Bible ReadingMatthew 8:18-34 “Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ 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.’ Another of the disciples said to him, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.’ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing.’ 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. And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?’ 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. 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?’ Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, ‘If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.’ 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. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.”
[03:05]Matthew 16:24-26 “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?’”
[14:52]Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
[16:49]Philippians 3:7-11 “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
[19:58]Observation questions- In Matthew 8:18-22, what reasons or conditions appear in the two men who speak to Jesus, and how does Jesus answer each one? [06:22]
- In the storm scene, what are the disciples doing, what is Jesus doing, and what does Jesus say before he calms the sea? [08:06]
- In Matthew 8:28-34, who recognizes Jesus as the Son of God right away, and how does the city respond after the men are delivered? [09:08]
- Across these scenes in Matthew 8, what kinds of costly realities show up around following Jesus: discomfort, fear, sacrifice, or rejection? Which ones can the group point to in the text? [02:24]
Interpretation questions- Jesus says, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” What does that reveal about the kind of life Jesus was offering, and why is that important for anyone who wants to follow him? [05:29]
- Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” What does that question suggest about the relationship between fear and trust when believers face real danger? [07:46]
- The city asks Jesus to leave after seeing his power over demons. Why might people reject Jesus even when his authority is clear and his work is good? [09:46]
- Matthew 16 and Matthew 28 hold together both cost and comfort. How do “take up his cross” and “I am with you always” help explain the Christian life in a balanced way? [16:49]
Application questions- Jesus calls people to follow him now, not later. Where is the temptation to say, “Lord, let me first…” showing up in life right now? Is it in obedience, repentance, serving, forgiving, or surrendering some area that has been kept at a distance? [06:22]
- The waves in life can be real, and panic can rise quickly. In a present storm, what does fear tend to preach to the heart, and what would it look like to trust Jesus more than that fear this week? [07:46]
- Following Jesus may bring discomfort or loss. What comforts, routines, or plans would be hardest to loosen if faithfulness to Christ required it? [05:29]
- Jesus does not only forgive his people; he sends them. What good works or gospel opportunities might be right in front of someone here today that are easy to overlook because they seem ordinary? [15:23]
- The comfort given to believers is not a trouble-free life but the presence of Christ. In a hard season, what helps a person remember that “I am with you always” is more than a nice phrase? [17:02]
- Paul counted everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. What losses, if they came, would most test whether Jesus is truly the greater treasure? [20:28]
- Some people in Matthew 8 would rather keep control, comfort, or livelihood than welcome Jesus. Where might a person be tempted to ask Jesus to stay at the edge of life rather than rule at the center of it? [09:46]
