Matthew Chapter 19 – Four Kinds of Followers
In Matthew 19, we see four kinds of followers of Jesus – two whose mistakes we can learn from, and two we should emulate.
The first kind was the Pharisees (verse 3). Although they professed to worship God, they were sceptics who did not follow Jesus with their hearts (Matthew 15:7-9). If they were in an army, they would be the mutineers always opposing the Commander – testing and questioning His wisdom, power, and authority like in verses 3 and 7. In the end, their outward religiosity did not save them because they did not have the faith to submit to Jesus as their Lord.
The second kind of failed following was the rich young ruler (verse 16). His story of following Jesus could be summed up as: “Almost, but still didn’t make it.” Why? Because even though he initiated to seek Jesus sincerely for the way to eternal life, had kept all of God’s commandments since his younger days (perhaps childhood) and even asked Jesus to identify his additional blind-spots, when Jesus did, the ruler gave up on Jesus’ final requirement of him. Unknowingly, despite devoting his life to worshipping God, the ruler had not guarded himself against the love of mammon, which hindered him from loving God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 6:24; Mark 12:30).
The third and fourth kinds of following are what we should emulate. The third kind were the little children who were brought to Jesus (verse 13). Earlier, in Matthew 18:1-4, Jesus said that unless we convert ourselves into little children and be as humble as them, we will not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. Long after Jesus ascended to heaven, Peter elaborated on what it means to be humble: that humility means submissiveness (1 Peter 5:5), a quality the Pharisees lacked towards Jesus.
Finally, the fourth kind: Jesus’ disciples. Like us, they initially had weaknesses and were not confident about following Jesus’ teachings (e.g., believing it’s easier to stay single than to follow Jesus’ teaching of not divorcing a wife they couldn’t tolerate – verse 10). Yet, their faith in Jesus was a living faith, growing through its ups and downs. In verse 27, Peter declared on behalf of all the disciples: “We have left all and followed You.” Later, despite forsaking Jesus when He was captured and crucified, when Jesus resurrected and gently restored them with fish (John 21:4-19) and then the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), the disciples truly lived up to Peter’s declaration, forsaking their occupations, security, and ultimately their lives for the gospel.
Therefore, as we aspire to continue as followers of Christ, let’s ask ourselves:
- In what ways am I rebellious towards Jesus, like the Pharisees?
- Am I truly loving Jesus with my totality? Or have other loves unknowingly replaced Him?
- Am I submissive to Jesus?
- Is my faith in Jesus a living and growing one, where I can deny more of myself for Him?
May God continue to guide us in our journey of following Christ, until we receive the end of our faith – the salvation of our souls (1 Peter 1:9). Amen.
