Matthew 8:18 – When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” 21 Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”
23 Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. 24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26 Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. 27 The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!” (NLT)
In today’s passage we have two stories back to back. I am always amazed at the brilliance of the Gospel writers, and the way they often used seemingly unrelated stories to connect to one another. In the first story, we find several people giving Jesus excuses as to why they cannot follow Jesus at that moment. In verse twenty-one a man tells Jesus that he must return home to bury his father. In those day this was a saying that meant one had to care for an elderly parent. On the surface, Jesus’ answer seems harsh. Older translations simply have Jesus responding with, “Let the dead bury their own dead”. More modern translations add ‘spiritually dead’. The word is νεκρός, which often meant spiritually dead, but generally meant ‘lifeless’. I don’t believe Jesus was being harsh. I believed that he knew the man’s answer to be what it was – an excuse for not changing his life to follow Jesus.
In the second story, Jesus calms a storm. The disciples asked, “Who is this man?” This question connects the two stories. We must each ask ourselves who is this Jesus? Is this man so important that we need to change our very lives? Is this man so important that we change our schedules, even our daily activities? Even seemingly good things can become an excuse for not following Jesus. Even seemingly good things can prevent us from the fullness of discipleship to which Jesus calls. However, we can be ‘lifeless’ and ‘spiritually dead’ even as we go about doing what appear to be good things.
Today, let us answer the question – who is this Jesus? Let us examine our daily activities. Are there things that are preventing us from truly following Jesus? Are we spiritually alive? Will we follow?
Posted by Ramón Torres
Life is full of storms…we will face them if we choose to follow Jesus. There is a political storm in our churches and in our government. Will we be brave enough trust Jesus enough to stand up and speak out in His Name for not only the oppressed but also the oppressors and those who support them. The oppressed who call His Name will join us in glory. The oppressors are in mortal danger of damnation if they don’t confess, repent and seek His forgiveness. Lift them both in prayer.