FOLLOW THE LEADER
March 4th | Pastor Gino
I don’t know how popular the game Follow the Leader is today, but when I was a kid, it was a common game that we often played on the schoolyard. It was a simple game. One kid is picked as the leader and the other kids have to do what the leader does. The leader usually starts by scratching their head or making a burping sound, and everyone else follows suit. It gets more interesting as the leader begins marching around like a soldier and then starts to climb on the playground equipment weaving through different obstacles.
Everyone has to follow the leader and eventually it becomes a race to keep up as the obstacles get smaller and tighter for everyone to get through. Even though it gets more difficult to follow the leader, the followers are usually laughing and pushing each other as they try to keep up in what now looks like a long centipede of activity as only one follower at a time can make it through old radial tire that’s been attached to the ground in the bark-filled play area. By the time the bell rings to end recess, everyone is scrambling wanting to finish where the leader has finally been forced to stop. These are good memories. And I didn’t realize until I was much older how applicable this simple game was to the Christian faith.
The clarion call of the Christian faith really is quite simple. It is to follow Jesus! We see this in Scripture and spoken of by Christ himself. In the gospel account, Jesus says that if anyone desires to come after him, they need to deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). Let’s break this down a bit. There are three important components to this phrase that deserve a closer look.
1) if anyone desires to come after me: the phrase ‘to desire after’ or ‘behind’ has the following sense from the Strong’s Lexicon (Greek Dictionary): In the Greco-Roman world, the concept of following someone "behind" was not only a physical description but also carried implications of discipleship and allegiance. To follow a teacher or leader "behind" was to adopt their teachings and lifestyle. This cultural understanding is reflected in the New Testament usage of "opisó," (after or behind) particularly in the context of following Jesus.
2) deny yourself & pick up your cross: this is the concept of denying oneself that implies an utter rejection of one’s own ideas and/or way of thinking in order to ‘pick up the cross’ that represents the will and desires of another – in this case, of course, the will of Jesus. Rather than following one’s own path in life, they willfully choose to follow the path of Christ. It denotes in the strongest way, a personal allegiance to another.
3) follow me: here, the word ‘follow’, again, has a depth of meaning that can sometimes be lost in the English translation and modern way of thinking. It’s much stronger than simply going in the same direction. From the Strong’s Lexicon: In the first-century Jewish context, following a rabbi or teacher was a common practice. Disciples would leave their homes and occupations to learn from and emulate their teacher. This cultural backdrop highlights the radical nature of Jesus' call to follow Him, as it demanded total allegiance and often counter-cultural decisions. The term also carried connotations of loyalty and dedication, reflecting the relationship between a master and his disciples.
So, as you can see, the call to follow Jesus comes at great cost. It comes at the cost of pursuing one’s own desires and fortunes. It comes at the cost of one’s own ideas and thoughts as to what is good, right, and true. In following Jesus, one is called to (happily) submit all these things to the Master in order to follow Him; emulate Him; and become more and more like Him (Romans 8:29).
At one point, even the disciples become overwhelmed with the call to follow Jesus. After being told how hard it would be to follow Jesus, the disciples voice their concern (thru Peter) and say, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (Matthew 19:27) Peter had yet to understand the riches that were before him, but he clearly saw that following Jesus was not going to be an easy task. It would take some time, but Peter would eventually realize what all Christian’s come to understand – there is nothing this world can offer that can take the place of following Jesus. It is the greatest pursuit on earth; the greatest ‘game’ of follow the leader; and comes with the greatest gift and inheritence; eternal life in His name.
Jesus says as much in the words that follow, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul (Matthew 16:25-26)?
There will be hills and valleys in following Jesus; ups and downs; joy and heartache; gain and loss; life and eventually death when one follows the Leader. But the Christian understands this and takes joy in the journey no matter where the path leads. Through all the twists and turns that come with following the Leader the Christian remembers the Masters words: “…everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29).”
I’ll close with the words of the eminent J.C. Ryle on this passage: We may rest assured that no man shall ever be a real loser by following Christ. The believer may seem to suffer loss for a time when he first begins the life of a decided Christian. He may be much cast down by the afflictions that are brought upon him on account of his religion. But let him rest assured that he will never find himself a loser in the long run. (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew)
So, be encouraged friend. No matter how difficult the path gets, press on and follow the leader wherever He might take you. Trust in Him and know, that at the end, you will be victorious because He is a good leader who will not let you down and who will always lead you home.
