The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 8 Part 4 Christ Checks Wrong Motives, Wrong Priorities & Wrong Loyalties

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Matthew 8:18  Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. 

"Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him" 

Matthew records that our Lord changed His location.

Jesus observed the multitudes of people gathered together, some who came to see Him because of what others said about Jesus.

Some came to see the miracles Jesus did or to have their bodily diseases healed. 

Not all in the crowd of people came to hear the gospel that Jesus preached. 

Jesus knew that most people would not respond to His preaching with repentance and faith.

This is why when He gave the parable of the two gates, He said that few people enter the straight gate to walk on the narrow, God honoring path that leads to eternal life (See Matthew 7:13-14).

The sweet influences of Jesus Christ and His gospel were not to be confined to one place. 

Rather, this good news was to be diffused throughout the nation. 

Jesus always did good to others because He did the good and perfect works the Father gave Him to do. 

Many large crowds came to see Jesus but not all were willing to commit by following Him.

John 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 

After feeding 5,000 people Jesus continued to press home the fact that all people are born spiritually dead and must be born again.

At that point, John tells us that many of the multitude following Christ, returned to their homes and vocations. 

Such reactions happened many times in Jesus' earthly ministry.

Many people wanted to follow Christ until they saw that their lives would be transformed by God for His glory and that they would no longer be living for self and the world.

This truth is essential because many "churches" in America began measuring "success" by how large they grew.

Yet, the metric Jesus gave in His teaching about the straight gate, the narrow path and eternal life was this: "Few there be that find it."

Therefore, the true success of any local church must be based upon spiritual metrics from scripture.

Are professing Christians walking a worthy walk with Christ? (See Ephesians 4-6).

Are professing Christians taught how to worship God in Spirit and in truth? (See John 4:23-24).

Do professing Christians love one another as Christ commanded us to do? (See John 13:34-35).

Are professing Christians taught to abide in Christ? (See John 15:5-8).

Are Christians taught to keep Christ's commandments as Jesus taught in the Great Commission? (See Matthew 28:18-20).

Is the local church actively witnessing, seeking to share the gospel with those who do not know Christ?

Is the local church active in supporting like minded missionaries who take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth? (See Acts 13:1-3).

Are Christian parents taught to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? (See Ephesians 6:1-4).

Is the local church standing firm on sound doctrine? (See Titus 1:9; 2:1).

Are Christians taught to be separated from the corrupt culture because our body is the habitation of God through His indwelling Spirit? (See 1 Corinthians 6:15-19; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 2:19-22).

Is worship in a local church truly God honoring and distinctively reverent toward God, or is it just like the culture's music? (See Ephesians 5:18-21; Colossians 3:16-17).

Is the Word of God preached fully, carefully and accurately in the local church without twisting it to say something God did not say? (See 2 Timothy 4:1-5).

Is Jesus Christ, the cross and His resurrection consistently lifted up and exalted for all to see? (See Acts 5:42; Romans 15:20; 1 Corinthians 1:17-25; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Ephesians 3:8).

These are not all spiritual metrics that inform us how our church is doing, but they are enough for a good evaluation.

It may well be that God will bless such a church with numerical growth or it may well be that the church will remain a small but faithful congregation. 

It is Jesus Christ who builds His church not any man.

Therefore, each local church must be very careful not to follow modern evangelism that says the church must be more like the world in order to win the world.

This is a lie of Satan which is repudiated by the scriptures.

Each local church must avoid the idea that a Christian can profess faith in Christ and still live for the world, with no evidence of spiritual life.

This is a lie of Satan that is repudiated by the scriptures.

The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all who will believe.

Jesus said that "Ye must be born again" which refers to the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost (See Titus 3:4-6).

Jesus' desire to reach more people shows that we must share the gospel with others.

Matthew 8:18  Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. 

Therefore, Jesus had His disciples prepare a boat that they might move to a different location to preach to a new group of people.

Jesus was now in Capernaum, a city at the northwest corner of the Sea of Tiberias, or Sea of Galilee. 

The country to which he purposed to go was the region on the east of the Sea of Tiberias.

The cost of following Jesus Christ was too steep for many people.

Matthew 8:19  And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 

A certain scribe came to Jesus as He traveled to the other side of the Sea of Tiberias.

His faith seems genuine at first, as he eagerly pledged to follow Jesus wherever He would go.

He likely witnessed some of Jesus' miracles and perhaps heard of Christ's glorious teaching but his response seems to be more based upon emotion rather than a renewed mind.

He offered to follow Christ no matter where he had to go without understanding what it means to be Christ's disciple.

A man who is not illuminated by the Spirit of God rashly thinks he is capable of any thing.

Genuine faith in a person who taught God's truth knows he can do nothing except by Christ strengthening him.

Matthew 8:20  And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 

Jesus's reply to the certain scribe shows that He discerned what was in that man's heart.

The scribe acted with a carnal motive hoping to gain prestige or power.

As a scribe he earned a good living and was accustomed to the good things in life.

Thus, Jesus showed him that Christ, the Son of man, did not have any permanent dwelling place on this earth.

Jesus called Himself the Son of man frequently to point out the incarnation of the Son of God, according to the prophets, (See Psalm 8:5; Daniel 7:13).

Foxes have holes in the earth to hide from danger or take their rest, and birds of the air have nests to rest, hatch their eggs, and bring up their young.

In contrast the Son of man has no place to lay His head when weary. 

Jesus showed the scribe that his heart was not right, not ready to fully commit to following Christ because you cannot serve two masters.

So the scribe sought to attach himself to Jesus for the wrong reasons.

The next man was one who is called a disciple of Jesus. 

This man was invited or called to follow Jesus but instead of committing to it, he offered Christ an excuse for not following Him.

Matthew 8:21-22  And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22)  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. 

Ossuaries were bone boxes used in an ancient Jewish burial practice called ossilegium, where a person's bones were gathered after the body decomposed and placed in the box for a second, spiritual burial, making room for more bodies in a family tomb. 

The phrase "let the dead bury the dead" (found in Matthew 8:22 and Luke 9:60) is Jesus' admonition to a disciple who wanted to delay following him to attend his father's second burial. 

Jesus emphasized the superior importance following Christ over traditional or family obligations.

Therefore, he instructed this man that those who are spiritually dead should attend to earthly matters like a secondary burial. 

Christ's followers should prioritize following Jesus and preaching the gospel above all other concerns. 

Thus, we see one man who responded with emotional fervor and a chance to gain by associating with Christ, but his profession was not genuine.

We see another man, one of Christ's disciples who wanted to turn from the kingdom work he was called to do, by attending a second burial ritual for his father, who had been dead for at least a year. 

Luke 9:61-62  And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62)  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. 

Luke's account of the same event adds a third person, one who said he would follow Christ, but he had to run home and say goodbye to his family.

Jesus compared this to a farmer who is plowing a field with a team of oxen.

He must keep a grip on the reins so that they plow straight furrows. 

If he turns to look back, the oxen will deviate from where they should be plowing, creating more work for the farmer.

The first man's motives were wrong and he did not follow hard after Christ.

The second man's priorities were wrong and he did not follow Christ. 

The last man's loyalties were wrong, putting family before following Jesus Christ the Son of God.

May Jesus's simple but powerful teachings impact our own lives.

Let us always examine our motives and make sure they are pure.

Let us seek to make following hard after Jesus Christ our highest priority in life. 

Let us remain faithful and loyal to Jesus Christ before all others.

Bob