The Commands of Christ - Matthew 8:18-22

"And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."


Who is this command to?

Spoken to a follower of Jesus. This command reveals important truth as to the cost of following Christ.

What does this command require?


The words are simple enough, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

What truths do we learn from this command?

Dissect the statement with me for a second: First, follow Jesus. We've seen this before, in Matt. 4:19. The implication here is keep following Jesus. The man speaking to Jesus here is already described as a 'disciple.' Jesus wants to keep it that way. Secondly, let the dead bury their own dead. This is a bit trickier. It seems that this follower of Jesus wants to continue to follow Christ, but he needs to bury his father first. Jesus' statement here seems to point to the fact that following Jesus is more important than burying this guy's father.

Indeed, the first couple of verses in this section show that Jesus wants to show His followers that being His disciple is a difficult thing. The Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head. It is costly to follow Christ. In order to follow Christ, we must give up those securities that we often hold so tightly to, namely, our homes, possessions, and our families.

What are the consequences for disobedience?

Failure to continue as Christ's follower.