual doesn’t it!?
But, Jesus’ response to him indicates that he had not counted the cost of following Him.
Jesus says…
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
That is, in contrast to the animals who have homes on this earth, He (the King!) had no permanent place to call home.
So, to follow Jesus meant that this scribe would have to be willing to give up the comfort of a home!
That’s a big deal!
Ex. Our home is our refuge
As much as I enjoy traveling I’ve discovered what Dorothy did in the Wizard of Oz…
…there’s no place like home!
A place to rest, to eat what you want, when you want to.
A place that’s set up to your peculiar likes.
We’re all just more comfortable in our own homes.
But, to follow the Lord means that we have to be willing to give up that comfort so that we can go where the King wants us to go!
We must recognize that this world isn’t our home and that our true home is in heaven.
The person who really knows the Lord won’t have any issues with giving up the comfort of a home here on earth because they’re looking for a better home in heaven!
Ex. The faith that pleases God
Remember our application text last week…
Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Note the example of faith…
Heb. 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Heb. 11:9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
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In our text in Matthew, Jesus is calling the scribe to demonstrate the faith that Abraham had!
Ap. What about you?
Jesus may not call you to give up the comfort of your home, but if you really want to follow Him you can be sure that He will call you to leave your comfort zone!
Ex. Cindy ~ teaching
Don’t resist the Lord, you’ll find more comfort following Jesus than in staying home!
2) Cost you your security
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Jesus’ comments sound harsh until we understand the context.
The disciple’s father wasn’t dead, or dying…
…he was simply saying that he wanted to return home and wait until his father died and then he would follow Jesus.
His request demonstrated that he believed discipleship was something that he could pick up, or lay down, at will.
But, to follow King Jesus requires that a person surrender to the Lord’s will…
…all the time.
Further more, some have suggested that this disciple may have wanted to wait until he received his inheritance before following Jesus.
That is, if he followed Jesus now he might risk offending his father and being cut out of the will and losing whatever security he trusted in.
But, Jesus tells him to…
“Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
That is, make Jesus and His will the priority in your life and don’t worry about the future. Rather, let the spiritually dead care for the physically dead.
Ap. Nothing lost, nothing gained
The un-named disciple wasn’t the only one worried about what he had to give up to follow Jesus. Even our friend Peter was concerned about his future!
Jesus assures Peter (and us) that anything we give up…
Our comfort
Our security
…to follow the King will be more than compensated!
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Matt. 19:28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
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Close
√ What cost are you willing to pay
So, can you sing with sincerity…
“Thou none go with me, still I will follow”
Or will you chose to live your Christian experience like so many who aren’t willing to give up their…
Comfort
Security
…and therefore never experience the riches of the abundant life!
Settling instead for a cheap imitation of the abundant life that Jesus promised…
"I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to buy a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough to love a man of a different color or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please."
The choice is yours, you can have the riches of this world that won’t last…
…or the riches of the King that last for eternity!