Unrecognized Cost of Discipleship
Unrecognized Authority • Sermon • Submitted
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· 14 viewsThe authority of Jesus so great that he can made demands of us that are personal and costly.
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Unrecognized Cost of Discipleship - Matthew 8:18-22
Unrecognized Cost of Discipleship - Matthew 8:18-22
If you have your Bible’s please open them to Matt 8:18
And as you do that let me set the scene.
Tonight we are continuing our series called Unrecognized Authority:
One thing that has been made abundantly clear up until this point in our series is Jesus authority is greater than any person and anything…
Last week Jesus authority has been perceived by those who have heard him preach, and by those who have seen him heal. But tonight we will begin to see how Jesus authority was also misunderstood by those who have heard and followed Jesus.
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 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.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Unrecognized Cost of Discipleship - Matthew 8:18-22
Unrecognized Cost of Discipleship - Matthew 8:18-22
The first time a person earns any amount of money, he or she must learn an important lesson. That is this: Just because we have money, doesn’t mean we can afford anything and everything we want.
One of the first times I ever had money was after I lost a tooth.
My parents would give me a dollar whenever I lost a tooth, and I wanted to spend that dollar to get a toy from a toy-store in the mall, and I remember the disappointment in realizing that I couldn’t afford any of the toys that I was interested in purchasing.
But this is a lesson that is not just for young kids buying toys, but it is a crucial lesson for you all and for me as well. Because before we make a purchase of anything, we all need to assess whether or not we can or cannot afford the product that we want.
And of course to combat our ability to make a wise decision , there are salesmen and marketing teams that are trying to convince us all of one thing.... and that is that we need the product that they have:
be it a new car
the latest video game system
or just a new pair of jeans
Even recently Sarah and I got into a sticky situation when we were signing up with a new internet provider only to find out that the product was terrible, AND it would cost us a good sum of money just to cancel our internet subscription.
It is important to learn the cost of something before we are quick to buy it…
The same lesson must be learned for those who want to follow Jesus.
Now, every pastor desires to see new people come to a saving knowledge of God and the gospel…
this is something I want, every paster here at LWC wants this, and so did Paul the apostle:
22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
Do you hear the lengths that Paul would go through in order to save people
Similar to Rom 9
2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
It is my desire too that you all and many others would be saved…
But there are also some pastors who would like to make a quick convert, much like our internet salesman… who may convince a person to follow Jesus… and they do so by telling them about all the benefits of following Jesus… but they never tell them about the costs of following Jesus.
That is what this text before us is all about.
You see in the last few weeks, we have seen the wonderful things that Jesus did for those who were in need…
heals the leper
Heals the centurion’s servant
and then heals Peter’s mother in law…
And all these marvelous things that Jesus did drew quite the crowd. Last weeks text went on to say:
16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.
And picking up from there, tonight we read this:
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
What is going on here?
Well Jesus, after seeing the great crowd around him, wishes to escape the crowds and so he and his disciples are going to get in boats to cross the Sea of Galilee. And why would he go by the sea? Because crowds can’t follow him across the water, only his disciples would be able to.
So what’s the point of this?
1. Jesus has no interest in drawing crowds, rather Jesus’ desire is to make disciples.
1. Jesus has no interest in drawing crowds, rather Jesus’ desire is to make disciples.
Jesus’ healings were quite attractive those who were sick and to those who’s loved ones were in need of healing…
up to this point, following Jesus looks to be quite beneficial.
But Jesus is aware of the hearts of people, and he is not interested in drawing mere crowds who only want their own personal desires - yes even sinful desires - to be given to them.
So this first verse may come to shock to many of us. Especially in light of the great commission at the end of Matthew
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
So, if Jesus wants to be known among all peoples, then why do we see Jesus leave this great crowd of people?
The answer to this is rather simple, Jesus leaves the crowds because he has no interest in drawing crowds, rather Jesus’ desire is to make disciples.
Now on the surface, there may be some similarities between the crowds and the disciples…
for example, they are all “following” Jesus
They both hear and receive Jesus teaching
And they both have some perception of Jesus’ authority
But there are many people today that think they are also disciples when in fact they are only a part of the crowd that is following Jesus… but there is a name for such followers of Jesus even today… We call them nominal Christians… that is they call themselves Christians, but they are so in name only, but not in deed.
My goal as a youth pastor is not to draw crowds… or make a big youth ministry…
sure large ministries, and youth groups there this may impress some people… but Jesus is not impressed by our big followings and groups if we are not making disciples of Jesus
And let’s be real… drawing crowds isn’t that difficult.
You give people what they desire, and they will come…
If you tell them what they want to hear… they come back to hear you again
And in youth ministry it is easier even yet! I mean when we had cupcakes, I never saw you all so motivated to get chairs set up!
If we built a youth ministry on pizza and games, surely crowds would come…
But Jesus has no interest in drawing crowds… rather Jesus told his disciples to make disciples. And that we what we are after.
So what is a disciple? What does it look like to follow Jesus… What does it cost to be saved? These are the questions I want us to consider tonight.
And I want us to do so, not so we can follow Jesus as if he is another one of the hundreds of people who we follow on our social media… But I want us all to follow Jesus, as if he were the most magnificent, richest treasure that we could ever gain… for he is our source of eternal life and satisfaction.
19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 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.”
A few things to point out about these verses…
First of all, this is a scribe coming to Jesus…
Scribes were something like the teachers and pastors during Jesus’ day
So there is this scribe and teacher who is following Jesus and even submitting himself under the authority of Jesus for he is calling Jesus teacher.
This scribe is eager to follow Jesus and to be his disciple… as each of us ought to be… but what this scribe doesn’t recognize is what it will mean for him to submit to the authority of Jesus…
and so Jesus tells him what he can expect if he is to follow Jesus:
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.”
This is certainly not a good way to draw crowds is it? But Jesus isn’t after drawing crowds is he? No, rather he is looking for disciples who will submit to his authority.
2. Following Jesus is not a guarantee of an easy life.
2. Following Jesus is not a guarantee of an easy life.
Now to be clear, this isn’t Jesus telling us that in order to be his disciple we are to get rid of our beds or homes… We see statement made nowhere else in Scripture when Jesus is calling his other disciples, or when the apostles are sharing the gospel and people are being saved. But what we do see time and time again is that following Jesus is not means of living a life of ease.
If anything Jesus will go on to tell his disciples to expect hardship!
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
and again towards the end of the chapter:
38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
This is not a life of ease…
So don’t look at Jesus’ authority to heal the sick and assume that just because Jesus can do something that he will do something.
So there is an important question that each and every one of us must consider:
Is there anything that you hold dear to that would cause you to not follow Jesus and submit to his authority?
Do you love your comforts of life more than you love Jesus?
Do you love your weekends more than you love Jesus?
Do you love this country more than you love Jesus?
Let’s broaden these perimeters a bit further… because I’m not talking about the comforts a home and a bed, although I’m certainly not excluding it…
21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
We will talk more about what is happening in these two verses in a moment but for the sake of continuity:
Do you love your family more than you love Jesus?
Or your friends more than you love Jesus
Because Jesus will expound on these as well:
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
But go further than just the creature comforts of life like home and loved ones…
Consider sin… do you love your sin more than you love fellowship with Jesus
Such that in pride you keep your sins hidden instead of confessing them
Such that when know that you are about to sin you do it anyway even though you know that it does not honor or please God.
I want you to ask, is there anything that you withhold from God that keeps you from following and obeying him?
But if you think I am being legalistic by saying that you should forsake all these things…
If you’d correct me saying “well what about grace”
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Make no mistake, God’s grace is so great that there is no sin that cannot be washed and cleansed by his blood… But also make no mistake, the authority of God is so great that we who have recieved grace will kill sin in order to obey all that he commands and we will follow him.
Following Jesus is not a guarantee of an easy life.
Following Jesus is not a guarantee of an easy life.
Yes, we are saved by grace alone, and there is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation… but that does not mean following Jesus comes at no cost to us...
One commentator put it this way:
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World: An Exposition of Matthew 5–10 Some Characteristics of the Authentic Jesus
In one sense, our salvation costs us absolutely nothing; in another, it costs us not less than everything. The former is true because Jesus paid it all; the latter is possible because Jesus enables us to respond to his upward call. Those who stress the latter and neglect the former may never learn that salvation is by grace alone; those who stress the former and neglect the latter may buy into a cheap facsimile of grace that knows little of the biblical gospel and less of biblical holiness.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
so if you, like the Scribe, are quick to desire to follow Jesus, then be sure that you count the cost. For if you wish to follow Jesus simply because you are expecting life to be easy, as if following Jesus is some kind of life hack… you are mistaken. Because being a disciple will cost you absolutely everything, yes even your very life. So do not be a mere follower of Jesus and try to play it safe.
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Let’s look at the second disciple who doesn’t recognize the cost of discipleship and the authority of Jesus.
21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Notice the difference between this disciple from the first…
While the Scribe was eager to follow Jesus, but didn’t consider the cost, this disciple was slow to follow Jesus because of other important duties that he had.
Now there something that I want us all to consider as we look at this:
Jesus is not telling this disciple to not honor his father… in fact Jesus would go on to rebuke the Pharisees and scribes for not honoring their parents
4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
So listen… when you do not honor your parents, you also do not honor God
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
and Jesus said:
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
So then what is Jesus saying in this passage?
21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
This unnamed disciple is trying to delay following Jesus for something that he deems to be more worthy than obeying Jesus…
It’s not clear whether his father is already dead, or he might just be old…
But know the context… burying a person in Jesus day would take a very long time…
the body would be put into a tomb to decompose down to dust and bones, at the end of that period of time the Jews would then collect the remains in a box to be buried a second time.
Whether the father is simply old or whether he is already dead isn’t what is important here… what is important to recognize is that this disciple is delaying his obedience to Jesus.
Such a delay is nothing short of disobedience to the authority of Jesus Christ.
3. Jesus’ authority such that disciples are to obey him no matter the cost.
3. Jesus’ authority such that disciples are to obey him no matter the cost.
If there is any part of God’s word that you do not obey… then you do not understand what it means for Jesus to have all authority...
He commands sickness… and it obeys
he command demons… and they obey
he commands the sea… and they obey
if he commands you.... then you must obey
But if you do not want to submit to the authority of Jesus, then you are not a disciple.
Listen
Disciples are radical about Jesus
disciples are desperate for Jesus
They are zealous about obeying Jesus
To take the word right out of our mission statement out on the wall in the lobby…
Disciples are passionate… about following Jesus
and disciples are all these things, not because Jesus is someone to add to their life… but because Jesus is their very source of life.
Listen to the way Jesus talks about those who are not passionate about him…
15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
If you don’t recognize the authority of Jesus, such that you do not obey him… then know that Jesus is not with you…
But if you don’t recognize Jesus’ authority… odds are you don’t even recognize your own need for him…
17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
Jesus’ authority is not being displayed just so the sick can be healed.... but his authority being put on display so that sinners can be forgiven!
So that he can make you rich with every spiritual blessing
so that he can clothe you with righteousness
so that he can open your eyes so that you can see and recognize him for who he is
And how is this made possible? How is it that we are even able to be recipients of this grace?!
It is through following the Lord Jesus Christ....
Who himself gave up the comforts of heaven… in order to come into the world that would hate him
notice that this is exactly what Jesus tells the scribe:
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.”
And again consider what Jesus says to the next disciple:
22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
But what would Jesus do for him, and for me, and for you…
he would leave his father… and not only that, but Jesus himself would die on the cross…
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Yes the cost of discipleship is such that it will cost you everything… but do not fall into despair. For salvation is a free gift that costs you nothing. The only thing you contribute to your salvation is your sin. But do not worry, for Jesus Christ has paid the price so that you might live…
So even though following Jesus will cost you everything, know that by doing so you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
