There are many people that we follow in our lives, our parents, our bosses, but it is most important to follow Jesus. Only He can transform our lives.
If someone asks you: Hey, follow me. What are you going to do, or what are you going to say to that person? Are you going to follow her without saying anything?
For sure, you’re going to ask her where are you going? You may say yes, I am interested; or no, I am not interested.
Jesus saw Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth, and said to him: “Follow me.”
Follow Jesus, this is what I am going to talk about today.
Jesus saw Matthew and said to him: “Follow me.”
What does it mean to follow Jesus? What does following Jesus look like?
There are three steps you need to know to follow Jesus.
Step number one: to follow Jesus we need to be a person who has the desire to listen to his word.
In Jesus’ transfiguration, “while Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed the disciples and behold a voice out of the cloud said, this is my beloved Son …, listen to him.
Did Matthew pay attention to Jesus? Of course he did.- Without even asking Jesus any questions.- Where are you going to lead me Jesus.- What will be my final destination Jesus?
It seems that Matthew knows the divine power and the divine authority of Jesus through his different miracles whether changing the water into wine (John 2:1-11), or casting out the demon (Mark 1:23-28), or raising the widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:11-18). Many theologians, like Raymond Brown, or Sandra Schneider think that could be one of the reasons that challenges Matthew to quickly give up everything and to follow Jesus as soon as he has been called. It seems that listening to his word or meditating on it, is one of the keys to follow Jesus.
Step number two: To follow Jesus, we must be born again. John 3:3. Jesus says: “truly, truly, I say to you unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.- Being born again is a matter of confessing your sins, surrendering your life to Christ as Savior and Lord all the time, and keep the faith in Him no matter what happen in your journey.
Is it easy to follow Jesus? Matthew’s situation can give us an idea about it.
The last step: To follow Jesus, we need to be a person who believes in Him- John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.-
Could we follow Jesus without believing in him? What does believing in Jesus mean? Believing in Jesus is to enter into a personal relationship with Him, and to know Him greater than you would know any person here on earth.
Matthew did believe in Jesus so much, he left a good paying job behind, and followed him as soon as he had been called.
Who is this guy who follows Jesus from the first call?
He was a tax collector, the most unpopular guy in the town. He was a Jew who worked for the Roman Empire; he used to squeeze out of his fellow Jews to collect money as much as he could, and there was a base amount that he would have to send to Rome and everything above that was his… this was easy money.
In other words, Matthew was one who turned against his own people for his own advantage and no one wanted to see him. All Jewish people would like to run away from him.
Jesus saw him, and looked at him with an eye of grace and mercy, and said to him 2 words: follow me. In those two words: follow me, Matthew is going to leave his tax booth behind; he is going to leave his old life behind; his old ambitions, his old goals; and he is going to take the decisive step of commitment, and begin to follow Jesus seriously.
Are you ready to take a decisive step of commitment and begin to follow Jesus sincerely?
Keep in mind, when Jesus calls Matthew to follow him, he does not tell him what the future will be. He does not tell Matthew to follow a group of people; He just told him: in two words:” follow me.”
When Jesus calls us to follow him, he asks us to listen carefully to his word, to be born again, or to confess our sins and connect with Him all day long.
The Almighty God, commanded us to listen to his dearly loved Son, during Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain. Yes, listen to Jesus, this is step number one to follow him.
What are we looking for when we follow Jesus?
We are looking for a reconciliation with the Almighty God, our Creator.
There is beauty when we follow Jesus. When we follow Jesus, even though our sins are red like crimson, Jesus will make them white as wool; he will purify us from our sins and he will create in us a clean heart, a heart full of mercy and forgiveness, and reconnect us with the Almighty God.
There is beauty, when we follow Jesus. When we follow Jesus, we start being transformed from the inside. We become brand-new people on the inside. We are not the same person anymore.- We become a new creature.- the old life is gone, a new life has begun, by that Jesus can reconnect us with the Almighty God.
There is beauty, when we follow Jesus.
When we follow Jesus, we follow someone who can restore us completely, someone who can take away our discomfort like he did for Matthew who had been cut off from everyone in the community , then Jesus welcomed him, and reconnected him with the God.
The real beauty in following Jesus is that he can lead us to the greatest life we could ever possibly experience, and imagine, which is the everlasting life full of peace, harmony, and love.
Certainly, Matthew accepted to follow Jesus without questioning because he realized that Jesus has the divine power and the divine authority to transform his life and more importantly to forgive, wash and remove all his sins.
Matthew accepted to follow Jesus without questioning because he realized that the Roman Empire who gave him his job cannot forgive him. The religious leaders cannot forgive him.- Only Jesus is able to wash all his sins away.
I am here to tell you today, I as your priest cannot remove your sins away, all other religious leaders cannot remove your sins away.- Only Jesus can do that. I urge today to follow Jesus without questioning like Matthew, and say like Paul, “ If I live, it’s no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20-21).
This simple text, if you repeat it and meditate on it daily, you will be able to follow Jesus all day long.
Can you repeat this text with me:“ If I live, it’s no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.”
One more time, “ If I live, it’s no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.”
Go now, with conviction, keep following Jesus.
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