Introduction

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. (Matthew 8:18–34, ESV)

A Discipleship Passage

• Example: the context of the request is everything—if I were at Costco and someone asked me to help them load their groceries into their car, context would be king. An older woman with heavy pallets of  water? Absolutely. A man looking like Pastor Manny with two bags of protein powder? No thanks.
• Matthew 8-10 is a discipleship passage: What is a disciple, or follower of Christ? What do disciples of Christ look like? How do they follow him?
  • Today: Who is asking them to follow? 
• Theme: In this passage, Jesus commands human hearts, the natural elements, and the demonic realm. Each episode reveals what our King looks for in his followers, but also reveals our King in important and life-giving ways.

Identity Anchor #1: Jesus is the Son of Man. (Matthew 8:18-22)

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

He gave orders to go over to the other side (18):

• But, before they depart, two “disciples” approach Jesus.
  • Note: At this point in Matthew, the term “disciple” has not developed into its fullest meaning—the apostolic team—but is still reserved for those investigating Jesus.

Potential Disciple #1. The Scribe

• Scribes were the Bible experts of their time. Jesus had mostly fishermen on his team, so we wonder if it might have been nice to have a trained Bible scholar.
• This scribe approached Jesus as he would’ve approached any other teacher (or rabbi). He declared he would go wherever Jesus went.
  • Note: Teachers of the law enjoyed real social standing in synagogue and community life—seats of honor, recognized authority, and deference from the people. The scribe seems willing to follow Jesus there.
• So Jesus tells the man, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man (Jesus’ most used title for himself) has nowhere to lay his head” (20).
  • The scribe said he would go wherever. But Jesus said he had nowhere to go.
  • Jesus curbs the scribe’s enthusiasm. If he thought becoming Jesus’ disciple would lead to honor and comfort, Christ corrects him.
  • The Scribe’s Idol: Status—he believed status would give him significance.

Potential Disciple #2. The Son

• Another (like the first) disciple said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (21).
• What was this man getting at?
  • a. Funeral today? Burials took place as quickly as possible, on the same day of death.
  • b. Funeral next year? It was customary for the oldest son to gather the bones a year later and re-bury in an ossuary.
  • c. Funeral someday? Likely—a desire to wait until his elderly father dies, honor him, and then move on to following Jesus.
• Jesus shakes this man up and challenges him: “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead” (22).
  • Jesus believed in, preached, and also authored the concept of honoring parents (Ex. 20:12; Matt. 15:4-6).
  • But this man was using family loyalties as an excuse and delay for discipleship.
  • And Jesus wanted the man to know of an even higher calling in life—honoring and living for the King!
    • He outranks every other loyalty in life.
  • The Son’s idol: Family—He believed family approval was his highest duty.

So what is a disciple? Someone who surrenders comfort and competing loyalties to follow Jesus.

• Potential Disciple #1 needed to know how rugged and difficult the calling would be. He would not be honored and comfortable, but dishonored and uncomfortable.
• Potential Disciple #2 needed to stop delaying and making excuses. His competing loyalties did not merely postpone following Jesus, but eliminated it altogether.

Identity Anchor: He is the Son of Man.

• Son of Man (20): Jesus’ favorite title for himself. Much ink has been spilled studying the Old Testament origins of this phrase.
  • The Lead Sufferer—a frail, mortal human. In Ezekiel, where God uses the title over ninety times of the prophet, he is depicted as a human embattled by frailty, weakness, mortality, and rejection.
  • The Eternal Lord—a glorified, powerful sovereign. In Daniel, the Son of Man is depicted as a preexistent, exalted, and apocalyptic figure who is given everlasting dominion over an everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7).
• Who are we following?
  • The One asking for everything is the One who gave everything (sufferer) and has been given everything (Lord).
  • The lead sufferer, which helps our over-enthusiasm. Are we willing to surrender honor and comfort to follow Jesus?
  • The eternal Lord, which helps our priorities. Are we willing to surrender competing loyalties to follow Jesus?
  • Identity Anchor: Because Jesus is the Son of Man who suffered, I expect pain and dishonor as I follow him. And because Jesus is the Son of Man who is the eternal King, I know it makes sense to make him my priority.

Identity Anchor #2: Jesus is the Lord (Matthew 8:23-27)

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

The disciples followed Jesus, but a great storm overtook their little boat (23-24).

• The sea.
  • Many of the disciples were professional fisherman. Still, this storm made them feel they were perishing (25).
• Exorcism language. Because Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea in the same way he rebuked demons, many see demonic forces operating in the natural chaos of this particular storm.
• Matthean hint: Mission critical. Unlike Mark and Luke, Matthew used a word for shaking or earthquake (seismos) to depict this storm.
  • He used this word to describe the significant events of the death (27:51-54) and resurrection (28:2) of Christ. He uses it here while the disciples are on mission with Jesus.
    • Death —> Resurrection —> Mission
• Since Jesus was asleep, they alerted him to the fact they were all perishing (25).

When he awoke, he spoke to them and brought calm to the lake. They responded by marveling (26-27).

• Their question: What sort of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him? (27)
  • Jesus’ sleep and his power give us a snapshot of his identity.
    • The true humanity (sleep) and divinity (power) of Christ appear in this singular episode.
    • The inverted Jonah. Jonah slept in the storm as he fled his mission to Ninevah. Jesus slept in the storm as he rushed headlong into his mission to the demoniacs.
• Answer: Yahweh (the Lord)
  • The storm episode demonstrates that Jesus is Yahweh because he performs actions that the Old Testament reserves exclusively for God. To a first-century Jew, the ability to rebuke and still the raging sea was a uniquely divine attribute.
  • Trouble on the waters: Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. (Psalm 107:28–29, ESV)

So what is a disciple? Someone who trusts in Jesus in a way that transcends the loudest storms.

• Matthew’s Emphasis: The problem of their little faith (26).
  • Note: Jesus responded to their little faith—it was enough for him—but wanted to bring them into bigger faith.
  • He still loves the prayer, “Lord, save us! We are perishing.”
  • He mercifully responded to them, but also wanted to train them for more.
  • And the term “little faith” is one of gentle rebuke imbued with tender love. It is a family word (you’re in), not an excommunication word (you’re out).
• What should they have done?
  • a. Recognized the impossibility of failure. His mission was not yet complete—and it is an unstoppable mission; it will be completed.
  • b. Rested in his divine authority. Perhaps in calm request, perhaps by emulating his sleep, they could have trusted him more in the moment.
  • c. Trusted the person in the boat over the storm outside it. Yes, their circumstances appeared dire. But Jesus was with them. And this was a major lesson for their future.

Identity Anchor: He is the Lord.

• Since he is Yahweh, the Almighty God, even when he is asleep we can trust him.
  • The Lord who sleeps shares your weariness in the storm. The Lord who speaks has authority over it. We trust the One in the boat because of who he is over the boat.
• We want to grow in our trust in him during (yet) unstilled storms.
  • This is not a trust that the storm will certainly stop. It might. It might not.
  • It is trust for the Person in the storm with you.
    • What storm might you be in?
    • How might we trust him in our storms?

Identity Anchor #3. Jesus is the Son of God (Matthew 8:28-34)

28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

With the disciples’ question—what kind of man is this?—ringing in the air, Jesus went to the other side of the lake.

• He arrived at the place of the Gadarenes, which was a predominantly Gentile coastal region. Everything about it—tombs, demon-possessed men, herds of pigs—feels unclean.
• Stunningly, two demon-possessed (or demonized) men met him.
• Under the influence of dark, demonic forces, these men cry out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time?” (29)
  • Orthodox statements—he is the Son of God, and there is a day of judgment on the horizon for the demonic realm.
• The herdsmen told everything in the city, and everyone came out and begged Jesus to leave their region (34).

A brief demonology:

• Fallen angels. Demons appear to be fallen angels who joined Satan in his rebellion against God and were cast out of their original, holy position, with the lake of fire prepared as their final judgment—the time referred to in our passage (Matt. 25:41; 2 Pet. 2:4; Rev. 12:7–9).
• Deceivers. Their primary work is deception—spreading false teachings, inspiring false prophets, and masquerading as light to lead humanity away from the truth of God (1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 4:1–3; 2 Cor. 11:14).
• Tempters. They are also instruments of temptation, exploiting the desires of the flesh to draw people into sin and away from God (1 Thess. 3:5; Eph. 2:2; James 1:14–15).
• Destroyers. Demons actively sow destruction in human life—fracturing relationships, corrupting societies, and at times inflicting direct physical and spiritual harm on individuals (Mark 9:22; James 3:15).
• Promoters of false worship. They have long sought to divert worship from the one true God by fueling false religious systems, with Scripture revealing that sacrifices to idols are, in reality, made to demons (1 Cor. 10:20; Deut. 32:16–17; Ps. 106:36–37).
• Overthrown by Christ. Yet Jesus came precisely to confront and overthrow this demonic bondage, bringing freedom and deliverance to all who are oppressed (Luke 4:18–19).
• Stand firm against them. Believers need not fear them, but must stand firm through faith and prayer (Eph. 6:10–18).

They then ask to be sent into a herd of many pigs (30-31). When Jesus commanded them—Go—they killed the whole herd by rushing into the sea (32).

• Why does Jesus permit this? Three possibilities:
  • (1) As proof of the exorcism—the men needed visible confirmation that they were truly free.
  • (2) As judgment on unclean economy—the pigs should not have been there at all (in a culture observing Mosaic dietary law); their destruction is a small foretaste of the final judgment on disordered Gentile life.
  • (3) As a test of Gadarene priorities—what will the city value more, two restored persons or two thousand pigs?
    • This economic hardship was worth the saving of these two (and many more through their lives) souls.
    • It was going to impact them to have Jesus present. It already had.
  • Matthew does not criticize the city’s residents, but does hint that they are under a demonic spell also.
    • The demons begged Jesus.
    • The city begged Jesus.

So what is a disciple? Someone who welcomes Jesus to rearrange their lives before the final day.

• Willing surrender: the disciple is not like the townspeople.
  • We don’t ask him to depart.

Identity Anchor: He is the Son of God.

• Since he will rearrange all furniture one day, we benefit from allowing him to rearrange our furniture today.
  • On that day, he will have his way.
  • So we invite him to have his way today.
• We invite the Son of God to rearrange our lives.
  • What might we be unwilling to allow Jesus to touch?

Conclusion

• Jesus is building a tower and going to war—he needs the right materials and an equipped army (Luke 14:25-33).
  • So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33, ESV)
• And, as the Son of Man, Yahweh Lord, and Son of God, he is altogether worthy—everyone and everything else will disappoint and crumble.

Study Questions

Head (Knowledge, Facts, Understanding)

1. Jesus called himself the “Son of Man,” a title drawn from both Ezekiel and Daniel 7. How do these two Old Testament backgrounds shape our understanding of who Jesus is—and why does it matter that he holds both suffering humanity and exalted divinity together in this one title?
2. Matthew uses an unusual word for the storm on the lake — seismos, meaning “earthquake”—which he only uses three other times in his Gospel (Matthew 27:51-54; 28:2). What is Matthew signaling by using this word in the storm narrative, and how does it connect the disciples’ journey to the death and resurrection of Christ?

Heart (Feelings, Impressions, Desires)

1. The scribe wanted honor; the second disciple wanted to delay. Beneath those surface desires lay deeper idols—trusting status to give significance, trusting the familiar to give security. What functional idols sit beneath your own hesitations to fully follow Jesus, and what does it stir in you to realize that Christ himself offers what those idols only promise?
2. Picture Jesus asleep in the stern as the storm rages—so secure in the Father that chaos cannot disturb him. Then picture the Son of Man with nowhere to lay his head, the eternal King who built every fox’s hole, owning nothing. Which image moves you more deeply, and why? What does it awaken in your affections for him?

Hands (Actions, Commitments, Decisions, Beliefs)

1. The Gadarenes saw Jesus rearrange their economy and asked him to leave. The disciple, by contrast, welcomes Jesus to rearrange life now, knowing he will rearrange everything on the final day. What furniture in your life — relationships, finances, schedule, ambitions, comforts — have you quietly been asking Jesus not to touch? What is one specific area you will hand over to him this week?

1. “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Jesus did not ask why there was a storm; he asked why his disciples feared in it. Pastor Nate offered three responses the disciples could have practiced—recognizing the impossibility of failed mission, resting in his divine authority, and trusting the Person in the boat over the storm outside it. What present storm are you in, and which of these three trust-responses do you most need to practice this week?