Whiteboard: Follow Jesus

I couldn't resist the urge to do a visual pun about Twitter this week. (click here to see Twitter's logo)

We'll be talking about John 1:43-51 in worship on Sunday, which is the gospel story where Jesus calls Phillip and Nathaniel to be his disciples by simply saying, "Follow me."

With the advent and explosion of social media "Follow" really has come to mean something else. On Twitter when you "Follow" somebody that means their postings appear in your newsfeed. It doesn't mean you read everything they say, it doesn't mean you turn over your life to them, it just means some of what they write 140-characters at a time shows up on your computer, tablet, or phone.

With all due respect to Twitter and social media, Jesus is asking for more. When he gives that invitation to Phillip, when he says, "Follow me," Phillip knows his whole life has changed. And Phillip is so excited he goes and tells Nathaniel, so that the savior's invitation doesn't just stop.

Jesus says, "Follow me," Phillip says, "Come and see," and now Nathaniel is a part of the flock as well. That is how it with the transforming power of God's love. That's what it means to follow Christ. It is not a passive thing at all.

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John 1:43-51 Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ 46Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ 47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ 48Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ 49Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ 50Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ 51And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’