Biblical Exposition - Final Project

Luke 9:57–62 ESV

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “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.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Exalting Jesus in Matthew Jesus Has Authority over Disease

The centurion’s explanation for such faith in verse 9 is astounding. He knew what it was like to have authority over soldiers and servants, since Rome’s authority had been bestowed on him. The centurion perceived that Jesus had this kind of authority over disease. Jesus says “Go,” and sickness will go; He says “Do this” to paralysis, and it is done. Jesus has absolute authority over disease.

Exalting Jesus in Matthew Jesus Has Authority over Disease

He simply and humbly had absolute trust in the authority of Jesus in a way that no one else among the Jewish people, including the disciples, had displayed up to this point.

Exalting Jesus in Matthew Jesus Has Authority over Disease

Jesus’ words about Gentiles being a part of the kingdom in verses 11–12 would have been shocking to Matthew’s Jewish readers, essentially saying to them that their Jewishness guaranteed them nothing in eternity. The only thing that mattered was whether or not they had faith. This same truth applies to every human being alive today. Your eternal destiny is dependent on humble trust in the authority of Jesus to save you from your sins and to rule over you as the Lord of your life. And all who trust in Him like this, regardless of ethnicity or background, will be welcomed by the King at His table forever.

Matthew: Crossway Classic Commentaries Christ’s Wisdom in Dealing with Followers (8:16–22)

Let us keep back nothing from young believers and inquirers after Christ: let us not enlist them on false pretences. Let us tell them plainly that there is a crown of glory at the end, but let us tell them no less plainly that there is a daily cross on the way

Luke 16:10–13 ESV

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

1 Peter 4:19 ESV

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Matthew–Luke § 62. Would-Be Followers of Jesus (Matthew 8:18–22; Luke 9:57–62)

Jesus’ Follow Me therefore must be understood as a stern reminder to continue with his discipleship, a discipleship that is so demanding that his disciple cannot turn back, even for a time, to bury one’s father.

Ephesians 4:1 ESV

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 8

While Jesus clearly upholds the biblical command to honor father and mother (see 15:1–9), the call to follow him rises above all other allegiances. Anything that hinders unqualified commitment to him and to the new covenant family of faith must be set aside

WHO IS MATTHEW WRITING TO?

The ESV Study Bible (Purpose, Occasion, and Background)

His Gospel provides necessary instruction for all future disciples, Jew and Gentile, who form a new community centered upon devotion and obedience to Jesus the Messiah amid significant opposition.

Matthew crafted his account to demonstrate Jesus’ messianic identity, his inheritance of the Davidic kingship over Israel, and his fulfillment of the promise made to his ancestor Abraham (Matt. 1:1) to be a blessing to all the nations (Gen. 12:1–3). Thus in large part Matthew’s Gospel is an evangelistic tool aimed at his fellow Jews, persuading them to recognize Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah.