Our paragraph topic is: (Sacrifice to follow Christ) Part 1.
Christ now begins to set the stage for his travels. He is moving around in the territory meeting people, curing the sick, healing the lame, and casting out demons. Matthew begins this paragraph by telling us that Christ recognized that great crowds were gathering around him wherever he went. The word had spread, his location was known, and people begin to gather to him. They wanted to touch him. They wanted to hear him. They wanted to see him. They wanted to be where he was. All, were coming out of the woodwork to be around this great movement that was taking place.
Christ had now become very popular. What could we compare him to in our time? Could he be a great movie star? Could he be a great rock star? Could he be a president? What comparison could we make to him today? In his time, the word spread by word of mouth. There must have been those who wanted to use him to make money. There must have been those who wanted him to meet influential people. There must have been those who wanted him to speak at special gatherings. But Christ had his own agenda and his mission. He did not come to be popular. He did not come to have fame and fortune. He did not come to be a movie star or a rock star. He came to heal. He came to cast out. He came to teach. He came to restore.
The people of his time had forgotten the joy of their God. Christ came to restore that joy. Christ came to demonstrate that there is a true God. Christ came to give back the love and peace that comes with the knowledge of the one true God. Christ came to build faith. Christ came to restore trust. Christ came to show the people that God lives. And the crowds gathered. Realizing that the storm was gathering he gave orders to his disciples to go across the sea. He gave orders that they should get into their boats and go to another place. He gave orders and they were fulfilled.
When crowds gather, all kinds of people come forth. There are those who are genuine in their faith and love. But there are those who were seeking opportunity. When a large event takes place today, like maybe the Superbowl or World Cup Soccer, everyone wants to come to the event. The scalpers come out. The divas come out looking for players. The hustlers come out looking for suckers. The police are out to maintain the crowds. The promoters are there. The people that work the event are working. The big names come out to get their special seating at the event. The fans are there to see their favorite stars. And those who can not attend watch from their homes on televisions. Everyone comes out to see. And so it was in Christ's time.
And here it was, a scribe, a fan, a groupie that follows everywhere the group goes, came out to be a part of this event. The groupie told Christ that he would follow him where ever he goes. The scribe said: "Master, I will follow thee wherever thou goest." Christ said to the groupie: "The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
Christ tells us that this is the way it must be. Everyone has a place of rest, even the animals. But the place of rest for the Son of Man is not on this earth. For he will be the object of pursuit from this point on and there will be no rest for him. He told his disciples, "Let us go across the sea." For the pursuit of those seeking opportunity weighed greatly upon him. He told his disciples let us cross the sea to get away from the great crowds. He told his disciples, let us cross the sea, to rest.
Christ now begins to set the stage for his travels. He is moving around in the territory meeting people, curing the sick, healing the lame, and casting out demons. Matthew begins this paragraph by telling us that Christ recognized that great crowds were gathering around him wherever he went. The word had spread, his location was known, and people begin to gather to him. They wanted to touch him. They wanted to hear him. They wanted to see him. They wanted to be where he was. All, were coming out of the woodwork to be around this great movement that was taking place.
Christ had now become very popular. What could we compare him to in our time? Could he be a great movie star? Could he be a great rock star? Could he be a president? What comparison could we make to him today? In his time, the word spread by word of mouth. There must have been those who wanted to use him to make money. There must have been those who wanted him to meet influential people. There must have been those who wanted him to speak at special gatherings. But Christ had his own agenda and his mission. He did not come to be popular. He did not come to have fame and fortune. He did not come to be a movie star or a rock star. He came to heal. He came to cast out. He came to teach. He came to restore.
The people of his time had forgotten the joy of their God. Christ came to restore that joy. Christ came to demonstrate that there is a true God. Christ came to give back the love and peace that comes with the knowledge of the one true God. Christ came to build faith. Christ came to restore trust. Christ came to show the people that God lives. And the crowds gathered. Realizing that the storm was gathering he gave orders to his disciples to go across the sea. He gave orders that they should get into their boats and go to another place. He gave orders and they were fulfilled.
When crowds gather, all kinds of people come forth. There are those who are genuine in their faith and love. But there are those who were seeking opportunity. When a large event takes place today, like maybe the Superbowl or World Cup Soccer, everyone wants to come to the event. The scalpers come out. The divas come out looking for players. The hustlers come out looking for suckers. The police are out to maintain the crowds. The promoters are there. The people that work the event are working. The big names come out to get their special seating at the event. The fans are there to see their favorite stars. And those who can not attend watch from their homes on televisions. Everyone comes out to see. And so it was in Christ's time.
And here it was, a scribe, a fan, a groupie that follows everywhere the group goes, came out to be a part of this event. The groupie told Christ that he would follow him where ever he goes. The scribe said: "Master, I will follow thee wherever thou goest." Christ said to the groupie: "The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
Christ tells us that this is the way it must be. Everyone has a place of rest, even the animals. But the place of rest for the Son of Man is not on this earth. For he will be the object of pursuit from this point on and there will be no rest for him. He told his disciples, "Let us go across the sea." For the pursuit of those seeking opportunity weighed greatly upon him. He told his disciples let us cross the sea to get away from the great crowds. He told his disciples, let us cross the sea, to rest.
