Matthew 8:18-22 “Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.”
Following should be of great importance to the child of God. The true nature of the redeemed is marked by hearing, “My sheep hear my voice” and heeding, “they follow me” (John 10:27). When responding to the, rich young ruler, Jesus emphasized “one thing”; “sell all . . . and come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). When calling disciples Jesus said, “follow me” (Matthew 4:19) and when preparing them for His departure, He said, “Follow me” (John 21:19). Speaking of our service, Jesus said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me” (John 12:26). For all those that claim to be a Christian, following should be of great concern!
In our text the topic of concern is following Jesus; two men look at following Jesus from two perspectives. When carefully studying Jesus’ response to each man, we are provided with divine truths that help insure successful following. The first man to approach is “a certain scribe” which declares, “Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” At first glance, Jesus’ response appears to be one of discouragement; “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” The key to understanding our Lord’s remarks are in the word “whithersoever.” It is derived from two words, one meaning what ever or where ever; the second has the idea of infiniteness or uncertainty. There are no boundaries on the territory or the time! Please pause and think about what has occurred, he is writing a check that he may not have the funds to cover! Jesus’ answer is not to discourage coming, but rather to encourage consideration of the cost. Here Jesus is emphasizing the price of following. Emphasizing the cost of following in Luke 14, Jesus said, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it” (vs.28)? To fail to do so can result in one “not able to finish it” and “all that behold it begin to mock him” (vs.29). When Peter declared, “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee” (Matthew 26:35); he underestimated the price of following; he wrote a check he couldn’t cash; “he began to curse and to swear . . . And when he thought thereon, he wept” (Mark 14:71-72).
The second man to approach was “another of his disciples” and he requests; “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” When Jesus said, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead”; He is not being heartless, but rather emphasizing the priority of following. It needs to be understood that the man’s father is neither aged nor ailing, but rather this is a plea for delay. The corruptness of the man’s request is seen in the phrase, “Lord, suffer me first.” When the man said, “me first”, he identifies that it is self and not the Saviour that is the real master and sovereign in his life. This man is asking Jesus to transfer authority or give him the liberty to be first in time and order; while our Lord occupies a subordinate state in his life. Jesus “said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). There is to be a proper priority when it comes to the person, “deny himself”, the purpose, “take up his cross”, the period, “daily” and the pursuit, “follow me.”
When considering the topic of following, Jesus enlightens these men to the importance of considering the price of following and the priority of following. Having implemented these divine truths one is insured of successful following which reaps the delightful conformation; “Well done, thou good and faithful servant . . . enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).