HOPEFUL, YET DOUBTFUL (Pastor Tom Henry) ~ 3/4/25

“And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee withersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:19, 20)

The original text seems to emphasize something very noteworthy about this event. Our translation reads, “A certain scribe came,” whereas in the original it says, “one scribe came.” The scribes and Pharisees were ever-present enemies of Christ, and they appeared to be unanimous in their bitter opposition. Therefore, it was a pretty “big deal to see one of them, “a certain scribe,” break away and vow to become an unreserved follower of the Savior. Therein lies the wonderment, and certainly not with the range or power of the Gospel. We need not despair of anybody. God’s salvation can reach the high and the mighty as well as all others, but when it does, it will also humble them.

We are very hopeful as we witness the manner in which this singular scribe came to our Lord, and as we hear his confession. He seems to check all the boxes, as it were. First, we get the impression that he came in haste. Christ was near, and he came at once. Isaiah says, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found. call ye upon him while he is near.” (Isa. 55:7) He also addressed the Lord very respectfully: “Master, I will follow thee.” True seekers must acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, their Lord, and submit to His rule.

Another thing that speaks well for him is the fact that his speech conveys a high degree of enthusiasm, and not only that, it also came from within himself. We do not get the impression that he was being spurred on by anyone. He is very ready, and also resolute: “Master, I will follow Thee.” Whatever others may decide or do, his mind was made up. “Though no one join me, still I will follow.” “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent lake it by force.” (Matt. 11:12)

His manner and confession were very right. This is what we want to see, and when we do witness such a confession it is very hopeful. There is a great deal of “decisionism” these days, in which folks decide to “try Jesus,” and then they are coached into how to “get saved.” They are led step by step and even told what to say in prayer. This scribe did not need any coaching, he was sure that he wanted to be a disciple of Christ, and he acted upon his desire. I’ll say again, to this point his story is very hopeful.

However, as we continue to observe, his hopeful confession become somewhat doubtful. Jesus responded to his well-worded confession by presenting a very honest account of the cost that his commitment might involve. Clearly this scribe was not interested in a discipleship that required such sacrifice. In fact, as he heard about the Kingdom that this great miracle worker came to set up, he was probably thinking more about advancement and gain rather than loss. He didn’t know about such paradoxes as “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:24) The fact that we hear nothing more either from or about this scribe strongly implies that he changed his mind about becoming a follower of Christ.

Why was this? It appears that his decision was made based on either wrong or incomplete information about Christ and His Kingdom. Sadly, the same is true with many today who profess Christ. In many cases they are victims of an easy-believism gospel that is so popular. Nothing is said about turning from sin, or of going on to follow Christ in holiness. We see a twofold result. Many simply continue on as nominal Christians, feeling safe and secure, believing the lie that they have been told, that they can have Christ as Savior, even if He is not their Lord and Master. Others, when they come under sound ministry, which preaches that Jesus saves from sin, not in it; and declares that “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature,” they, like the scribe in our text, go away. A third result, and one that we pray for, is that in hearing the truth their hearts the Lord opens to receive it, and they become followers indeed. Hosea said, “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD.”