Monday 27 Jun 2022

June 27: Matthew 8:18-22

Key Verse: Matthew 8:22
But Jesus told him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’

Devotion:
This may sound like a really horrible thing for Jesus to say to this person, but let us not forget Christ would have known what was in their heart and not just what came out of their mouths. Quite often we hear what someone has to say and we take it the wrong way because we cannot know their hearts without God guiding us. I know I have got into trouble a few times for saying something which turned out not to be what the other person needed to hear!

This person came to Jesus and said they were willing to follow Jesus wherever He went. Jesus then said something which seems strange “foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” This seems to be a dig at the people around Him by saying that animals and birds have their homes allowed them by God, but Jesus would not be able to stay with any of them – suggesting most of the people around Him would not give Him a place to stay in their hearts.

Another disciple must have know this teacher of the law and said Jesus should let them off because they had had a death in their family. Jesus’ response was to reject them by saying the dead should bury the dead. This does not mean leaving the body of the person’s father to physically dead people to bury but to leave that task to the spiritually dead people to bury the father.

Christ’s rejection serves to remind us He wants a firm commitment from us, not some sort of “wishy washy” decision we make when we are standing in front of others. Christ wants the decision to follow Him to come directly from our hearts out of love and not through pride or any other emotion. Allow Christ to know your true feelings!

Points to Ponder:
How honest do you think you are with God?

You do know He knows already – don’t you?