Matthew 8:18-22 (NIV) When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
At many times in history, including when He was on earth, Jesus has been considered cool by many people, and has been seen as someone desirable to follow. After all, he could do miracles, and taught many things that no one had ever heard presented before like He could present them. While He was on earth, there were always people around who wanted to become a follower of His.
But Jesus was never into groupies. He didn’t need the applause of people or a gaggle of hangers-on to validate Himself. He knew perfectly well what was in the hearts of people (John 2:25), including the hearts of those who seemed eager to become followers. He knew that a desire to be a part of the miracles, or to be close to celebrity and power, or to have access to intriguing teaching, were bad motives, and would bring ruin to those who chose to follow Him because of them. These kinds of followers would also fall away when trouble or persecution came (and it would), leaving them worse off than they were before.
So Jesus was always brutally and accurately honest with those who “applied” for admission to be a disciple. And, in so doing, He winnowed out many whose motives were false.
The teacher of the law saw Jesus getting into a boat to cross to the other side of the lake, and declared himself ready to follow Jesus wherever He went. To him Jesus declared that the life of a true disciple would have to be like the life of Jesus: rootless, without the major touchstone of security that most considered essential: a steady home life. Jesus traveled light, was always on the go to the next place that the Father sent Him. He had to forego the comfort of a fixed base of operation and a secure family life. Those in His inner circle of disciples were the same. They had all left homes, businesses, and even their families for long periods of time to travel with Jesus (cf. Matthew 19:27), learning to respond immediately to God’s call on their lives. Anyone who wanted to follow Jesus had to count that cost and accept it.
The other prospective disciple wanted to wait to follow Jesus until his family obligations were lighter. In Jesus’ day there was no embalming practiced in Israel. If the man’s father had already died, he would have been buried that same day. This man was actually asking Jesus to hold open a slot for him, and, in the future, as soon as his father died and was buried, he would be free to follow Jesus. But Jesus’ seemingly unsympathetic answer (given more fully in Luke 9:59-60) merely points out that the work of God’s kingdom is urgent, and does not wait for our convenience. It is continuing to move forward, and today’s call must be answered today.
Jesus did not deny either of these two a place among His followers. But He did clearly point out to them the cost of following Him, so that if they decided to do so, they would be fully aware of the price they would have to pay.
Father, we have it so easy in America, and we are often completely unaware that there is a real cost to following Jesus. We “accept Jesus” without understanding that to choose Him closes the door to choosing other things, and may even put us in a position later of having to choose between Jesus and our property, our family, our freedom, or even our life, as it actually happens in so many places around the world. Lord, I have counted the cost, and once again, I choose Jesus, even though it cost all that I have. Amen.