Are You Ready to Be a Disciple?

Introduction: Renouncing this World is the Cost of Discipleship

What does home mean to you? For some, home can be a traumatic place where bad relationships and abuse happen, but for many it is a place of safety and rest, which is what it is meant to be. Home is meant to be a safe place where we are in our natural environment, a citizen of our own castle, a bee in the hive, an ant in the anthill, a place where we are comfortable, happy, and loved. Now that may not be home for you, but I’m sure most of you can think of a safe space you go to where you are free and comfortable. Now as we get into our text, we see a radical, perhaps offensive, and maybe even a seemingly unreasonable theme that Jesus makes in his responses of these two men that come to him, the scribe and the disciple. The application of this text is simple: if you are to follow Jesus as his disciple, you must be ready to leave your home and safe space behind.

This is consistent in many of Jesus’ teachings. We just read Luke 9 where Jesus teaches the same thing, adding a third person whom we will cover briefly later on. Jesus consistently taught in all the synoptic gospels, that is Matthew, Mark, and Luke, that anyone who would follow Him must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus. So what we see in our text today is not some offhand comment that we may interpret in different ways, nor is it difficult to understand since it is at the core of Jesus’ teaching here in Matthew 8-10. Jesus’ definition of discipleship is completely exclusive. To follow Christ means to follow him absolutely.

Jesus Separates from the Crowd

As Jesus begins to prepare for a journey to the other side of the lake, an interesting thing happens. This crossing to the other side of the lake becomes a spiritual analogy for people who are willing to follow Jesus anywhere he goes. The crowds had followed Jesus where he went and he was ready to leave the crowds and go somewhere where he could presumably teach his disciples in private. Indeed, there are many crowds around Jesus even today. There are large mega churches with thousands of attendees. Here there are many who come week after week who still are not members of a church, which is necessary to follow Jesus entirely. I’m not saying church membership saves you, I’m saying that the church is the place where you follow Jesus and refusing to be a church member for a long period of time puts you in a dangerous position of being outside the established body of Christ.

This crossing of the lake frames an important part of Jesus ministry: the separation of those who are simply the “crowd” and those who are true followers. This is apparent in the way the first man, the scribe, approaches Jesus.

Following a Homeless Teacher

This man comes to Jesus and tells him, as he is leaving for the other side of the lake, that he is not content with simply being in the crowd. He doesn’t want to be left behind, he wants to go with Jesus wherever he goes. No doubt, he was there when the sermon on the mount was preached and, as a scribe himself, was amazed at the authority with which Jesus spoke, which was not like how scribes like himself taught. This is a humbling position for the man to be in, as he, a teacher himself, must submit himself to be a disciple. But he isn’t called a disciple like the other in this text, which may be evidence that the man isn’t looking for discipleship but merely companionship. Again, there are many who want Jesus in this way. They want a Saviour who is always with them, whom they can ask things of, and who is there best friend and comfort as they progress through life. There are not false desires, and in fact Jesus is a friend to those who follow him. But first, there must be submission to Christ as a disciple. So it may be necessary to ask, what is discipleship? What does it mean to be Jesus’ disciple?

What is discipleship?

First, discipleship is following. This is something the scribe already understands. If he meant to become a disciple, he surely understood that this meant to follow him. That was what he claimed he was ready to do. But what Jesus is doing in his response is asking him whether he really understands where he would go. If you are getting on the train, you certainly want to know the train’s route and destination before you board. The way that Jesus went is the way he expects us to go. We are following him, not observing him from a long distance. Jesus life meant poverty, homelessness, controversy, and ultimately the cross. Jesus goes as far as to call us to take up our cross when we follow him, just as he bore the literal cross for us. That is what following Jesus is going to be like.

Second, discipleship is absolute. Jesus calls for following exclusively. In Luke’s account, there is a man who is called by Jesus to follow him, and he says he’d like to go say “bye” to his family. Jesus’ reply is “no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” It mirrors the call of Elisha by Elijah, who is plowing the fields when he is called. He is allowed to go back to say goodbye to his parents. Elisha had to stop plowing his field in order to say goodbye, so Jesus shows his call is more exclusive than the call of one of the great prophets of the OT. On top of this, we have the image of the plowing which shows the nature of the Kingdom’s exclusivity. When it says “is not fit for the Kingdom” the fit means unable, not suited. Be sure you are suited for the exclusive relationship with Christ as Lord. Be sure you are ready for that kind of exclusivity in your life. Are you willing to make all in your life about your call to follow Christ? There is no salvation apart from discipleship and there is no discipleship apart from this exclusivity. It is only Christ, all you have is about Christ. All your identity is wrapped around him. You are, as a person, a disciple exclusively, and nothing else.

Third, discipleship is not an easy way. John Calvin imagines the expectations of this scribe for us,

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Matthew 8:19–22; Luke 9:57–62

We must bear in mind that he was a scribe, who had been accustomed to a quiet and easy life, had enjoyed honour, and was ill-fitted to endure reproaches, poverty, persecutions, and the cross. He wishes indeed to follow Christ, but dreams of an easy and agreeable life, and of dwellings filled with every convenience; whereas the disciples of Christ must walk among thorns, and march to the cross amidst uninterrupted afflictions. The more eager he is, the less he is prepared.

Calvin then warns us,

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Matthew 8:19–22; Luke 9:57–62

Let us therefore look upon ourselves as warned, in his person, not to boast lightly and at ease, that we will be the disciples of Christ, while we are taking no thought of the cross, or of afflictions; but, on the contrary, to consider early what sort of condition awaits us.

Jesus’ response to the scribe is very helpful for us. We see Jesus tell him that the Son of Man remains homeless in this world. This doesn’t speak so much to Jesus literally not dwelling in a home during his ministry, but the position he stands in in the world, the human society around them. Jesus was in the world, but not of the world. The irony that the mighty Son of Man who comes up to the Ancient of Days is now homeless. This isn’t just a statement of the impoverished lifestyle, but the social disdain that such a lifestyle might attract. This scribe was likely not used to such a lifestyle and so Jesus tells him what he is in for. If Jesus doesn’t have anywhere to lay his head, do you think his disciple’s do? If the master of the house doesn’t have a bed, do you think any of his servants do?

Leaving Our World to Follow

The next person to come to Christ in our text is one who is called a disciple. Jesus appears to be more favourable to this one, calling him to follow him rather than almost dissuading like he did with the scribe.

The man has one request: that he go back and bury his father. This disciple already knew, as Leon Morris points out, that being a disciple meant leaving his life behind him. What he desires is to take care of unfinished business is relation to his family. The family bond is strong, one that the New Testament encourages us to honour through honouring our parents, loving our wives, husbands, and children, and providing for our family with hard work. What Jesus’ reply means is not that we are all of a sudden free from all family responsibilities. This would go against what Scripture teaches elsewhere. Instead, Jesus is putting family obligations is their right place in respect to the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom always comes first, above even our family obligations.

It is unclear whether the father was already dead, or whether he is saying he would like to wait until his father dies before he follows Jesus. If it is the former, Jesus is calling him to forego a sacred and deeply important family obligation, that of being at his own father’s funeral, to follow Jesus. This is unlikely, however, because people were usually buried on the day that they died so its unlikely this disciple would not have been at home already. It is more likely that he is waiting until the death of his father, carrying out the responsibilities of a son honouring his father, and then he will follow Jesus.

We run into a bit of a problem here. In Mark 7:10-13 Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for overlooking the care of their parents by giving their resources to religious responsibilities. How is it that Jesus would call us to follow him even at the neglect of honouring our parents while telling the Pharisees that giving themselves to God instead of honouring their parents was just a way to get around the commandment? We solve this by again affirming that the Bible teaches we should honour our father and mother, and so whatever the case is with this disciple, what Jesus is asking him to do would not be to dishonour his father. Whereas the Pharisees make a pretense of obeying God while getting around the commandment through the practice of corban. If a person has parents that need care, and you have the ability to care for them even when it means sacrificing other things in your life, you should care for them so as to honour them. But this man isn’t concerned about caring for his father, but burying him. We can perhaps assume that the father was near death and the family was preparing to bury him soon. He does not ask that he may go and care for an aging father, but bury him. The point is that this disciple wants to fulfill family expectations by being there during the funeral and mourning period. It is not a manner of honouring in a biblical sense, but a matter of family duty and obligation. The fact is that family duties, and other duties in our lives, are subject to our call to follow Christ. God never asked the Pharisees for Corban, they got that from their own traditions, but Jesus is calling this man to follow him. So we see a balance here. We are not free to excuse our own desires as the will of God when we should be honouring our parents. Simply saying, “I don’t believe God has called me to do such and such for my parents” or “I believe God has called me to use my time in other ways than to visit my parents or help them” is an empty excuse to the real, biblical duty of honouring father and mother.

However, the work of the Kingdom of God always goes before family duties. A missionary may take his family to a dangerous part of the world where they may all be killed in the service of winning the lost. This was the case with William Carey, who saw his son Peter die in India and his wife go mad and eventually pass as well. He had an obligation to keep his family safe from harm, as any husband or father does, but the work of the Kingdom of God was a far superior calling that made him risk his family’s safety.

Many struggle with God’s calling because of family responsabilities. I’ve heard of parents who demanded their child not “waste their life” going to the mission field. A Christian may want to marry but their parents refuse to use biblical criteria in assessing the marriage and instead of looking for a godly spouse for their child look for one with substantial income or who is of the same ethnicity. In these cases, the child puts the Kingdom of God first and does what they are called to do. If they are called to the mission field, they should go. If they have found a godly person to marry, they should marry (1 Cor 7:2;39). We cannot let even the most substantial family ties hold us back from what God calls us to. Christ calls you to his church, don’t let obligations at home stop you from being here, this is more important. God calls you to obedience, don’t let family or other ties take you from that obedience to participate in sin. Christ calls you to his service, don’t be so busy at home that you have no time to serve the saints, who are your true and spiritual family. I recognize this can be taken to the other extreme in which we may become like the Pharisees in Mark 7, but the point is that Christ’s calling always comes first.

But what does Jesus mean when he says, “let the dead bury their own dead?”

He could be referring to those dead in their sins, or dead to his calling. Let those in the world tend to the obligations of the world while you tend to your obligations for the Kingdom. Of course we will have worldly obligations, but let us keep them at a minimum and forgo them when we can for the sake of the Kingdom. This is hard to do, but it is eternally rewarding.

John Calvin sees death called by Jesus as anything that keeps us from doing God’s work. Let those who have no interest in life bury the dead. Let those who are not responding to a heavenly call continue to work in their worldly call, but you be a disciple. He writes,

(Jesus) intended only to show, that whatever withdraws us from the right course, or retards us in it, deserves no other name than death. Those only live, he tells us, who devote all their thoughts, and every part of their life, to obedience to God; while those who do not rise above the world,—who devote themselves to pleasing men, and forget God,—are like dead men, who are idly and uselessly employed in taking care of the dead.

Is there concern in your life about many things that need to be done? As Jesus tells Mary, only one thing is necessary and that is to hear and obey Christ, to follow him as a disciple. Let go of the troubles and requirements that hold you down in life and rise to a higher calling. Men, rise to the calling of the need of godly leaders in the church. A need we have in this church is more deacons and another elder, maybe God has called you to that but there are obligations in your life that keep you from pursuing that calling. Jesus calls you to himself, and as a disciple he tells you to leave the concerns and cares that others have behind you. I cannot claim to be perfect in this area, but it is something to strive for. We should be actively looking for places in our lives where we can fit in less of the world and more of Christ.

Conclusion

Leon Morris summarizes this text well when he says,

The Gospel according to Matthew (2. The Cost of Discipleship, 8:18–22)

There were people who were well disposed to (Jesus) and apparently recognized that his teaching was outstanding, but who were not prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to be real disciples.

Most of you are well disposed to Jesus, if not all of you. Unless you were dragged here, there is something about Jesus that attracts you. But the question you must ask yourself is, “am I ready to be a disciple of Christ?”

Salvation without discipleship is ‘cheap grace’.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It is important to follow Christ with our eyes open concerning what following him will mean. Again, I recommend reading the Pilgrim’s Progress to see what this path often means for Christians. Following as a disciple will mean specifically two things in our text.

First, the way will be one in which you will not belong in this world. To follow Christ is to say goodbye to belonging anywhere but heaven. We know what it is like to live in a hotel room for a night or two, but we do not treat it as home. Jesus has no home, and so his disciples have nowhere to lay their heads either. Our time in this world is one of homelessness and we must be willing to see our life this way. Have you weighed this seriously? Have you considered the path Jesus calls you to follow? Do you belong here, or do you belong somewhere else and only consider yourself a stranger here? Peter calls us exiles in this world. Don’t become to at home here. You don’t know when God will call you to another place, another calling, another action that will have many affects on your life. Have you given yourself to Christ willingly to go homelessly through this life wherever he goes?

And second, the call to discipleship takes priority over all of life. Are you willing to make it such a priority? This is where faith is important, for we will only follow Christ with our whole life if we believe him with all of our heart.

My hope is that you will take this text to heart and spend some serious time in prayer contemplating the call of discipleship.

Bonhoeffer writes,

“The call goes forth, and is at once followed by the response of obedience. The response of the disciples is an act of obedience, not a confession of faith in Jesus.”

But what about “faith alone”? Again, Bonhoeffer says,

 6   Only he who believes is obedient. Only he who is obedient believes.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Cost of Discipleship (1937)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Do you have the faith to pick yourself up, leave behind whatever it is you need to leave behind, and follow Jesus?

Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have.

Billy Graham

You who do not know Christ, I want you to come to him. He is the way to eternal life, the door to everlasting happiness, the gate to being with God in a new world forever. But I cannot lie to you and tell you there isn’t a cost. The cost of salvation is the blood of Christ and that alone, but it is only applied on those who follow him. Will you follow?

For all of us, let us examine what it is we are and are not willing to give up for the Kingdom. I wonder that it might be profitable for each of us to go home and seriously consider whether God has called you to some great task, some mission field, some office that would require great sacrifice from you. Are you ready to leave all behind and pursue any calling? Pray that God would give you a heart for Christ alone and for the work of his Kingdom. Above all, look to Christ. If you are having a hard time letting go of this world, cast eyes of faith upon him. He is worthy, he is beautiful, he is worth letting go of this world for. So go ahead, run to him for life, and never look back. Don’t be part of the crowd, be a disciple.