God, the Creator and Father of all, determined that down the track of creation’s unfolding history, a unique man was to be born – known to be the only begotten Son of God.
From the beginning, God revealed himself by the Hebrew name YHVH (pronounced ‘Yehovah’ or similar, abbreviated ‘Yah’, meaning ‘the Great I Am’, ‘the Eternal’). The name God chose for his Son combines ‘YHVH’ with the Hebrew word for salvation (‘hoshea’), resulting in ‘Yehoshua’ (Hebrew), ‘Yeshua’ (Aramaic), ‘Iesous’ (Greek) and ‘Iesus / Jesus’ in English. Jesus means “YHVH’s Salvation”.
In all things and in all stages of his earthly life, Jesus was perfectly obedient to his heavenly Father. Jesus spoke the words God gave him, performed the works God showed him and humbly carried out the main mission God had placed on him: namely to hand himself over to his enemies and allow his body to be beaten, his guiltless blood to be shed, his righteous life to be poured out – on behalf of sinful mankind.
The coming king – a convict. The Lord – a suffering servant. The master – a ransom. The judge endures the punishment. The high priest sheds his own blood. The sinless becomes the sin offering. The covenant keeper dies for all covenant breakers. The perfectly righteous pays the penalty. He who raised the dead descends to the grave. Misunderstood, deserted, mocked, beaten, rejected, crucified – and yet: “….He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (ISA 53:5)
And from there, God’s plan of salvation was carried out further: God raised Jesus up from the dead, placing him at the right hand side of his throne, as the Lamb of God. Jesus was made Lord (‘law-giver’) and Christ (‘spirit-giver’). Jesus now acts, on God’s behalf, as the mediator, intercessor, high-priest, searcher of men’s hearts, coming king, lord of lords, judge of all, ruler over the nations, the one whose voice will raise the dead. In fact, God’s entire operational presence in this world (symbolised by the seven lamps – the seven spirits before God’s throne) resides in Jesus: God’s executive power and unlimited discernment has been delegated to the Lamb.
From God’s throne Jesus Christ will return to this earth as the commander of God’s armies. Each of us will stand before him one day. God will bring all enemies under Christ’s feet: every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This will happen to the glory of God the Father so that, ultimately, “God may be all in all” (1 COR 15:28)
For our remaining time on earth, and with every breath we have, the wisest thing we can do is to follow him who proclaimed: “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father, but by me.” (JN 14:6), the one of whom God said audibly: “This is my beloved Son: hear him.” (LK 9:35)
So what does it mean to follow Jesus? Clearly, ‘following’ goes beyond head-knowledge, lip confession, or even emotional admiration.
Following Jesus involves
- LEARNING: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (JOHN 8:31-32)
- OBEDIENCE: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (JOHN 14:6)
- IMITATION: “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” (1 JOHN 2:16)
- MIND RENEWAL: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus…” (PHILIPPIANS 2:5)
- THOUGHT TRANSFORMATION: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 CORINTHIANS 10:5)
and it is to be sought by relying on Christ’s strength, help, presence and friendship, focusing primarily on applying scripture to our hearts.
This website is our family’s attempt to explore, understand and apply what Jesus Christ taught, commanded, exemplified.
To look for Jesus Christ’s actual teachings (whether in his direct speech or given by his apostles in the New Testament, or referencing back to the scriptures we have come to know as the Old Testament) – may prove challenging to many man-made traditions we have adopted in our lives, yet it will be liberating concerning every situation we encounter.
FOLLOW JESUS 