Summary: In our text for today's study, we find Jesus responding to two individuals regarding the matter of discipleship. One we will call simply the Scribe: One who wanted to be a disciple, the other we will call the loyal son, who had to reminded of the cost.

Introduction

A. A teacher was helping one of her kindergarten students put his boots on? He asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn't want to go on. When the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost whimpered when the little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet." She looked and sure enough, they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off then it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the right feet. He then announced, "These aren't my boots." She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to. Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off. He then said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear them." She didn't know if she should laugh or cry. She mustered up the grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again. She said, "Now, where are your mittens?" He said, "I tuffed them in the toes of my boots..."

1. I must admit that I borrowed the outline for this message, however there was no author sighted.

2. Lets turn to Matthew 7:28 - 8:1

B. As Jesus went about His earthly ministry, He was often followed by large crowds

1. They are drawn by His teachings

Matthew 7:28-29 NKJV

And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, {29} for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (8:1) When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.

a. Turn to Matthew 8:16

2. They were attracted by His miracles

Matthew 8:16 NKJV

When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,

3. Some of those who followed Him wanted to become His disciples

(1) Turn to Matthew 8:19

b. They were willing to be taught by Jesus

(1) Some were willing to follow Jesus as their Lord and Master

Matthew 8:19 NKJV

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

(a) Now turn to Matthew 28:19 & 20

(2) Now, Jesus would later command His apostles to make disciples of all the nations

Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

(a) We call this the Great Commission

(b) Clearly Jesus wanted people to become His disciples

i) Steve Page, Wichita, Kansas, wrote,”As teacher of the "20-Something" Sunday school class, I receive information on prospective new members for our group. Recently, one person had noted on his sheet under "Circumstances of Salvation" that he had "Accepted Christ in high school. Was baptized but would like to be reimbursed (crossed out)--reimmersed."

(3) You know that Jesus never misled the People

(a) It would not be easy to be His disciple

(b) Following Him would be a challenge!

(4) In our text for today's study, Matthew 8:18 - 22, we find Jesus responding to two individuals regarding the matter of discipleship

(a) One we will call simply the Scribe

i) One who wanted to become a disciple of Jesus

(b) The other we will call the loyal son

i) One who needed to be reminded of what it meant to be a disciple

4. All of this should remind us of the challenge of following Jesus

a. It should remind us that we need to take what we learn here seriously

(1) Lets turn to Matthew 8:18 & 19

II. Body

A. One must Be Willing to Count the Cost

Matthew 8:18-19 NKJV

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."

1. Here we have the scribe’s offer

a. The scribe expressed a willingness to follow Jesus anywhere

b. Even a commendable offer, but does he know what it means?

c. We must go on to the next verse to see what Jesus’ reply was

Matthew 8:20 NKJV

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."

d. Jesus informed the scribe that He was homeless

(1) As an itinerant preacher, Jesus had no place to call home

(2) Many a night might be spent with no roof overhead

(a) Turn to Matthew 19:21

e. To follow Jesus at that time would mean to leave all

Matthew 19:21 NKJV

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

(1) Jesus said plainly, to the rich young ruler, sell everything and give it to the poor and follow me

(a) Turn to Luke 14:25-33

f. Do you understand that Jesus calls us to relinquish everything and follow Him

Luke 14:25-33 NKJV

Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, {26} "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. {27} "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. {28} "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it; {29} "lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, {30} "saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' {31} "Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? {32} "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. {33} "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

2. A scribe was a very rich man due to His profession

a. To be a scribe took diligence, great care, being very precise, and a lot of time

b. Its too bad that Matthew didn’t give us the name of the scribe

(1) Perhaps he was one of the disciples

(2) Perhaps he was like the rich young ruler, when he realized the cost of being a disciple he was saddened and he walked away

(3) We may never find out

3. But, one does not have to become homeless to follow Jesus today, but we must still

a. Love Him more than family and life

b. Forsake all by making Him the Lord and Ruler of our lives

(1) Turn Matthew 28:19 and 20

4. Do we know that we must count the cost as well as the early disciples

a. That there is a cost of observing all that Jesus commands?

Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

b. A cost that might require a radical change in one's life?

(1) For example we have to quit our jobs that interfere with holy living

(2) Or we may have to leave friends who seek to lead us astray

(3) Or we may have to change our lifestyle, or getting out of unbiblical relationships

c. Do we know that our repentance is fundamental to the gospel message?

(1) We must never forget the Challenge Of Following Jesus

(a) In the case of the loyal son we are reminded that

i) Turn to Matthew 8:21

B. We Must Be Willing to Pay The Price

1. The disciple's request

a. It seems that this disciple desired to forego following Jesus in order to bury his father first

Matthew 8:21 NKJV

Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."

b. This sounds like a devoted son, what harm is there in his request

c. One idea is that the father was not dead, the son wanted to wait until his father was dead before becoming a real disciple

(1) But that is not supported by the Scriptures

(a) But go down to verse 22 and read Jesus response

Matthew 8:22 NKJV

But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

d. What Jesus means is let the spiritually dead bury the physical dead

(1) Turn to Luke 14:26

e. Others could handle such familial tasks, his responsibility was to answer to a higher calling

Luke 14:26 NKJV

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

(1) CC Ryrie says about this passage, “This saying does not justify malice or ill will toward one's family, but it means that devotion to family must take second place to one's devotion to Christ.

(2) Jesus often made it clear...to follow Him meant putting Him before family and friends and everything else

(a) Turn to Acts 14:21-22

C. We need to pay the price of being disciples

1. As disciples, we are taught there may be a price to pay to remain faithful to our calling in Christ

a. As Paul taught the new disciples on his first journey

Acts 14:21-22 NKJV

And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, {22} strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."

b. In 2 Timothy 3:10 - 12, Paul wrote to Timothy at the end of his life

2 Timothy 3:10-12 NKJV

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, {11} persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. {12} Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

(1) Far too often, disciples today want to first "bury the dead", such as:

(a) Putting family responsibilities before the Lord

i) Such as missing services to entertain visiting family or friends

ii) Did not Jesus tell Martha some things take precedent over the desire to be a gracious host?

(b) Accepting jobs when they know it will hinder their service to the Lord

i) Such as occupations that are so demanding, one has little time or energy left for Christian service

a) Turn to Matthew 6:31-33

ii) You might think them necessary to support family, but did not Jesus promise that God will provide if you put the kingdom first

Matthew 6:31-33 NKJV

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' {32} "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. {33} "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

iii) In our zeal to provide for our families, do we forget that we are disciples of Christ? a. There are many good and noble things that can be done in relation to kin and occupation b. But as disciples of Christ, we have a higher and more noble calling

a) Turn to 1 Peter 2:9-10

1 Peter 2:9-10 NKJV

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; {10} who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

c. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own special people

(1) To proclaim the praises of God who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light

d. If we can't "bury the dead" without neglecting our service to Jesus, then we must "let the dead bury the dead"

III. In conclusion

A. In many places, the Lord's church suffers through neglect

1. Attendance is sporadic

2. Service rendered is minimal

3. Discipleship is practiced only when convenient

B. There may be many reasons for this, but I suspect two head the list

1. Christians not counting the cost of discipleship

2. And disciples who do not pay the price

a. Whether by neglect

b. Or by design

c. We must remember that Jesus taught a gospel that belies easy believeism

(1) We must remember salvation is a free gift of God to those who believe in the person and work of the Son of God

(2) But, discipleship has a cost, a price that must be do not

(a) Turn to Luke 17:10 and we will close with this passage

Luke 17:10 NKJV

"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'"

(b) Know the cost and pay the price of discipleship

(c) One man advised, If you are not sure of which way to go, chose the path upon which the shadow of the cross falls.