Let’s start with a premise that we need to examine— ‘How much we love Him determines how much we trust Him; how much we trust Him determines how well we follow Him.’ I think that’s pretty clear in Matthew 22 when questioned by the religious elite, Jesus replied with— “love the Lord thy God with all thy…” Our trust in Him fluctuates doesn’t it? Sadly so, we respond, react, over react, and even under react to the situations around us. Faith can dissipate fairly quickly when certain things happen. Do we turn to Him in trust instantly? Eventually? Do we follow? Obey? What does that look like? What is “follow” in a tangible way? What does it mean to follow?
The word used in our texts today is: ἀκολουθέω (ak-ol-oo-theh’-o). From ‘a’— inunion with,and ‘keleuthos’— a road. In the first century they would say something to the effect— ‘To walk beside or with on a road. To accompany, to attend with, to follow with.’ Which is why the calling of all the Apostles culminated with Mark 3.14— “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach(proclaim)”. So our first calling, immediately after salvation, is to literally be with Him. How else do we expect to follow Him if we’re not with Him?
Let’s read about it in parallel passages. First in Matthew 4.18-22— “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.” Then in Mark 1.16-20— “Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.” Last in Luke 5.8-11— “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.” You can also find the same account recorded in John 1.35-42.
Fast forward a bit and see Philip’s calling in John 1.43— “The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.” How about Levi, renamed Matthew in Matthew 9.9— “And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.” He says— “Follow me” and we say almost nothing. Instead, we act! We move! We follow! Action is necessary in following.
At several intervals, Jesus tried helping them see if they were still willing to follow. He called them not only to get up and follow Him, but also to leave something behind. Jesus said in Matthew 16.24— “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (emphasis mine). He said this also in Mark 8.34— “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” And in Luke 9.23— “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” That phrase:“deny himself”. This is also action isn’t it? A breaking of pride and self-will. A willing walking away from self. He is calling them to follow Him and that requires one to willingly give in. Yes, surrender. Makes sense though… One can’t follow in union with someone, if you want it your way all the time.
This is also the very first lesson He taught His new church in Matthew 5.1-3— “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Did you see the command— “poor in spirit”? The word: poor is the greek word: ptōxós— (pto-khos). It means to crouch or cower like a beggar. To be bent over; deeply destitute, completely lacking resources— one who is helpless as a beggar. This is the extreme opposite of the rich. The beggarly poor. One who who slinks and crouches on the street. To be reduced to begging, destitute of wealth, influence, position, and honor. To be brought low. This is the lowest of low in any and all cultures. He didn’t just say “poor” though, He said “poor in spirt”. This means: An attitude of the heart that is destitute of self, completely washed clean of pride. No reason to be self-exalted or prideful. Then, and only then, can one follow. Their ‘self’ has to be crushed.
This is what’s missing with ‘Christians’ today and yet it was the start of everything then. It is the basis of what we are in Christ: A spirit of brokenness. To not only say, but live as spiritually destitute without God. To be fully surrendered and dependent in a very real way every day—all day.
Could you make it a Sunday in your routine, or any day for that matter, without God? We acknowledge that intellectually, and with great intent, but are you consciously aware of His presence and dependent on it? If not, why? Have we become spiritual robots? If so, then we really aren’t following at all are we?
Bible Fact: God shakes us out of our norms, our lethargy, and back into a desired position with Him. Always has, always will. I bet He’s working on that with you right now. Do you want the change? Or, are you going to resist it?
Am I following? Well, ask it with these questions: Am I desperate for Him? Am I desperate enough to fast and pray for it? Am I willing to cut off anything that is holding me back? Am I willing to alter my life? I mean real transformation? That is precisely what the Apostles did and look at them. I want that!
We cannot truly follow Christ until we do this. We cannot be with Himlike we should, walking with Him like we should, until we have a spirit of brokenness.
What does it tangibly mean to follow? I pray you’ve discovered at least a starting point. Oh wait… they never quit this. This is the new norm folks. “Follow me” means this. Are you ready to follow? Now that you have the basis, what are you going to do with what you’ve learned from this?
Do you want to walk with Him? Then this is where it starts.