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The Cost | Matthew 8:18-22
What are you willing to give up?
Caleb Lee
February 07, 2024
What would you be hesitant to give up to follow Christ?
We all have something.
Whether it be our families, our money, or our status.
But Jesus is very clear when it comes to devotion to Him.
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 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.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Jesus’ words can seem harsh to some. But I have to imagine that Jesus knew what was going on in the hearts of the scribes that said “I will follow you.”
Perhaps the first scribe wanted to follow Jesus for the fame that he would likely get. Maybe he thought that he would be treated better because he was a disciple of Jesus.
So Jesus deals with that temptation and says that it will be an uncomfortable life to follow Him.
And perhaps the second scribe simply didn’t feel ready to follow Jesus so he gave the excuse of burying his father.
A seemingly valid excuse, but that’s the dedication that Jesus wants from His followers.
To know who the Father is, to know who Jesus is, and to trust in Him enough to know that He will take care of all things in the end.
Yes, Christ has made it much easier for us to get into Heaven.
But it doesn’t come without a cost.
He wants our love, our devotion.
Then we’ll know what Heaven is like.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
And we’ll be prepared for it when we get there.
Have a blessed Wednesday, my friends.