D.T.R.
Fan or Follower?
How do you define your relationship with Jesus? Who do you say Jesus is? Every
semester Scot McKnight, professor of religious studies at North Park College Chicago
What do you think
Jesus is like? Some said, “Elijah,” because they wanted to have miraculous
signs and wonders in their lives. Some said, “John the Baptist,” because they
wanted to have some kind of fresh start and spiritual renewal in their lives.
How about you? Who do you say Jesus is? Over the next several weeks I want all
of us to have a DTR talk with Jesus and find out where we stand with Jesus. In
the Bible there are two kinds of groups who were with Jesus: the first group of
people is called, “fans,” and the second group is called “followers.”
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word, “fan” in this way: “an
enthusiastic devotee usually as a spectator,” or “an ardent admirer or
enthusiast.”
Life FROM
God
Then, who are fans
of Jesus in the Bible? Skye Jethani gives us a good insight and defines relationships
with Jesus by using different prepositions. The first group of fans is the
people who live “from” God. Right before today’s passage Jesus feeds the
five thousand. After this, in John 6 large crowds continue to follow him, go
before him and wait for him on the other said of the lake. Jesus says to them, “I
tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous
signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill” (26). Then, Jesus says,
“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no
life in you” (53). He challenges the fans to a deeper, more intimate
relationship with him. Guess what? In verse 66 the Bible says, “From this time
many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” The fans who
have a Life From God posture view God as a divine butler or a holy vending
machine to dispense their desires. They want God’s blessings and gifts, but
they are not particularly interested in God himself. God is a means to an end.
This view is so appealing because it doesn’t ask us to change anything. We
become the center of the universe and expect God to orbit around us. So, when
Jesus challenges us to define the relationship, we go home. When pain comes,
when healing doesn’t come, we turn away from God.
Life UNDER
God
The second group
of fans is the people who live “under” God. In the Bible the teachers of
the law and the Pharisees fall under this category. They saw God as an angry righteous
judge. They put God in a box, labeled “cause-and-effect”: We obey God’s
commands and God blesses our lives, our families, our nation. On the surface, a
Life under God posture looks devout, religious, humble and moral. But
ironically, we seek to control God by keeping religious rituals and morality.
Through our righteous behavior and our worship, we put God into our debt and
expect him to do our bidding. Many Christians are told if we obey God’s
commands, if we attend the church service regularly, give financially to the
church, and abstain from immorality, then God will bless our lives.
Cause and effect. One Christian leader made the following statement after the
9/11 attacks: “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the
feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that
an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them
who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say
“you helped this happen.””[2]
These kinds of judgments happen when we believe that living under God should be
the essence of Christian faith. But the limitation of the Life under God
posture is that they can only see external behaviors –following rituals and
obeying commands – but they cannot look into a person’s heart. Pharisees did
all kinds of good religious things, but inside they were filled with hatred,
greed, pride, lust, and deceit. That is why Jesus said to them, “These people
honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in
vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men” (Matt 15:8-9).
Life FOR
God
The third group of
fans is the people who live “for” God. You may wonder what is wrong with
living for God. Of course, there is nothing wrong with serving God. But the
problem comes when we find our identity and worth in serving or obedience. Our
obedience becomes our self-righteousness. It becomes bitterness, resentfulness
and anger toward God and people. For example, in Luke 10 Martha invites Jesus
and his disciples. She welcomes them, serves them, and cooks for them. But
while she is preparing a meal, Martha is getting upset and angry. Finally, she
interprets Jesus with the question. “Don’t you care that my sister has left me
to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Martha found her worth in
serving. Her service became self-righteousness. “I did something for Jesus. I
fed Jesus and his disciples. What about my sister Mary? She is doing nothing!
What about Jesus? Is he aware of what I am doing for him?” So Martha got angry
at Jesus and her sister Mary. Many Christians fall into this trap. One study
reveals that every month about fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry because
of conflict, burnout, or moral failure. They start with passion for God, but
when they fail to have a sense of significance or reward, they quit the
ministry.[3]
Life WITH
God
So far, we have
explored three groups of Jesus’ fans: life from God, under God and for God. In
fact, these three postures are not all bad. But they are “incomplete.” If these
three postures become the entirety of how we relate to God, the most important
is missing. God didn’t just make us to receive good things (Life from God). God
didn’t just make us to keep a list of rules to follow (Life under God). God
didn’t just make us to accomplish a mission (Life for God). Rather God himself
came to be with us. Immanuel, “God with us.” The purpose of our life is to
live life with God more than life from God, under God or for God. I have
spent time living in each one of these categories. Our life is a journey to
learn to live Life with God.
Our sin has
separated us from God. But God sent Jesus, Immanuel. Jesus took the penalty for
our sin on himself. He died my death. Jesus opened the way to live with God
forever. So, a follower of Jesus is a person who trusts in what Jesus has
done and by faith lives life with Jesus. The follower dines with Jesus,
talks with Jesus, walks with Jesus, watches TV with Jesus, reads the paper with
Jesus, and sleeps with Jesus. In today’s passage, Jesus said, “The Son of Man
must suffer, be rejected, be killed and then be raised to life” (22). If we are
followers of Jesus, we also must go along the same path that Jesus walked. We
must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Jesus (23). A
follower goes wherever Jesus goes. I think the Apostle Paul can be a good
example of what it means to be a follower. At first, he lived life under God
and for God. He kept all God’s law and persecuted the church as a
service to God. But he was restless, tired, angry, and resentful. But then he
encountered Jesus. Since then Paul lived life with Jesus. In prison Paul
wrote to Philippian church, saying, “I consider everything a loss compared to
the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (3:8). Here the word “know”
doesn’t mean an intellectual knowledge about someone, but it is an intimate and
experiential knowledge. In prison every night Paul did sing and dance with joy while
nothing was accomplishing tangibly for God. Fans know about Jesus, but
followers know Jesus. Fans rejoice in Jesus’ gifts, but followers
rejoice in Jesus himself.
Fan or Follower
All of us in this
room are invited to live as followers of Jesus. We are invited to live life with
Jesus, ongoing communion with him. In the 1980s the CBS anchor interviewed
Mother Teresa. He asked, “When you pray, what do you say to God?” “I don’t say
anything,” she replied. “I listen.” “Okay,” the anchor asked a follow-up
question, “When God speaks to you, then, what does he say?” “He doesn’t say
anything. He listens.” The anchor was baffled. Mother Teresa added, “And
if you don’t understand that, I can’t explain it to you.”[4]
By definition, a follower is always with Jesus and listening to him. Are you a
follower? Are you listening to Jesus? Do you believe Jesus is also listening to
you all the time? Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and
they follow me” (John 10:27 ).
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