Jesus is Essential
John 21:20–24: Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?” This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
No matter what our situation in life, Christ’s call to us is, “Follow me.” Below the surface of these words there was something very beautiful and meaningful for Peter. This stemmed from the fact that the very first recorded command Jesus gave to Peter was, “Follow me,” as Jesus observed him fishing. Peter was younger then. He knew little of what would be involved, but he did follow. Now the command came again. How those words had been deepened by the years!
Peter had been in Gethsemane. He had witnessed the sufferings of Christ at Golgotha. He had denied Christ. He had learned the necessity of following Christ. What a depth of meaning the words “Follow me” now carried. That gracious command rings out to all of us: “Follow Me!” If you are a new Christian, this is Christ’s abiding command, and you are asked to respond at your own level of understanding. If you have been through the wars, it is still the same—perhaps seemingly infinitely more complex, yet still just as simple. “Follow me!” 1
Walking with Jesus
Stop living someone else’s life. Seek Him, obey Him, follow Him and quit critiquing others. It is as simple as that, and it is as complex as that.
Behold! I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have. Revelation 3:11
If it’s not Jesus, we’ll follow someone or something to our destruction.
Praying
Lord, please help me to keep my eyes upon You at all times.
1. Hughes, R. K. (1999). John: that you may believe (pp. 482–483). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
