Follow Me

“Follow Me”

Matthew 8:18-22 / 9:9-13 Preacher: Rev Mark Bartsch

Kobe Union Church

6 April 2025

Life is full of invitations. Invitations to attend this event or that one. Some invitations aren’t even really invitations—they're business offers. “We invite you to buy our new product for only 2,500 yen.” That’s not much of an invitation!

Some invitations are open to everyone, like a general announcement: “Join us for soup and bread on Thursday—everyone is welcome!” Other invitations are personal, directed to you by name: “Mark, would you like to come over to my place for dinner on Thursday?” Some are casual, and others are more formal, like a wedding invitation you get in the mail—you’re expected to RSVP (It is French for please respond). Whenever we receive an invitation, we have a choice—to accept or decline.

When I was growing up, there was a boy in my neighborhood who had the same birthday as my brother. Our family was planning a birthday party for my brother, and the other family was planning one for their son—on the same day, at the same time! What to do? Well, my mom and his mom got together and decided to have a joint kids' party at our house. (Mothers are smart) Everyone was happy because they didn’t have to choose between two parties—they could attend both.

But in life, we’re not always that lucky. The world and the God are both inviting you to come and follow. Many of us try to go to the world’s party and then catch the last few minutes of the Lord’s invitation. We think we can do both but it does not work out well for people that try this approach. You will love “the one and eventually hate the other”. (Matt 6:24) I like the old hymn, Who’s Side Are You Standing On? and the refrain answers clearly: “I am standing on the Lord’s side.”

Most invitations aren’t life-changing. Missing a dinner or a birthday party won’t alter the course of your life. But there is one invitation that matters above all others—the invitation Jesus gives when He says, “Come, follow me.”

Declining that invitation means missing out on something far greater—an opportunity to discover where the Lord is leading you and the life He has prepared for you. I want to share just a little of my call.

I was working at a High School in Yokohama and preaching at YUC from time to time as a fill in preacher when I had a dream—a simple dream it was "Come and follow". Stephanie and I prayed about it and, honestly, thought God might be a little crazy I am not nor have I ever been the most religious person. We didn’t tell anyone what we were wrestling with, but we made an agreement: if two people, completely unconnected to our church, mentioned that I should go into ministry, we would take it as a sign to pursue it. (Our Fleece)

That following Saturday, during a church clean-up day, I foolishly poured gasoline on a brush pile (a lot). When I lit it, the pile exploded. The blast pushed unlit gas onto my legs, and when the fireball passed through me, it ignited gas on my skin and clothing. Lucky none hit my face. I was rushed to the hospital with second- and third-degree burns on my legs and went through five weeks of pure hell.

During that painful time, four not two different people—two not even Christians and none connected to our church—said to Stephanie and me the same thing: "Mark should be a pastor," or "Mark is called to be a pastor." Without us mentioning anything, these words kept coming. Both Stephanie and I knew: God was calling us to "Come and follow Jesus" wherever He might lead. What about my job that I liked? (Come follow me) What about the price of seminary? (Come follow me) What about the kids? (Come follow me). 

Sorry if that was a little too testimonial. Some people love testimonies; others don’t. But that is how God called me. And when I doubt—no, I never doubt God, but I do doubt myself all the time—I remember this fact: I was not called by a church or a denomination, even though I have worked in churches. I was not called by people, even though I am called to care for people. I was called by God. Like Matthew (Matt 9:9). Like Paul (Acts 9:15-16). Like you. And while our roles may change, the call to "Come, follow me" (Matthew 4:19) has never changed. Come and see, like Jesus said to the first disciples (John 1:46), or taste and see, like God invites (Psalm 34:8).

Just so we are clear, I do not think a call is just about following God into formal ministry. Many years ago, when I was vice-moderator at KUC (feels like a lifetime ago), my job was to get people to take ministry roles in the church. It was not easy. I would pray and process it with Pastor Bruce, and then I would ask people. I did not say, Will you be the head of worship or children’s ministry?—because that is the wrong question. I asked if they felt called by God to do this, and I asked them to think about it more importantly to pray about it. More often than not, I got a quick no (I am not good at…, I am to busy), but after a few days, I would often get an email or a phone call saying, I feel that the Lord is calling me. I will accept. It is easy to say no to me. Please do. But do not do that to the Lord.

As we read both passages from Matthew today, we notice one very, very, very important principle: Where the call comes from matters. Yes, a person must answer the call, but that always comes after being called. For a lot of things what comes first the chicken or the egg is a difficult thing to determine. But with a call the invitation goes out first and then there is a response.

A learned man comes to Jesus (Matt 8) and asks or tells him that he would make a great disciple. We know that Jesus is speaking to large crowds and he is probably drawn to these large crowds and the excitement that comes with it. So he says that he will be a disciple. Jesus tells him the cost. In essence, Jesus says, "You know I am homeless, right?" I know He puts it more beautifully: "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head." (Matt 8:20) But that's basically the message. There is joy in serving the Lord, but there are also hardships and difficulties. A call by our master is not an all-you-can-eat cruise. How many nights did Jesus and His disciples sleep under the stars? We don't know, but we know they did. He tells this volunteer (not a called disciple) that following is not all sunshine and roses. Actually, anyone that tells you that is setting you up for disappointment. So, we never hear from him again.

A second man also comes to Jesus to join the disciples. He wants to serve, but he has terms (Don’t we all). It appears that he is fine with the inconvenience of sleeping outside, but he wants to control the time and place that he serves. So he tells Jesus, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus replies, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead" (8:21-22). To our modern ears, the guy seems reasonable and Jesus' response is harsh. Shouldn't Jesus have said something more, like, "I'm so sorry for your loss, it must be hard"? But there's more to the story.

In the culture, the phrase "I have to bury my father first" was a well known phrase it didn’t mean his father had just died. If his father were dead, he would have been busy with burial arrangements, as Jewish tradition required burial within 24 hours (Deut. 21). What the man really meant was, "I have family obligations right now. Once my father passes away—whenever that may be—I'll be free to follow You”. It could be years and years but when he dies, I am all yours. His promise of devotion was conditional, and Jesus saw right through it. Besides, Jesus never called him.

When you follow Jesus as a disciple, you are not the one who sets the agenda or the terms. My friend works at hiring people for a big company, and he says one of the major red flags when he is hiring someone is if they have too many conditions. When they do it never seems to work out so now, he just avoids them.

Its like me telling God, "God, ok ok I’ll be a pastor but only if I get a big church and a nice house and a great salary and every forth Sunday off." It isn’t, "I’ll follow You when it’s convenient for me." Jesus calls us to follow him today not someday.

Now to our second scripture (ch9). Jesus is walking along when He sees Matthew—yes, the same Matthew who wrote this book. He's sitting in a tax collector's booth. Just so you know, tax collectors were seen as traitors by the people. Becoming a tax collector was like being an independent contractor for their oppressors. The Romans would tell people in a region how much they required to pay. For example, in an area with 500 houses, the Romans might require 5 million yen in taxes. If the tax collector collected exactly 5 million yen, they got nothing. But if they collected 7 million yen, everything over 5 million would be their profit. It was common for tax collectors to collect double even triple the taxes and live in luxury.

Jesus sees this man and looks beyond what he’s doing to see the person that he can become and unlike the first two Matthew has potential. And so do you if you trust in the Holy Spirit. It’s not that Jesus needed a tax collector, but He needed who Matthew would become. And, more importantly, Matthew really needed Him. So, where Jesus didn’t extend an offer to the two men in Matthew 8, He invites Matthew to, “Come and follow Me.” Matthew doesn’t set up conditions like working every other day or expecting special perks. He simply gets off his butt (out of his booth) follows Jesus.

It’s like when God called Isaiah, asking, “Whom shall I send?” and Isaiah responded, “Here I am. Send me!” Just as God called Isaiah to a mission, Jesus calls us with intention and for His greater kingdom work.

Here’s something a lot of people don’t talk about the cost of ignoring your call or purpose. In one of the saddest stories in the Bible, a rich, smart young man comes to Jesus with a question about eternal life. He thinks eternal life begins in the future, but Jesus calls him to follow Him today. Sadly, he walks away because of the hold that this world has on his life. There is a cost. 

My grandfather was a missionary in Congo. He had a farm in Canada and heard the call of the Lord. Upon hearing it, he talked about it with my grandmother and said, “If I do not respond to God’s call, I am afraid I will lose my soul.” And they followed. It reminds me of my favorite poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, it ends with:

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.

The road of the call is a road not taken by many because it leads in a direction of faith and love that this world doesn’t appreciate. But if you take this road, it will not only make a difference in this world but also in your world. When God calls you, follow that road. It may make little sense, but it will—and has—made all the difference.

That night, Jesus went to His new disciple’s house, and Matthew brought all his friends. Lo and behold, they were also outcasts from good society—tax collectors and sinners. Don’t misunderstand the word “sinners.” We are all sinners. Me, you, everybody. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). 

When the Bible uses the word “sinner,” it refers to someone who is unapologetic about their actions. These were tax collectors who had knowingly abused their power. I knew a teacher back in my Yokohama days who, thankfully, was fired after he used his position to abuse female students. He bragged about it until finally, a student came forward. When the Bible talks about sinners, it’s referring to someone like that.

Yet, here’s the message of the Bible: Just as Jesus rescued Matthew from being an unapologetic sinner (remember, Matthew is calling himself and his friends sinners), Jesus is saying there is still hope for redemption and forgiveness for people like these.

Jesus was not only trying to save Matthew; He was trying to rescue his friends. No one goes to the doctor when they feel great. Maybe your doctor would like to meet you when you're feeling good:

 Mark: “Well, Dr. Nakanishi, I just wanted to tell you that I feel really good today.”Dr. N: “Well, I’ve got some medicine to help you stop feeling great.”Mark: “No, thank you. I just wanted to wait in line for an hour and tell you how great I feel.”

As silly as that sounds, Jesus came for all of us who don’t understand the meaning of mercy. Mercy (ἔλεος, éleos) means compassion or goodwill shown toward someone in need or distress. Jesus came not to call the righteous, but the self-righteous, if they are willing to turn from their sin and take the medicine of God’s grace. For we know that Paul is referring to Psalm 14:3 and 53:3 when he writes in Romans 3:10, "There is no one righteous, not even one." Jesus is offering all of us grace and mercy—not external things, but an internal renewal, resetting the clocks of our hearts.

In conclusion, the call to follow Jesus is not just an invitation to a different path—it is an invitation to transformation. The question is not whether we are worthy but whether we are willing to follow Him, to take the road He has called us to walk, and to embrace the grace and mercy He offers. And giving that grace to others. Let us take that step, knowing that, just as He called Matthew, He is calling each of us to a life of purpose, mercy, and grace. Let’s pray

  What makes Jesus’ invitation to “Come, follow me” different from other invitations we receive in life? How do people typically respond to His call today?

  In Matthew 8:18-22, two men express interest in following Jesus, but their responses reveal different challenges. What do their reactions teach us about the cost of discipleship?

  You shared a personal testimony of how God called you into ministry. Have you ever experienced a time when you felt called to something difficult or unexpected? How did you respond?

  Matthew immediately left his tax collector's booth to follow Jesus (Matt. 9:9). What might have made his response so decisive, and what holds people back from following Jesus today?

  You mentioned the cost of ignoring God's call. What do you think happens when someone chooses not to follow where God is leading? Have you ever seen this play out in your life or in others’?