Posted by
Curt Ferguson on Friday, April 25, 2008 5:00:00 PM
[The following is a column by Rev. Ron Bailey of Salem, Illinois, which I thought worth sharing. Feel free to email me your comments at cwf@ussonet.net Curt]
Adam Clark in … his commentary on the latter part of II Corinthians 3:6 … says, “The whole Christian life is comprehended by our Lord under the letter, follow me.” … I want to take note of the steps which Jesus outlined for following Him. It should be understood to be both a choice and a commandment. The choice is to whosoever will: it matters not, male or female, Jew or Gentile, rich or poor. The command lies in the fact that not only did Jesus invite men to come walk with him but he also used that word which meant “see my back.” In other words, among other things, don't attempt to set my course, nor usurp my authority, nor alter my mission, nor set yourself forward as a leader of mankind ahead of the Son of God. An example of this attempt to lead Christ is seen in Matthew 16 where Jesus says to his disciples that the time has come when he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things which included His death and resurrection. Notice, “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.’” I'm convinced that instantly Jesus recognized who was behind this attempt to lead the way around the cross and our Lord said to Peter, “...Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Jesus didn't come to follow, he came to lead, so he said to Peter, follow me, or “see my back,” because the ways neither of Satan nor of man are acceptable unto God.
When Jesus first invited the disciples to follow Him, He did not reveal to them the result of choosing to do so, He simply said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They trusted Him and, “...straightway left their nets, and followed him.” For them, following Jesus did involve literally walking with Him from city to city and place to place, but they soon learned that it meant much more than a walk down the road and a few words of encouragement.
Our Lord carefully but decisively leads his disciples to a full understanding of what it meant to follow Him. In Luke 9:33, “And he said unto them all. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
At another time, “... a certain man said unto him, Lord I will follow thee wherever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath no where to lay his head.”
Then in Luke 14:26 & 33 Jesus says, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” He explains this statement in verse 33, saying, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” He's saying, Christ first, or not at all.
Many of his disciples ceased to follow Jesus when He said. (John 6) “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him.” He made the spiritual application to this saying in verse 36, when he said, “...the words that I speak unto you they are spirit, and they are life”, but they still didn’t understand. At this setting He says to the twelve, “will ye also go away?” Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.
[Who can follow] Jesus, or who can be his disciple? In an attempt to answer this question I would ask you to look with me, as to whom was present, at the setting of our Lord's great sermon given on the side of a mountain. Matthew 5 begins with “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.” Luke gives a bit more insight in relation to who was present at this setting in chapter six of his record of this important gathering. He says in verse 12 that Jesus prayed all night. Then in verse 13, he states, “And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles.
In pursuing the answer to the above question we would notice that the twelve were there, other disciples were present, and, likely scattered down the side of the mountain, was a great number of people. Jesus had compassion on them, for He always did, and saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He knew that He was the shepherd that they needed, but He also knew that He needed faithful disciples who would be as committed to the shepherding of the multitudes to follow Christ, as He was committed to being the great Shepherd: the One who leads. Who can follow Jesus? The answer is “Whosoever will.” The New Testament message of whosoever will is an undeniable privilege that any man can embrace if he so chooses.
Our Lord begins this great sermon by describing the required character of one who would follow Him. This description is a characterization of Christ himself. Jesus knew that leadership required an open declaration of objectives and intentions of one desiring to generate a following. Character was all important to Jesus, so right off He said, “This is the way.” He is saying in the beatitudes, these are my kind of people and if you intend to follow me then this is what you must be, because this is what I am.
However, in the context of blessedness, Jesus says that those who walk with Him shall be hated and persecuted. From the very beginning, He did not paint a picture of rocking-chair ease. Rather, he said, “Because of me, they will speak against you falsely.” But He adds that when they do, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven.”
This man Jesus has the impeccable credentials required for trust and leadership. He earned these credentials. He was the perfect man. He asks none of his followers to sacrifice anything that He had not Himself already surrendered to God. He was not a man of opinions, rather He was a man who knew the way of truth and always spoke with authority. He was not a scientist. The fact is He created science. He was a man of miracles. They who faithfully followed Him were living witnesses of all that He did, from exercising authority over the storms to the raising of the dead. He did these things by simply speaking the word of authority and they obeyed. And beyond that, even His enemies unwittingly witnessed to His miracles by saying, “Yes, He did them.” But they said, “He did them by the power of the devil.” I say to His enemies, “Thanks—because you outsmarted yourself.” It's true that to follow Him means to take up a cross, but what a great joy it is to carry that cross directly behind a man of his stature.