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Following Jesus: What It Truly Means To Be His Disciple

David Platt
DISCIPLEMAKINGFeatured
8 min read

Following Jesus: What It Truly Means to Be His Disciple

Understanding True Discipleship Through Matthew 4

Table of Contents

Introduction

We live in a day where being a Christian means almost nothing. According to research, almost four out of every five Americans identify themselves as Christians. But within this group of self-proclaimed Christians, less than half are involved in church on a weekly basis, less than half believe the Bible is true, and the overwhelming majority don’t have a biblical worldview.

Researchers have dug deeper to distinguish those who are “born-again Christians”—people who say they’ve made a personal commitment to Jesus and believe they’ll go to heaven because they’ve accepted Him as their Savior. Astonishingly, almost half of Americans fit this description. Yet their beliefs and lifestyles are virtually indistinguishable from the world around them.

Some have used this data to conclude that Christians are really not that different from the rest of the world. But I don’t think that’s an accurate interpretation. The one thing that’s abundantly clear from these statistics is that there are a whole lot of people in our country who think they are Christians but are not. There are scores of people who culturally identify themselves as Christians but biblically are not followers of Christ.

Jesus’ Call to Follow Him (Matthew 4:18-22)

Scripture Passage:

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.‘ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” (Matthew 4:18-22, ESV)

Everything revolves around that one sentence: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” What do those words “Follow me” mean?

Who Is the “Me” We’re Following?

Let’s take those words in reverse order. Who is the “me” that is being followed here? I want to put before you a quick summary of the first four chapters of Matthew up to this point because Matthew has given us a stunning, glorious picture of Jesus from various angles. When I look at these chapters, I count twenty different pictures of Jesus.

The Portrait of Jesus in Matthew 1-4

  1. Jesus Is the Savior (Matthew 1:1): His name means “the one who will save us from our sins.”
  2. Jesus Is the Messiah: “Jesus Christ”—Christ is not His last name; it means “the Anointed One,” the promised Messiah.
  3. Jesus Is the Son of David: He is from the kingly line of David, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy.
  4. Jesus Is the Son of Abraham: Matthew takes us back to Genesis and the father of the people of Israel.
  5. Jesus Is the Center of History: Everything in history points to Jesus. He is the focal point of all human history.
  6. Jesus Is Fully Human: Born of a woman, He shares in our humanity.
  7. Jesus Is Fully Divine: Conceived by the Holy Spirit, He is God in the flesh.
  8. Jesus Is the Sovereign Over the Wise (Matthew 2): Magi from the East come to worship Him, acknowledging His kingship.
  9. Jesus Is the Shepherd of the Weak: He will shepherd His people, guiding and caring for them.
  10. Jesus Inaugurates a New Exodus: He fulfills the redemptive plan of God, delivering us from slavery to sin.
  11. Jesus Ends the Mournful Exile: He brings hope and restoration to those in despair.
  12. Jesus Loves His Fiercest Enemies: He came to save even those who sought to kill Him.
  13. Jesus Is the Savior King (Matthew 3): John the Baptist declares His coming as the one who will save His people.
  14. Jesus Is the Righteous Judge: He will separate the wheat from the chaff, rewarding righteousness and punishing wickedness.
  15. Jesus Is Filled with God the Spirit: The Holy Spirit descends on Him at His baptism.
  16. Jesus Is Loved by God the Father: A voice from heaven says, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”
  17. Jesus Is the New Adam (Matthew 4): He resists temptation where Adam failed, representing a new beginning for humanity.
  18. Jesus Is the True Israel: He embodies the faithful and obedient servant that Israel was meant to be.
  19. Jesus Is the Light of the World: Fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy, He brings light to those in darkness.
  20. Jesus Is the Hope for All Nations: He reveals Himself to Galilee of the Gentiles, extending salvation beyond Israel.

The Worthiness of Jesus

When you come to Matthew 4:19 and see Jesus saying to four fishermen, “Follow me,” we need to feel the weight and wonder of the One who is speaking. This is Jesus—the Savior, Messiah, Son of David, Son of Abraham, fully human, fully divine, sovereign over the wise, shepherd of the weak, inaugurator of a new Exodus, and the hope for all nations.

Do we realize who this is? When we do, we come to one conclusion: Jesus is absolutely worthy of more than nominal adherence and church association.

Church leaders, we must not reduce this Jesus to a poor, puny savior who is just begging for people to accept Him into their hearts—as if Jesus needed to be accepted by us. He doesn’t need our acceptance; we need Him. We desperately need Him.

What Does “Follow” Mean?

Now, let’s consider what the word “follow” means. I want to draw your attention to four implications that spring from this word for these fishermen and, by extension, for us.

1. To Follow Jesus Means to Live with Radical Abandonment for His Glory

In Matthew 4:17, Jesus says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” That word “repent” literally means to renounce, to turn from your sin. It’s an abandonment of our old ways and a complete surrender to Him.

The Disciples Abandoned:

  • Their Comfort: Leaving everything familiar and stepping into uncertainty.
  • Their Careers: Abandoning their professions as fishermen.
  • Their Possessions: Dropping their nets, leaving behind material security.
  • Their Position: Stepping down from societal roles and expectations.
  • Their Families: Leaving their father and familial responsibilities.
  • Their Friends: Forsaking established relationships for the sake of the gospel.
  • Their Safety: Following a rabbi who would eventually be crucified.
  • Their Sin: Turning away from their old lives and embracing righteousness.
  • Themselves: Denying themselves daily to follow Christ.

In a world where everything revolves around protecting, promoting, and preserving ourselves, Jesus says, “Deny yourself.” To follow Him is to hold loosely to the things of this world and cling tightly to Christ.

This may sound extreme, but don’t forget who the “Me” is here. When you realize who Jesus is, abandoning everything makes sense. As Matthew 13:44 illustrates:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

He sold everything with joy because he knew the value of what he had found.

2. To Follow Jesus Means to Live with Joyful Dependence on His Grace

Behold the beauty of God’s grace in these words: “Follow me.” Jesus takes the initiative to choose His disciples. He didn’t choose them because of any merit in them but solely because of mercy in Him.

Grace Illustrated Through Adoption

My wife and I struggled for years to have children and eventually pursued adoption. The process was long and grueling, filled with forms, background checks, and waiting. But finally, we held our adopted son in our arms.

Adoption begins with a parent’s initiative, not a child’s invitation. Before our son was ever born, we set our hearts on him. Similarly, before we ever sought Christ, He sought us. Ephesians 1:4-5 tells us:

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world… In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ.”

Nothing in the Christian life is born out of our merit; everything is born out of His mercy.

3. To Follow Jesus Means to Live with Faithful Adherence to His Person

Jesus is not saying, “Follow this path” or “Follow these rules.” He is saying, “Follow me.” He is inviting us into a relationship with Him. He is our life.

For followers of Christ, Jesus is not part of our lives; He is our life.

4. To Follow Jesus Means to Live with Urgent Obedience to His Mission

Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” A proper understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus inevitably leads to making disciples of Jesus.

It’s impossible to believe this gospel and know this Christ and be silent. A privatized faith in a resurrected Christ is practically impossible.

Counting the Cost of Discipleship

Yes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer taught us well that the cost of discipleship is great—to live with radical abandonment for His glory, faithful adherence to His person, and urgent obedience to His mission is costly. This could cost us our lives.

But I submit to you that the cost of non-discipleship is far greater. The cost is great for scores of people in the church who are sitting comfortably under the banner of Christianity but have never counted the cost of following Christ. Many are eternally deceived.

There’s a cost that comes with monotonous, routine, religious Christianity. We’ll waste our lives away like that, and the cost will be great for us and for those who are lost in this world.

Conclusion: Embracing True Discipleship

So I urge us, in view of the majesty of the King who has called us, let’s follow Him with abandonment for His glory, with dependence on His grace, with adherence to His person, and with urgent obedience to His mission.

 

Keywords: Follow Jesus, Discipleship, Radical Abandonment, Matthew 4, Being a Disciple, Christian Life, Jesus’ Call, True Discipleship, Gospel, Christian Faith, Biblical Christianity

 

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