What Happens When We Try To Follow Jesus Christ? Series

What Happens When We Try to Follow Jesus Christ?

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 8:18-27

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared August 16, 2021)

BACKGROUND:

*Here in Matthew 8, Jesus has finished His Sermon on the Mount, and great multitudes followed Him down the mountain, on the way to Capernaum. During the Lord's ministry, Capernaum was a well-known city on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. Albert Barnes called it the metropolis of all Galilee. (1)

*On the way to the city, Jesus miraculously healed a leper. Then in Capernaum, a Roman centurion found the Lord and pleaded for Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant. The Lord offered to go to the soldier's home for the healing. But in Matthew 8:8, with great humility and faith, the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed." When Jesus heard that, in vs. 10, "He marveled, and said to those who followed, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!'" The original word for "marvel" there means that Jesus was amazed, and He greatly admired the soldier's faith.

*The Lord miraculously healed that soldier's servant from a short distance, but Jesus could have done that from the other side of the moon, or the other side of the universe for that matter! Praise the Lord!

*Next in vs. 14-17, Jesus went to Peter's house. There the Lord healed Peter's mother-in-law with a touch. That same night, with just a word, Jesus cast evil spirits out many demon-possessed people. He also healed everyone there who was sick.

*But starting in vs. 18, the great crowd became a problem, and Jesus decided to take a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. We don't know all the reasons why Jesus left Capernaum, but He surely needed some rest. And wherever the Lord chose to go, was exactly where He needed to be.

*In tonight's Scripture we will see the Lord's disciples, and two men who were thinking about becoming His followers. All of these men help us understand what happens when we try to follow Jesus Christ. Please keep this in mind as we read vs. 14-27.

MESSAGE:

*Jesus Christ is the one and only eternal Son of God. Our crucified and risen Savior will reign forever as the rightful King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He deserves our utmost love and loyalty. But what happens to us when we try to follow Jesus Christ?

1. FIRST: HE WILL HELP US COUNT THE COST.

*When we seek to follow Jesus, He will help us count the cost of following Him. This is one of the lessons for us tonight in vs. 18-20:

18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.

19. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.''

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.''

*Why did Jesus say that? One reason why is that He wanted us to know the high cost of commitment to Him. The Lord never hid this hard truth from His would-be followers. And the high cost of following Christ is a recurring theme in the New Testament.

*For example, in Matthew 10:34-36 Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.' And 'a man's foes will be those of his own household.'"

*There the Lord quoted Micah 7:6, and ever since, Christians around the world have faced the most brutal kinds of persecution. By God's grace, believers in the United States have so far been spared from horrible persecution. But being a Christian is not always going to be a piece of cake. It can be very hard. People will stand against you when you stand for Jesus Christ, sometimes even people in your own family.

*Jesus wants us to know the high cost of commitment to Him. Of course, it's worth the cost! But when we try to follow Jesus, He will help us count the cost of following Him.

2. JESUS WILL ALSO REMIND US OF HIS SACRIFICE.

*This is another essential truth for us in vs. 19-20:

19. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.''

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.''