Following Jesus

Tuesday, 01 November 2011 00:00 |

— To uplift, inform and challenge —

Dear Soldier,

Without being maudlin — we love you; for the One Who loves us, ALSO loves you. You and we are family in Him ... brothers and sisters destined to spend eternity together. Possibly, we’ve also met, prayed together and/or have been sharing our lives by letter, e-mail or phone, and our love has grown. We therefore want, by the Spirit, to do whatever we can to encourage you. When YOU hurt ... so do we.

When you and we were “saved,” we repented of our sins, received God’s forgiveness and accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, Redeemer and Lord. Inherent was our promised allegiance and commitment to follow Him ... right? So, as obvious as the answer might seem, the question arises: what does it really mean to “follow” Jesus? Let’s ask Him (the Word).

Following Jesus

What does Jesus mean when He says — “follow me”?

"If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour." — Jn 12:26 (underlining added)

A droplet of water looks transparently simple, that is, until examined under a microscope — thus it is with Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. Our text suggests it has very much to do with loving servanthood and important enough to merit divine “honour.” The latter of itself, sufficient to take it seriously. But, please take note of the text’s tiny introductory word ... “if.”

Noting that knowledge is second in import only to its application, let’s amplify our text for a better understanding of what our Lord requires of us ... in this instance, invites us into. After all, what could be more important to a Christian than to understand AND obey Jesus? To serve Him ... to follow Him.

Follow, Servant & Honor

The Amplified Bible (AB) renders our text: "If any one would serve Me, he must continue to follow me — to cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to my example, in living and if need be in dying — and wherever I am, there will My servant be also. If any one serves Me, the Father will honor him " — Jn 12:26. (underlining added)

FOLLOW, here means to go after or accompany one who precedes. Implicit is the thought of joining that person as a servant or to become their disciple — a student or pupil (Strong’s 190; 3101).

SERVANT refers to one who serves; an attendant or domestic. It’s one who waits upon, ministers to or attends to anything that may serve another's interests. The same Greek word is rendered “deacon” in 1Timothy 3:10,13 (Strong’s 1247).

HONOR might surprise: “to estimate or fix the value of something belonging to one's self” (Strong’s 5091).

Now, by inserting those definitions, an expanded AB version might read: If any one desires to serve Me, he must unquestioningly go where I lead and become my diligent pupil. He must: steadfastly adhere, cling to and be faithful to Me — conform wholly to my example in living and if need be, in dying, and wherever I direct, be there to attend my interests. The Father also places a very high value on any follower who seeks to so serve me and conform to my ways. Wow-eee! Being a “follower” entails quite a lot; huh?

Following Jesus

Now, let’s do the obvious; ask Jesus (the “Word”) what follow means.

Upon leaving the wilderness, Jesus launched His ministry by recruiting His first two followers — brothers Peter and Andrew: “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Curiously, this is not only the first of the N.T.’s 83 uses of follow, it’s the ONLY use of the word’s imperative form (Strong’s 1205). Jesus had issued a command. It’s also a Bible truism that the first mention of a matter is often particularly significant. In any event, Jesus told these prospective followers that He would mold them into evangelists.

He then discouraged two would-be followers (significantly, already “disciples” Matthew 8:19,21) by quoting the sticker price: "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head ... Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead" (20, 22). A street talk paraphrase would be: Hey, it’s going to be a no-frills, tough haul, and ... you need to start TODAY.

After Matthew, the tax man, became a follower and Jesus mingled with sinners, He had to help the religious crowd understand His agenda: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mt 9:12b-13). In effect, He told them He was not going to spend much time cavorting with the self-righteous, legalists or theological intellectuals. The TRULY righteous One planned to be doing the will of His Father in the slave trade of sin and sickness; in the back rooms of bondage and deep in the dark, dank dungeons of death. He was not only serving them notice but prepping future followers for what lay ahead. We would be doing everything except the popular, the glamorous, comfy, tidy or “religious.”

Expanding on the job description of a follower, in Matt. 10:24-42 Jesus details the cost and compensations so that any wannabe would know before signing on. He makes it starkly clear that a follower must pay a price that is beyond the budget of most: "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me ... Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me'" (Matt 10:37,38; 16:24). WHO could miss the repetition and linkage between cross and follow?

Aware of the appeal of material riches, Jesus addresses that issue in Mt 19, vss 16-26, by testing the young rich man’s priorities: "... go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (verse 22 suggests he failed). How’s THAT for a qualifying test from the Master? Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" (23). Please, let’s not miss His point: the appeal of materialism is a HUGE issue and challenge for any would-be follower of Christ. Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family." Jesus replied, "No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:61,62). Do you get His drift? Anything of value to a prospective follower that he/she refuses to give up for Jesus, can thwart that hope.

The operative concept here is willingness. Our Lord doesn’t necessarily require us to actually give up all to earn His “follower” stamp of approval. But, make no mistake, we must be willing. A loving and merciful shepherd, He knows our heart and forgives our weaknesses. Consider Peter: "Peter asked him, 'Lord, where are you going?' Jesus replied, 'Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.' Peter asked, 'Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you"" (John 13:36,37). He was heart-willing, but like us all; flesh-weak. But thanks be to God, willingness won out over weakness!

Are you a follower?

In John 10, Jesus prefaces His discourse with the curious disclaimer: "I tell you the truth." Of itself, doesn’t that intro suggest what He’s about to say is especially important? Then, using the Good Shepherd/sheep analogy, He says: "When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice" (10:4).

Obviously, believers are to follow Jesus and those who do are called Christians. But a question arises: what are those called who purport to follow Him, but do NOT? In other words: one repeats a sinner’s prayer, gets a 14-pound Bible and attends church meetings twice a week ... but hasn’t become a servant of Christ. “Baby” Christians? How about after 1, 2, 3 or more years; still a baby Christian? A “carnal” Christian? Is it possible they are not a follower of Jesus at all? Think about this.

Are you a sold-out servant and follower of Jesus ... around Whose life yours pivots? Is anything in this life more important to you than Him? Though uncomfortable questions, what do their answers say to you? Remember, we’re each but a single breath away from having to account for our priorities; face to face.

A BOUT US: Founded in 1993, Hallelujah Living Ministries is a donation-based, non-denominational Christian outreach to uplift, inform and challenge followers of Jesus Christ. For more information or a copy of our always-free print newsletter, please include a postal mail address along with your comments and prayer requests. Thank you for visiting HLiving.org

STS17-11

< Prev		Next >