Our Mission: Following Jesus
At the very beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw two ordinary fishermen, Simon and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the lake.
Mark 17-18
Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left nets and followed him.
This scene would set the tone for the rest of his ministry in which he called ordinary people to follow him. It also quickly became clear that Jesus had a special place in his heart to call those who were hurting.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Day after day, Jesus would call all who would listen to come and follow him. Jesus is doing the same thing today! Jesus is calling us to follow him. Just like his first disciples, we may not know exactly where he may lead. Indeed, the thought of turning our backs on the familiar and venturing into the unknown can be terrifying. But we can be confident of this as we follow him that he loves us.
Jesus described himself as a shepherd and those who followed him as his sheep.
John 10:14
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Jesus’ call to follow him is not simply a call to follow after him; nor is it only a call to try to live like him. Jesus is calling us to enter into a personal relationship with him; his heart’s desire is for us to know him intimately. For as we know him, we know God.
John 14:6-7
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.
One of the most glorious truths of the Bible is that by having faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our sins are forgiven and we receive the free gift of eternal life. This eternal life is far more than living forever spiritually it is truly knowing God.
John 17:3
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Therefore, our mission is to follow and know Jesus. Jesus didn’t mince words about the potential hardships and challenges those who followed him could face.
John 15:20
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:34-35) Jesus also warned them, If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
In fact the Bible says, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2Tim. 3:12). Yet while this mission of following Jesus may prove challenging in many ways, it will be worth it. Near the end of Paul’s life while he was in prison, he wrote,
Phillipians 3:8-10
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings
Finally, our mission to follow Jesus can clarify confusing times in our lives, times when the cares, anxieties, or temptations of this world can cause us to be led astray from our sincere and pure devotion to Christ.(2Cor. 11:3). Pastor Greg Sidders writes the following about a video portraying the life of Jesus:
I was impacted by several scenes, but none more powerfully than one in which Jesus doesn’t say a word. It is the last scene in the movie a slow motion shot of Jesus walking along the Sea of Galilee. It begins with a close up of just his sandaled feet, and then gradually widens to show Him walking away from the camera. Then, suddenly, Jesus stops, looks toward the camera, and, with a slight smile, beckons the viewer to follow him. He turns away and continues to walk, then stops again, turns around, and, with a broad smile on his face, waves his arm as if to say, ‘Come on!’ Then, a long freeze frame, and the credits roll.
I’ve watched that brief clip over and over again. And, every time, it takes me back, back to before I bought all the books, back before I knew any theology, back before anyone told me I just couldn’t be fulfilled as a Christian until I (fill in the blank). It brings me all the way back to the day Jesus called me to follow him. It was as simple and as beautiful as that scene. There was no one there but Jesus, and no other message except, ‘Follow Me.’