Follow Me
FOLLOW ME
Mark 1:12-20
Joo An Korean Methodist Church
Seoul, South Korea
Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton
Saturday, April 19, 2009
On November 4th, 2008 the United States elected Barack Obama its 44th President. Americans celebrated. And the world cheered. But Americans couldn’t follow the President–elect right away. To lead America, Barack Obama had to take the oath office. That happened January 20, 2009. After Obama was sworn in, Americans began to follow him instead of George Bush. Like countless other inaugurations, the leadership transition was peaceful not violent.
Over 2000 years ago, Jesus was involved in leadership transition as well. It was violent not peaceful. King Herod arrested John the Baptist and eventually beheaded him. His action removed John the Baptist from his leadership role. Immediately, Jesus stepped into the void. “He came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God saying …the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.” And the people followed him. That same Jesus has come again and again to Korea issuing the same call “Follow Me.” Not tomorrow, not later this week. Now is the time to follow him!!
Let’s talk about Follow Me in three dimensions namely: the call to lead, the courage to lead and the spirit to lead.
The Call to Lead
Mark’s gospel reflects the call to lead in several ways. First, Mark mentions the writings of the prophet Isaiah. God will send a messenger to set the heart of the people aright. He will be a “voice crying in the wilderness.” More importantly, Mark’s gospel suggests that the “voice of the one crying in the wilderness is John the Baptist. Preparing the way of the Lord is his major task. By utilizing Isaiah’s prophecy as the introduction of his book, Mark demonstrates that the good news he describes for others has a claim on him. He cannot keep the news to himself. Mark tells the story so others can read and embrace it. Also, it’s not hard to see why Isaiah prophecy affects Mark so thoroughly. He knows of Isaiah’s life changing encounter with God and change that has come into his life. Remember these words from Isaiah. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord.” Or these, “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am send me.”
To go further, Mark’s gospel emphasizes the call to lead in another person. It is John the Baptist. His magnetic effect on the people of God supersedes the influence of folk like Ghandi, Peter at Pentecost, or Martin Luther King, Jr. Jesus Christ says as much in Matthew. “Among those born of women, there has been none greater than John the Baptist.” By the hundreds and thousands, men, women and children leave the city to hear him preach repentance for the forgiveness of sin. By the hundreds and thousands, they repent and lead new lives after experiencing the death and resurrection of baptism. Abundant life becomes real in Judea. Folks with two coats give up one. Food goes to the needy. Tax rip offs stop. Extortion by soldier ceases. And a sense of the Kingdom of God comes on earth where the repentant do God’s will. When people respond to the unction of God, amazing things happen.
The Son of God is no exception. By accepting the mission to redeem the world, our Lord seals his fate. He will live, suffer and die for the sins of the world. But on the third day, he will rise making of us Easter people. However, Mark’s gospel points to a process that precedes his leadership role. Jesus must demonstrate his ability to obey God.
First, Jesus wants to be baptized. That desire seems a bit ridiculous. Baptism is for the sinful not the sinless. Yet, he who knows no sin is baptized. Some people say Jesus’ unnecessary baptism is a way to identify with those he came to save. Others suggest our Lord is moved by the preaching of John the Baptist. I think Jesus’ desire to be baptized is simply a matter of obedience. God the Father requires it of him, no matter what people think-no matter how it is perceived. Second, the Spirit drives him into the wilderness for forty days. There, our Lord will be tempted by the ultimate tempter. God requires that his commitment to him be put to the test before his public ministry begins.
Matthew’s gospel painted a more graphic picture of Christ being tempted than Mark’s gospel. First, Satan tried to get to Jesus to turn stones into bread. He refused. Then, he took our Lord upon the roof of the temple. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, throw yourself down… your angels won’t let you be harmed.” Our Lord refused. Finally, Satan took our Lord upon the highest mountain and promised him the whole world if he’d bow down and worship him. Again, he refused. “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” In no uncertain terms, those called to lead are required called to “do God’s will.” One songwriter said it best, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
The Courage to Lead
If you have read about Moses’ call to ministry, you know that he found it hard to trust and obey God. To be specific, God called Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. And Moses made excuses. When God called Moses to lead out of the burning bush, he hid his face from God. When God told Moses he’d have to confront Pharaoh (his step-father), Moses questioned if God had picked the right man for the job. When Moses asked God who he should say sent him, God said, “Tell him I Am has sent me to you.” Not convinced, Moses exhibited other phobias that victimized him. God, “I want be believed or listened to. I’m not eloquent,” he lamented. Whether he knew it or not, Moses was a religious leader. But, he lacked the courage to lead with vision and purpose.
To his eternal credit, Jesus the Christ, the good shepherd has the courage to lead. He heals people on the Sabbath, eats with sinners, wine bibbers and tax collectors. He loves the rich and the poor, friend and enemy, the lost and the found, the American church and the Korean church indeed the whole world. Even those who threaten him with death, betray him, doubt him, forsake him, Jesus leads and loves. A sentence in today’s scripture stresses this attribute. Listen to the words of Mark 1:14. “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God…
In his coming to Galilee, Jesus demonstrated courageous leadership. John’s arrest created a leadership vacuum. It had to be filled. Yet, Jesus’ emergence created some potential problems. What if John the Baptist got out of prison and found our Lord leading his disciples. A personality conflict between Jesus and John the Baptist might have ensued. And the religious movement might have suffered irreparable harm.
Second, Jesus’ emergence as the Messiah rested on his ability to recruit disciples. For example, nobody knew if Jesus would have the same success and effect on the public as his predecessor John. But they soon found out as did the disciples of John. Our Lord made disciples of every race, creed, color and gender. Pharisees like Nicodemus, tax collectors like Zaccheus, fishermen like James and John and women of faith like Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha and the hungry in the Sermon on the Mount followed him. Like today, his movement reached the masses. Two thousand years later, Jesus of Nazareth has spawned the global church, Protestant and Catholic.
It took considerable faith and courage for Jesus to follow in the footsteps John the Baptist. To do so meant Jesus would expose himself to the same risks as John the Baptist. He might be arrested and imprisoned like John. Later in his ministry, Christ made the same point about Christian Discipleship. “If anyone would come after me,” says Jesus, “let him first deny himself, take up the cross and follow me. (Mt.
Beyond this mantra, a question must be asked. Why was John the Baptist arrested? It’s simple, John spoke truth to power. Don’t you remember? John the Baptist criticized the king of the country. To be specific, King Herod took his brother’s wife. John told him it was wrong. Enraged, King Herod put John in jail. John stayed in jail until King Herod made a silly promise to his step-daughter. She danced well enough at a royal party that the King promised to give her anything she wanted. After consulting with her mother, still enraged over John’s criticism of her marriage to the king, Herod’s step daughter asked for John’s head on a platter. When the King granted her wish, John lost his life.
In the light John’s arrest, our Lord exhibited another level of courage. He refused to compromise the gospel. He refused to keep silent about repentance. He refused to hate his enemy. He feared no one including a king who could kill his body. He preached good news to the poor. Jesus applied biblical principles to human behavior in church and society. All this, Christ did under the threat of death and persecution. Why, you ask? He had “a charge to keep and a God to glorify.” With both came, the courage to lead-the courage to do God’s will not man’s.
The Spirit to Lead
The call to lead and the courage to lead are incomplete without the spirit to lead. It’s true. Countless times, the spirit, i.e., the Holy Spirit, the third part of the Trinity, makes its presence known in the ministry of Jesus Christ. For example, the spirit descends upon him at his baptism in the Jordan. The spirit drives him into the wilderness where he is tempted for forty days. When Jesus visits his hometown synagogue, it appears again. Jesus announces his public ministry beginning with these words “The spirit of the Lord is upon me…” To lead for God and make disciples, Christ needs the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. Clearly, the spirit of God is at work when our Lord recruits four fishermen.
Remember the story. Jesus is walking along the Sea of Galilee. Simon and Andrew are fishing. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men,” he says. Immediately, they drop their nets and follow him. He repeats the same invitation to James and Andrew. Immediately, they leave their father’s fishing business and follow Christ. No one knows how they will support themselves. No one knows where they will sleep or eat. And no one knows where this Jesus is leading them. Forsaking all others, they follow him into a new career.
On one hand, their quick response does not make sense. Most people want a little time to make major decisions. That’s why “Count the cost,” “Look before you leap” and “Marry in haste and repent in leisure have become such invaluable sayings. But something happens when our lord approaches his would be disciples with the invitation “Follow Me.” The spirit moves them to do the unexpected. And they respond immediately. It was as if Jesus said, “God wants you. And they replied “yes” with the speed of light.
Instantaneous responses engendered by a spirit led Christ are not unusual in the gospel of Mark. In the Revised Stand Version of the Bible, the word “immediately” is used nine times in chapter 1 of Mark. For example, “immediately he saw the heaven open and the spirit descend upon him like a dove, immediately the spirit drove him into the wilderness, immediately they left their nets, immediately he called them, i.e. James and John, immediately he entered the synagogue, immediately they told Jesus of Simon’s mother-in-law’s fever, immediately the leprosy left him. As on the day of Pentecost, the spirit moved people to act instantly. At the same time, the spirit took on another dimension. It became an abiding presence in Jesus’ disciples when he lived on earth and when he ascended into heaven. Acts 1:8 said it best, “And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, Samaria and even till the end of the earth.”
Not long ago, I read a brief account of Methodism in Korea. Easter Sunday, missionaries such as Henry G. Appenzeller, Horace Newton Allen and others were led by the spirit to introduce Protestant Christianity to Korea. Schools, churches, hospitals, and other agencies which addressed human need were founded. You took their offering and put your stamp on it. And the church has grown. According to one researcher, Korean Christendom has grown from 200,000 members in 1910 to one million in 1960 to over 13 million today. When I visited Korea during the World Methodist Conference in 2006, some of the Korean brothers and sisters thanked us for bringing Methodism to Korea. I heard it again this week.
The spirit has moved me to return thanks. To be specific, the American church has noted your growth and development in the past fifty years. Your church caught the spirit of the man from Galilee and invited millions to follow Jesus. And they have come. In the last fifty years, the American church has lost members. We have come to relearn what those American missionaries taught you about invitational evangelism. You have demonstrated the spirit to lead by making disciples of Jesus Christ.
Finally, a woman of faith, mother and pastor’s wife of the eighteenth century possessed the same undeniable spirit. Susanna gave her husband nineteen children. Unfortunately, most of them died young. Susanna home schooled the children that survived. Against societal expectations mores, her girls were expected to learn as much as the boys. One writer said, “The formation of character was ever the end of all her striving.”(See p.63, Susanna Mother of the Wesleys by Rebecca Lamar Harmon) More than that, Susanna’s spirit led focus and passion gave the world two famous sons. Their witness shaped and continues to shape the life, mission and ministry of the modern church. John Wesley founded Methodism. He wanted a church that was spiritually renewed. He wanted a church that cared for “the least of these.”
Brother Charles Wesley became one of the greatest hymn writers of all time. He wrote the lyrics that sang the gospel into the hearts of the people. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, Angels we have heard on high, O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, Christ the Lord is risen today and a Charge to Keep” lift up his spirit filled gospel in lyrics and song. As a result of the Wesley’s contributions; Methodism has made its way around the world. All that happened because Jesus issued the call “Follow me.”
In summary, the call to lead, the courage to lead and the spirit to lead dramatizes one central fact. God calls. And he expects us to respond. In essence, God wants you. And God expects you and me to join him again and again. An African-American Spiritual describes one way this Methodist preacher has responded to the call.
“I have decided to follow Jesus (thrice), no turning back, no turning back. 2. The world behind me, the cross before me (thrice), no turning back, no turning back 3. Though none go with me, still I will follow (thrice), no turning back, no turning back.” Amen.