All four Gospels include the theme “follow me.” I’ve never seen an article reflecting on that fact. But the concordances make it clear: “follow” appears 79 times in 75 verses. 17 of those are in Luke. (We’ll not cover them all.) “Faith” is mentioned but 11 times in Luke.
In fact, if you were to read Luke to find out how to enter the Kingdom, you’d naturally conclude that the path to the Kingdom is to follow Jesus.
(Luk 5:11 ESV) And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
(Luk 5:27 ESV) After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.”
(Luk 5:28 ESV) And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
The Greek for “follow” is akoloutheo, from which we get “acolyte.” It can mean “follow” in the sense of physically following someone or it can mean to follow in the sense of being a disciple. Indeed, in those days, the disciples of a rabbi literally followed him as he walked from town to town. That’s where the word comes from.
A “follower” was constantly in the presence of the rabbi, hearing everything he says on every occasion, watching and learning from how he interacts with others, how he teaches, and how he lives. A follower was a 24/7 student of the rabbi, seeking not only his intellectual understanding but everything there is to know about him as a person. As Ray Vander Laan likes to say, a disciple wants more than anything in the world to be just like the rabbi.
(Luk 9:20-25 ESV) 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” 23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”
What does it mean to follow Jesus? Well, a follower of Jesus imitates Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for others. Therefore, we must take up our crosses daily to follow Jesus.
“Cross” is not a metaphor for the problems we can’t escape. Today, if someone has a chronic disease, she might say, “That’s my cross to carry.” It’s not. The cross Jesus speaks of must be taken up voluntarily. It’s a daily choice because it’s a choice. After all, Jesus could have called 10,000 angels. He didn’t have to die on the cross.
Jesus says that the Kingdom can only be entered by those carrying a cross.
(I’m in a bluegrass mood. It happens.)
(Luk 9:57-62 ESV) 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
And following Jesus must be our first (and only) priority. It overrides duties to self, to parents, and to family. This doesn’t mean that we neglect our responsibilities, but rather than our responsibilities only exist if and to the extent they are Kingdom responsibilities. There is no Kingdom AND anything else. It’s just the Kingdom.
That’s right: Paul sounds very much like Jesus —
(Phi 2:5-8 ESV) 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Kenosis, that is, self-emptying or making oneself nothing is at the heart of what Jesus accomplished and at the heart of what we’re called to.
(Luk 18:39-43 ESV) 39 And those who were in front [of the blind man] rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
The blind man believed Jesus to the Messiah. Jesus healed him because of his faith. But it was only after Jesus healed him that he followed Jesus. Following is more than knowing that Jesus is the Christ. Following is acting on that truth.
Now, in the contemporary church, everyone wants to talk about making “disciples.” We struggle to agree on what the word means. In fact, we’ve so abused the word that it’s become empty. The reader fills it with his preconceptions.
Some want a “disciple” to be someone who submits to authoritarian church leadership. Some want “disciple” to mean someone who reads his Bible and prays with great discipline. Some want “disciple” to be a soul-winner. Some want “disciple” to be someone who studies his Bible a lot. Some want “disciple” to be someone who attends church three times a week and performs 5 and only 5 acts of worship.
But a disciple is, in fact, a follower of Jesus. And a follower of Jesus wants, more than anything, to be just like Jesus. And a disciple therefore follows Jesus to the cross. Disciples die with Jesus in baptism and are resurrected with Jesus to walk as he walked — in submission, in sacrifice, in serving others, in self-emptying. Disciples make a decision every morning to pick up the cross of Jesus and carry it.
(Luk 6:40 ESV) 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
Disciples give up everything for Jesus —
(Luk 14:26-33 ESV) 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
“Count the cost” is not about church building projects! It’s about the decision to follow Jesus. And yet we want to sell salvation as available for the price of a confession and an immersion. Maybe regular church attendance gets thrown in. And then we wonder why we can’t get enough volunteers to instruct our own children, much less to save the world!
Discipleship and the Kingdom
Why do we have to follow Jesus to enter the Kingdom? The Israelites only had to be born as descendants of Abraham!
Well, the true Israel is the light of the world.
(Isa 42:6-7 ESV) 6 “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
We can’t be a light for the nations unless we reflect the very nature of God. You see, the Kingdom is where God’s will is done on earth as in heaven. And God’s will is that we be restored to the image of God.
And Jesus is the image of God. To be like God (theosis) is to be like Jesus (kenosis). To be a part of the Suffering Servant is to join him in his mission and work.
Now, the amazing thing is that we were designed from the beginning to be this way. We only resist it because of our sinfulness and brokenness. When we, by the power of God, acting by the power of his Spirit, follow Jesus in his submission, we are restored to what we were always meant to be. We finally get to live as God meant for us to live.
And this leads to peace, joy, and righteousness. It’s natural, normal, and right.
Of course, it doesn’t feel that way. But neither does riding a bicycle the first few times. But there comes a point where you find great joy in flying past the unfortunate people who only know how to walk.
Too many times, we get things backwards. We want to get people into the baptistery – and hope we can then make them into disciples. Jesus said we should make disciples and baptize them, not vice versa.
The example of Sasha Propochuk, Ukrainian evangelist, shows how God intended it. You can read a portion of his story at http://committedtotruth.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/the-power-of-the-word-of-god/.
Jay you said……A “follower” was constantly in the presence of the rabbi…" I find that interesting. Isn't that why Jesus told the Disciples that he would send Another to take His place !! Jesus didn't say, Look, I'm sending a guy named Paul…watch for him and read his stuff…No, He said He was going to send them the Holy Spirit as "parakletos"…to teach them..and NEVER leave….John 14 How can we be a follower of Jesus and deny the ability of the Holy Spirit to inform and guide us ?? Can we follow and refuse to have ears to hear or limit ourselves to the writing but refrain from being with the Teacher ??
Jerry, thanks for sharing the link on Sasha.. Pretty awesome that the "living" word can take a casual interest and turn it into an obsession; That God would open the eyes and heart of Sasha so that he could see and understand; and provide support for this newly formed passion through the missionaries that had been praying for an opportunity such as this…. It reminds me of how powerful all the parts are in the process when we ask for them in faith…Thanks.
When it boils down to it, we just don't believe Jesus. We refuse to even attempt what he describes, and then are surprised at the brokenness in our lives, in our families, in our churches.
Honesty and courage – for the church to embrace the way of Christ as true disciples – following even when not understanding, because we submit to the authority and knowledge of our master – of Jesus.