Follow Jesus

Follow Jesus

In the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Jesus’ command to “follow me” appears repeatedly (e.g., Matthew 8:22; 9:9, Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27; John 1:43). In many cases, Jesus was calling the twelve men who would become His disciples (Matthew 10:3–4). But other times, He was speaking to anyone who wanted what He had to offer (John 3:16; Mark 8:34).

In Matthew 10:34–37, Jesus stated clearly what it means to follow Him. He said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

Jesus’ bringing a “sword” and turning family members against each other can seem a little harsh after words like “whosoever believes on Him shall not perish” (John 3:16). But Jesus never softened the truth, and the truth is that following Him leads to difficult choices. Sometimes turning back may seem very appealing. When Jesus’ teaching went from the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–11) to the coming cross, many who had followed him turned away (John 6:66). Even the disciples decided that following Jesus was too difficult the night He was arrested. Every one of them deserted Him (Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50). On that night, following Christ meant possible arrest and execution. Rather than risk his own life, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus three times (Matthew 26:69–75).

To truly follow Christ means He has become everything to us. Everyone follows something: friends, popular culture, family, selfish desires, or God. We can only follow one thing at a time (Matthew 6:24). God states we are to have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; Mark 12:30). To truly follow Christ means we do not follow anything else. There is no such thing as a “halfway disciple.” Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Many people interpret the “cross” in this verse to be taken up as some burden they must carry in their lives: a strained relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness, etc. With self-pitying pride, they look at their difficulty and say, “That’s my cross I have to carry.” Such an idea is not what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

When a person carried a cross in Jesus’ day, no one thought of it as a persistent annoyance or symbolic burden. To a person in the first century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by crucifixion. To carry a cross was to face the most painful and humiliating means of death human beings could develop.

Two thousand years later, Christians view the cross as a cherished symbol of atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love. But in Jesus’ day the cross represented a torturous death. The Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion (see John 19:17). Bearing a cross meant one was about to die, and that one would face ridicule and disgrace along the way. Therefore, Jesus’ command to “take up your cross and follow Me” is a call to self-sacrifice. One must be willing to die in order to follow Jesus. Dying to self is an absolute surrender to God.

After Jesus commanded cross-bearing, He said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:25–26). Although the call to take up our cross is tough, the reward is matchless. Nothing in this world is worth passing up eternal life.

Wherever Jesus went, He drew crowds. Their view of who the Messiah really was—and what He would do—was often distorted. They thought the Christ would immediately usher in the restored kingdom (Luke 19:11). They believed He would free them from the oppressive rule of their Roman occupiers. Some hoped He would continue to provide free lunches for everyone (John 6:26). Jesus’ statement that following Him requires taking up a cross made people think twice about their motivations and level of commitment.

In Luke 9:57–62, three people seemed willing to follow Jesus. When Jesus pressed them, however, their commitment was shown to be half-hearted at best. They failed to count the cost of following Him. None were willing to take up their cross and crucify upon it their own interests. Jesus’ apparent attempts to dissuade people from following Him surely limited the number of false converts and insincere disciples (see John 6:66). But God seeks “true worshipers [who] will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). Jesus’ call to “take up your cross and follow Me” serves to screen out the disingenuous, double-minded, and dissembling.

Are you willing to take up your cross and follow Jesus? If faced with a choice—Jesus or the comforts of this life—which will you choose? Commitment to Christ means taking up your cross daily, giving up your hopes, dreams, possessions, and even your very life if need be for the cause of Christ. Only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called His disciple (Luke 14:27).

Following Jesus means striving to be like Him. He always obeyed His Father, so that’s what we strive to do (John 8:29; 15:10). To truly follow Christ means to make Him the Boss. That’s what it means to make Jesus Lord of our lives (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5). Every decision and dream is filtered through His Word with the goal of glorifying Him in everything (1 Corinthians 10:31). To follow Christ means we apply the truths we learn from His Word and live as if Jesus walked beside us in person. We are not saved by the things we do for Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9) but by what He has done for us. Because of His grace, we want to please Him in everything. All this is accomplished as we allow the Holy Spirit to have complete control of every area of our lives (Ephesians 5:18). He explains the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:14), empowers us with spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), comforts us (John 14:16), and guides us (John 14:26). It is important to note that, as the initial twelve disciples demonstrated, no one can faithfully follow Christ by the strength of his own willpower. It is when the Holy Spirit comes upon us as He did upon them at Pentecost, that we have the power needed to follow Christ, even to the death, if needed (Acts 2:1–4; 4:31; 7:59-60). 

Sources: https://www.gotquestions.org/follow-Christ.html; https://www.gotquestions.org/take-up-your-cross.html