Matthew 8
I look forward each year to preaching from the Gospels during Lent and this year I made a mistake. When I looked on the web to find the date Lent started, I used the date for 2007 rather than 2008. So we have missed three Sundays in Lent. Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent, and we will have just three sermons from Matthew this year. I will make it up this summer perhaps.
For the past couple years I have been preaching in Lent from a chapter of Matthew at a time and this week we come to Matthew 8. There are five stories in this chapter. First there are three stories of Jesus healing: a man is healed of leprosy, the paralyzed servant of the centurion is healed and then Peter’s mother-in-law and many others who came to Jesus in Capernaum are healed. These three stories are followed by a teaching of Jesus about the cost of following him. And then the chapter closes with two stories of the power of Jesus. He quiets the storm at sea and then casts the demons out of the Gerasene demoniacs.
As I looked at these stories and thought about why Matthew put them together like this, it came to me that this chapter is a story of following Jesus. There are three steps in this story of following Jesus and as we move up from step to step, you will see that people are left behind at each step because they are following Jesus for reasons that do not support them in taking the next step. Each step requires a deeper commitment to Jesus.
I would hope that you join me in wanting to follow Jesus from step to step, to follow Jesus to wherever he takes us. But to do that requires that we know why we are following Jesus. Anyone can say to Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” but Jesus asked the question
Luke 6:46
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
There are many who are enthusiastic about Jesus but do not obey Jesus when it gets difficult and fall away. Let’s start with the first step.
The chapter begins with this:
When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.
If you have been reading through Matthew, this should not come as a surprise. Why were the crowds following him? What was the attraction?
Matthew 4
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.
This account is followed by chapters five, six and seven when Jesus taught on the mountainside, what we call his Sermon on the Mount. Through the centuries many have admired the teaching of Jesus in these chapters and I understand that people at the time were attracted to his teaching. But the cynical side of me, what I prefer to call the realistic side of me, says that most people followed him not because of his teaching but because of the healing and deliverance he brought. There were some who were drawn to Jesus because of his teaching, but most came to him because of the excitement of the miracles that surrounded him.
Let me put it this way. If I were a better preacher or teacher, more people might come to RIC, but not a lot more people. On the other hand, if people who were lame came to church and I prayed for them and they were healed, how many more people do you think would come to church? If every Sunday at RIC people were healed of illnesses, skin conditions, birth defects and if every Sunday demons were cast out, people would be tearing off the roof to get into the church.
Miracles get our attention. This is one of the lessons learned in Acts from which I will preach the week after Easter. God uses miracles to grow the numbers of people in the church and it is a very effective tool.
A leper came to Jesus and was healed. A centurion came to Jesus asking for help for his servant who was paralyzed and in terrible suffering and Jesus healed him. Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law of her fever and then that evening many who were demon-possessed and sick came to him and he healed them all.
The first thing to note in this step of following Jesus is that Jesus wanted to heal people.
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
7 Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
I am willing. I will go and heal him. Jesus is the healer and he wants to heal us. Jesus wants us to be whole. Jesus wants us to be well. Whenever we are sick it is good to pray to Jesus who is willing to heal us.
And when we are healed by Jesus or when we are helped in any way by Jesus, it is a good thing to follow him. The crowd was not wrong in following Jesus. But how strong was their commitment? How willing were they to follow Jesus no matter what?
Why do we follow Jesus? Do we follow Jesus because he is the miracle man who can take care of our needs or because he is the Son of God? Are we willing to follow Jesus even if we do not get what we want?
Jesus was and is willing to heal and the crowd came to him, but note how Jesus responded to the crowd around him.
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.
If Jesus was so willing to heal, why did he get away from the people seeking him?
One reason was that he saw the danger to himself from the crowd’s adulation. In John 6:14-15 the crowds came to Jesus because of the miraculous signs.
After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Jesus knew that it was not God’s will that he be made king. Jesus knew the part he was being asked to play and avoided the temptation by withdrawing. This is a great message for preachers, faith-healers and evangelists who often are unable to resist the feeding of their egos.
But there is a second danger that more pertains to this sermon and that is the danger to the crowd who pressed toward Jesus.
For what purpose did Jesus come to earth? Did Jesus come so we could be healed of our diseases, always have a full stomach and live a comfortable life? Absolutely not!
Out of his compassion Jesus healed people and fed people, but there was always a larger purpose. There comes a time for each of us when we will die. Some will die younger than others, but we will all die and no matter how comfortable we have been or how healthy we have been, we will die. It is this journey that Jesus came to prepare us for.
Jesus did not come simply to help us have a more pleasant stroll through the park, providing us with a lovely picnic basket full of delicious sandwiches and cool, refreshing drinks, but to help us when we come to the edge of the park and have to jump off the cliff.
The crowd pressed around Jesus, excited by what he was doing, but Jesus knew that what they needed was more than this superficial excitement.
And so Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee to get away from the crowd, for his sake and for theirs. So we move up to the second step in these stories of following Jesus.
As he was leaving a teacher of the law came up to him.
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
What was Jesus saying to them and why did Matthew put this teaching at this point in his gospel?
A teacher of the law was like a modern day lawyer. He was educated and held a responsible position in society and this teacher of the law made a great offer. Jesus was leaving and he wanted to follow him, no matter where he went. Perhaps this teacher of the law was impressed by the teaching of Jesus. Most teachers would have been flattered that someone of this caliper would want to follow them and would have told him to come along. But not Jesus. Jesus reminded the teacher of the law that those who follow him can no longer seek after material comfort. Rabbis have comfortable homes. Teachers of the Law have comfortable homes, but those who follow Jesus have to be willing to give up that comfort.
This does not mean that every follower of Jesus has to sell their home and walk around the country telling people about Jesus. It does mean that true followers of Jesus cannot make having a comfortable home one of their primary goals. It does mean that when life presents a choice between following Jesus and having a comfortable home, that choice needs to be Jesus.
Jesus did not come to help people live comfortable lives. That may sound harsh and some of you may not like hearing that, but that is exactly why people turn aside and are unwilling to follow Jesus any further.
Another disciple asked if he could take time to bury his father but Jesus told him that those who follow him have to be willing to sacrifice family relationships.
We’ll be getting to this passage in a couple weeks on Palm Sunday, but it applies here. Jesus taught in Matthew 10:
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“ ‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Some have used this passage to urge their followers to renounce all family relationships when they join their cult. This is not the point of this passage. It is not that Jesus wants to divide families, but that when a member of the family comes to faith, that action can be divisive. Just as Jesus’ family rejected him during his three years of public ministry, so can the sisters and brothers and parents of believers reject them because they follow Jesus.
Following Jesus is more important than family relationships.
I had an uncle who was influenced by some Christian missionaries in New Guinea in the Pacific during WWII when he was in the army. He came back to the US enthusiastic about his new faith but when he came home, his fiancé told him in no uncertain terms that if he wanted her, he had to give up this Christian nonsense. And so he did.
Throughout history, the crowds have often followed Jesus and churches have been full of enthusiastic Christians, but when hard choices have to be made, people drop off to the side.
It is like the parable of the soils that Jesus told. Some seed was sown in good soil but weeds and thorns grew up and choked out the life of the plant.
It is easy to follow Jesus when there are miracles and excitement and life is good. But Jesus wanted to prepare people for the end when they will have to jump off the cliff and so he warned of the cost of following him.
There are some preachers who count the people who follow their teaching and glory in the numbers. Jesus saw through the superficiality of that and looked into the heart to see if people would follow him even at the cost of the comforts of this world. Jesus did not look at the numbers of people following him, he looked at the depth of commitment in the people who followed him.
So now we move up to step three. Jesus got into the boat to cross the Sea of Galilee.
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
This account is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. In the other two accounts, the reaction of the disciples is even stronger.
Mark 4:41
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Luke 8:25
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
Why were the disciples in fear and amazement, terrified? Jesus was revealed in this incident of having powers they had not imagined. They had seen healings and demons cast out, but this was a man in control of the forces of nature!
I like to tease people. It is a way I have of showing that I like them. I can imagine walking along with Jesus and teasing him about the way he walked or talked or something. I might even have tried to imitate him healing someone. But I would think twice and more before teasing him after I saw him reveal this power.
You can see this in the way the disciples responded to Jesus after the Mount of Transfiguration when he told them (Mark 9)
“The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
And then the next incident in Mark’s Gospel shows that Jesus walked alone and the disciples were some distance from him, talking among themselves. The more the disciples knew about Jesus, the more unsure they were about how to relate to him. Who is this who has such power?
The last story in this chapter of Matthew focuses on two men possessed by demons. These were men so violent no one could pass the tombs where they lived for fear of being beaten by them. When Jesus came up from the lake, they came to him and the demons called out
“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
The demons knew they would be cast out of the men and pleaded to be sent into the herd of pigs nearby. Jesus said to the demons
“Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
Those tending the pigs ran into town to report all this and do you think the people in town were delighted with what Jesus had done? No. They pleaded with Jesus to leave their region.
Why? The owners of the pigs suffered a great loss when their herd was destroyed by drowning in the sea and they were not blessed by that news but is was not just the owners of the pigs who wanted Jesus to leave.
The power of Jesus to so radically transform these men was threatening. As disturbing as these demon-possessed men were, they were part of the social order and many people do not want the social order to be disrupted. The presence of a man like Jesus who has so much power makes life uncertain and many do not like life to be unpredictable.
In these three steps of following Jesus, there are those who fall away when they discover that following Jesus may involve setting aside the comfort of homes and family. And there are those who fall away when they discover that following Jesus threatens the world as they know it. Such a Jesus may ask you to leave your family and go to a foreign country. Such a Jesus may ask you to leave an occupation that provides a good living to share his good news. Such a Jesus may ask you to go south when everyone else is going north.
Why are you following Jesus? How far are you willing to go with Jesus?
Are you willing to stand with Jesus this week when you are tempted to disobey him? Are you willing to be honest and admit your mistake? Are you willing to resist sexual temptations? Are you willing to resist illegal means of making money? Are you willing to obey God no matter how difficult that will be?
I received this week emails asking for prayer for Christians being persecuted: a bishop who was kidnaped in Iraq, an Iranian family who had to flee for their lives, a believer in Algeria who has received death threats, believers in Turkey and Jordan threatened by the secret police. Every week I receive emails asking for prayer for believers being persecuted for their faith.
Would you persevere in following Jesus if it cost you your home? Your freedom? Your life?
How much do you value your relationship with Jesus? Is it worth everything this world can offer? How much do you trust Jesus? Are you willing to trust him with your life?
This is why I follow Jesus. I am convinced that Jesus is the Son of God. I don’t understand how God could be born a man and die. I don’t understand why God who pre-existed the creation of the universe cares so much about me. There is a lot of mystery in my belief. But as I have said before, the mystery in my faith is comforting. Mystery is proof that God is greater than my intelligence which is how it should be if God is our creator.
So there is a lot I do not understand, but I follow Jesus because I am convinced Jesus is the Son of God and that his promises can be trusted. Jesus said:
John 6:35
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
And I believe him.
Just before he ascended he told his disciples:
Matthew 28:18
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
And I believe him.
With Paul, I am convinced
Romans 8:38
that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So I say to Jesus this morning, with you as my witnesses, that I will follow him anywhere he leads me. I say this knowing that Peter made the same claim at the Seder meal the night Jesus was arrested.
Matthew 26:35
But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”
And then Peter denied knowing Jesus three times.
I cannot claim that on my own power I will stand with Jesus no matter what, all I can say is that I will hold on to Jesus as tightly as I can and pray that the Holy Spirit will help me cling to Jesus.
I will not allow disappointment to cause me to let go of Jesus. I will not allow discouragement to cause me to let go of Jesus. I will not allow tragedy and suffering to cause me to let go of Jesus. Whatever happens, I trust Jesus. He has promised to be with me in this life and to take me, when I die my physical death, to be with him in heaven. I believe his promises.
Why do you follow Jesus?
When you come forward for communion this morning, take time before coming up to consider your commitment to follow Jesus. If there is disobedience in your life, repent and ask for forgiveness before coming forward.
Jesus has promised that he will never leave or forsake you. He has promised to be with you in this life and when you have to jump off the cliff to the next life he will take you safely to paradise.
Throw off the sin that so easily entangles and promise to stand with him.
Why do you follow Jesus?
Matthew 8
March 2, 2008
Jack Wald
I look forward each year to preaching from the Gospels during Lent and this year I made a mistake. When I looked on the web to find the date Lent started, I used the date for 2007 rather than 2008. So we have missed three Sundays in Lent. Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent, and we will have just three sermons from Matthew this year. I will make it up this summer perhaps.
For the past couple years I have been preaching in Lent from a chapter of Matthew at a time and this week we come to Matthew 8. There are five stories in this chapter. First there are three stories of Jesus healing: a man is healed of leprosy, the paralyzed servant of the centurion is healed and then Peter’s mother-in-law and many others who came to Jesus in Capernaum are healed. These three stories are followed by a teaching of Jesus about the cost of following him. And then the chapter closes with two stories of the power of Jesus. He quiets the storm at sea and then casts the demons out of the Gerasene demoniacs.
As I looked at these stories and thought about why Matthew put them together like this, it came to me that this chapter is a story of following Jesus. There are three steps in this story of following Jesus and as we move up from step to step, you will see that people are left behind at each step because they are following Jesus for reasons that do not support them in taking the next step. Each step requires a deeper commitment to Jesus.
I would hope that you join me in wanting to follow Jesus from step to step, to follow Jesus to wherever he takes us. But to do that requires that we know why we are following Jesus. Anyone can say to Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” but Jesus asked the question
Luke 6:46
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
There are many who are enthusiastic about Jesus but do not obey Jesus when it gets difficult and fall away. Let’s start with the first step.
The chapter begins with this:
When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.
If you have been reading through Matthew, this should not come as a surprise. Why were the crowds following him? What was the attraction?
Matthew 4
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.
This account is followed by chapters five, six and seven when Jesus taught on the mountainside, what we call his Sermon on the Mount. Through the centuries many have admired the teaching of Jesus in these chapters and I understand that people at the time were attracted to his teaching. But the cynical side of me, what I prefer to call the realistic side of me, says that most people followed him not because of his teaching but because of the healing and deliverance he brought. There were some who were drawn to Jesus because of his teaching, but most came to him because of the excitement of the miracles that surrounded him.
Let me put it this way. If I were a better preacher or teacher, more people might come to RIC, but not a lot more people. On the other hand, if people who were lame came to church and I prayed for them and they were healed, how many more people do you think would come to church? If every Sunday at RIC people were healed of illnesses, skin conditions, birth defects and if every Sunday demons were cast out, people would be tearing off the roof to get into the church.
Miracles get our attention. This is one of the lessons learned in Acts from which I will preach the week after Easter. God uses miracles to grow the numbers of people in the church and it is a very effective tool.
A leper came to Jesus and was healed. A centurion came to Jesus asking for help for his servant who was paralyzed and in terrible suffering and Jesus healed him. Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law of her fever and then that evening many who were demon-possessed and sick came to him and he healed them all.
The first thing to note in this step of following Jesus is that Jesus wanted to heal people.
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
7 Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
I am willing. I will go and heal him. Jesus is the healer and he wants to heal us. Jesus wants us to be whole. Jesus wants us to be well. Whenever we are sick it is good to pray to Jesus who is willing to heal us.
And when we are healed by Jesus or when we are helped in any way by Jesus, it is a good thing to follow him. The crowd was not wrong in following Jesus. But how strong was their commitment? How willing were they to follow Jesus no matter what?
Why do we follow Jesus? Do we follow Jesus because he is the miracle man who can take care of our needs or because he is the Son of God? Are we willing to follow Jesus even if we do not get what we want?
Jesus was and is willing to heal and the crowd came to him, but note how Jesus responded to the crowd around him.
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.
If Jesus was so willing to heal, why did he get away from the people seeking him?
One reason was that he saw the danger to himself from the crowd’s adulation. In John 6:14-15 the crowds came to Jesus because of the miraculous signs.
After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Jesus knew that it was not God’s will that he be made king. Jesus knew the part he was being asked to play and avoided the temptation by withdrawing. This is a great message for preachers, faith-healers and evangelists who often are unable to resist the feeding of their egos.
But there is a second danger that more pertains to this sermon and that is the danger to the crowd who pressed toward Jesus.
For what purpose did Jesus come to earth? Did Jesus come so we could be healed of our diseases, always have a full stomach and live a comfortable life? Absolutely not!
Out of his compassion Jesus healed people and fed people, but there was always a larger purpose. There comes a time for each of us when we will die. Some will die younger than others, but we will all die and no matter how comfortable we have been or how healthy we have been, we will die. It is this journey that Jesus came to prepare us for.
Jesus did not come simply to help us have a more pleasant stroll through the park, providing us with a lovely picnic basket full of delicious sandwiches and cool, refreshing drinks, but to help us when we come to the edge of the park and have to jump off the cliff.
The crowd pressed around Jesus, excited by what he was doing, but Jesus knew that what they needed was more than this superficial excitement.
And so Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee to get away from the crowd, for his sake and for theirs. So we move up to the second step in these stories of following Jesus.
As he was leaving a teacher of the law came up to him.
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
What was Jesus saying to them and why did Matthew put this teaching at this point in his gospel?
A teacher of the law was like a modern day lawyer. He was educated and held a responsible position in society and this teacher of the law made a great offer. Jesus was leaving and he wanted to follow him, no matter where he went. Perhaps this teacher of the law was impressed by the teaching of Jesus. Most teachers would have been flattered that someone of this caliper would want to follow them and would have told him to come along. But not Jesus. Jesus reminded the teacher of the law that those who follow him can no longer seek after material comfort. Rabbis have comfortable homes. Teachers of the Law have comfortable homes, but those who follow Jesus have to be willing to give up that comfort.
This does not mean that every follower of Jesus has to sell their home and walk around the country telling people about Jesus. It does mean that true followers of Jesus cannot make having a comfortable home one of their primary goals. It does mean that when life presents a choice between following Jesus and having a comfortable home, that choice needs to be Jesus.
Jesus did not come to help people live comfortable lives. That may sound harsh and some of you may not like hearing that, but that is exactly why people turn aside and are unwilling to follow Jesus any further.
Another disciple asked if he could take time to bury his father but Jesus told him that those who follow him have to be willing to sacrifice family relationships.
We’ll be getting to this passage in a couple weeks on Palm Sunday, but it applies here. Jesus taught in Matthew 10:
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“ ‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Some have used this passage to urge their followers to renounce all family relationships when they join their cult. This is not the point of this passage. It is not that Jesus wants to divide families, but that when a member of the family comes to faith, that action can be divisive. Just as Jesus’ family rejected him during his three years of public ministry, so can the sisters and brothers and parents of believers reject them because they follow Jesus.
Following Jesus is more important than family relationships.
I had an uncle who was influenced by some Christian missionaries in New Guinea in the Pacific during WWII when he was in the army. He came back to the US enthusiastic about his new faith but when he came home, his fiancé told him in no uncertain terms that if he wanted her, he had to give up this Christian nonsense. And so he did.
Throughout history, the crowds have often followed Jesus and churches have been full of enthusiastic Christians, but when hard choices have to be made, people drop off to the side.
It is like the parable of the soils that Jesus told. Some seed was sown in good soil but weeds and thorns grew up and choked out the life of the plant.
It is easy to follow Jesus when there are miracles and excitement and life is good. But Jesus wanted to prepare people for the end when they will have to jump off the cliff and so he warned of the cost of following him.
There are some preachers who count the people who follow their teaching and glory in the numbers. Jesus saw through the superficiality of that and looked into the heart to see if people would follow him even at the cost of the comforts of this world. Jesus did not look at the numbers of people following him, he looked at the depth of commitment in the people who followed him.
So now we move up to step three. Jesus got into the boat to cross the Sea of Galilee.
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
This account is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. In the other two accounts, the reaction of the disciples is even stronger.
Mark 4:41
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Luke 8:25
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
Why were the disciples in fear and amazement, terrified? Jesus was revealed in this incident of having powers they had not imagined. They had seen healings and demons cast out, but this was a man in control of the forces of nature!
I like to tease people. It is a way I have of showing that I like them. I can imagine walking along with Jesus and teasing him about the way he walked or talked or something. I might even have tried to imitate him healing someone. But I would think twice and more before teasing him after I saw him reveal this power.
You can see this in the way the disciples responded to Jesus after the Mount of Transfiguration when he told them (Mark 9)
“The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
And then the next incident in Mark’s Gospel shows that Jesus walked alone and the disciples were some distance from him, talking among themselves. The more the disciples knew about Jesus, the more unsure they were about how to relate to him. Who is this who has such power?
The last story in this chapter of Matthew focuses on two men possessed by demons. These were men so violent no one could pass the tombs where they lived for fear of being beaten by them. When Jesus came up from the lake, they came to him and the demons called out
“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
The demons knew they would be cast out of the men and pleaded to be sent into the herd of pigs nearby. Jesus said to the demons
“Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
Those tending the pigs ran into town to report all this and do you think the people in town were delighted with what Jesus had done? No. They pleaded with Jesus to leave their region.
Why? The owners of the pigs suffered a great loss when their herd was destroyed by drowning in the sea and they were not blessed by that news but is was not just the owners of the pigs who wanted Jesus to leave.
The power of Jesus to so radically transform these men was threatening. As disturbing as these demon-possessed men were, they were part of the social order and many people do not want the social order to be disrupted. The presence of a man like Jesus who has so much power makes life uncertain and many do not like life to be unpredictable.
In these three steps of following Jesus, there are those who fall away when they discover that following Jesus may involve setting aside the comfort of homes and family. And there are those who fall away when they discover that following Jesus threatens the world as they know it. Such a Jesus may ask you to leave your family and go to a foreign country. Such a Jesus may ask you to leave an occupation that provides a good living to share his good news. Such a Jesus may ask you to go south when everyone else is going north.
Why are you following Jesus? How far are you willing to go with Jesus?
Are you willing to stand with Jesus this week when you are tempted to disobey him? Are you willing to be honest and admit your mistake? Are you willing to resist sexual temptations? Are you willing to resist illegal means of making money? Are you willing to obey God no matter how difficult that will be?
I received this week emails asking for prayer for Christians being persecuted: a bishop who was kidnaped in Iraq, an Iranian family who had to flee for their lives, a believer in Algeria who has received death threats, believers in Turkey and Jordan threatened by the secret police. Every week I receive emails asking for prayer for believers being persecuted for their faith.
Would you persevere in following Jesus if it cost you your home? Your freedom? Your life?
How much do you value your relationship with Jesus? Is it worth everything this world can offer? How much do you trust Jesus? Are you willing to trust him with your life?
This is why I follow Jesus. I am convinced that Jesus is the Son of God. I don’t understand how God could be born a man and die. I don’t understand why God who pre-existed the creation of the universe cares so much about me. There is a lot of mystery in my belief. But as I have said before, the mystery in my faith is comforting. Mystery is proof that God is greater than my intelligence which is how it should be if God is our creator.
So there is a lot I do not understand, but I follow Jesus because I am convinced Jesus is the Son of God and that his promises can be trusted. Jesus said:
John 6:35
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
And I believe him.
Just before he ascended he told his disciples:
Matthew 28:18
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
And I believe him.
With Paul, I am convinced
Romans 8:38
that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So I say to Jesus this morning, with you as my witnesses, that I will follow him anywhere he leads me. I say this knowing that Peter made the same claim at the Seder meal the night Jesus was arrested.
Matthew 26:35
But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”
And then Peter denied knowing Jesus three times.
I cannot claim that on my own power I will stand with Jesus no matter what, all I can say is that I will hold on to Jesus as tightly as I can and pray that the Holy Spirit will help me cling to Jesus.
I will not allow disappointment to cause me to let go of Jesus. I will not allow discouragement to cause me to let go of Jesus. I will not allow tragedy and suffering to cause me to let go of Jesus. Whatever happens, I trust Jesus. He has promised to be with me in this life and to take me, when I die my physical death, to be with him in heaven. I believe his promises.
Why do you follow Jesus?
When you come forward for communion this morning, take time before coming up to consider your commitment to follow Jesus. If there is disobedience in your life, repent and ask for forgiveness before coming forward.
Jesus has promised that he will never leave or forsake you. He has promised to be with you in this life and when you have to jump off the cliff to the next life he will take you safely to paradise.
Throw off the sin that so easily entangles and promise to stand with him.
