ESOCS Devotional 8 September 2026 – Follow Jesus
MEMORY VERSE: “But Jesus said unto him, follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” (Matt. 8: 22 KJV).
TEXT: MATTHEW 8: 14 – 22
Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. 15 So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.
16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.”
18 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
20 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.”
21 Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
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Jesus told the disciple who requested permission to go bury his father to follow him and “let the dead bury their dead” (Matt. 8:22). What an horrific truth! That verse explains to us that as long as you are not following Christ, you are dead even if you are still living. One who is not following Christ can then be termed as a “living corpse”.
To escape the danger of eternal death, we need to follow Jesus. To follow Jesus is to first acknowledge him as your Lord and personal Savior, confess that you are a sinner and believe that He died on the cross of Calvary to set you free (Rom. 10:9-10).
Being a Christian doesn’t just mean we believe the right things about Jesus, or even claim to love him. He demands a life of sacrificial service. To follow Jesus, you must be ready to surrender all; be ready to take up his cross; be ready to make all sacrifices and be ready to pay the prize, not to gain his favor, but out of gratitude for what he has gained for us—forgiveness of sins and eternal life (Matt. 10:37-38; Mark 8:34-38).
The apostles paid great prizes with joy to ensure that the message of the gospel was preached (Acts 4:1-4) and even when their lives were threatened, it didn’t deter them from following Jesus because they knew that it was the best thing to do (Acts 4:20-21). Paul’s suffering as a result of teaching the gospel helps to prepare our hearts as to what to expect from the world when we truly choose to follow Jesus (2 Cor. 6:3-10).
Following the Lord requires total obedience to God’s Word and sensitivity to His Holy Spirit. For example, Scripture clearly teaches us to forgive others as we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32). Anger, resentment, and a desire for revenge are natural responses, but following Christ requires that we turn from these and pray to have a forgiving spirit and God’s supernatural love for our offender. It may take time to reach this point, but as we let the Holy Spirit change our mind and heart, forgiveness will come.
All those who follow Jesus receive diverse testimonies ranging from healing to deliverances, peace, joy, authority over all the powers of the wicked, prosperity and most importantly eternal life which is the ultimate prize of mankind (Matt. 8:14-17; 18:18-20). Above all, following Jesus includes spreading the message of the gospel and being an ambassador of Christ wherever we find ourselves (Matt. 28:19-20).
When we follow Jesus, we are privileged to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God (Mark 4:11). I can categorically attest to you today that the best thing that can happen to any man is when he chooses to follow Jesus.
Challenges:
- What does it mean to you to follow Jesus?
- Are you paying the prize daily to follow Jesus?
Prayer:
Dear Father, give me the grace to follow You more dearly day by day in Jesus Name.
FURTHER READING:
Dan. 9: 20 – end; Isaiah 16: 14 – 23; Revelation 7: 1 – end
ESOCS Devotional 8 September 2026
