Reason to Follow

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

REASON TO FOLLOW

Matt 8:18-20

 18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." 20 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 

NIV

What a strange response Jesus gave to this teacher of the law. It is interesting that it was customary for every teacher to have a few disciples follow them everywhere they went. It is supposed that this gave the teacher of the law, in this case, worthy men with whom he might have an intelligent conversation regarding the law. Certainly, Jesus has hand-picked his disciples, however, it appears Jesus did not pick men the would be considered by the standards of that day to be worthy, or intelligent men with which the teacher, Jesus, could have an intelligent conversation. Instead, Jesus spoke the truth into them. Spoke of the inner man, the spiritual man, and about eternal matters. We are not told why this teacher of the law desired to follow Jesus wherever he went, however, it is supposed, by Jesus’s response, this teacher of the law was looking for some way to advance his position in this world. To follow someone who was able to garner such a large group of listeners whenever he taught, would give him both a degree of prestige and a way to learn how to get bigger crowds for his teaching. Jesus was telling him that he can gain nothing in this world by following Him everywhere, for Jesus has no home here, He is but a sojourner, who is even poorer than foxes and birds, or any creature who has a den, or nest. Although, we know Jesus is not poor, for He is the Lord Almighty who created all that was ever created. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, yet during his time when He came in the limited constraints of the human form, he showed no signs of wealth but rather remanded himself to the support of others, His creation. It would be wise for us to understand our reason for wanting to follow Jesus. Of course, it is not for material or social gain, as some of those false teachers of today proclaim is the result of following Jesus. We follow Jesus because He gives us eternal life. It might seem selfish to say this is the main reason we follow Jesus, but what other reason could there be? If we were to say because he heals us, that too is selfish. If we say it is because He provides for our daily bread, that too is selfish. If we say that it is because He guides our lives, that too is selfish. The whole idea is that Jesus is the reason we follow Him because He is Jesus, and He is the only way to eternal life. It does not matter our position or how much wealth we have in this world, but it does matter in the world to come. Although it is true that He does heal us, He does provide for us, He does guide us, those are because He desires to do so because He loves us. That is our motivation for following and serving Him, it is because we love Him. We want to lift up Jesus.