Follow the Steps of Jesus
I Peter 2:21-25 (NLT)
I John 2:3-6 (NIV)
“I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked.” (Solo)
In 1979 I visited the older part of Cairo, Egypt where Jesus reportedly spent time with his parents as a child.
After spending a couple days in Egypt I visited the Holy Land and walked the streets of Jerusalem, walked along the Dead Sea, took a tram to the top of Masada, and sailed across the Sea of Galilee. When walking where Jesus might have walked you have a special sense of awe and wonder.
During his lifetime Jesus did a lot of walking. As a young boy he waked with his parents the 80 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Feast. During his public ministry Jesus walked throughout Galilee, and through Samaria to Judea.
Jesus was not afraid to get his feet dirty and dusty.
I. Jesus Had a Walking Ministry
When Jesus called Andrew, Simon Peter, James and John from a life of fishing, he told them to follow him and become fishers of men. Jesus called his followers to walk as he walked.
As the disciples of Jesus followed him Jesus taught them as they walked along. The teaching ministry of Jesus was called peripateo _____________. The Greek word means, as Jesus “walked around” he taught his disciples and others who would listen.
The disciples learned to pray by watching Jesus pray. They learned to witness by watching Jesus. They learned to demonstrate healing faith by watching Jesus. They learned how to live a life of holiness by walking and talking with Jesus.
Jesus walked and lived a life of holiness. Wherever Jesus went he made people’s lives better.
Jesus walked in humility. Jesus said he did not come to be ministered unto but to minister.
Jesus walked in love and compassion. Jesus loved the down and outer and the up and outer. Jesus was a friend of tax collectors sinners and rich young rulers.
Jesus walked in the light of God’s Word. Jesus was a student of the Old Testament and obeyed the teachings of scripture.
Jesus was not afraid to get his feet dirty. Luke 7:36-38, Jesus was in the home of Simon a Pharisee for a meal. His feet were dirty but Simon did not offer to wash the feet of his invited guest. An immoral woman heard Jesus was in Simon’s home and took a beautiful filled with expensive perfume and knelt at the feet of Jesus pouring the perfume on them and wiping the feet of Jesus with her hair. Jesus praised the sinful woman for her demonstration of love and repentance for her sins. Jesus told her that her sins were forgiven she could go in peace.
John 12:1-3 When Jesus visited the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, his feet were dirty. Mary and Martha had prepared an appreciation dinner in honor of Jesus for the raising of their brother Lazarus from the dead. Mary took a 12-pound jar of expensive perfume, valued at a years wage, and anointed the feet of Jesus. The dirty, smelly feet of Jesus were transformed into the fragrance of garden flowers.
As the disciples of Jesus followed Jesus their feet also got dusty and dirty. All 12 disciples gathered in the Upper Room to celebrate the Passover supper. Jesus the master and teacher entered the Upper Room and sat at the table. He waited for one of the disciples to get up and wash his feet but no one moved.
Finally Jesus stands up, wrapped a towel around his waist, filled a basin with water and began to wash all the disciples feet. By this act Jesus reminded His followers that they were to serve one another.
Jesus demonstrated to his disciples how they were to live and walk by following His example. As Jesus walked throughout his life he ministered to others.
II. Jesus is Walking With You.
Luke 24:13-34 We have the story of two disciples walking to Emmaus from Jerusalem following the crucifixion of Jesus. I imagine they were walking slowly with their heads hanging low. The seven miles would probably take them 2 ½ hours walking.
Their world had just collapsed. They had hoped Jesus was their Messiah and would bring peace and deliverance from the domination of the Romans. The two disciples were discouraged and nearly at the point of despair.
Have you ever felt like shouting out: “Stop the world, I want to get off!” Discouragement comes when you feel like your shut up in a box without hope. You have fallen in pit and there are no stairs to get out, and your too week to start digging with your hands to carve out steps.
Discouragement is common to all of us. It’s always helpful to identify the cause of the discouragement if possible.
Self-pity is often one of the causes of discouragement. The prophet Elijah was worn out physically and found himself in the pit of despair. He prayed that God would take his life. He thought, “I’m the only one serving God around here.” “It’s me against the world.” “I’m all alone and no one cares for me.”
The Psalmist sang out, “Why am I discouraged? Why so sad?” Then he answered his own question: “I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again – my Savior and my God!” Psalm 42:5
Discouragement often comes when we get focused on the unholy trinity, “Me, myself and I.” “I don’t deserve this.” “If you had to put up with all that I have to deal with you’d be depressed too.”
Dr. Quentin Hyder, a Bible believing Psychiatrist, tells how he went through several months of depression. He would spend hours every day on his knees pouring out his heart to God…searching for assurance…looking for some promise in the Bible to give him comfort. He began to see the root of his problem. He was overly preoccupied with himself. He was being selfish with his time. Speaking engagements forced him to get outside of himself and gave him a new perspective on life and his depression left him.
The two disciples left Jerusalem and were out on the road going home. Discouragement and frustration may cause you to walk away from the fellowship of believers. To isolate yourself during times of crisis is not healthy. You gain perspective, strength, and balance from being in the fellowship of other believers.
As the two disciples were walking the seven miles a stranger joined them as they walked along. Jesus asked them why they were so sad and gloomy.
Cleopas, the only disciple we know the name of, spoke up and told the stranger what happened to Jesus the man from Nazareth. They thought he was the Messiah, but he was crucified and women reported they saw the tomb where he was laid but the tomb was empty.
Then the stranger became their teacher as he explained to them the writings of Moses and the prophets, what the scriptures said about Jesus.
As they entered Emmaus and got close to their home the disciples encouraged Jesus to come in and have a meal with them. As Jesus the guest became the host and took a small loaf of bread and asked God’s blessing and broke the bread, the disciples’ eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus. At that same moment Jesus disappeared.
Almost as if in unison the disciples said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts feel strangely warm as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us.” With their revelation that Jesus was indeed alive they got up and took off in a jog back to Jerusalem. They may not have made 4 minutes a mile, but their trip back was a lot shorter than their walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
Did you know that Jesus is walking by your side in every circumstance that comes your way? Jesus said that after He ascended into heaven He would never leave you or forsake you.
The two disciples didn’t know it was Jesus walking with them. Jesus is walking with you and you may not know it. He is waiting for you to invite Him to become part of your life. He wants you to allow Him to become His hands and feet in your work place, at school, at home and in your neighborhood.
With Jesus walking with you; you have hope. Hope is the untiring conviction that you are not locked permanently into your predicament.
Someone has written: “God is our refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him. Remember if we are in the will of God, then nothing else matters. If we are in the will of God, then whatever else happens to us does matter to God. And he is our refuge and our strength.”
III. Jesus Calls Us to Follow Him
Jesus calls us to follow Him and get our shoes dusty and dirty. Matthew 4:19, Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Following in the steps of Jesus is not easy. For some following Jesus means traveling far distances and not being close to family and relatives. For a few, following Jesus means being shunned by family and relatives. In the Middle East following Jesus may mean torture and death.
John 1:7 “If we walk in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, the Son, cleanses us from every sin.” The tense here is continuous action, “to walk and continue walking.”
Years ago to get on the inter-net we had to dial up a certain number on the phone line and log on and then log off. There are many people who log on and off and have a hit and miss attempt at following Jesus.
To log on the inter-net now you click on the inter-net with your DSL line or high speed network and stay logged on as long as you want. We are to continually walk in the light – stay connected to the Lord. The purpose of light is to shine. Are we letting our light shine or has our enthusiasm for the Lord dimmed like a smoldering wick of a candle with smoke but no fire.
To follow in the steps of Jesus demands that we live a faithful, consistent, devoted life. Are we walking and living our life so we are not a stumbling block to people who are watching us.
A blind man was once seen walking down the sidewalk at night with his flashlight shining. Someone asked him, why, being blind, he carried a flashlight. “Because,” he said, “I don’t want anyone to stumble because of me.”
To keep up with Jesus as we follow in the steps of Jesus may mean we have to step out of our comfort zone. We tend to enjoy the comfort of our boxes – our homes and our church. To get our shoes dirty and dusty means we put our feet to walking.
The story is told about a baby camel that asked: “Mom, why do I have these hug three-toed feet?” The mother replied, “To help you stay on top of the soft sand while trekking across the desert.”
“And why the long eyelashes?” “To keep sand out of your eyes on our trips through the dessert.” “Why the humps?” “To store water for our long treks across the barren desert.”
The baby camel considered that and then said, “That’s great Mom. We have huge feet to stop us from sinking, long eyelashes to keep sand out of our eyes, and humps to store water. But, Mom… “Yes, Son” “Why are we in this zoo?”
We have been given all the resources to let our light shine for Jesus, but we’re satisfied to stay in our boxes. Our shoes are squeaky clean.
William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, lived a life of compassion for the poor and homeless. Historian E.H. McKinley wrote Booth described the mission of the Salvation Army as being for “wife-beaters, cheats and bullies, prostitutes, boys who had stolen the family food money, unfaithful husbands, burglars, and teamsters who had been cruel to their horses.”
William Booth, his wife and 8 children took the gospel to the inner city where they willingly suffered abuse for the sake of the Gospel. Catherine Booth designed the bonnet worn by early Salvation Army women to shield the women’s heads from stones, dirt, rotten food, and other debris that were regularly thrown at them. A father and his three sons formed the first Salvation Army brass band in order to serve as bodyguards to protect William Booth from attacks by street gangs.
One of the famous saying of William Booth was, “Go for souls and go for the worst.”
I spent an eventful week at our Olive Branch Mission located in downtown Chicago. I preached daily and walked the streets of Chicago for a week.
We need to ask ourselves today: “Am I willing to get my own shoes dusty on the streets of San Jose in order to make the love of Jesus available to those who don’t know Him?” To follow in the steps of Jesus the answer is “Yes.”
Monday, April 21st we’re planning a servant ministry to wash the windshields of Recovery Group cars from 7:30 to 8:30 PM If you are available to help write “Windshield Washing” on the back of the welcome care.
Mid-May this year Rich Tallman and VISA are working with us to go on a mission work team to Costa Rica to help get a FM Church up to code. If you are interested in getting more information on the mission work team trip put “Mission Trip” on the back of the welcome card.
This week let’s go get our shoes dirty and dusty for Jesus.
Let’s walk as Jesus walked. Let’s walk in the steps of Jesus. This week let’s get out of our boxes and join in the walking ministry of Jesus.
