And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 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.” Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Jesus challenged two of His followers in this section to a higher standard of commitment to ministry.
8:18
And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.
Large crowds did not impress Jesus, so He told his followers to go to the eastern side of Lake Galilee. Eastern Galilee was not as populated as other parts of Galilee.
Before Jesus and His followers left, two people had issues with following Jesus—a scribe and a son.
8:19
Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
A scribe was an expert in Jewish religious laws. It is surprising that a scribe, a person from the establishment, would be willing to follow Jesus wherever He went. Most of his colleagues rejected Jesus.
8:20
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.”
Jesus did not own a house but lived as an itinerate person going from place to place. He stayed with others while at His home base of Capernaum. The scribe needed to understand the nature of following Christ. Jesus dispelled any illusions of venturous travel. There is no security in following Him. The scribe needed to know the cost of following Jesus. He must weigh the price.
The title “Son of Man” occurs almost exclusively in the Gospels. The New Testament uses the term only once outside the Gospels (Ac 7:56). This is a “man” come from God with God’s authority. Jesus used this formal term to refer to Himself, and used it more often than any other term. All but two occurrences of the phrase “Son of Man” Jesus used of Himself. Matthew recorded 32 of the 81 New Testament occurrences.
8:21
Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Another follower of Christ came with an excuse to not follow Jesus presently. There is no mention of the father actually dying, so he did not ask to go to his father’s funeral. The father’s death was not pending but some time off. Jesus could not wait indefinitely for this follower to go with Him. The urgency of kingdom matters was immediate.
8:22
But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
The followers of Christ needed to understand the urgency of Jesus’ presenting His kingdom to the nation Israel. This follower could not suspend his commitment to Christ for his own agenda.
Jesus said in effect, “Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.”
PRINCIPLE:
Jesus requires radical commitment, not casual loyalty.
APPLICATION:
Jesus was no populist who tried to gather as many people He could with uncertain standards. He did not fill the ranks of His ministry with those of questionable commitment.
Following Jesus means that we do not live as those around us. We execute our business in a different way. We raise our families according to a unique set of standards.
