Will we go, or will we follow?

Matthew 8:18-34 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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. 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?”

²⁸ When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. ²⁹ And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰ Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. ³¹ The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” ³² And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. ³³ The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. ³⁴ And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.

Today’s text says:  When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.  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.  And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”  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. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”  Philippians 2:10-11 says:  At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Jesus is more than a man. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords; the one to whom every knee will bow. The winds and the sea had no choice. They are God’s creation and to their creator they must be obedient.

The text continues to tell us what kind of man Jesus was.  When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them.  The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”  And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.   Even the demons were obedient to Jesus. James 2:19 says:  You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.  What of us, do we believe that Jesus is one with God? Are we though, like creation and even the demons, obedient to Him?  James 2:20 continues saying: But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?   Unlike creation, we have a choice of how we will respond to Jesus. Will we go, or will we follow? Look at the response to the miracle Jesus performed from those in the region of Gadarenes:  The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.  Many people want the benefits and miracles of Jesus; they want all of the promises of God for their lives yet, like these people, they don’t want to dwell and abide with Jesus. They want what they ask to be done, but they are unwilling to be obedient to what he asks or commands. We cannot abide with God and still remain with the swine. Jesus calls us to choose and to change.

The text says:  A scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 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.”  Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.” If we would follow Jesus, there must be an urgency. He must be our priority. We alone, of all of creation are given the choice of how we will respond to Jesus. The choice is ours, and so too are the consequences of our choice. John 3:16 says: God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  Look though at what Jesus says in the following verses:  “God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”  It is not enough simply to say that we believe. We must act on our belief. Jesus must be our priority. We must choose to change and to abide with Him, leaving the comfort and the filth of the world.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. I believe. I know that You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Even more I declare and confess that You are my Lord. I choose to abide and dwell with You. I will follow You.  I choose to make You and Your will my priority.  Amen.