“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.” – Mark 6:3

It can be difficult to overcome the way people are used to thinking about someone. When Jesus visited His hometown, the residents couldn’t see or understand His power or wisdom. They merely saw the boy and young man they’d known for years as a carpenter. They saw the son and brother of their neighbors. Because of their preconceived ideas about Jesus, they completely missed the Messiah, the Lord’s Salvation, and the Son of God standing in their midst. In fact, they became angry with Him because He no longer acted in the way they expected.

Many people you meet have a preconceived idea about Jesus. They may consider Him a wise teacher or a good guy. They may consider Him an oddball. They may think that Jesus is a myth or a legend. They may believe He’s a prophet. Your challenge is to help them see Jesus as He truly is: the eternal Son of God and the only way of salvation. What Bible stories can you tell that reveal the true Jesus? What Bible study could you invite them to do with you to open their eyes?

Most people who have an idea about Jesus haven’t read the Bible. They haven’t read the Gospel accounts or considered the careful writing intended to reveal Jesus in His power and glory. How can you, a follower of Jesus, help them meet Jesus? How can you stir them to reconsider what they think they know about the way, the truth, and the life? #FollowJesus

“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.” – Matthew 9:9

Jesus calls some of the most unlikely people into His Kingdom! The question for each of them is whether or not they will follow Him. Matthew certainly would seem unlikely to follow. He was a tax collector. He served the Roman Empire by taking (by force if necessary) taxes from his fellow Jews to fuel the Empire that was oppressing them. Given that, he probably wasn’t a particularly spiritual person. He certainly wasn’t a very popular person. He likely wasn’t a very ethical person. But Jesus called him…

…And he followed Jesus. That’s what matters! Matthew didn’t hesitate. He rose and followed Jesus. Not just that day but for the rest of his life. He left his tax collection business behind, seemingly without making provision for its future operation. He just followed Jesus every day and night for the rest of his life. Matthew followed through the earthly ministry of Jesus. Matthew followed through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Matthew followed through the early decades of the church.

That tax collector wrote the very book of the Bible this verse is taken from. The point being, many are invited to follow Jesus and we can never predict who might answer the call. As you reflect on this verse, is there anyone in your life whom you’ve held back on sharing Jesus with because you’re convinced they won’t respond well? Let the Holy Spirit surprise you! Share Jesus with that friend, relative, or colleague you’re convinced will never be interested. See what Jesus does in that person’s heart when they hear the words of life. They just might be the next Matthew!

In the meantime, how about yourself? Are you following Jesus? Are you following like Matthew to the extent that you’ve left things behind and radically altered the trajectory of your life to obey and follow Jesus? Have you answered the call of Jesus like Matthew? #FollowJesus

“Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.” – Matthew 12:22

This particular miracle got a lot of attention. At the time, most religious leader believed and taught that to cast out a demon you needed to learn its name. If a demon-oppressed individual couldn’t speak, an exorcist couldn’t learn the demon’s name, and it would be impossible to cast out the demon. Then Jesus healed a man who couldn’t speak as easily as He cast out any other demon.

It was widely believed that only the Messiah (or Christ in Greek) would be able to cast out a demon from a person who couldn’t speak. When Jesus did exactly that, many began to consider that He might be more than a teacher, prophet, and miracle worker. Of course, their suspicions were correct! Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ. He is God come in the flesh. At all times, Jesus has absolute power over the supernatural forces of the world, both good and evil. Though demons hate Jesus, they know Who He is and they must obey Him. We see this over and over again in the Gospels.

Demons don’t fight Jesus because they can’t. He is immeasurably stronger and more powerful than they are. The conflicts between Jesus and demons are recorded to demonstrate Who Jesus is and what He can do. As you reflect on what this means today, you should, first and foremost, remember what this evidence points toward…. Jesus is truly the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed Son of God. Believe in Him, worship Him, and follow Him!

You should also remember Who your Lord is. In an age with increasing fascination with Satan and his demons, remember that your Lord is infinitely more powerful than demons. Don’t let fascination or fear of the demonic cloud your vision of King Jesus or keep you from boldly living, speaking, and acting for Jesus. Spiritual warfare is real but Jesus has and will defeat every enemy. He is with and in you as His follower. Remember too, the lesson of the subsequent verses…. If someone hears about the power of Jesus over demons but is so hardened against Him that they consider Jesus with contempt, accuse Him of performing parlor tricks, or claim He’s relying on demonic power, that’s a spiritual disaster for that person from which they will likely never recover. All that to say, be strong in your faith and #FollowJesus!

“Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.” – Matthew 11:20

Though Jesus performed countless miracles, He clearly understood their limitations. Miracles can get people’s attention and draw a crowd. However, they don’t generally result in saving faith. Only the proclamation of the Gospel can do that! Jesus denounced the towns where He’d worked hundreds or perhaps thousands of miracles because most there didn’t believe in Him. They didn’t repent of their sins. They didn’t submit to Jesus as Lord. They didn’t recognize the Messiah Who was among them. They loved the miracle show but failed to understand what those miracles represented.

Jesus wasn’t just an exciting miracle worker. His miracles represented the Kingdom of God breaking into this fallen world. His miracles weren’t just a display of God’s power but the demonstration that He was God come in the flesh. Jesus cast out demons, cured illnesses, healed disabilities, made food, walked on water, transformed the elements of matter, commanded the forces of nature, and raised the dead. Nonetheless, most people just thought it was cool and moved on with their life. Miracles drew a crowd but didn’t change very many people spiritually.

Miracles are wonderful as a way of getting people’s attention. However, if the recipient doesn’t hear the Gospel, believe, and repent, their eternal fate remains unchanged. The proclamation of the Gospel is much more important than the working of miracles. How many people were physically healed by Jesus yet remained distant from God and damned for all eternity? Most of them! As much as we might yearn to see miracles personally (and they certainly still happen), we must understand what Jesus understood. Earthly healing is of limited value. The proclamation of the Gospel is far more important because only God’s Word can bring the spiritually dead to life. Speak the words of life with those who need to hear. #FollowJesus

“I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 8:11

Jesus was clear from the earliest days of His earthly ministry…. His Kingdom is open to people from every nation, language, and ethnic group. God’s Kingdom isn’t defined by genealogy, nationality, or ethnic history. Rather, it’s built on faith in Jesus, the Lord’s Salvation. Our Redeemer. We can’t buy an invitation to the Kingdom or earn one. The invitation is given freely to everyone who will listen. Everyone at every age and stage who turns away from their sins and turns to Jesus as Lord is welcomed into the eternal joy of God’s Kingdom.

This is truly good news! God’s Kingdom doesn’t discriminate based on nationality, ethnicity, race, or social status. It’s a Kingdom of grace with one entrance – faith in Jesus Christ. As we celebrate this, please think about the challenge built into this good news…. How will those far off people ever find out about their invitation? Nobody will come from east or west unless Christians go and tell them the Good News! Today, there are estimated to be nearly 7,400 ethnic groups in the world who really don’t have anyone to tell them about Jesus and invite them into God’s Kingdom. That’s 3.4 BILLION people who don’t have sufficient churches, ministries, Bibles, or missions to make it likely they’ll ever hear that God loves them and Jesus died for them.

Jesus gave us a command to go and make disciples of all nations. That command (Matthew 28:18-20) is called the Great Commission. Every follower of Jesus has a role to play in the Great Commission. That includes you! We all have a responsibility to pray for these groups and to pray for Christians to go to them with hope and the words of life. To learn about missions and financially support the work of missions. To encourage those who go and welcome them when they return. And possibly, to go ourselves. What’s your part in helping the nations to know? What are you called to do? If you don’t yet know, start learning about missions and praying for the nations until you have clarity! #FollowJesus