Topic: Following Christ/Discipleship

Mark 1:16-18 > Luke 5:1-11 > Matthew 10:38 > Matthew 16:24 > Doctrine and Covenants 56:2 > Matthew 19:21, 27-29 > 1 Peter 2:21-24 > John 12:26 > John 8:12 > John 10:27-28 > 2 Nephi 31:10-13 > Doctrine and Covenants 38:22 > Alma 5:57-60

At the beginning of His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ went forth calling many to come and follow Him. In the book of Mark chapter 1 verses 16 through 18, we read of the call to Simon and Andrew; we also read of their immediate response. Another important aspect of this call was that it was not simply a call to follow Him around wherever He went, but rather it was a call to follow Him, to serve Him by learning to serve their fellow men and to eventually become like Him by doing the things He would do; said Christ, “I will make you to become fishers of men.”

In Luke chapter 5 verses 1 through 11, we learn important principles of what it means to be a follower, or in other words, a disciple. First, obedience! We read how Peter immediately obeyed Christ in all His commands. We have already studied the principle of obedience, we know how critical it is to our salvation. Second, humility! We read how humble Peter was in acknowledging his own unworthiness to be even in the presence of the Lord. A humble person is obedient. Third, blessed! The humble and obedient are blessed. Ultimately they will enjoy the blessing of eternal life. Fourth, forsake all. A true Disciple will forsake all for the kingdom of God. With these examples, we can learn what we need to do to follow or to become a Disciple of Jesus Christ. We can follow Christ's personal example or we can follow the example of His righteous Disciples.

In Matthew chapter 10 verse 38 and chapter 16 verse 24, Christ further teaches the principle of Discipleship. He teaches that to be His follower, or His disciple, we must take up our cross and follow Him. Joseph Smith in his inspired translation of the New Testament was inspired to write the following at the end of Matthew 16:24: "And now for a man to take up his cross, is to deny himself all ungodliness, and every worldly lust, and keep my commandments." From this inspired translation we see that this is exactly what Peter and Andrew did; we should follow their example.

As of yet, Christ had not literally taken up His own cross and carried it to His place of crucifixion. Those who knew the scriptures really well, may have had some idea that Christ was offering a foreshadowing of His own final days of His mission, when He would carry His own cross. So if Jesus was making a reference to His own cross bearing that would yet be in the future, then what can we learn that would help us in our own discipleship? Christ carrying His own cross to me was symbolic of how strictly He obeyed His own Father’s commandments. Not only is the cross-carrying a figurative fulfillment of true discipleship, but it is also a literal fulfillment of how Christ was obedient to the Father throughout His entire life.

Could Christ have refused to carry His cross? Could He have simply thrown it down and stood by it in blatant refusal to carry it any further or at all? Yes, He could have, but instead He demonstrated His obedience to His Father by submitting to all things, which His Father required of Him! By so doing He set an example of how we should act, how we should obey and submit to all things our Father in Heaven requires of us. In the Doctrine and Covenants section 56 verse 2 we read that if we do not take up our cross and follow Jesus and keep His commandments then we will not be saved. So, everything Jesus did was not only crucial for our own salvation, but His, as well. When Jesus commands that we take up our cross, He is not asking of us anything that He has not already done Himself. He denied Himself of all ungodliness and is telling us to do the same and to be obedient in all things the Father command us; just as He did.

Turning to Matthew chapter 19 verse 21 and verses 27 through 29 we continue to build on this principle. In verse 21, we see what Jesus said the young man needed to do to obtain eternal life; he needed to do just as He did, he needed to forsake all worldliness and all worldly things and to follow Jesus. Once Jesus had explained this incident to Peter and the others, Peter claimed that this is exactly what they had done! They had given up all worldly things and followed Jesus. Jesus then teaches them and all of us that by following Him and denying ourselves of all ungodliness and all worldliness we will grow to be perfect and will inherit eternal life. In 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 21 through 24, Peter teaches that  Christ suffered, He suffered even though He was perfect, was never guilty of sin, never spoke guile, and never reviled against His enemies; we are called to follow His example in our sufferings; if Christ bore His patiently, so can we, with His help. The cross He bore was heavy ours will be heavy too. How can we expect to follow Him if we don’t, in some measure, suffer with Him? How can we learn to appreciate, in some small way, what He did for us, if we don’t experience in some degree, what he suffered for us?

Besides the promise of eternal life that Christ gives to those who follow Him , there are other promises that we can have while yet here, living on earth. In John chapters 12 verse 26, 8 verse 12 and 10 verses 27 through 28 we read that, 1. The Father will honor us, 2. We will walk in the light of life, 3. We will recognize the voice of Christ, 4. He will know us and finally we are promised eternal life and that we will never perish spiritually and never fall from His grace. 2 Nephi chapter 31 verses 10 through 13 sums this up very nicely. Christ commands that we follow Him; however, we cannot follow Him unless we keep the commandments of the Father. What are the commandments and what example did Christ set that we are to follow? We are to repent, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, just as Christ was baptized and received this same gift. Then we are to continue to follow the example of Christ by doing what He did.

So as section 38 verse 22 suggests, who can stay the hand of God? If we will hear His voice and keep His commandments, His promised blessings are sure. The final reading in Alma chapter 5 verses 57 through 60, beautifully teaches how important it is to follow the example of Jesus Christ, for what shepherd is there who will not watch over his flock and who will not call after his sheep?