“When Christ calls a man He bids him come and die.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Jesus said only two things. The first thing that He spoke is to come. Come to me and be transformed. Secondly, He said to go. Go into the entire world and live this transformed life to effect transformation in other lives. This is just a nutshell of the Master’s call and commission. On two separate occasions, Peter received the call, “Follow me.” It was the first words and also the last words Jesus spoke to His disciple.

Mark 1:17- “Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishermen of people!"

John 21:22- “Jesus said to him, "If it is my will for him to remain until I come, how does that concern you? You must keep following me!"

Let us briefly look at His call and reflect. (The command to go can be examined in another article).

COME & SEE

Any call needs to be clarified. The calling of a person to follow Christ needs a deep introduction and understanding of the Person of Christ. Any testimony of Jesus has some limitation to it; as you can see in John 1:45-46.

John 1:45- “Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, "We’ve found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!"

John 1:46- “Nathanael said, "Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding." But Philip said, "Come, see for yourself."

Philip invariably said he was found. That is his joy and privilege, but to explain whom he has found was a difficult proposition. At best what any body could say is exactly what Philip said in John 1:45. He said that he found:

• The Person Moses wrote in the law.
• The Person the prophets proclaimed.
• The Person who is the son of Joseph.
• The Person who is here with us in Nazareth.

This was not a good enough answer to inspire Nathaniel to follow Jesus. So, Nathaniel exclaimed, “Can any good come from Nazareth?” Philip answered “Come and experience.” So, Nathaniel directs his queries to Jesus. He needed more truth to be unraveled in order to follow Jesus. Jesus cheered his innocent and inquisitive spirit. Jesus proved that His answer of “come and see”
is more than a location or vocation. It is His divine standing with the Father.

This “come and see” is a proclamation of great dimension. He would say to all: “Yes indeed, I embody the Law and the Prophets. I became the Son of Man- Joseph’s son and I live in Nazareth. But, I am seated with my Father in Heaven and you will see the angels of God ascending and descending.”

Jacob experienced the ladder from Heaven while he was in Bethel. It was the Living Presence of the Divine Son on planet earth with him. This uncompromising conviction is needed for anyone and everyone to take up the cross and follow the foot steps of the Galilean. These footprints can never be obliterated from the cosmic history and it’s the same footsteps we have the privilege of walking today.

COME & PAY

Invariably, His call is a call to die. It is true that there are different kinds of dying, but the essence of discipleship is contained in these words:

Luke 9:23-24- “And he said to them all, "If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose t, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it.“

Once, someone made a quick decision to follow Jesus. Jesus cautioned him. Another man had other priorities. In this situation, Jesus took the time and the trouble to correct him.

It is not about “location or a vocation” and living a cozy and comfortable life. It is about paying a price and having a priority from the beginning of our walk with God until the end. Our relationships and recreations need to be sidelined and subordinated to the King and His Kingdom. We are called to His service.

Luke 9:57-60-“As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest." He said to another man, “Follow me." But that man said, “Sir, first let me go back and bury my father."

Jesus answered, "Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."

“Come and see” will eventually morph into “come and pay” with your life. There is not any other way in which we can follow Jesus. Not one of us should be carried away by the “cheap flight mentality” of a free ticket to Heaven at Christ’s expenditure.

The revelation and the reality is that Jesus is the Son of God. We follow Him in order to die to ourselves, this world and the evil desires of the flesh. This is the quintessence of following Jesus.

May God give us wisdom to know this mystery and give us courage to carry the cross and follow in the footprints of the “man of sorrows” who controls the universe with a whisper and a wind. He is the Lamb and the Lion. He has the final say on human destiny!