The Demands of Discipleship

Like Kyle said, we're going to be in Matthew 8, right in the middle of the chapter.

We're going to be in a little bit of a sandwich this morning.

This little nugget is sandwiched in between some big stories of Jesus' power and authority,

some of which we looked at last week with Jesus' power that Mike talked about, exercised for outsiders.

Next week, some really cool stories about Christ exercising his power as well.

So right in the middle of that chapter, Matthew 8.

If you happen to bump into me in late June of this year, or early July,

and you happen to ask what Jess and I are doing in our free time,

I might tell you that we're enjoying the TV series John Adams.

Anybody seen it?

It's a really fantastic TV series.

Jess and I enjoy watching this series every once in a while around July 4th.

It really helps you treasure the sacrifices of our founding fathers as they struggled in the war of independence.

And one of my favorite scenes in this series takes place in the episode

where there is an intense debate surrounding the Declaration of Independence,

whether it should be adopted by the Continental Congress or not.

And John Adams is very for it.

And there are some states who are wondering how much it's going to cost them to sign this Declaration of Independence.

And so there's a very intense scene where the final roll call of voting happens.

And as the names of each state are called and finally all the yay votes are tallied

and the resolution passes to adopt this Declaration of Independence,

you would imagine there would be celebration,

but in fact, a hush falls over the assembly

as they realize the gravity of what they've just done.

They realize that they are all in.

They are wholeheartedly now devoted to this cause

that if it succeeds, it will grant them freedom,

freedom from tyranny, freedom to govern themselves.

But if it fails, they lose everything.

John Adams makes a speech to the Continental Congress

before the vote was cast,

and his words capture this wholehearted devotion

that the Founding Fathers had

toward the freedom they desired.

He said this,

Before God, I believe the hour has come.

My judgment approves this measure,

and my whole heart is in it.

All that I have,

and all that I am,

all that I hope in this life,

I am now ready here to stake upon it,

and I leave off as I began that live or die,

survive or perish,

I am for the declaration.

It is my living sentiment,

and by the blessing of God,

it shall be my dying sentiment.

Independence now,

and independence forever.

John Adams can make a good speech.

John Adams and the rest of the Founding Fathers

personally and wholeheartedly

threw themselves in to this cause.

They held absolutely nothing back.

Everything was in.

They staked it all

on a free and independent nation.

Well, today we're going to hear

a call to wholehearted devotion

in Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

But it's not devotion to an idea

or a nation

or a political cause.

It's a call to devote yourself

wholeheartedly to a person.

So before we read,

let's remind ourselves

of where we are.

It's sandwiched right in between

Jesus exercising his authority

powerfully for outsiders,

and then later on

in the rest of the chapter,

Jesus exercising his authority

powerfully as well.

And it's right in the middle

between these big demonstrations

of Jesus' absolute power

and authority,

even just by the virtue of his word.

It's in this little nugget episode

between these

that Jesus clarifies

what it means to follow him.

So let's read it together.

Now when Jesus saw

a great crowd around him,

he gave orders

to go over to the other side.

And a scribe came up to him

and said to him,

Teacher, I will follow you

wherever you go.

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.

Another of the disciples

said to him,

Lord, let me first go

and bury my father.

And Jesus said to him,

Follow me

and leave the dead

to bury their own dead.

So what we're going to find

in this passage

is that,

yes,

Jesus has the authority

to heal,

cast out demons,

calm storms,

even raise the dead.

But he also has authority

to call for our

wholehearted devotion.

Jesus has the authority

to call for

our wholehearted devotion.

And we're going to see

this wholehearted devotion

unfold in two conversations

where Jesus gives

two sober words.

The first word

is a word of caution

and the second

is a word of invitation.

So let's look at them

one at a time.

Afterwards,

we'll see what sort of effect

Jesus' words of caution

and invitation

intend for us

in our lives today.

So first,

let's look at the sober

word of caution,

verses 18 through 22.

At the end,

it will become clear

what this word of caution is.

But let's just dive in.

So the scene begins

with Jesus surrounded

by a crowd.

Jesus is often

surrounded by crowds.

His teaching

and his miracles

exude authority

and people are drawn

to this authority.

But it's evident

that Jesus is also

wanting to get out of there.

Whether it's to

continue his ministry

on the other side

of the lake

or to get out of the way

with his disciples

and have some rest,

we're not told why,

but he's leaving.

So he gives an order

to embark in a boat

to the other side

of the lake.

Jesus is in charge here.

He's not making suggestions.

He's giving commands here.

He's the Lord.

The Lord has spoken.

It's time to move out.

So while before

Jesus departs,

though,

a scribe

comes to him.

In other translations,

a teacher of the law.

And he enthusiastically

promises

to follow Jesus

wherever Jesus

is going.

So this scribe,

this is pretty rare actually.

If you read the Gospels,

most scribes

are not too fond of Jesus.

Most teachers of the law

don't like him that much.

But he's eager

to follow Jesus.

And so we as readers

are like,

all right,

this is encouraging.

He wants to follow Jesus

wherever he goes.

And he's a religious leader.

That doesn't happen that often.

All right, cool.

But Jesus isn't interested

in just gaining followers

for the sake

of gaining followers.

Jesus is after

this man's

wholehearted devotion.

And so it seems

that he saw through

to this man's heart

and saw something

that told him

that this scribe

hadn't thought through

the kind of commitment

he was so eager to make.

Jesus doesn't take him up

on his offer,

but neither does he reject him

or brush him off.

Instead,

he looks at him in the eye,

no doubt,

and offers a sober word

of caution.

Foxes have holes,

and birds of the air

have nests,

but the Son of Man

has nowhere to lay his head.

Now, before we get into

what Jesus is saying here

in this word of caution,

we really need to unpack

a really important phrase

that Jesus just used.

See that phrase,

the Son of Man?

It's the first time

in the book of Matthew

that he uses this phrase,

and it's Jesus' favorite way

to refer to himself

through this gospel

and all four gospels.

It's used over 80 times

in all four gospels,

28 times in Matthew alone.

That's an average

of one per chapter.

Jesus loves to use this phrase

to describe himself,

but it's kind of vague.

So on the face of it,

it could just mean

a human being.

It could mean a man.

Or, there's also,

if you use this phrase

in the right context,

there's some pretty hefty

Messiah meaning

behind this phrase,

and it comes from

the Old Testament.

In Daniel chapter 7,

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

you don't have to turn there,

but read it this afternoon.

It's a fantastic chapter.

Daniel chapter 7

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

loads this phrase,

the Son of Man.

Daniel sees God in a vision

after he's just seen

a whole bunch of beasts

arise out of the sea

and get power

and dominion for a time,

and then it's taken away

four of these beasts.

But then eventually,

he sees God enthroned

in power and glory,

and he sees one

like a Son of Man

come before

the Ancient of Days,

coming on the clouds of heaven.

And to this Son of Man,

God gives a kingdom,

but not a temporary kingdom,

an everlasting kingdom,

a kingdom that would never

pass away,

whose glory would never fade.

And so,

it is this Son of Man

that becomes kind of

the foundation of,

oh, this is pointing to

the Messiah,

the coming one,

who would be

great David's greater son.

And so,

in the right context,

Son of Man could mean that.

Had a freight train

of Messiah meaning

behind it.

But let's look at verse 20.

Is that how

Jesus is using

Son of Man?

He will come on the clouds,

victorious and triumphant?

No.

Actually,

he's saying the Son of Man

isn't going to have

a place to sleep tonight.

He doesn't have a place

to lay his head.

He's homeless.

Even the commonest

and humblest

of God's creatures,

foxes and birds.

I was driving home

last night

and a fox ran across

Sheridan Road.

Oh, cool.

even the most common

of God's creatures

have places

to lay their heads.

But the Son of Man

does not.

The demands

of Jesus'

itinerant ministry

in those intense

three years

of preaching,

healing,

teaching

meant that he would

not own a home

or even have

a consistent place

to stay.

He would always

be on the move.

He made himself

dependent upon

the hospitality

of others

or he slept

in the open.

That very night,

he would be sleeping

in a boat.

Jesus' ministry

as the humble

Son of Man,

the Son of Man

who entered

into our brokenness

in order to

redeem us from it,

it required him

to forego

the comforts

of a middle class life.

He did it willingly.

He did it voluntarily.

As Paul wrote

years later

in 2 Corinthians,

for you know

the grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

that though he was rich,

yet for your sake

he became poor

so that you

by his poverty

might become rich.

Yes,

he was

and is

the triumphant

Son of Man

of Daniel 7.

There are plenty

of times

when Jesus refers

to himself like that.

But at the same time,

Jesus is also

the Son of Man

who humbly

entered

into our broken world

and walked

in our shoes.

He experienced

need

and hardship,

loss

and pain,

discomfort,

even homelessness.

Only once

he was raised

from the dead

would it become

clear that it is

the Son of Man

who is both

the triumphant

King of Daniel 7

and the humble

suffering servant

of Isaiah 53.

He took our illnesses

and bore our diseases.

In fact,

he is the king

who triumphs

by means

of his suffering.

He triumphs

because of

his humility.

His greatness

comes through

his lowliness.

In fact,

the same phrase

lay his head

in the original language

it's used

in another place

in the Gospels

by the Apostle John.

it describes

Jesus laying

his head

in another place.

Jesus does

eventually lay

his head

somewhere

but it's at the

very end

of his life

when he bows

his head

on the cross

and breathes

his last

triumphant breath.

Jesus had

no place

to rest his head

until he came

to the cross

at the end

of his hard road

of self-sacrificing

love

for us.

And here's

this scribe

signing up

for something.

He doesn't know

the road ahead.

He doesn't know

the road

that the Son of Man

is going to walk.

He hasn't counted

the cost

of what it means

to follow

this Son of Man.

And Jesus

wants him

to know

that he's

standing

at the entrance

to the narrow gate

and the entrance

to the hard road

of discipleship.

And Jesus

is asking him

whether he's

counted the cost

of following

the Son of Man.

That's Jesus'

first word.

This is the word

of caution.

Count the cost

of following

the Son of Man.

Count the cost.

Following Jesus

is pretty difficult.

His grace

is free

but it costs

everything.

Following Jesus

means taking

the high

hard road

of dying

to self

day

after day

after day.

It's the road

that the Son of Man

walked

and he has

authority

to call

his disciples

to walk it

with him.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

was a man

who knew a thing

or two

about the cost

of following Jesus.

He was a German

church leader

during the Nazi era

and he stood up

to the Nazis

and he led

the church

the very small

remnant

that actually

wanted to stand

up to the Nazis

and therefore

he was a marked

man.

He was actually

in 1939

right before

the war started

he was safe

and secure

in a teaching post

at Union University

in New York City.

He did not have

to go back

to Germany.

Weeks before

Germany invaded

Poland

he decided

to board

one of the last

ships back

to Germany.

He knew

that by doing

this

he would seal

his fate

with the rest

of his brothers

and sisters

that were marked

by the Nazis.

Why would he do this?

He accounted

the cost

of following

the Son of Man.

As Bonhoeffer

once said

when Christ

calls a man

he bids him

come and die.

He would later

be imprisoned

by the Nazis

and he was hanged

a month before

Germany surrendered

in 1945.

Now before we move

on to the second

sober word

something needs

to be clarified.

Jesus is not

calling us

to pursue

discomfort

and pain

just for the sake

of experiencing

discomfort and pain.

Christians are not

masochists.

We don't

just love pain.

We aren't

supposed to.

No,

like Paul said

in Philippians 3

we consider

all things

loss

for the sake

of Christ.

We take inventory

of our whole life

all that we are

all that we have

and we push it

into the middle

of the poker table

and we say

I'm all in.

Just like John Adams.

Wholehearted devotion

no matter what it

costs me.

But as we'll see

in a moment

all that we count

as loss

is nothing

compared

to the surpassing

worth of what we gain.

Let's now look

at the second

sober word.

It's a word

of invitation.

invitation.

It's found

in the second

conversation

that Jesus has

from verses

21 to 22.

Another disciple

approaches Jesus

and he promises

to follow him

but he has

some family business

to attend to

first.

He needs to

bury his father.

This disciple

probably wasn't

one of the core

twelve

but he's at least

described as a disciple.

He had some level

of commitment

and interest

in following Jesus.

He calls him

Lord.

That's a little

more of a committed

term than saying

teacher like

the scribe did.

Now scholars

aren't exactly sure

what this term

bury my father

actually means.

It could mean

that this man's

father has just

died and needs

to bury him now.

Jewish burials

usually took place

within 24 hours

of the time

of death.

So if this was

the case then

it was a few days

or a week's delay

at most before

he thought he

could follow Jesus.

Or it is possible

that this man

is referring

to the duty

of the son

to bury

his parents

whenever they die.

Whether that's

in the near future

or the distant future.

His father might

have been ill

and near to death

therefore he's saying

hey listen

my dad's going

to die soon

I've got to

bury him soon.

Or maybe he could

have been

in decent health.

And it just

could be

this guy saying

Jesus as soon

as my father

dies

whenever that may be

I'll be free

to follow you.

I've just made

a commitment

to my dad

that I'll be around

to bury him

whenever he dies

and I can't

follow you

until then.

So we're talking

weeks here

months

maybe even

years

of postponement

of following

Jesus.

Well whatever

the phrase may mean

now or later

Jesus' reply

in verse 22

is quite shocking.

Follow me

leave the dead

to bury their own

dead.

Imagine the look

on that guy's face

when he heard that.

at the very least

what we should hear

from this encounter

is that Jesus

is using some

startling language

to shock this

man's priorities

back into the

right order.

Jesus is

audaciously

claiming

that allegiance

to him

takes precedence

over all

other human

priorities

even

family.

It seems

that Jesus

sensed some

lack of resolve

in this

disciple's

commitment

to follow him.

And he wants

to lovingly

but firmly

remind him

that following

Jesus is not

a when it's

inconvenient

and my family

duties allow it

kind of commitment.

No there is

an urgency

to Christ's

call

and it overrules

all other human

commitments

and priorities.

In fact later on

in chapter 10

Jesus tells his

disciples

whoever loves

father or mother

more than me

is not worthy

of me.

Whoever loves

son or daughter

more than me

is not worthy

of me.

So does this

mean that Jesus

is some kind

of egotistical

maniac

demanding devotion

from this man

that would prevent

him from burying

his own father?

Just goes and

flies in the face

of common decency

you would think.

Well if Jesus

were a mere human

teacher then yeah

but he's more

than that.

Far

far

more than that.

Matthew is

expecting us

to see

in the sermon

on the mount

and in his

miracles

that in

these startling

works of

teaching

and demonstration

of his power

that Jesus

is more than

a mere human

teacher.

There is divine

weight and

authority behind

Jesus' urgent

call

but it's more

than just an

authoritative call

it's also an

invitation.

Did you notice

that invitation?

It's in there.

He calls him

to follow him

and then he

commands

leave the dead

to bury their

own dead.

It's an invitation

to follow him

and have life.

Jesus is

inviting him

to leave

the spiritually

dead

to deal with

death

and to count

the cost

of dying

to every other

priority

in order to

find real

spiritual

life.

In other words

Jesus is saying

look

following me

means entering

into my kingdom

and my kingdom

means life

real

eternal

spiritual life.

There's no life

outside

of my kingdom.

So

why are you

messing around

with death?

Your real business

has to do with

life

not death.

So if you

place any other

priority before

following me

you're flirting

with spiritual

death.

Leave those

who are outside

the kingdom.

They're spiritually

dead.

Don't hang around

the spiritually

dead.

Come follow me

and have life.

Jesus is using

this situation

as a teaching

opportunity.

Jesus is not

trying to tell

this man to

neglect his

family priorities

his family

duties.

We know from

elsewhere in

scripture that

God desires us

to honor our

parents,

to love our

children,

to provide for

our families,

care for our

spouses.

We know

that's true.

And neither

is Jesus

exhibiting a

lack of

compassion on

the spiritually

dead, those

who are outside

the kingdom.

No, this is a

matter of

priorities.

He's looking

at this guy

in the face

who is flirting

with spiritual

death by delaying

his following

of Jesus, by

prioritizing family

more than

following Jesus.

And it's

keeping him

outside the

kingdom.

like Peter

later on

walking on

the waves

of the

Sea of

Galilee.

This man's

eyes are

distracted

and concerned

with the

waves and

wind of

human priorities

and he has

lost sight

of single-minded

devotion to

Christ.

And Jesus

loved him

too much

to let him

stay there.

So what

is Jesus'

sober word

of invitation

to us?

It's this.

make Christ

the governing

priority

of your life

and you will

find life.

Make Christ

the governing

priority

of your life

and you will

find life.

To quote

Dietrich

Bonhoeffer

again, he

describes this

call to

wholehearted

devotion in

terms of

costly grace.

He wrote

in his book

The Cost

of Discipleship

Such grace

is costly

because it

calls us

to follow

and it

is grace

because it

calls us

to follow

Jesus Christ.

It is

costly

because it

costs a man

his whole

life and

it is grace

because it

gives a man

the only

true life.

It is

costly

because it

condemns sin

and it is

grace because

it justifies

the sinner.

Above all,

it is costly

because it

cost God

the life

of his

son.

And what

has cost

God cannot

be cheap

for us.

Above all,

it is grace

because God

did not

consider the

life of his

son too

dear a price

to pay for

our life

but delivered

him up for

us.

Now,

as we look

to our own

lives,

what are we

to make

of this

call

to wholehearted

devotion?

How are we

to count

the cost

of following

the son

of man?

How do we

respond to

this invitation

to make

him the

governing

priority

and so

find life?

Let me

encourage you

to consider

two categories

in which

Christ is

calling you

to wholehearted

devotion.

The first

is this,

in the

broad

trajectory

of your

life.

Jesus

is

inviting

you to

make him

the

governing

priority

of your

life.

And so

look at,

consider,

where is

your life

headed?

What

trajectory

is your

life on?

This is

no matter

whether you're

at the

beginning

of your

life,

you're a

teenager,

you're a

young person,

or you're

in the

middle of

your life,

or you're

toward the

end.

Jesus

is asking

your whole

life's

direction

to be

aimed

at him.

So

big questions

of dreams

and careers,

issues in

your marriage,

your parenting

of your

children,

where you

live,

these are

to be

subjected

to his

vast

authority

and his

kingdom

call to

follow him

and have

life.

So

what big

decisions

are you

considering

right now?

My

wife and

I are

weighing

options

about

schooling

for our

children.

Maybe you're

thinking about

if you should

change jobs

or careers.

Maybe you're

thinking about

moving.

Wherever you

might be,

whatever decisions

you're considering

that are part of

the overall

trajectory of

your life,

Jesus is

clearly calling

us to

serve him

and his

kingdom

in and

through

these big

trajectories

of our

lives.

Jesus is

not an

add-on

to our

life.

He is

not a

separate

category

that we

tend to

along with

family and

children,

et cetera,

et cetera.

He governs

it all

because he

owns it

all.

Perhaps

you have

never

considered

this.

Perhaps

you've

never been

confronted

with this.

Or

perhaps

you've

lost

sight of

this.

Wherever

you're

at

today,

your

Lord is

inviting

you to

make

him the

governing

priority

of your

life so

that you

can find

life.

Arrange

your life

around

him.

The

second

category

is a

little

more

nitty

gritty.

The

second

category

has to

do

with

the

daily

grind

of

counting

the

cost

to

follow

Jesus.

What

are the

things

in your

life,

not

decisions,

but

the

small

and

essential

things

that we

have to

die to

ourselves

to

every

day

in

the

daily

grind

of

normal

life.

Jesus

is

asking

you

to

count

the

cost

of

following

him

even

in

your

small

decisions.

From

waking

up in

the

morning

and

how

you

spend

your

time

to

the

commitments

and

responsibilities

of

your

day,

whether

you're

in

school

and

you're

a

young

person

or

whether

you're

retired

and

everywhere

in

between,

the

daily

grind

of

your

normal

life

is

to

be

spent

counting

the

cost

of

following

Jesus.

There

is not

a sphere

of your

life

that

Christ's

call

to

count

the

cost

does

not

touch.

So

the

Son of

Man

is

beckoning

you.

He's

beckoning

you to

take

the

hard

road

of

humility

and

lowliness

and

love.

Maybe

you're

the parent

of small

children

and this

means

desperately

asking

Jesus

for help

to treat

your

children

with

dignity

and

gentleness

when

they're

driving

you

bonkers.

Maybe

this means

submitting

your

attitude

toward

your

spouse

to

Christ

and

seeking

to love

them

with

humble

care

and

self

sacrifice

whether

they

respond

or not.

This

means

asking

your

Lord

for help

in

your

daily

combat

against

sin.

Daily

dying

to

self

and

fighting

temptation.

This

means

seeking

to

consider

your

co-workers

better

than

yourself

with

your

actions

with

your

words

as

well

as

actively

pursuing

to

tell

them

about

the

son

of

man

that

you

follow.

This

means

submitting

to

and

honoring

your

parents

young

people

even

when

you

think

they're

old

fuddy

duddies.

No

matter

where

you

find

yourself

seek

to

imitate

the

son

of

man

in

the

hard

road

of

costly

discipleship.

Pursue

the

good

of

others

before

your

own

comfort

and

pursue

the

glory

of

his

name

above

your

own.

Let's

pray

for

his

help

now.

Father

thank

you

that

whatever

your

grace

demands

it

also

supplies.

thank

you

Father

that

whatever

you

call

us

to

you

have

already

walked

that

road.

Father

would

you

be

at

work

in

our

hearts

by

your

Holy

Spirit

would

you

attend

to

the

daily

concerns

and

responsibilities

that are

already

starting to

emerge

into

our

hearts

and

would

you

cause

us

Father

to

make

Christ

and

his

kingdom

our

governing

priority

help

us

to

do

that

as

a

church

and

it

is

in

our

individual

lives

give

us

power

oh

God

to

die

to

ourselves

and

to

seek

to

imitate

the

son

of

man

in

Christ's

name

amen