You're Not Being Very Sensitive, Jesus
August 29, 2026 · Jesus Would Get Canceled For That
Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Luke 9 week one of series, Jesus says to find your life you must lay it down
1 He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.
2 He sent them out to preach God’s Kingdom and to heal the sick.
3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey—neither staffs, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats each.
4 Into whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there.
5 As many as don’t receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”
6 They departed, and went throughout the villages, preaching the Good News, and healing everywhere.
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him; and he was very perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,
8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.
9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?” He sought to see him.
10 The apostles, when they had returned, told him what things they had done. He took them, and withdrew apart to a desert region of a city called Bethsaida.
11 But the multitudes, perceiving it, followed him. He welcomed them, and spoke to them of God’s Kingdom, and he cured those who needed healing.
12 The day began to wear away; and the twelve came, and said to him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and farms, and lodge, and get food, for we are here in a deserted place.”
13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people.”
14 For they were about five thousand men. He said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
15 They did so, and made them all sit down.
16 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to the sky, he blessed them, and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.
17 They ate, and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
18 As he was praying alone, the disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?”
19 They answered, “‘John the Baptizer,’ but others say, ‘Elijah,’ and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again.”
20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
21 But he warned them, and commanded them to tell this to no one,
22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.”
23 He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same will save it.
25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits his own self?
26 For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.
27 But I tell you the truth: There are some of those who stand here, who will in no way taste of death, until they see God’s Kingdom.”
28 About eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up onto the mountain to pray.
29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became white and dazzling.
30 Behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah,
31 who appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him.
33 As they were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he said.
34 While he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud.
35 A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!”
36 When the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him.
38 Behold, a man from the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.
39 Behold, a spirit takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams, and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely.
40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they couldn’t.”
41 Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”
42 While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
43 They were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marveling at all the things which Jesus did, he said to his disciples,
44 “Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man will be delivered up into the hands of men.”
45 But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
46 There arose an argument among them about which of them was the greatest.
47 Jesus, perceiving the reasoning of their hearts, took a little child, and set him by his side,
48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.”
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow with us.”
50 Jesus said to him, “Don’t…
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
John 14
week two of series, Jesus says I am the way the truth and the life
1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.
3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
4 Where I go, you know, and you know the way.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
12 Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.
13 Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,—
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.
20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
21 One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.
24 He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me.
25 I have said these things to you, while still living with you.
26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
28 You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I.
29 Now I have told you before it happens so that, when it happens, you may believe.
30 I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.
31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 15
week three of series, Jesus calls a woman a dog
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?
4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’
5 But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,”
6 he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.
7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8 ‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 And in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’”
10 He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand.
11 That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
12 Then the disciples came, and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying?”
13 But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.
14 Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand?
17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly, and then out of the body?
18 But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”
21 Jesus went out from there, and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”
23 But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”
24 But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
29 Jesus departed from there, and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up into the mountain, and sat there.
30 Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them,
31 so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”
33 The disciples said to him, “Where should we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35 He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;
36 and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.
37 They all ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.
38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
39 Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 8:14-27
read aloud by congregation members as the main text for this sermon
14 When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.
15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and served him.
16 When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick;
17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.”
18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side.
19 A scribe came, and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
21 Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
23 When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
24 Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep.
25 They came to him, and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!”
26 He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
27 The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 8:18-22
the focused passage for the sermon, Jesus instructs disciples to leave, addresses the teacher of religious law and the disciple wanting to bury his father
18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side.
19 A scribe came, and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
21 Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This was the fourth and final week of "Jesus Would Get Canceled for That," preached outdoors at Powderhorn Park on the last Sunday of Outdoor August 2026. Brian Hunter walked through Matthew 8:18-22, slowing down on two exchanges between Jesus and would-be followers that most people read right past. The bottom line of the morning was this: Jesus cares more about your transformation than he does your comfort.
What was said
The series has been asking the congregation to read familiar moments in Jesus's ministry not from a safe distance but from inside the cultural moment, where his words would have landed hard and strange. Week one covered laying down your life to find it. Week two covered "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Week three covered Jesus calling the Canaanite woman a dog, and what that moment was actually doing. Week four picked up another passage that tends to get read right past: two quick exchanges in Matthew 8 where Jesus says something that, in any setting, would read as tone-deaf at best.
The first thing worth noticing in the passage is that Jesus tells his disciples to cross the lake right in the middle of a growing crowd. He had just healed Peter's mother-in-law, cast out demons, and healed every sick person brought to him. The crowd was growing. Momentum was building. And Jesus said, let's boogie. Brian noted that this is counterintuitive in the same way you never leave elk to go find elk, and that it connects directly to what Tribe has experienced repeatedly, from Snow King Hotel to homes during COVID to the hillside at Snow King to the TMC to Powderhorn Park to, next week, First Baptist Jackson at 5PM. Every time a good thing gets going, Jesus tells the tribe fam to pack up camp and move.
The first exchange in the passage is with a teacher of religious law who says he will follow Jesus anywhere. Jesus does not say no. He also does not say come on in. He tells the man that foxes have dens and birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. Brian pointed out that rabbis of that era typically built a synagogue, established a school, and became sedentary, with followers coming to them. Jesus was telling this man that is not how this works. The relationship with Jesus is always on his terms, and the good news is that his terms are always the best. The cost Jesus named was apparently too steep, because the man disappears from the text.
The second exchange is different in one telling detail. Where the teacher of religious law addressed Jesus as "teacher," the next man addresses him as "Lord." He is a disciple, not just a curious bystander. He asks to go home and bury his father first. Brian walked through what "bury my father" would have meant in a second-temple Jewish context, where burial could involve months or even more than a year before bones were gathered into an ossuary and placed in the family tomb. Some scholars read the original Greek as leaving open the possibility that the father had not even died yet. The point is that "let me bury my father" was not necessarily a simple request to attend a funeral this week. It was a way of saying, you are a priority, just not the highest one.
Jesus's reply, "let the spiritually dead bury their own dead," is what one congregation member flagged as the hardest line in the passage. Brian acknowledged it directly: Jesus just told a man who may have recently lost his father that the dead can handle it. That is not sensitive. But Brian's reading was that Jesus saw through the framing. The request was a smokescreen. Something real and even noble was being placed above following him, and Jesus named it.
The question Brian left the congregation with was personal. Are there smokescreens in front of Jesus right now? A mouth that says Lord, a life whose actions are saying something else. He was clear that Jesus is not looking for a grand proclamation in response. The prayer he suggested was simple: "You're right. Jesus, help me." The service closed with the congregation standing together, hands on each other's shoulders, as Brian prayed over the tithes and offerings, over the move to First Baptist next Sunday, and over an all-cash offer that came in on the TMC while the service was happening.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
- Sit quietly for a few minutes this week and ask the Holy Spirit to show you one thing you are placing as a higher priority than following Jesus, then tell him honestly what you find.
- If you have been telling Jesus you will follow him once you finish some other thing first, name that thing out loud to God and ask him to help you put it in its right place.
- Show up at First Baptist Jackson at 5PM on September 6 ready to meet in a new place, and introduce yourself to at least one person there you do not already know.
- Think of someone in your life who needs to be within proximity of Jesus for something to change, and make one concrete move this week to bring them closer, the way someone brought a friend to Jesus in verse 16.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian described Jesus telling his disciples to leave a crowd where healings and momentum were building, and compared it to Tribe's own moves from Snow King to homes to the hillside to the TMC to the park and now to First B. When has following Jesus meant leaving something good behind, and what made that hard to do?
- Brian pointed out that the teacher of religious law called Jesus 'teacher' while the disciple called him 'Lord,' and said there is a big difference between the two. What does it look like in day-to-day life when someone treats Jesus as a teacher worth listening to versus a Lord worth obeying?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Resumen en español
El mensaje resumido, en español.
El pastor Brian predicó la cuarta semana de la serie "Jesus would get canceled for that" (Jesús sería cancelado por eso), enfocándose en Mateo 8:18-22. Usando como telón de fondo el último domingo al aire libre antes de que la congregación se mude a su nuevo lugar de reunión, Brian señaló que Jesús, en medio de un momento de gran momentum ministerial, le dijo a sus discípulos que recogieran todo y cruzaran al otro lado del lago. Eso es exactamente lo que Tribe está viviendo ahora mismo: cada vez que parece que las cosas están tomando impulso en un lugar, Jesús los llama a moverse de nuevo.
Luego Brian se detuvo en dos personas que se acercaron a Jesús en ese pasaje. El primero, un maestro de la ley religiosa, dijo "te seguiré a donde vayas", pero Jesús le respondió que él no tenía ni siquiera un lugar donde recostar la cabeza. No lo rechazó, sino que le dejó ver el costo real de seguirlo. El segundo, un discípulo que ya lo llamaba "Señor", le pidió permiso para ir primero a enterrar a su padre. Jesús le respondió: "Sígueme ahora. Deja que los muertos entierren a sus muertos." Brian explicó que en la cultura judía del primer siglo ese proceso podía durar meses o incluso más de un año, y que lo que el hombre estaba haciendo en realidad era poner otra prioridad por delante de Jesús, aunque sonara noble y razonable.
La idea central del mensaje fue esta: Jesús se preocupa más por tu transformación que por tu comodidad. Brian invitó a la congregación a preguntarse honestamente si hay algo, por más bueno o legítimo que parezca, que ocupa un lugar más alto que seguir a Jesús. También anunció que a partir del 6 de septiembre la iglesia se reúne los domingos a las 5 de la tarde en First Baptist Jackson, y durante el servicio llegó una oferta en efectivo por el edificio TMC que la iglesia recientemente puso en venta.
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Pasajes bíblicos utilizados
- Lucas 9 (el camino a la vida es rendirla)
- Juan 14 (Jesús como el camino, la verdad y la vida)
- Mateo 15 (Jesús y la mujer cananea)
- Mateo 8:14-27 (sanidades, la tormenta calmada, y el costo de seguir a Jesús)
Read the full transcript 7,569 words
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