Daily Devotional For Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Good morning and can you believe we are now in October? These days and months are flying. If you have been reading these devotionals, we are taking a look at Matthew’s Gospel from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. So, let’s pick up where we left off yesterday. Look at Matthew 8:18-20,
“When Jesus saw the crowd around Him, He instructed His disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. (19) Then one of the teachers of religious law said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ (20) But Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head’” (NLT).
After doing so many miracles, the crowds became so thick that Jesus knew He had to get away from there, so He could minister to others. So, He gave orders for His disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee. Though the text does not say this, maybe Jesus was exhausted from teaching and healing and just wanted a break. If you have ever been involved in a ministry, the work never ends and the requests never stop. You have to be intentional to get some R&R. Capernaum sat on the northwestern side of the Sea of Galilee and it is possible that they all got into Peter’s boat since Peter was a fisherman.
The Sea of Galilee is located in the Jordan River Rift or Valley. This sea or lake is geographically 600 feet below sea level. Here is a topographical map to show you above. The Mediterranean Sea is to the left and then you have very high mountains in the middle and then the Jordan Rift Valley some 600 feet below. In those days they did not have any means to know when a storm was coming off the Mediterranean Sea. If you were fishing out on the Sea of Galilee and a storm was coming, it was too late. The mountains in the middle would cause these storms to speed up down the right to where the Sea of Galilee was. Many fishermen in the New Testament times drowned due to this. This is why they were always on the look out during the day and never would go out on the Sea of Galilee at night.
So, in our passage, a Scribe approaches Jesus and informs Jesus he wants to follow Jesus. This is out of character for a scribe since we know they were enemies of Jesus. See Matthew 7:29. Scribes were the legal specialists and interpreters of the Old Testament Law. Matthew shows that at least one scribe recognized Jesus’ authority and wanted to follow Him. And when we read Jesus’ response to this Scribe, it seems strange. Jesus was not rebuking this scribe, but challenging him. People, possibly even this scribe, wanted to follow Jesus due to the miracles he saw Jesus do. Jesus did not want this scribe to be disillusioned or disappointed or to drop out without first considering the cost to his own life to do this.
To follow Jesus all of us must be willing to give up worldly security such as possessions, power, positions, material things and money. This is the point of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:24, “You cannot serve both God and money” (NLT). To be one of His disciples, this scribe would have to be willing to give up everything to follow, travel with, listen to Jesus’ teachings on the road and be willing to give up comforts such as a warm bed to sleep in at night.
Here for the first time Jesus uses the Old Testament term for the Messiah– – Son of Man. We find this in Daniel 7:13, “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence” (NLT). So, to this scribe, Jesus pointed to Himself as the Messiah. To the Jews, “Son of Man” was a term, they added or applied a political and military connection. To them, when the Messiah or Son of Man came, he would overthrow Rome and restore Israel as the one world superpower. Though Jesus refused to accept that application of it for Himself, it is understandable how some people misunderstood and misinterpreted Jesus. We do not know what this scribe did. Matthew does not tell us. Maybe he walked away or actually followed Jesus for some time.
To this scribe and to us, Jesus laid out the cost of being His disciple. There is a COST to be a disciple of Jesus. To follow Jesus means we stand against our culture. There is nothing easy nor comfortable about doing this. Jesus did not even have a place to call His home. This means your walk with Christ may cost you friendships, relationships, leisure time, and resources. This means that to follow Christ we have to be willing to endure hardships.
Assignment: What sacrifices are you willing to make for Jesus and which ones are off limits? If Jesus called you to go overseas and do missions, would you? What of your personal possessions are off limits to give up and sacrifice for the Lord? What hardships are off limits to you? What storms have you weathered for the Lord and due to your faith?
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Corinthians 8:9, “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, I really do not know how far I am willing to go for You. Would I die for You? Would I give up my possessions for You? I would hope I would do anything You ask. Thank You for giving up everything for me and for paying God’s cost for my salvation. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly