<p>8:19&nbsp;<i>And there came a scribe and said to him</i>- Not necessarily a religious one, although probably this is the reference. The same word is also translated &ldquo;clerk&rdquo;. It was after Jesus had commanded the disciples to sail to the other side of the lake, that this scribe came to Him. By talking to this man, who likely was just asking the Lord trick questions and trying to catch Him out, the Lord delayed their departure; with the result that they nearly lost their lives in the storm that came (Mt. 8:18-23). The disciples must have many times during that storm reflected with bitter annoyance how the Lord has gotten them in to this problem all because He had been wasting time with that Scribe. But the Lord had such a hopefulness and a spirit of passionate concern for the salvation of the individual, however arrogant and conceited they seemed to be, that He would risk danger in order to spend time with such a person. I find this an amazing example, surrounded as we are by a majority of people who appear like that Scribe.</p>
<p><i>Teacher, I will follow you</i>- A massive 76 times we read in the Gospels of people following Jesus. Following Him&nbsp;<i>wherever He goes&nbsp;</i>is the characteristic of the faithful (Rev. 14:4). The following of Jesus around Palestine therefore was presented in the Gospel records (and they are transcripts of the preaching of the Gospel) as the pattern for all who would later follow Him. His teaching in these verses, as so often, is that following Him is not about being part of a large crowd which broadly identifies with Jesus and hangs around Him, although often not hearing and taking seriously His words (see on 8:18). It is about real self-sacrifice, and a following Him to the cross. In this we see a rebuke of the cultural &lsquo;Christianity&rsquo; which has historically been so much a part of the Western world. It&rsquo;s hard to follow Him; whereas joining the Christian denomination in which they were raised is for many people easier to do than not do. But really following Jesus is not so easy, and it leads to the death of the cross.</p>
<p><i>Wherever you go</i>- He sensed the Lord was trying to distance Himself from the crowds (see on 8:18) by going on beyond them, or to the other side of the Lake. And this man said he was willing to do that, to be in the inner circle which the Lord visibly had around Him. For when surrounded by the crowds, He addressed Himself to the disciples (Lk. 12:1; and also in giving the Sermon on the Mount, Mt. 5:1 cp. 8:1). &ldquo;Go&rdquo; here translates the same Greek word as the Lord has just used in 8:18- He commanded the inner circle disciples to &ldquo;depart&rdquo;, or &ldquo;go&rdquo;. And this scribe wanted to be in that inner circle and to go with them. The Lord Jesus had a way of gently turning comments and questions back on the person who made them, and of redefining the terms used. The man said that he would follow Him &ldquo;whithersoever you got&rdquo;, i.e. to whatever end point the road may lead to. The Lord replied that He had nowhere to lay His head. In other words, it&rsquo;s the following of Him that we need to focus on, rather than the hardness of some possible great future sacrifice that may lie ahead. It&rsquo;s the road, and not the destination, that are important (Mt. 8:19-21).</p>