“Follow Me!”
Those two words together form a
command found thirteen times in the Gospels. Jesus
used those two simple words when He called Peter,
Andrew, James and John to be His disciples (Matthew
4:19). “And immediately they left their nets, and
followed Him” (v. 20). Jesus called the tax
collector Matthew in a similar manner. Jesus said to
him, “Follow Me!” “And he arose, and followed Him”
(9:9).
The words mean immediate
detachment from personal interests and attachment to
Christ. Implied in the call of Jesus was a turning
from sin to Him in order to be saved.
Even after Jesus had risen from
the dead, while the disciples were on a fishing
trip, Jesus told Peter, “Follow Me!” (John 21:19).
There are many references to individuals following
Jesus.
But these words were not just
for the twelve disciples; they are also for us
today. Discipleship means following Jesus in a
personal way.
“Follow Me!” is a call to
obedience. It is no mere invitation, but an
imperative command. Those who heard the words of
Jesus immediately left everything to follow Him. It
was a costly decision for James and John because
“they immediately left the boat and their father,
and followed Him” (Matt. 4:22). Matthew left his
lucrative tax business.
There is no genuine
Christianity without obedience to Christ. The rich
young ruler heard the call and realized that Jesus
was his rightful Lord and Master, but he refused to
follow Him. The true believer enters into a life of
obedience to Christ.
On another occasion Jesus said,
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they
follow Me” (John 10:27). They are in the habit of
listening to His voice and following Him. Earlier in
the chapter Jesus used the illustration of the
Palestinian shepherd who calls his sheep and they
hear his voice, and they go out following him
because they know his voice (vv. 3-4).
However, they will not follow a stranger
because they do not know the voice of the strangers
(v. 5). Jesus gives “eternal life to them” that
follow Him, “and they shall never perish (double
negative—not perish, never); and no one shall snatch
them out of My hand” (v. 28). If you have a tendency
to doubt such great spiritual truth Jesus went on to
say in the next verse, “My Father, who has given
them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able
to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (v. 29).
Who are you following? Are you
following Jesus or some other religious teacher? Are
you following Jesus in obedience to His teaching?
Jesus calls sinners to follow
Him. He does not come to call the self-righteous,
but sinners to follow (Matt. 9:13). He treated all
men as spiritual in essence, sinning in experience
with the possibility of being saved by grace. He
knew human nature, and He knows us individually. The
physician is never with the healthy, but with the
pathological. His call is a call to repentance. He
comes and He finds people living in sin and He bids
them come and follow Him. A sinner cannot follow
Jesus without a radical change in the direction of
his life. To repent means a change of mind that
affects a change in one’s life. It is impossible to
follow Christ without repentance. We must turn our
back on sin and set our face toward the
righteousness of God in Christ. No one can follow
Christ without repenting.
Charles Spurgeon said, “They
come straightway; they come at all cost; they come
without a question; they come to quit old haunts;
they come to follow their leader without stipulation
or reserve.”
That is the only way we can
respond to His call for us to “Come and follow!” It
is an act of simple trust in Christ. It is
impossible to follow Him without trusting Him. If we
do not follow we are not committed to Him. We are
following our own goals or someone else’s. The call
to “Follow Me!” means we will submit to His
lordship.
In deed, “When
Jesus bids a man come and follow, He bids him come
and die.” You cannot follow Jesus without dying to
self. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him
deny self, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For
whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but
whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it”
(Matt. 16:24-25).
Come, “Follow Me!” Will you
follow Jesus in a life of obedient faith?
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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