No Excuses
The Cost of Following Jesus
Text: Matthew 8:18–27
“When Jesus saw a large crowd around Him, He gave the order to go to the other side of the sea. A scribe approached Him and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!’ Jesus told him, ‘Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.’ Another of His disciples said, ‘Lord, first let me go bury my father.’ But Jesus told him, ‘Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’” — Matthew 8:18–22 (CSB)
There is a significant difference between admiring Jesus and following Jesus.
A large crowd was around Jesus. The crowds were drawn to His teaching, His miracles, and His authority. But Jesus knew that following Him was going to cost something. So when a scribe declared, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!” Jesus did not respond by making discipleship sound easier.
He told him the truth.
Not of This World
“Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
Jesus was not promising His followers comfort, security, prosperity, or an easy earthly life.
The animals had places they called home. Jesus did not. No excuses.
He was showing this man that following Him meant identifying with a kingdom that does not operate according to the values of this world.
The disciple cannot make this world his ultimate home while claiming that Christ is his ultimate Lord.
Jesus was not saying that possessions, houses, families, or earthly responsibilities are inherently wrong. He was establishing something much more fundamental:
Nothing in this world can have greater claim upon us than Christ.
Priorities
Matthew 6:33 gives the principle:
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”
The issue is not whether life contains legitimate responsibilities. The issue is what comes first.
The second man says, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Notice the words:
“Lord, let me first…”
That is the conflict.
Jesus is not necessarily addressing the details of the man's family situation. He is confronting the priority revealed in the statement. If Jesus is truly Lord, then “first” belongs to Him.
Following Jesus cannot be conditional upon everything else in life being settled first because there will always be another responsibility...Another obligation...Another opportunity...Another reason to wait. But discipleship begins when Christ moves from being someone we admire to being the One whose claim takes precedence over everything else.
NO Excuses
The man's request sounds reasonable.
That is what makes it so powerful.
Most excuses for postponing obedience do not sound ridiculous. They sound responsible.
“Let me first…”
The danger is not always that we reject Christ. Sometimes the danger is that we continually place something legitimate before Christ.
There is always a reason to wait.
But Jesus' command is remarkably simple:
“Follow Me.”
The question is not whether the reason is understandable. The question is whether anything has been placed ahead of obedience to Christ.
There are no excuses-no matter who, where or how you are, there are no excuses.
Christ commands 1st place.
Life
Jesus said:
“Follow Me…”
That is the heart of discipleship.
Christianity is not merely agreeing with certain doctrines about Jesus. It is following Jesus.
He becomes the direction of life.
He becomes the determining priority.
He becomes the One whose words govern our decisions.
This shows us the Christian life is not simply about what we believe about Jesus. It is about what we do because we believe Him. Faith produces movement. Jesus does not say, Admire Me. Argue about me, or Ignore Me. He says, “Follow Me.”
Death
Then Jesus says:
“…and let the dead bury their own dead.”
This is intentionally shocking.
Jesus is using “the dead” in two senses. The physically dead are to be buried, but Jesus is speaking about those who remain spiritually dead, separated from the life of God.
His point is not that caring for one's parents is unimportant. Scripture repeatedly teaches the importance of honoring parents. His point is that the call of Christ is more fundamental than every earthly obligation.
There is a kingdom that is already breaking into this world, and Jesus is calling people out of spiritual death into life.
The issue is therefore not simply when the man will follow Jesus.
It is whether he will recognize that following Jesus is the most important thing he can do with his life.
Our Home Is...
Jesus' words about having nowhere to lay His head point toward a deeper reality.
His followers may have earthly homes, but our ultimate home is not here.
We are citizens of another kingdom.
That changes the way we understand everything else.
Home.
Possessions.
Career.
Family.
Comfort.
Security.
Even life itself.
None of these things can become ultimate because none of them are eternal.
Jesus calls His disciples to live in this world without making this world their final destination.
And then Matthew immediately moves into the storm.
When Following Jesus Gets Difficult
“As He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves—but Jesus was sleeping.” — Matthew 8:23–24 (CSB)
There is something important here:
The disciples were in the storm because they followed Jesus.
Following Jesus does not mean avoiding storms.
Sometimes obedience takes us directly into circumstances we would never have chosen.
But Jesus was in the boat.
The cost of discipleship is real. The storms are real. The uncertainty is real.
But so is His presence.
The passage therefore presents discipleship as more than an emotional declaration:
“I will follow You wherever You go.”
Jesus shows what that statement actually means.
It means recognizing that this world is not our ultimate home.
It means putting the kingdom first.
It means refusing to let legitimate responsibilities become excuses for delayed obedience.
It means choosing life with Christ over the spiritual deadness of the world.
And it means following Him even when the path leads directly into a storm.
The issue is not whether following Jesus costs something.
The issue is whether anything in this world is worth more than following Him.
ReflecT
What legitimate responsibility, desire, possession, or concern is most capable of becoming “let me first...” in my life?
If Christ truly has first place, what would change about the priorities by which I make decisions?
Pray about it:Lord Jesus, teach me to follow You without making this world my home or allowing earthly priorities to become excuses for delayed obedience. Give me the faith to seek Your kingdom first, even when following You is costly or leads me into a storm. Amen.