Follow Jesus

Church,

This Sunday we will be looking at a gospel account where Jesus calls His disciples and extends to them the famous invitation: “Follow Me”. While these two words sound very simple and very straight forward, there is a lot to be seen in these two words.

First, we need to understand who Jesus is and why He would even be worth following. In Matthew’s gospel, the first four chapters are spent identifying Jesus in many very significant ways. In the very first verse of chapter one He is referred to as the Messiah, the Son of David, and the Son of Abraham. In one short verse Matthew is declaring that the entire Old Testament points to Jesus Christ as the long awaited Messiah and the Anointed One. It’s also in chapter one that Matthew describes the incarnation, from which we see Jesus as Immanuel, or literally “God with us” (1:23). Do we grasp the magnitude of who Jesus is here?

Matthew continues this pattern in chapters two, three and four by declaring Jesus to be sovereign over the wise and the weak (chapter 2), the Righteous Judge (3:2), the True and Better Adam (4:1-11), and many others throughout those four chapters.

The key here is to begin grasping the magnitude of who Jesus is. He isn’t just some good moral teacher; He is God! (John 1:1-14) In light of this truth, we should then seriously consider the way we approach Jesus and the level of commitment we have to Him. Do you approach Him casually? Do you listen but not obey? These are all tough questions that we need to be honest about and wrestle with together.

Lastly, take note of Matthew 4:19. Here Jesus issues His famous invitation to Peter and Andrew: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. This is a remarkable phrase that has radical implications with us as His disciples. We’re going to dig into this much more in the sermon on Sunday, but notice the three distinct parts of Jesus’ invitation: we follow Jesus (“Follow me...”), we are transformed by Jesus (“I will make you...”), and we join Jesus in His mission (“fishers of men”....i.e. making disciples).

So, how are you doing with those three aspects in your walk with Jesus? Are you following Him? Are you submitting to Him in every area of your life? Are you spending time with Him, abiding in Him, and letting Him, through the Holy Spirit, transform you? Are you joining Jesus in His mission to make disciples and advance the gospel to the ends of the earth? Are you engaged in the mission at all? Why/why not?

These are all important questions to reflect on and apply this week. It is my prayer that as we deal honestly with our devotion to Jesus that we’ll see an increased desire to listen to Him, obey Him, and join Him in His mission.

Looking forward to praising our King Jesus on Sunday with you all.

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Brett