The Pharisees tried to build a wall around the law to ensure they never broke it,
and created lawyers.
Jesus said I am the way, follow me,
and created disciples.
Imagine you’re a fisherman in 27AD. You’re working with your brother and your father, much like he worked with his father before him. But you’ve been hearing things about a teacher, and this one sounded different than all the rest.
One day, this teacher you’ve been hearing about walks up to you as you’re working and asks you to follow him. You’re thinking, “Does he know what he is asking? Who will provide for my family?” But still, something about this invitation pushes all those questions to the side, and you follow; it was the only way to know, the only way to see where it all led. So, despite the fear and the unanswered questions, you walk away from everything you have known. And as you go, the questions continue, but you keep going because, beyond all the questions, deep down, somehow, you know this is the path to life.
Let’s look at this story.
Why did this invitation to follow inspire him to leave everything, his way of life, the family business, and any sense of security? What compelled him to leave it all and study with this new rabbi? He had all the laws and teachings of Judaism, as well as the religious teachers at the temple and the synagogue. But did any of those rules and restrictions ever give him the urge to leave everything and follow God? They didn’t seem to.
No, the rules only defined the edges of what was considered “Godly.” They were more of a fence than a path. There were things to do and things to avoid, but there was no clear path forward and no real hope. Jesus was the path forward.
Jesus was and is different. Jesus personally leads us. And this path is going somewhere. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
In John, we read these words of Jesus:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30[ESV]
Laws describe what should and should not be. The invitation of Jesus does what laws can never do: it gives us direction and an example. Jesus himself is the path and the goal. We follow him to be with him. We follow him to be more like him.
The invitation does not answer all of our questions; in many ways, it gives us more questions. But this simple invitation leads us; it is the path to life, to joy, and to purpose. It is the path of God and the path to God.
A Change of Direction
When Jesus went out to preach in Matthew, his message was, “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” When we follow Jesus, it is a change of direction. The fisherman Jesus called could not continue with what they were doing; they had to change their direction. They had to repent. Repentance is to change direction—the direction of our minds, desires, and actions. We now follow the king into his new kingdom. A kingdom that is not like this world’s current order, it’s one based on God’s order, where Jesus is the king.
So many Christians want to ask questions like, “Can I do this or that and still be a Christian?” This question is wrong-headed. It tells me they are looking in the wrong direction. They are, in effect, asking how far away from Jesus they can be and still avoid hell. His sheep are following him, not their own desires. His sheep ask how they can get closer to Jesus, not how far away they can get before they are lost forever.
Christianity is Directional
Once we understand that Christianity is direction and not a rulebook, many questions disappear, or at least become unimportant. The many questions become one: how do I get closer to Jesus? With our face to Jesus, our back will be to all those things that previously held us in their grip. Confusion gives way to hope. And the nagging fear that I am not doing it right, or that I am not good enough, is left behind as we obey the invitation to follow Jesus.
This Week
This week, let’s do what Paul determined to do with his life so long ago.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Philippians 3:13-16[ESV]
Let’s keep our faces toward Jesus this week as we walk through life — to life.
Have a great week!
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