Matthew 8:18-34

Intro:

Byard Baby Update

God’s Sovereignty

Colossians 1:16–17 ESV

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Read Matthew 8:18-22

Transition:

Interruptions are something very few people like

Someone walks into your office with a pressing project that needs to be done right away

A baby cries at 3 am in the morning interrupting your sleep

A child walks into the room at an important point in the TV show and you miss what the actor says

Our water softener is right outside our bedroom window

The way we have our bed situated means that it is right above my pillow

It goes off every few days at 3:30 in the morning and runs for two hours

This morning was one of those mornings

Interruptions can often leave you feeling annoyed

This morning we see Jesus involved in three unique divine interruptions

I. Discipleship Interrupts Life vs. 18-22

The first divine interruptions we see today is in discipleship

Two guys want to be disciples of Jesus, but they want to do it on their own terms

Matthew was very careful to show the importance of discipleship throughout his gospel

Today we see people who want to be disciples, but fit it into their plans

They want their cake and eat it too

Jesus shows them that if they want to be a disciple it is going to interrupt their life

vs. 18-20 Too Fast

The first candidate we see is one who is mesmerized by everything he sees

He wants to be a part of it

As Jesus is getting into the boat he blurts out “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus realizes his zeal but also understands he hasn’t thought it through

He is like the seed who shot up without a strong root system and then wilted

Luke 8:6 ESV

And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

You see this happen in a lot of new Christians

Being a part of something new is exciting and the want to get everything they can

Unfortunately they wilt at the first sign of trouble or bolt for the next new thing

Jesus saw this in the scribe

Discipleship a long faithful walk in the same direction

There is another facet to consider here

This guy was a scribe or teacher

He could’ve seen being a part of Jesus’ ministry as a promotion to his own career

This explains the emphasis on Jesus talking about the hardships of ministry

Scribes were educated men, which means they came from wealthy backgrounds

To sacrifice his lifestyle would’ve interrupted everything

vs. 21-22 Too Slow

The second disciple candidate is one who goes too slow

He wants to bury his father which makes you think that he wants to get in the boat but has to attend to his father’s funeral

What the guy is really saying is that he will follow Jesus when his father passes away and he gets his inheritance

He wants everything in order before he commits

He wants to reduce any hardship or suffering

As disciples we need to come to grips with the fact the discipleship interrupts our best laid plans

It reminds us when we try to rush God

It makes us make a decision when we drag out feet

Discipleship is always on God’s timetable

Peace Interrupts the Storm vs. 23-27

The second divine interruption we see in when Jesus calms the storm

Peace always interrupts the storm

The question we need to ask is are we going to let the Storm steal our peace?

vs. 23-25 Disciples Fear

The disciples were on a boat going to the other side

Storms on the Galilee were notorious for their suddenness

One minute it would be calm and the next the cool air from the Mediterranean would come over the mountains and hit the warm air sitting above the Galilee and a storm would erupt

It is important to note that this storm was unique

Most of these disciples grew up on the Galilee as fisherman

They weren’t strangers to the storms

They were expert boatsmen

The fact that they were terrified tells you how serious the storm was

The boat was being swamped with water

The real miracle in this scene is that Jesus was able to sleep through it all

In desperation they woke Jesus up because they thought they were going to die

vs. 26-27 Jesus’ Response

Jesus’ response shows us his sovereignty

He doesn’t focus on the storm, but their fear

“Why are you afraid? Where’s your faith

If God is the creator of the earth and is in control why do we need to doubt?

The disciples were doing everything under their power and expertise

Jesus was showing them that they need to trust God in all things, not just our weaknesses

Jesus interrupts their storm with His peace

John 14:27 ESV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

He rebukes the winds and the sea and great calm came

These experienced boat men marveled at his control of the wind and sea

They were blown away over his sovereignty

Presence Interrupts the Darkness vs. 28-34

The final divine interruption we see is that the presence of God interrupts the Darkness

vs. 28 The Other side

“When He came to the other side”

When I was growing up in the Antelope Valley we would travel to LA

We always referred to it as going down below

Lancaster sits at 2500 feet in elevation and LA was south so it became a figure of speech

Where are you going? We are going down below

Everyone knew about it

When I moved here I referred to SB as down there and SLO as up there

People asked me why I talked that way

SB was south and SLO was north

You go down when you go south and you go up when you go north

Simple geography right?

Jesus refers to going to the “other side”

Gadarenes, or Gerasenes in other translations, was part of a group of 10 cities to the Decapolis

These cities were more Greek than Jewish

Hence the 2,000 pigs. Jews don’t eat pork

So going over to the other sides was like going to the wrong side of the tracks

Jesus was going to a place that didn’t worship His Father with the Gospel

In their accounts of this incident, Mark (5:2) and Luke (8:27) mention only one demon-possessed man but do not state that only one was present.

For their particular purposes they chose to focus on the more dominant of the two men.

vs. 29-32 Cast into Pigs

vs. 33-34 Begged Jesus to Leave