Power in the Pulpit | Matthew 8:18–27

Intro: When I was in college, we use to have groups that would come set up on campus. They would come for a variety of reasons. I remember that there was one group that came and would pay you a dollar to watch a video about how badly animals are treated in the food industry as a way to convince you to eat vegan. There were other groups that would come and ask you to sign some pledge to commit to doing something that would benefit some cause. And that’s really not hard to do on a college campus. Young people are all for signing up for some cause. They are especially for it if you are going to give them a free t-shirt or something. But the reality is that very few are willing to do the hard things that come on the other side of that commitment. A minute or so or even a quick bribe was not enough time for people to understand the perceived value that the people set up on campus saw in the cause. We will see that in today’s passage as well. A lot of people think they want to follow Jesus’ but few actually will because they don’t understand who He is. The main idea of tonight’s text is that we must be willing to make hard choices to follow jesus because of who He is. We will see this in claimed commitments and Jesus’ demonstration of power. As we do every Sunday night, please stand as we honor the reading of God’s Word.

Matthew 8:18-21.

Verse 18:

Jesus is trying to now get away from the crowds. This is a sign that they were following him for the wrong reasons.

Verse 19

What were scribes

What the scribe said

Verse 20

The meaning behind what Jesus told him

original language

The reality

Verse 21

Was man’s dad alive or not and what that meant

Verse 22

What Jesus was saying

Transition: What Jesus is saying here is shocking. It’s a radical statement. I don’t want to pretend like it isn’t. Why? Why should anybody take the radical steps Jesus is speaking of here? We see in verses 23-27.

Matthew 8:22-27.

Verse 23

His disciples followed him

Verse 24

How does Matthew describe the storm

Jesus was asleep

Verses 25

How they viewed the situation

What the situation actually was

Verses 26

What it means when Jesus says “little faith”

He had already shown all he could do

He did something only God had been able to do

Verse 27

Their natural reaction and what our reaction should be.

Conclusion: I want to close tonight, by asking you this. What sort of man do you think Jesus is? Do you think He is somebody that said a lot of cool things? Do you think He is somebody that you have heard about growing up but other than that you have not really given it much thought. Let me ask you this, do you even spend much time thinking about that. Do you believe that Jesus is who this account from scripture we looked at tonight describes him to be? Do we believe that He is the one who stands over all of creation. Do we believe that He is God Himself that came down to to earth for our sake. If we believe that this is who Jesus is, then not only does he deserve to be followed as he demands in verses 18-22. No, this man has our best interest at heart when he tells us to follow him. To give anything but full devotion to him is to deprive ourselves from a full relationship with the creator of the universe. No, if Christ is the one that controls nature, then what more will we find in following Him. We will find eternity that is secured and a hope that does not waver. Are you ready tonight to follow Jesus? If so, let’s talk before you leave tongiht. Come follow Jesus.