Who do you Follow?

So, here they are. At the time of writing, these were the world's ten most-followed Twitter accounts:

  1. Katy Perry
  2. Justin Bieber
  3. Barack Obama
  4. Rihanna
  5. Taylor Swift
  6. Lady Gaga
  7. Ellen DeGeneres
  8. YouTube
  9. Christiano Ronaldo
  10. Justin Timberlake

Connection through social media is about the closest many of us get to the idea of "following anyone." Perhaps following a sports team is a bit more of a commitment. Many people claim that they are independent and follow no-one.

Jesus had followers. We've already seen how Simon and Andrew had started to follow him. Now we see some more people starting to do so:


The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’
‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked.
‘Come and see,’ said Philip.


Jesus found Philip and invited him to "follow me." Clearly this was not a pop-up box on a website urging him to sign up to a newsletter, nor a suggestion to follow someone on Twitter. For Philip, following Jesus meant leaving his home (Bethsaida) and eventually travelling around with Jesus from place to place. 

It was not uncommon in the first century for a Jewish rabbi to gather a small number of disciples and teach them the principles of the Jewish faith. In one way, Jesus' first disciples thought of him like this. We have seen how the first two disciples actually called Jesus their 'rabbi'. 

Following someone in the way Jesus had in mind meant taking on his way of life, going where he was going, learning his teachings and practices. It required a high level of commitment. It was not a casual connection.

A Christian is someone who follows Jesus Christ. It is a close relationship of trust. It is quite possible of course to go to church, read the bible and say the right words but not actually be following Jesus at all.  

Jesus called Philip to follow him. Philip responded, and then found his friend Nathanael and told him about Jesus. I suspect neither of them really understood fully what this journey they were embarking on might involve. 

Who are you following? What do you think about the idea of you following Jesus? Is there anyone you could tell about your journey?

You can read the passage we've looked at today here.  


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