Read Matthew 8:18-22 and Luke 9:57-62. It is somewhat difficult to place this incident in the chronology. Luke suggests that it happened as they were going along the road, while Matthew seems to indicate that it occurred before they embarked to cross across the lake. Perhaps it is best to understand that they were on their way back down to the shore of the lake to embark when this took place. Luke just tells us someone made these requests, while Matthew tells us that one person was a scribe and that the other was a disciple, not one of the twelve, but a follower of our Lord in the broader sense.
1. The scribe made a statement to our Lord. (a) What was the statement, (b) what was our Lord’s reply, (c) and what did He mean by it?
a. The scribe said to our Lord, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” The man was asking to become a disciple as one of the Twelve, to go with our Lord and be trained by Him.
b. Jesus told him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”“The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
c. Our Lord was warning this man that to follow Him would mean that he would have to face hardship. Disciples in that day went to live at their teacher’s home where they apprenticed. But our Lord had no home. Therefore, to follow Him would mean that this man also would give up a home, a roof over his head and a place to sleep. The implied question is, do you still want to follow Me?
2. In the second instance, Jesus asks a disciple to follow Him. (a) What did the man reply to our Lord, (b) what was our Lord’s response, and (c) what did He mean by it?
a. The man replied to our Lord, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” This probably did not mean that the man’s father had just died and he had to take a few days off to arrange the funeral, but instead, that he wished to wait until his father had died and was buried before he made the commitment to follow our Lord.
b. Jesus replied, “Follow Me. Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
c. The question here is one of priorities. When called to go into the ministry by becoming a follower of our Lord and sent out to proclaim the coming Kingdom, the man replied that he had things that must come first. Our Lord’s answer is, allow those that are dead (spiritually) to bury the dead (physically); you (who are alive spiritually) proclaim the kingdom.
Read Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25. It was tough for Jesus and His disciples to get away from the crowds for some time of rest. One way our Lord attempted to do this was by taking the boat across the lake of Galilee. The crowds could not follow them, and they would have a little time until they found Him again.
3. When the storm struck, where was Jesus, and what was He doing?
He was in the stern sleeping.
4. When Jesus said to them, why are you afraid, and where is your faith, about what do you think they were to have faith?
That they themselves could have stilled the sea or that even in the storm, God would protect them. Did they really believe God would let them and the Messiah drown in the sea?
Read Matthew 8:28-9:1, Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39. After the storm is calmed and the boat arrives at the other side of the lake, Jesus and His disciples are met by a man possessed by demonic forces. There were two men, as we know from Matthew’s account; however, Mark and Luke only deal with the events surrounding one of these two men. (See Unit 8, Question 2 for demon possession.)
5. Describe this demoniac who met Jesus on the shore of the lake.
He was extremely violent, extremely strong, and extremely naked. Humanly he was beyond control. The authorities had locked him in chains, but with the exceptional strength that came with his possession, he had torn them apart. People could not travel near that area because of the violent nature of this man.
6. What request did these demons make of our Lord? Of what were they afraid?
a. They wanted to be allowed to enter the herd of pigs.
b. They were afraid of being sent to the Deep (Abyss), i.e., the place where demons were imprisoned.
7. What was our Lord’s response to the request of the demons?
He allowed them to go.
8. What request did the townspeople make of our Lord? What was His response?
a. They asked Him to leave. Perhaps they were afraid because He was associating with these known demoniacs. They probably were not sure they had really changed. Also, there had been a significant loss of revenue due to the loss of the pigs. He had hurt their economy.
b. He left.
9. What request did the former demoniac make of our Lord? What was His response?
a. He asks to accompany Jesus.
b. Jesus sent him back to his own people to tell them the message.
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. The incidents that occurred in Matthew 8:18-22 and Luke 9:57-62 are interesting in that in one instance, our Lord seems to be discouraging a person from following Him and, in the second, encouraging another to do this. Someone might be tempted to ask, “Does He want people to follow Him, or not?” The answer is, He does, but He wants people to commit to following Him, knowing the cost and making it a priority.
Consider the types of soils in the parable by the Lord, particularly the middle two, the stony soil and the weedy soil. In the first type, there is growth, but when the difficulties of life come, hardship and persecution, the life withers and dies. Before we start on the road of discipleship, we must know that there will be hardship, there will be difficulties, there will be opposition. The world is not a friendly place to those who proclaim the Kingdom and the gospel of grace. We will suffer need. Satan will attack. You can count on these things. The question is, are we willing to follow Him knowing these things? Too many people are tempted to follow our Lord because they have been motivated by the wrong reasons or at least by a bad set of expectations. In the day of our Lord, undoubtedly, many of His followers who believed that He was the Messiah expected the Kingdom to be set up quickly, possibly even on our Lord’s next trip to Jerusalem. They expected Him to use His miraculous powers. They thought the people to flock to Him and hail Him as their King. They probably expected a quick and overwhelming victory and then a good place in the kingdom itself. What they did not expect was our Lord’s death. They did not expect to suffer. They did not expect a difficult life of persecution. They had no real idea of what following Him was going to mean.
Our Lord is saying to this man and to us as well. Realize what you are committing to do. It is not easy. It is not always pleasant and enjoyable. You will not have everything you desire, at least in the short run. There is a cost involved. Are you willing to pay that price? He is not trying to discourage us, not at all! But He does want us to know all that we are signing up for.
Knowing this, consider the other soil, the soil beset with weeds that choked out the life of the grain. Satan is the cleverest adversary we will ever struggle against. When direct opposition does not dissuade us, he will attempt to distract us from our calling and mission by introducing weeds, things that compete for our time, attention and energy, things that distract us, things that choke out the life and fruit that ought to be present.
Our Lord calls us to follow Him, to take up the cross, to make the commitment. But there are things that crop up, that take our time, our energy and our minds away from what we are called to do. These things may not in themselves be evil or wrong. Indeed, it was not wrong to want to see a proper burial for an ailing parent! But there were others who could, and no doubt would, see to this. The most important thing for this man, who Jesus called at that time, was for him to follow our Lord.
There are going to be distractions. You can be sure our enemy will see to that. We must continually ask ourselves what is more important right now in our lives. Are we doing what our Lord wants us to do, or are we being distracted from our primary mission? Are there good things interfering with what our Lord would have us to do?
2. The demonic who was cured asked our Lord if he could follow Him. He was asking to become one of those who followed our Lord wherever He went and be trained by Him. Our Lord’s answer was, “No, you go back to your people and family and be a witness to them.” Not all are called to be pastors, teachers, missionaries; nevertheless, all are called to be witnesses to those with whom they come in contact. It is no less a ministry. We are judged by our Lord, not on how much we do for Him, but how obedient we are to that which He has called us to do.
3. One of the saddest and most frightening things that we can see in the Scriptures lies in this account of the townspeople and our Lord. They asked Him to leave. What is frightening is that He complied with their request. If this is a principle in how our God deals with people—and I believe it is—then one must be very careful in what is requested of God. If we do not want Him in our lives, He will leave! He will not force Himself upon us.