The question many people ask all over the world is, “Why follow Jesus?” Why not follow some other god? The word “follow” can mean to come behind, accompany as a follower or be a disciple.[1] There is nothing that has had more of dramatic effect on my life than becoming a follower of Jesus. It has changed everything about me for the positive.
A Crowd Follows Jesus
Why did a crowd follow Jesus? In our story of the feeding of the 5000, the people came because they saw His miraculous signs. John 6:1After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.[2]
John chose to call the healings “signs” rather than “miracles” because, like signposts, they pointed people to the divine power behind the act—the power of God. In his Gospel, John described some of the signs of Jesus so that we could read about them and come to believe.John 20:31But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.[3]
Faith Enables Us to Follow Jesus
Following Jesus is all about being connected to Him by faith. This enables us to have eternal life which begins here on earth and continues after our death in heaven. This connection to Jesus begins to transform our thoughts and behaviors in this lifetime. Jesus speaks about this spiritual connection in John 15:5 where He compares Himself to the vine and people to branches. If the branch is not connected to the vine it will die. If we are not connected to Jesus by faith, we are dead spiritually.
Where are you regarding being connected to Jesus by faith? If you are connected to Jesus already, how has that transformed your life? How is your life different than it was before? If you are not connected to Jesus yet, what is preventing you from taking that step of faith? God is inviting you into a relationship with Him today!
Prayer
Father, it is written in Your Word that if I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that You have raised Him from the dead, I shall be saved. Therefore, Father, I confess that Jesus is my Lord. I make Him Lord of my life right now because I believe in my heart that You raised Jesus from the dead. I renounce my past life with satan and close the door to any of his devices. Thank You for forgiving me of all my sin. Jesus is my Lord, and I am a new creation. Old things have passed away; now all things become new in Jesus’ name. Amen.[4]
To hear more about following Jesus, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/encountering-jesus-with-a-crowd-of-5000
[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[4] https://prayers.org/salvation-prayer/?kw=how%20to%20lead%20someone%20to%20salvation&mt=b&loc=9019801&n=g&d=c&adp=&cid=1831024715&adgid=69896310696&tid=kwd-304948683073&gclid=CjwKCAjw_NX7BRA1EiwA2dpg0oR5MjupiNbmI-CeGW4eI6DusRF7pGbbclApAZW1KfgGD0_TwDo2tBoC49cQAvD_BwE