Who Do You Follow?

Who Do You Follow?
If someone were to walk through the streets of Sheridan/Norway this afternoon, calling to people as he walked through, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” What would your reaction be? Honestly—what would your reaction be? (wait for responses)…Can you think about what Simon Peter, Andrew, James, & John must have been thinking while Jesus was walking along the shore? Let’s set the scene a little bit more…
We start with Jesus learning of John the Baptist’s arrest…This is the same man who baptized Jesus, who was Jesus’ cousin…The man who was preaching the coming of the Messiah was now in jail…He was arrested because the message that he was preaching was not one that was favorable with the authorities…He was preaching of the coming of the Messiah, this king…so you can understand why the king wouldn’t want someone questioning his authority…Especially someone like John—who was someone who was dressed in camel’s hair and ate locusts and honey and lived in the wilderness…This was the kind of thing that could incite a revolution and that just wasn’t something that the king wanted to deal with at all…So, John was arrested…We know in the story that John never made it out of prison, John was beheaded in prison…The cost of John preaching his beliefs was ultimately his death…
At this point in the story though, John is alive…Just in prison…The news of John’s arrest wouldn’t have been contained to just a few people…John was pretty influential where he was and was preaching a powerful message and word got around…Plus it would have been in the interests of the political powers to let everyone know that the rabble-rouser was in prison and that speech like his would not be tolerated…
So, word of John’s arrest was probably spreading and here comes Jesus in the city of Galilee…In some ways picking up where John had left off, preaching “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” But also sharing more to the message…And as word of Jesus would have been starting to circulate around town, he encounters Simon Peter & Andrew working…fishing…And Jesus calls to them and tells them, “Come and follow me and I will make you fish for people.”
That’s a bold statement and a bold request…And can be a little confusing as well…What does it mean to fish for people? What is involved in this following? If Simon Peter & Andrew had those questions, Matthew doesn’t record them…Instead what Matthew records is that they immediately dropped their nets and followed…Immediately they dropped their nets and followed…And so I ask again… If someone were to walk through the streets of Sheridan/Norway this afternoon, calling to people as he walked through, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” What would your reaction be?
The truth is…That call is made more than we really realize…And it’s not just Jesus who makes that call…We are called to follow something from the very moment we get out of bed…Who are you going to follow today?
Are you going to follow your wants and hit the snooze button a couple of times when the alarm goes off…Are you going to follow what the TV tells you about the weather and dress accordingly or watch traffic patterns and take different routes…Are you going to listen to what researchers say and eat something for breakfast—something healthy and nutritious or something sugary and sweet? Are you going to follow what your boss tells you to do? Are you going to follow what your friends tell you to do? Whew…That’s a lot of questions and we have hardly gotten out of the house! Did you realize how many times a day that we hear that “Come and follow me?” And how many times a day that we respond? And in those responses…How many times do we question or hesitate? Maybe some…
Now, let’s be really honest…Jesus’ call to follow is not really the same as “What am I going to eat for breakfast?” While there can be debates on health issues and how breakfast can affect you for the day or your life…Answering Jesus’ call takes more than a casual thought…
Answering Jesus’ call takes dedication and faith…By following Jesus, it’s not a one way ticket to easy street…As we saw in John’s life—it can lead to some serious things—arrest or death…
These are all questions that Jesus didn’t answer when he called to Simon Peter & Andrew & James & John…They weren’t even asked then…Instead, Simon Peter & Andrew & James & John immediately left their nets and followed Jesus…
Jesus’ call to Simon Peter & Andrew & James & John weren’t just asked to believe in who Jesus was…They were asked to follow…That’s the same call that Jesus makes to us…We aren’t just called to believe in Jesus, although that’s part of it…We’re asked to follow Jesus…Although, some could argue that believing takes a lot of hard work, following Jesus takes a lot of hard work…It takes dedication and faith…It takes sacrifice and self-denial…Even though Jesus didn’t mention that in his call to the disciples…It was implicit in his statement…Follow Me.
Follow me and I will make you fishers of people…Follow me and you will join with me in this work…Follow me and we will spread the Good News of God with all people…Follow me…
Although it may be difficult to do at times, it’s not impossible…Jesus doesn’t say, join with me and I’m going to leave you alone for awhile…No, Jesus says “Follow me.” When you follow someone, that usually means that they are with you in some way, shape or form…Jesus calls, “Follow me.”
How are we going to answer that call? There are some ways that we, as individuals have answered that call…There are ways that we have immediately left our nets to follow Jesus…And there are ways that we are still hesitating to leave our nets…But Jesus calls to us…Follow me and I will make you fishers of people…There are ways that we as a church have answered that call…That we have immediately left our nets to follow Jesus…And there are ways that we are still hesitating to leave our nets…But Jesus calls to us…Follow me and I will make you fishers of people…
So now, it’s not just “someone” who is wandering around the streets of Sheridan/Norway calling to people as he walked through, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” But it’s Jesus who calls to us still…It’s not a random stranger, but someone who cares for us and loves us…Who wants us to join with on the journey…Who wants to lead us…Who wants us to love him…Who wants us to immediately leave our nets and follow…