“Come follow Me ...” are familiar words to every Christian. They are the words Jesus spoke to each of His disciples. He asked them to make an all-out commitment to Him that required a radical turn in their lives.  They were to leave their fishing and tax collecting enterprises or whatever else had been their way of life and follow Jesus.  To follow Jesus is not something for the disciples alone, Jesus told the rich young ruler, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me.”  All believers are called to follow Jesus ... Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

And so we can’t help but stand in amazement that when the man possessed by a legion of demons was healed by Jesus and then implored Jesus to let him accompany Jesus, or follow Him, Jesus did not let him!  When Jesus commands all believers to follow Him, how could he deny this man’s request to do just that?  Because following Jesus did not necessarily mean to follow Him literally and physically even in the days of Jesus earthly ministry.  To follow Jesus means to follow Him in loving obedience to His commands. It means to follow His example of fulfilling the Father’s will.  It means to follow His example as He related to the Father in prayer and as He related to people in love.  It means to follow Him as our Shepherd as He leads us in specific ministries.  Which is just how this man followed Jesus ... Jesus told him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you. And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed” [Mk. 5:19-20].

Jesus didn’t let this man follow Him but rather told him to go home!  Yet in his “going” he was “following” in obedience as an ambassador for Jesus Christ.  We are all called to be ambassadors for Christ and to follow Him by going [Matt. 28:19-20] and reporting to the people around us what great things the Lord has done for us, and how He has shown mercy to us.

May God give us joy in following Jesus by going out into the world with His message of mercy and grace!

Pastor Jim