The Cost of Following Jesus.

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

The Cost of Following Jesus

When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake.

¹⁹ Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

²¹ Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”

²³ Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. ²⁴ Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

²⁷ The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”

²⁸ When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area.

²⁹ They began screaming at him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?”

³⁰ There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. ³¹ So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”

³² “All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

³³ The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.

Psalm 103:1-5 says: Bless the Lord, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, And do not forget any of His benefits. Who pardons all your guilt, Who heals all your diseases; Who  redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with favor and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.  Surely the benefits of God are not limited to just these few things. The benefits of God are beyond measure, more than we could think or imagine.  Much of the church today focusses only on the benefits of God, all the good things people will get if they come to Christ. Today’s text though has the subtitle The Cost of Following Jesus.   It says:When Jesus saw the crowd around him, He instructed His disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. Then one of the teachers of religious law said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay His head.”  Another of His disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow Me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”  In Luke 14:28-30 Jesus says: “Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?”  The benefits of God far outweigh the cost of following Jesus, but we must be willing to make that investment in order to reap the benefits. In Matthew 16:24-26 Jesus says: “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul?”  We deny ourselves in this finite world and we gain eternity with God. Then in addition, if we are willing to give up the things of the world, Jesus multiplies them and gives them back to us. In John 10:10 He says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”  The benefits of God are not only eternal life in the future, but also abundant life now. In Mark 10:29-30 Jesus says: “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.” 

Again, not many today will be honest enough to say that among the things we can expect when we follow Jesus are persecutions. It’s not part of the model most churches use to build their attendance and membership. Jesus though always tells the truth. In John 15:18-25 Jesus says: “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they followed My word, they will follow yours also. But all these things they will do to you on account of My name, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. The one who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But this has happened so that the word that is written in their Law will be fulfilled: ‘They hated Me for no reason.’”  In our current culture and society there are many who will find any possible reason to hate others. People are divided by race and ethnicity, by age and gender, along with those things, people are coerced to hate others based on wealth or social standing, moral choices and now even by health choices. Hate needs no reason. It will always find an excuse. If we would be hated, it may as well be that the reason is that we are followers of Christ.

In today’s text it says: When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met Him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area. They began screaming at Him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?” There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”  “All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged Him to go away and leave them alone.  Like those in that town, there are many today who even though they see the miraculous and amazing benefits of Christ, they will beg Him to go away and leave them alone. They are not willing to invest and pay the cost of the abundant life that Jesus came to give.

Bless the Lord, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, And do not forget any of His benefits; Who pardons all your guilt, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with favor and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. The Lord performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed…  The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in mercy. He will not always contend with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our form; He is mindful that we are nothing but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place no longer knows about it. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear Him, And His justice to the children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts, so as to do them. The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all you His angels, You who serve Him, doing His will. Bless the Lord, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the Lord, my soul!  Amen.