Mat 8:19-27 | KingComments | STEP | A crowd gathers around the Lord. They are all attracted by His good works. But He knows their hearts and knows that they only want to benefit from His goodness. The proofs of His goodness have been provided and now it is time to leave that place. He orders His disciples to go to the other side the sea. There He must also do His work. Then a scribe separates himself from the crowd. He enthusiastically enlists himself with the “Master” and indicates that he will follow Him wherever He goes. It shows that he values himself highly. Knowing the Scriptures – after all, he is a scribe – and the desire to follow the Lord is not sufficient to actually be able to follow Him. The Lord says what following Him means. In order to really follow Him it is necessary that one’s own interests and self-confidence are recognized and judged. He also says that to following Him not honor, but reproach is connected. The Lord knows what is in his heart. This is a carnal Jew who thinks that by following Him he will get a good place with the Messiah. Someone who offers himself without being called, thinks that it is all equally beautiful, but it has no grip in his heart. Soon other circumstances will arise that pull his heart to other things and finally he sinks back to his own level. Whoever offers himself to follow the Lord, that is to say, without being called, will be told what the portion of Him he wants to follow is. While He has given the foxes and the birds a place of rest, He is the homeless Son of Man. Foxes and birds of the air are not the sweetest animals of the creation. They symbolize cunning and wickedness, but as creatures they are still under God’s care. Here the Lord calls Himself for the first time “Son of Man”. This title speaks either of His rejection or of His glory. Here this title speaks of His rejection. A case other than that of the scribe is that of a disciple who “first” wants to do something else before he can follow the Lord. When the Lord calls, there appear to be immediate reservations against a direct and complete following of Him. This disciple first wants to do something that is right in itself. He shows respect for his father. But in this case, if the Lord has called, His claims must take precedence over everything, including that of family ties. This doesn’t mean a denial of family ties. God wants us to respect them. The Lord’s call does not conflict with this either, but goes beyond it. His answer shows that this disciple used the obligation to his parents as an excuse not to follow Him straight away. This obligation forms a hindrance between Christ and his heart. The word of the Lord “allow the dead to bury their own dead” means that this disciple can leave the burying of his father to others who are not in relationship with the Lord.

‏ Matthew 8:19-27

Follow the Lord

A crowd gathers around the Lord. They are all attracted by His good works. But He knows their hearts and knows that they only want to benefit from His goodness. The proofs of His goodness have been provided and now it is time to leave that place. He orders His disciples to go to the other side the sea. There He must also do His work.

Then a scribe separates himself from the crowd. He enthusiastically enlists himself with the “Master” and indicates that he will follow Him wherever He goes. It shows that he values himself highly. Knowing the Scriptures – after all, he is a scribe – and the desire to follow the Lord is not sufficient to actually be able to follow Him. The Lord says what following Him means. In order to really follow Him it is necessary that one’s own interests and self-confidence are recognized and judged. He also says that to following Him not honor, but reproach is connected.

The Lord knows what is in his heart. This is a carnal Jew who thinks that by following Him he will get a good place with the Messiah. Someone who offers himself without being called, thinks that it is all equally beautiful, but it has no grip in his heart. Soon other circumstances will arise that pull his heart to other things and finally he sinks back to his own level.

Whoever offers himself to follow the Lord, that is to say, without being called, will be told what the portion of Him he wants to follow is. While He has given the foxes and the birds a place of rest, He is the homeless Son of Man. Foxes and birds of the air are not the sweetest animals of the creation. They symbolize cunning and wickedness, but as creatures they are still under God’s care.

Here the Lord calls Himself for the first time “Son of Man”. This title speaks either of His rejection or of His glory. Here this title speaks of His rejection.

A case other than that of the scribe is that of a disciple who “first” wants to do something else before he can follow the Lord. When the Lord calls, there appear to be immediate reservations against a direct and complete following of Him. This disciple first wants to do something that is right in itself. He shows respect for his father. But in this case, if the Lord has called, His claims must take precedence over everything, including that of family ties.

This doesn’t mean a denial of family ties. God wants us to respect them. The Lord’s call does not conflict with this either, but goes beyond it. His answer shows that this disciple used the obligation to his parents as an excuse not to follow Him straight away. This obligation forms a hindrance between Christ and his heart.

The word of the Lord “allow the dead to bury their own dead” means that this disciple can leave the burying of his father to others who are not in relationship with the Lord.

The Storm on the Sea

Now comes the portion of the Lord’s true followers. The disciples who follow Him on board the ship have acknowledged His claims. They have left everything and follow Him. Now it will turn out that this does not mean that everything is easy. Being with the Lord does not mean that we are exempt from all sorts of trials. The opposite is true. Whoever follows Him as a disciple will face enmity. The elements of nature do their best to frighten us, and in the following story (Mt 8:28-34) we encounter the enmity of men. Both events merely serve to impress us as disciples of the power of the Lord, which He shows just then for us.

We recognize the great storm on the sea in our lives. We find ourselves in situations where it seems as if we perish. Then we cry: ‘Lord, there is a great storm and the ship is being covered with the waves. It seems as if You are sleeping. We know it is not the case, but please come to our aid. Please show us that You are concerned about us! Lord, we are about to die! There is no strength in us to cope with the difficulties and needs, the sin that has become manifest.’

Then He intervenes in His grace for us. He does so with a soft reproach about our little faith. When we think about it, we understand it. How could a ship perish when He is on board? He is always in the Father’s path and He is the Lord of all things. With Him we are always and everywhere safe. Even if life is taken from us, the enemy cannot harm our soul. If the waves flood our lives, we may trust in this promise: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you” (Isa 43:2a).

After His soft reproach “He got up”. That is impressive. He, the Almighty God, gets up and takes action. We become afraid when we only look at the enemies, but when we look at Him, there is peace and confidence.

This fourth case of His power – after the healing of the leper, the servant of the centurion and the mother-in-law of Peter – shows His exaltedness over the power of satan who incites the nations to hatred against Him and His own. For Him that power means nothing. He can still the storm. Only when the disciples call to Him in fear He gets up and subject the forces of nature to His command. The winds and the sea become still at the word of their Creator (Psa 65:7 ; Psa 89:8-9 ; Psa 106:9 ; Psa 107:23-29).