GENESIS 24:52-26:16
MATTHEW 8:18-34
PSALM 10:1-15
PROVERBS 3:7-8
Jesus in Ministry.
As we see Jesus in ministry I find it so intriguing that as Jesus increased in popularity He did not follow the crowds or even seek to make them bigger. In some ways he seemed to avoid the great multitudes that followed Him.
In verse 19 it says: Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
With the miracles associated with the ministry of Jesus, following Him might have seemed more glamorous than it really was. Jesus perhaps received many spontaneous offers like this. I can see many people wanting to be in Jesus' "entourage."
Jesus' response was very unique. He says "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
Jesus often responds to things and people with what seems like the oddest answers. I can't imagine what I would've thought if He had said that to me. But as I think about it I can see the picture that Jesus is trying to paint.
Jesus didn’t tell the man “No, you can’t follow Me.” But He told him the truth, without painting a glamorized version of what it was like to follow Him. This is the opposite of techniques used by many evangelists today, but Jesus wanted the man to know what it would really be like.
The reason this man turned away from Jesus was because Jesus lived a very simple life by faith, trusting His Father for every need and without reserves of material resources.
This is just the kind of thing that would make Jesus more attractive to a truly spiritual man. Here is a man who lives completely by faith and is satisfied with few material things; I should follow Him and learn from Him.
Let that be our life and prayer, to follow Jesus no matter how un-glamourous it is. The truth of the gospel is the cross. We will find out soon enough in the gospels how hard following Jesus really is. This walk and journey is tough, but if our God is for us, than who can be against us.
Be blessed today saints!
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