Discipleship and Denial (Matthew 8:18-22)
As Jesus prepares to cross the sea with His disciples, we get the account of two men who claim to want to follow Him. Jesus’ response to them teaches us a bit more about what being disciples of Jesus entails: denial. It is no surprise that discipleship entails a level of self-denial. But what we see here is more detail. Following Jesus means letting go of where we are going and where we have been. Let go and go.
We all want to know where we are going. One of the most remarkable aspects of the faith of Abraham is that he was willing to go where God led, without knowing beforehand where that would be. In the same way, following Jesus’ lead is often a case of going to an unknown destination. This is what Jesus meant when He told the first man that He had no home. The man’s statement, “I will follow You wherever You go,” is more of a question. A, “I’ll follow, but I need to know where.”
The second man wants to take care of unfinished business before he can follow. He wants to bury his father. Jesus’ response seems cold, but the reality is that this man too is expressing something deeper than what the surface reading shows. Following Jesus can entail sacrifices. We have to leave everything behind, everyone who won’t come along. Abraham ended up leaving his father behind in Haran.
Being a disciple of Jesus means total surrender. We need to leave behind everything that holds us back—everyone that won’t follow Jesus—and we need to go with Jesus where He leads; not to a destination, but the life of surrender.
We all want to know where we are going. One of the most remarkable aspects of the faith of Abraham is that he was willing to go where God led, without knowing beforehand where that would be. In the same way, following Jesus’ lead is often a case of going to an unknown destination. This is what Jesus meant when He told the first man that He had no home. The man’s statement, “I will follow You wherever You go,” is more of a question. A, “I’ll follow, but I need to know where.”
The second man wants to take care of unfinished business before he can follow. He wants to bury his father. Jesus’ response seems cold, but the reality is that this man too is expressing something deeper than what the surface reading shows. Following Jesus can entail sacrifices. We have to leave everything behind, everyone who won’t come along. Abraham ended up leaving his father behind in Haran.
Being a disciple of Jesus means total surrender. We need to leave behind everything that holds us back—everyone that won’t follow Jesus—and we need to go with Jesus where He leads; not to a destination, but the life of surrender.
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