18 When Jesus noticed the crowd around him, he ordered his disciples to go to the other side of the lake. 19 A teacher of the Law came to him. “Teacher,” he said, “I am ready to go with you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus answered him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.”
21 Another man, who was a disciple, said, “Sir, first let me go back and bury my father.”
22 “Follow me,” Jesus answered, “and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Read Matthew 8:18-22 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Part way through Jesus’ ministry, the gospel of Matthew includes a short passage that includes someone who felt ready to become one of Jesus’ followers, and in this passage, he approaches Jesus to share this idea. In two short verses, we get a powerful picture of Jesus.
Matthew tells us that “A teacher of the Law came to him. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘I am ready to go with you wherever you go.’” (v. 19)
Before even looking at Jesus’ answer, it is worth paying attention to the person making this request. Matthew’s gospel tells us that the man making this statement was “a teacher of the Law”. This detail is significant because as we read all the gospels, it appears that Jesus reserved His harshest words and messages for the religious leaders, and included among the various groups of religious leaders where those who taught others the Law.
However, while most of the religious leaders and teachers of the Law hated Jesus, this one, earlier in Jesus’ ministry, had made up his mind to follow Jesus. Simply making the statement that he did was both powerful and profound when we consider that this religious leader declared publicly that he wanted to switch sides on a spiritual level.
Then Jesus shared His response: “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.” (v. 20)
On one hand, Jesus’ response doesn’t really answer this leader’s question. Does this response mean that Jesus accepted this teacher of the Law, or does it imply that this teacher then decided against being a disciple?
None of the gospels tell us for certain, however, in Jesus’ response, we can see a significant clue into this teacher’s mind.
By this point in Jesus’ ministry, He was drawing a crowd and His fame was growing. It is likely that this teacher wanted to be a part of Jesus’ group because it was popular and famous. Jesus could see the motives behind this man’s request, and in His response, Jesus challenges this man even though Jesus doesn’t reject him.
Jesus’ response emphasizes the negative angle of following Him, which in this case meant this man giving up his home and past. We don’t see a conclusion to this teacher’s story, and we don’t know whether this teacher still chose to follow after Jesus directed him to the challenges of following, but in this event, we see a powerful truth for all of us:
When we choose to follow Jesus, we are trading our past lives for future lives, and even though our new life with God has an “eternal-life” guarantee, we will still face challenges while living for Jesus in this age of life.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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