Matthew 8:18-22
When Is
The Best Time To Start Following
Christ?
8:18
Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave
orders to depart to the other side of the sea.
19 Then a scribe came and
said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever
You go."
20 Jesus said to him, "The
foxes have holes and the 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, permit me first to go
and bury my father."
22 But Jesus said to him,
"Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own
dead."
23 When He got into the
boat, His disciples followed Him.
The
Storm
24 And behold, there arose
a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was
being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was
asleep.
25 And they came to Him
and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are
perishing!"
26 He said to them, "Why
are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He
got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it
became perfectly calm.
27 The men were amazed,
and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even
the winds and the sea obey Him?"
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way we think, and the way we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
A Question Of Faith And
Following Jesus
This Bible study lesson has
many different lessons but I'd like to concentrate
on Jesus' statement "Follow Me, and allow the
dead bury their own dead.". One meaning can be
that, without God, the people mentioned were
already dead in spirit.
But, the Disciple Only
Wanted to Bury His Father!
In reality, the disciple was
procrastinating about following Jesus as the ritual
of a funeral could last as long as a year in the
Jewish home. By then it could have been too late
for the disciple - Jesus knew his heart.
Short Term vs. Long
Term
Is it better to have faith
and follow Christ or to continue living life for
the popularity, leisure and habits of this
world? Which is better?
We will be here for a very short period of time on
the scale of eternity. An investment in following
Jesus in this life will last forever. How long is
forever? I can't even imagine!
No Place to Lay His
Head
Even the disciples had doubt
and fears and, following Christ meant that
sometimes they would not even have a place to
sleep. But, they followed. When
we decide to follow Jesus we are not always going
to have it easy or do everything or have everything
of this earth but, in my humble opinion, it's worth
the cost.
When Is The Best Time To
Follow Jesus?
Did the young man really need
to bury his father? In Jewish tradition a burial
ceremony could last for a very long period. The man
could also have been a first-born son who did not
want to lose his inheritance. Whatever the reason,
he wanted to put off followship until a later
date.
What about the rest of us? I
put off following Christ until middle-age and I'm
now playing catch-up on learning more about Him.
But, the good news is that Christ offers me the
same salvation as he does to Christians who were
raised in the church. He
offers that very same
promise to you too,
no matter where you are in life. Isn't God
wonderful?
-
Your Time
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ and would like to find
out how, please take a moment to see
John 3:16.
Love in Christ
- Bob
More
Bible Story Lessons For Living ...
Matthew
7:1-6 -
Jesus
Teaches about Criticizing
Others
Matthew
7:7-12 -
Jesus
Teaches about Asking, Seeking,
Knocking.
Matthew
7:13-14
- Jesus
Teaches about the Way to
Heaven
Matthew
7:15-20 - Jesus Teaches about False
Teachers
Matthew
7:21-29
- Jesus
Talks about Those Who Build Houses on Rock and
Sand
Matthew
8:1-4 -
Jesus
Heals Leprosy
Matthew
8:5-17 - A Roman Centurion Comes To Christ In
Faith
Verses about when to follow Christ are from
New American Standard Bible
|