Follow Me
Feb 11, 2025 by Addison Crissone
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John,
do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."
He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved
because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?"
and he said to him, "Lord you know everything; you know that I love you."
Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young,
you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old,
you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where
you do not want to go." (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)
And after saying this he said to him,
"Follow Me."
do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."
He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved
because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?"
and he said to him, "Lord you know everything; you know that I love you."
Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young,
you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old,
you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where
you do not want to go." (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)
And after saying this he said to him,
"Follow Me."
Jesus is telling Peter that he can see the future.
He is reassuring Peter that he will not deny Him as he did before the cross. He'll go on and finish the race; he'll keep the faith.
And he'll die the same kind of death.
Then, Jesus says the words that Peter has longed to hear since his betrayal- the very words that will re-instate Peter as a Christ-follower.
These are very simple; there are only two.
"Follow Me."
But where does Christ bid us to follow? The beauty of this phrase "Follow Me", is that Jesus never told us where to go. He only said to do it.
He never gave us any other direction other than to deny ourselves- to leave behind the old self, pick up our cross, and follow Him.
Nowhere in scripture does he map out our steps or tell us the details of his plans for us. He does not say follow me to follow me there. He does not ask us to follow him "to the sea of Galilee and back"; he doesn't say, "Follow me to Samaria and after that to Jerusalem. "
And the fact that he does not mention this is precisely the point I believe Jesus wanted to make.
We do not need any directions to Follow Him- He is all we need. He is the Way.
In his poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade," Alfred Tennyson said-
"Theirs not to make reply
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die."
Following Christ is a denial of self, a death to self.
It is a constant pursuit of being emptied of self and filled with Christ; there is no other way.
So, where does Christ bid us to follow? And can we set aside all our plans and follow Him? Can we deny our desires and wants? Can we forfeit our dreams and plans? Are we willing to give up our very lives for Christ?
As Deitrich Bonhoeffer put it, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
Will you Follow?
