Follow Me

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 11th of April, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Jesus was executed and His body laid in a tomb that was sealed by a huge stone rolled across the entry.  But the stone didn’t stay in place and neither did the body of Jesus!  When some of the women came to anoint the body of their Master, they found that He had already risen from the dead and left the tomb.  Later on, now alive and in the flesh again, Jesus began appearing to His followers; first to a few at a time and then to all of the disciples as they gathered behind locked doors.

Now if you’ll remember, when the angel at the tomb instructed the women to go tell the rest of the disciples, he said that Jesus was going before them into Galilee.  His closest followers were to go up to that region around the Sea of Galilee, or the Sea of Tiberias, as the Apostle John called it, with Tiberias being a major city in the area.  They were to meet up with the risen Jesus there.

Please listen and follow along to how the beloved disciple recorded this eventful meeting, as I read verses 1 through 19 and verse 25 from chapter 21 of John’s Gospel account, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”

They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”

They answered Him, “No.”

6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”

11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?” — knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”

And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18 Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”

25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

--John 21:1-19, 25 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your Son into this world to offer us forgiveness of our sins by speaking two little words: “Follow Me”.  Thank You, Father, for Your great love and mercy.  Please help us in our daily walk to be better followers of our Lord.  Help us to do as He commands, loving all others and making more disciples.  Father, please keep us safe from Satan as he prowls across the land, carrying out his evil schemes.  And shield us from those who do his wicked bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Take away anything that clouds our vision so that we might clearly see the path Jesus laid for us to follow.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Doctor, medical missionary, and author S. I. McMillen, in his book None of These Diseases, tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but whose heart sank when she read the question on the application form that asked, "Are you a leader?"  Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst.  To her surprise, she received a letter from the college that read: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders.  We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower."

That little story puts a smile on my face every time I read it.  All those new student applicants, hoping to be incoming freshmen, had replied, “Yes, I am a leader”, because that is what they figured the college wanted: natural born leaders.  This one young lady carefully examined herself and knew she did not fit that description, so she truthfully answered, “No”.

Whoever wrote the reply and acceptance letter had a great sense of humor.  All those leaders needed someone to follow them.  I mean, what’s the point in having a leader if there is no one to follow them?  What purpose does a leader serve if there is no one else to lead?  A leader can’t lead if there is no one to follow them.

That’s one thing Jesus never had to worry about, not having someone to follow Him.  And no one had to fill out an application to be a follower.  He simply extended an invitation to those people He chose, and they quickly accepted.

Jesus began exerting His leadership with the start of His ministry, shortly after His baptism in the River Jordan.  And it began in the same region where our scripture reading took place.  

In the 1st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 16 through 18, the Apostle Mark relates the events of one day as Jesus walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee…

16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

--Mark 1:16-18 (NKJV)

“Follow me.”  “If you follow as I lead, I will make of you fishers of men.”  These were the very first two men Jesus chose to be His followers, brothers Simon and Andrew.  And we know Simon to be the one Jesus later called Peter.  “Follow me”, He said, and they immediately left everything behind to do just that, to become followers and fishers of men.

If we read a little further we see that brothers John and James were chosen next with the same two words: “Follow Me”.  And like Simon and Andrew, they dropped everything to do just that.

It sounds so simple, to follow someone.  But being a faithful and true follower is anything but simple.  I remember as a kid playing follow the leader, and the leader would do everything possible to throw off their followers, making it very hard to follow them.  And following Jesus, truly and faithfully following Jesus, can be one of the most difficult tasks we ever attempt.

Jesus even warned us of this.  Listen to His words as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 16 of his Gospel account, verses 24 through 27…

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” 

--Matthew 16:24-27 (NKJV)

If we want to follow Jesus, we must be prepared to deny ourselves and take up our cross.  This means we must get rid of any and all pride in self, toss out whatever it is that holds us bound to all the niceties of this world, and be ready to suffer any consequences that may arise because of this, just as Jesus suffered for us.  If we want to save our life, we must be willing to lose our life.

Now Jesus doesn’t mean that we should give up our mortal life, unless it comes to that to carry our cross.  No, we must be willing to give up our old life, our life filled with pride and hatred and envy, our life of sinful disobedience that keeps us apart from God.  And then, by truly following Jesus, we will be greatly rewarded when He returns in all His glory.

While following Jesus is definitely not easy, if we listen to Him and do as He instructs, it will be to our benefit.  Look at the opening of our scripture.

Maybe he was bored.  Maybe he was feeling lost without Jesus being there to lead him.  We don’t know the reason, but Peter decided to go fishing and some of the other disciples decided to go along, too.  In a way, we can see this as the first step in Peter taking over a leadership role.

Anyway, they went fishing and caught nothing.  The risen Jesus happened to be walking along the shore, again, although they didn’t recognize Him at first.  He asked if they’d caught anything, they said “No”, so He told them where to toss out their net.  And the catch was so great they couldn’t haul it in.  In this act, Jesus showed who He was and proved His authority once again, and He rewarded His followers with a tremendous catch.

What follows next is a little more telling, in our study of being good followers.  It is critical to remember that, not too long ago, Peter denied even knowing Jesus, much less being a follower, because he was afraid of what might happen to him.  Is that the act of a good follower?  No, but Jesus still had plans for this man.  So by His grace, our Lord restored Peter to a place of love in His heart and of authority in His church.  And He restored Peter’s self-image.  But then, Jesus again asked Peter to follow Him.  One of the first invited, one of the first chosen, Jesus saw the need to engage the disciple again.

Following Jesus isn’t easy, as Peter now knew.  It will never be easy, but it does have great rewards.  To truly follow Him, we must do as He tells us and feed His lambs, tend His sheep.  There are many sheep out there who would be His if they only knew more about Him, if someone would spend a little time with them and encourage them.

Peter became a leader of the early church by following Jesus.  Let us take up our cross, care for His sheep, go out into the world making more disciples, and follow Jesus.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, our Savior and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, Jesus is Your Son, but He is also an aspect of You, just as is Your Holy Spirit: Three Persons in One.  So when we follow Jesus, we are following You.  Thank You, Father, for choosing us to follow Your Son.  You know it isn’t easy for us, so please help us be good and faithful followers.  Help us keep our faith and belief strong and active.  Help us take up our cross and endure any struggles we may face.  And help us do as our Lord Jesus commands us: to love others, and to be a witness of His goodness.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You gave us an invitation to follow You, and You warned us that it wouldn’t be easy but that it would bring us great rewards.  You chose us to follow You, just as You chose Peter.  When he stumbled in that task, You picked him up and restored him.  Lord, we ask You to pick us up and restore us, too.  We are sometimes weak, fearful of where we walk, too cautious of where Your path might lead.  Please guide us, Lord, as we follow You.  Help us be better servants,  doing as You command.  Help us when our cross becomes too heavy and burdensome to bear.  Stand with us as we try to show Your love to a world that so desperately needs it.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.