Come To The Other Side

“Many years ago, it was decided to put a suspension bridge across a wide gorge. How could they build a bridge across such a wide space? If fact, how could they even start? They shot an arrow from one side to the other. The arrow carried across the gulf a tiny thread, and thus the connection was established. By and by the thread was used to draw a piece of twine across; the twine carried after it a small rope; the rope soon carried a cable across – and in good time came the iron chains the bridge was to hang from. Although often weak in its beginning stage, a seemingly small faith can draw us to a stronger and stronger faith that will accomplish greater and greater things.”(1) But the crossing begins with the faith-filled decision to take the first step; and this morning, we are going to look at some disciples whom Jesus called to cross over to the other side, as we look at Matthew 8:18-22:

18 And 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.” 21 Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Called to Cross Over (v. 18)

In verse 18, Jesus gave a command to His disciples to depart to the other side. There were different reasons, why at certain times Jesus moved away from the multitude, such as to have an opportunity for prayer, or to preach to others, or to show that He sought not popular applause, and sometimes to avoid seditions. The 1700’s Baptist commentator John Gill said, “His reasons here seem to be with respect to Himself, that being wearied as [a] man with the work of the day, He might have an opportunity of refreshing Himself with sleep; with respect to His disciples, that He might have a trial of their faith, when in danger at sea; and with respect to the multitude, because of their carnality, and sole concern for their temporal and worldly good.”(2) I will be sharing more from John Gill as we go along.

Now, the reason I want to hone in on, concerning Jesus’ departure, is the one dealing with His disciples: “to have a trial of their faith.” There are many times in which Jesus calls His disciples to cross over. In fact, God the Father often calls His people to cross over to enter His promises. For example, He called the Israelites, under the leadership of Moses, to cross over the Red Sea and to cross over the scorching wilderness; and He called them, under the leadership of Joshua, to cross over the flooded Jordan River to enter the blessed hope of Canaan. It takes faith to cross over, and we must make the crossing if we ever hope to be where God has called us. You see, crossing over is about moving from where we are to where Jesus is.

Henry Blackaby, the author of Experiencing God, says, “When God is about to do something through you, He has to get you from where you are to where He is.”(3) This means that God is wanting to transition you, just as we see Jesus preparing to transition His disciples across the sea of Galilee. Blackaby continues to state that God, therefore, “comes and tells you what He is doing. When you know what God is doing, then you know what you need to do – you need to join Him.”(4) Keep in mind, however, “the moment you know that God is doing something where you are, your life will be thrown in contrast to God. You cannot stay where you are and go with God.”(5)

This is where you enter a crisis of belief as you are asked to tackle a God-sized assignment; one that might require you to leave your comfort zone, and one where you must lean on God in faith. “The crisis of belief is a turning point where you must make a decision. You must decide what you believe about God. How you respond at this point will determine whether you go on to be involved with God in something God-sized that only He can do, or whether you continue to go your own way and miss what God has [in store] for your life.”(6) And in verses 19-22, we see two disciples who each faced their own crisis of belief.