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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
From Paul's writings to the saints in Thessalonica, we have focused on the need to have what he called “the love of the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2.10). Without that love of the truth, men are void of the first prerequisite for salvation. Without that love of the truth, men are ripe for delusion and deceit; they are set for damnation!
In examining this universal need for the love of the truth, we have noted that Jesus, the greatest lover of truth ever to set foot on this planet, exemplified what it means to possess the love of the truth. We began looking at how He demonstrated this love from the very outset of His ministry. Although the truths in the Sermon on the Mount had likely been expressed many, many times by Jesus, He made them immortal when He set them into one discourse for His followers. These truths became essential “Be-Attitudes” for all kingdom citizens. They contain the core concepts of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of self that must precede true discipleship. The Sermon on the Mount provides a framework from which Matthew's account of the life of Christ must be viewed. The Sermon on the Mount begins our Lord's Divine demonstration of The Love of the Truth.
Come now to a rather obscure and somewhat enigmatic passage in Matthew 8. “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.'”(Matthew 8.19-22). Viewed in the light of this study, this passage assumes its true meaning in the ministry of Christ. In summary form, it contains an expression of motive that must accompany all true disciples of Christ. That being the case, it furthers our understanding of what it means to possess the love of the truth.
The scribe who first approached Jesus did not ask a question; he made a statement! He said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Yet, Jesus responded as though he had asked a question. It was as if the scribe had asked, “Is your ministry radically austere? What comforts do you afford yourself during your work? What can I as a follower expect in the way of creature comforts as we go about our work?” Remember, the scribe didn't ask these questions, but Jesus responded as though he had!
The power that Jesus possessed was beyond anything that mortal eyes had ever beheld! He had just healed Peter's mother-in-law of a fever, demonstrated how it was possible to cast out demonic spirits with a word, and on the same occasion He had “healed all who were sick.” (see Matthew 8.14-17). Without any other words of explanation, Matthew says that “...when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side [of the sea].” (Matthew 8.18) That is the background that attends the statement of the two would-be disciples who approached Jesus.
In order of presentation, these are the first would-be disciples whom Jesus turned down; they would not be the last, but they were the first. Our study of these two is directly to the point of this entire series on The Love of the Truth. (continued)
Questions:
1. According to Matthew's account, how many sick people did Jesus heal?
2. On this occasion and according to Matthew's account, what procedure did Jesus use to cast the demons out of those so possessed?
3. Again according to Matthew, what did these deeds demonstrate about Jesus and the prophecies of the Old Testament?
4. These things being said, what possible motivations might would-be followers of Jesus have had?
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