Jesus has a great crowd following him. Matthew 8:1 reads that there were great crowds following him. Matthew 8:18 says that Jesus saw the crowd around him. But what is so interesting about Jesus and his work is that he is not content to have crowds follow him. Jesus is not interested in doing whatever it takes to have a bunch of people walking next to him. He is seeking true followers. Jesus always will say things and do things to whittle down the crowd. To state this another way, Jesus does not want superficial followers. Jesus does not want people who say they are disciples. Jesus wants people who are deep rooted followers. Jesus is not interested in people who say they are followers. In the second half of Matthew 8 we are going to see Jesus determining who are really followers and who are superficial followers. As we consider Jesus, I want us to consider ourselves and determine if we are really followers or just superficial followers. As we look at this, I want to remind us that Matthew by the Holy Spirit has placed these short accounts together so we will see the common theme and develop another important picture about who Jesus is and what he came to do. Let’s begin in Matthew 8:18-22…
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