Matthew 8:18-22 The Cost of Following Jesus

Following Jesus has a cost. We do well to understand that cost before we engage in following Jesus and as a constant reminder of the commitment we have made to this journey. 

In the narrative passages of Matthew, you find he mentions a specific follower with the crowd or crowds in the background. Here Matthew mentios a scribe and a disciple with the crowd. The crowd is a group of people who have heard of Jesus’ fame and is after his gifts. This kind of follower is interested in getting something - a healing, a feeding, a thrill. Following Jesus requires stepping out of that crowd and moving towards Jesus with a different attitude. It requires taking a risk as you identify yourself as a true follower. You will no longer blend in with the crowd. The scribe comes to Jesus and says: “I will follow you wherever you go.” A true follower is willing to go wherever the following takes him/her. Jesus spoke of a narrow gate:

Matthew 7:13 
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

                                               

The characteristics of this path is twofold: few find it and the way is hard.

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.” Jesus’ reply makes clear to the wannabe follower that the following will cost him. While animals and birds in nature have a resting place on earth, the Son of Man doesn’t, implying that all his followers will suffer the same fate. While on earth, Jesus’ followers will not have a place they can call home (Eph.2:19). It also implies that the following is not one of comfort and ease, but challenging and difficult. The title Son of Man comes from the book of Daniel (7:13-14) and speaks of the Messiah to come as one having a dominion, glory, and kingdom that are not of this earth, but in the heavenlies. When a person enters the kingdom, (s)he becomes a citizen of heaven (Phil.3:20) and at the same time a stranger and an alien upon the earth. No disciple is greater than his master. If Jesus was hated and persecuted, so will his disciples.

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 also makes clear that the follower would have to reset priorities. While the family is worthy of loyalty and priority, Jesus demands a higher loyalty and priority than family. Jesus has nothing against family or funerals, but the priorities of a Jesus’ follower cannot be in them. We have to go beyond being involved, like the chicken, to being committed, like the pig, to this ham and eggs breakfast.

Jesus calls us to follow, counting the cost, with unqualified commitment.