Jesus Tells about His Death the Third Time

When is the Best Time to Follow Christ?

Bible Study Lessons; Matthew 8:18-22

When is the Best Time to Follow Christ?
Copyright bobpardue.pixels.com

These passages and lessons for study from the New Testament are partly about fear and partly about faith – or the lack of it.

With Jesus, we can conquer one and have more of the other. But when should I follow Christ?

Today? Tomorrow? Now? Let’s find out what Jesus says in Matthew.

 

 

When is the Best Time To Start Following Christ?

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.

Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”

But Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.” – Matthew 8:18-22 NASB

For God so loved the world..”

Jesus Says; “Follow Me.” – But When?

This Bible study lesson has many different avenues but I’d like to concentrate on Jesus’ statement “Follow Me, and allow the dead bury their own dead.“.

One meaning can be that, without God, the people mentioned were already dead in spirit.

But, the Disciple Only Wanted to Bury His Father!

In reality, the disciple was procrastinating about following Jesus. In those times the ritual of a funeral could last as long as a year in a Jewish home.

By then it could have been too late for the disciple – Jesus knew his heart.

Short Term vs. Long Term

Is it better to have faith and follow Christ or to continue living life for the popularity, leisure and habits of this world? Which is better?

We will be here for a very short period of time on the scale of eternity. An investment in following Jesus in this life will last forever.

How long is forever? I can’t even imagine, can you?

No Place to Lay His Head

Even the disciples experienced doubt and fears. Following Christ meant that sometimes they would not even have a place to sleep. But, they followed.

When we decide to become Christians we are not always going to have it easy or be in charge of everything on this earth. But, in my humble opinion, it’s worth the cost.

When Is The Best Time To Follow Jesus?

Did the young man really need to bury his father? In Jewish tradition a burial ceremony could last for a very long period.

The man could also have been a first-born son who did not want to lose his inheritance.

Whatever the reason, he wanted to put off follow-ship until a later date.

What About the Rest of Us? When Will We Follow Christ

[easyazon_image align=”left” height=”160″ identifier=”031027303X” locale=”US” src=”https://makingchristknown.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/41r1Gd1rMzL.SL160.jpg” tag=”bobpardphot-20″ width=”115″]Although I accepted Jesus at an early age, I fell away and put off following Christ until middle-age. I’m now playing catch-up on learning more about Him.

The good news is that Christ offers me the same salvation as he does to Christians who were raised in the church. He offers that very same promise to you too, no matter where you are in life.

Isn’t God wonderful?

Your Time

If you would like to learn more about how to receive the love and life-changing experience of Jesus Christ and would like to find out how, please take a moment to see John 3:16.

Love in Christ

– Bob

 

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