What is Jesus’ solution for your problems?
Over the last several weeks I’ve been talking to lots of people in all kinds of situations from different countries and different backgrounds. And almost everyone I’ve been interacting with has been facing some sort of challenge or problem.
Several folks have been trying to figure out what to do with their careers. Lots of people are trying to make enough money to support their families. One fellow was trying to figure out how to pay his past due rent. Several people I know are dealing with health challenges. Others have been dealing with personality conflicts on projects they’re working on.
On another level, some folks are finally dealing with the limiting beliefs they’ve been holding onto about themselves and trying to replace them with a more positive self-image. A lot of people are worried about problems on a bigger scale, like the economy and international relations.
Jesus’ solution is simple
These are just a few of the challenges people are facing these days. The more I’ve thought about all this, after hearing what people are dealing with, the more I am convinced that there is a simple solution to whatever problem you are facing.
And wouldn’t you know it, the solution comes directly from Jesus. He offered this solution to folks who were struggling in their chosen profession. He offered it to a fellow who had chosen a career despised by others.
Jesus offered this solution to those who had been rejected by society for various reasons. He offered this solution to a young man who was preoccupied with his worldly wealth. He offered this solution to those seeking a deeper meaning in life. He offered this solution to men and women alike.
Some of them followed his advice and some did not.
Jesus’ solution for every problem was a simple little phrase, only two words, but it was heavy with meaning and purpose.
Jesus’ solution: Follow me
It was, and is, the invitation, he extended to four fishermen early in his ministry.
Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people. Matthew 4:19 NIV
“Follow me.” What a simple little phrase.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John had no idea how the decision they made that day would change their lives. But something impelled them to leave their nets and follow, or at least to begin the process of following Jesus.
Why did they follow Jesus?
I used to wonder why Peter and the others left their nets so quickly to follow Jesus. When you look at some of the details from other Gospels, things start to make a little more sense.
Luke explains that Peter and Andrew had been fishing all night and caught nothing, not a single fish. While they were washing their nets, Jesus got in Peter’s boat and asked him to push out from shore a little so he could talk to the crowd of people there. His voice would have carried over the water and everyone would be able to hear him that way.
After Jesus was finished talking, he asked Peter to go back out in deep water and cast his nets again, which Peter reluctantly agreed to do. But when Peter sees his nets breaking because he’s caught so many fish, where there were not any fish just a little earlier, he realized Jesus must be a holy man and asks him to leave.
But Jesus did not leave. He asked Peter to follow him, along with his brother Andrew and their friends James and John.
Jesus’ solution to just one problem
Just following what Jesus said to do in this one instance, taking the boat back out and casting the nets one more time, produced a radically different result than when Peter and Andrew had done the exact same thing all throughout the previous night.
If that’s all there was to it, it might still seem overly spontaneous for these four men to make such a life changing decision.
But the Gospel of John gives us another detail that sheds light on why Peter may have been so quick to agree to follow Jesus.
When John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus after baptizing him, he knew Jesus was the lamb of God, the Messiah. The next day John pointed out Jesus to two of his disciples.
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).
And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). John 1:35-37, 40-42 NIV
Peter had already met Jesus
Based on this account in John, Peter had already had an encounter with Jesus before the fishing incident. He would have had time to ponder what his brother Andrew had said with such conviction, that Jesus was the Messiah, and his own interaction with Jesus.
It’s not hard to imagine that Peter must have been full of questions why Andrew could be so sure. And Andrew, no doubt, relayed everything John the Baptist had said, and his own conversation with Jesus.
When Jesus encounters Peter washing his nets, and then after the huge catch of fish, asks Peter to follow him, it’s no wonder Peter, and the others, so quickly left their nets to follow Jesus.
The solution: Follow Jesus
To follow Jesus. That was the simple solution for Peter’s inability to be consistently successful in his chosen career of fishing.
But it’s important to notice, Jesus didn’t just say to Peter, Believe I am the Messiah. That was not enough. Jesus asked Peter to follow him as the Messiah. This is true for you and me today.
Think of the others Jesus offered this simple invitation to. Actually the verb “follow” in this and other verses like it, is in the imperative, or command, form of the verb. It wasn’t just a request or an invitation. It was actually a command. Jesus was telling Peter to follow, not asking him to.
So who else did Jesus tell to follow him besides these four fishermen?
Jesus and Philip
Well, let’s go back to the first chapter of John.
Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” John 1:43 NIV
We don’t know any backstory about Philip, except that he was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. Maybe they had talked to Philip. We don’t know.
But Philip accepted that Jesus was the Messiah and accepted Jesus’ call to follow him. And he told others.
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” John 1:45 NIV
Look at what Philip said to Nathanael, that Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy. This tells us a lot about Philip. He was earnestly waiting for the coming of the Messiah and that he knew at least some of the prophecies.
What was Philip’s “problem” that Jesus’s command to “follow me” solved? It was Philip’s deep desire to see the prophecies fulfilled of the coming Messiah. But here again, it wasn’t enough just to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus expected Philip to follow him.
Following Jesus now or later?
Who else did Jesus specifically say “Follow me” to?
Once, a man who was already following Jesus to some extent explained there were some extenuating circumstances and that he would come back to follow Jesus.
Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:21, 22 NIV
Taken on the surface, without understanding the possible idiom being used, it seems Jesus’ response is a bit harsh.
While there are various interpretations of this verse, many Bible scholars believe the phrase “go and bury my father” meant that the man didn’t feel free until his father, who was very much alive at the time, had died sometime in the future and been buried, thus freeing the man to follow Jesus at some point in the future.
I realize that’s only one possible explanation. The point for you and me is that when you hear Christ’s call to follow, don’t make excuses, don’t find any reason to put it off.
Jesus’ solution to individual problems
This can apply to the bigger picture of following Christ in your life as a whole. But it can also apply to individual situations where Christ calls on you to follow him in a specific detail of your life.
For example, is there someone you need to forgive. Hear Christ’s call to follow him, which includes forgiving those who have wronged you. Don’t wait for things to get better or to be forgotten. Forgive right now. Follow Christ in every little detail right now.
Is there some situation in your life right now, some small incident, in which you need to follow Christ more closely?
Jesus’ solution if you’re in the wrong job
What if you’re in a job that’s not right for you? What’s the solution? Follow Jesus. That’s exactly what happened with Matthew, the tax collector.
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ [Hosea 6:6] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:9-13 NIV
Here again, we don’t know why Matthew decided to follow Jesus without a moment’s hesitation. It’s very likely he had heard about Jesus and all he was doing. And he may have been unhappy in his job, or at least unfulfilled. Otherwise, he might not have left such a lucrative occupation so abruptly. We just really don’t know.
But look at the result of Matthew answering Jesus’ call to follow him. Jesus was able to have dinner at Matthew’s house that night and talk and minister to a lot of people who really needed his help, his message of salvation.
When you answer the call to follow Christ, there is a ripple effect of Christ touching the hearts of others as well.
Not everyone accepted Jesus’ solution
As I said earlier, not everyone to whom Jesus said, “Follow me” accepted this call.
Once a very wealthy young man came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to have eternal life. When Jesus mentions the importance of obeying the commandments, and learns the young man has been faithful to them, he says
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:21, 22 NIV
What a missed opportunity. We’re usually pretty hard on this young man. But honestly, would you have left all your riches to follow Jesus? It’s easy to sit in your prayer chair and think you would have, but it was a hard choice for this young man.
Jesus expected a lot of his followers. And that high expectation is still here today for you and me.
Jesus’ effect on people
Jesus had quite an effect on people. They felt his love. They were impressed with the spiritual authority he spoke and acted with. And they were amazed by all the healings and marvels they witnessed. It made people want to be with him and to follow him.
Once a man who was a scribe, or a teacher of the law, approached Jesus.
Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Matthew 8:19, 20 NIV
There is no record of what this man decided to do. But it doesn’t seem like he had realized the full consequences of what it meant to follow Jesus wherever he went. And that doesn’t just mean geographically. It means to follow Jesus in the way you think, act, and treat people.
Jesus’ solution had high expectations
And this is what Luke has to say.
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” Luke 14:25, 27-33 NIV
It sounds kind of like what Jesus said to the wealthy young man, doesn’t it?
Important questions
So the questions we need to ask ourselves are: How serious am I in my desire to follow Christ? What does it really mean to give up everything I have and be a disciple of Jesus?
Is Jesus really saying we literally have to give up everything we have to be his disciple? Are we all supposed to have nothing and just go live in a cave and depend on others to give us what we need?
Throughout history, there have been some individuals and movements which tried to obey this requirement to give up everything to follow Christ.
But just giving up all material things, doesn’t automatically make you a better follower of Jesus. What if, at least to start with, we gave up dependence on material things for our happiness? What if we gave up our reliance on and trust in how much money we have, for what we can have and accomplish?
What if we gave up the ownership of all we have and gave it to God, put it in God’s hands for safe keeping, for Him to do with as He sees fit. Turn over all you have to God, your bank account, your home, everything you have, including yourself, to be of service to Him, for Him, to use to accomplish His will.
Giving up all to follow Christ
I had a friend years ago who did this. He and his wife dedicated their lives, their home, and all their resources to serving God and helping people come to know and follow Christ. There was such a wonderful sense of love and peace in their home. It was always such blessing to be with them. In a way, they had left all to follow Christ. They saw themselves simply as stewards of what belonged to God and were dedicated to helping others.
Another friend ended up with a lot of expensive family heirlooms but had no desire to keep them. He ended up selling them and giving the proceeds to church and other charities. He felt that to some degree, he had been faithful to Jesus’ desire that we leave all to follow him.
So let’s say you have done this. You have turned over all you have to God for His purposes, in whatever way is right in your situation. You’ve committed your life to doing God’s will, following Jesus, and helping mankind.
No comparisons
You get involved in church, or some other organization that is doing God’s work. And then it happens. You start noticing others who are doing similar great things. You don’t mean to, but you just can’t help comparing yourself and what you’re doing to them and what they’re doing.
I don’t know if that’s ever happened to you. But I have caught myself in that situation on more than one occasion.
And once again, Jesus’ solution to this problem is that little phrase: Follow me.
This is what Peter had to learn toward the very end of Jesus’ time here on earth. He and a few of the other disciples were with Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus had been talking to Peter about what would happen to him in the future, and he concluded by saying,
…“Follow me!” John 21:19 NIV
But then Peter glanced over and saw John, whom he knew Jesus also loved. So he asked Jesus,
…“Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me. John 21:21, 22 NIV
If you are ever tempted to compare yourself, and your calling, to other followers of Jesus and what they’re doing, the simple solution to this problem is to keep your eyes on Christ and to follow where he leads.
We each have a unique purpose
Each follower of Jesus has a different purpose. Your calling is not more important than someone else’s. Theirs is not more important than yours. Although the world would tempt us to believe otherwise. The task at hand for each of us is to keep our eyes on Christ and follow where he leads us.
Take a moment and think about what challenges you’re facing right now. You may be dealing with some pretty serious problems in your personal life. Or if things are going pretty well for you at the moment, there are definitely problems in your community, your church, your country, or the world that may concern you.
The solution for each of these problems is to follow Christ. This doesn’t mean blindly repeat Jesus’ words and deeds without grasping the love and your connection with God, which undergird a Christly way of life.
What does it really mean to follow Jesus? It means to follow his teachings. Do what he says. Follow his example. Do what he does. The best place to start is with the Sermon on the Mount. I can guarantee that whatever problem you may be facing individually or that the world is facing collectively, the answer is in the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus’ solution: Live the Sermon on the Mount
When you follow Jesus by doing everything in that sermon, you will bring healing to every facet of your life. Your life will become a sermon to others of the transforming power following Jesus has had on your life.
You can’t make someone else follow Jesus. But the more you follow him, the more your light will shine out as an example for others, and help them do the same.
Now there may be times you feel incapable of following Jesus in every detail of your life. You may think there’s no way you can’t leave all to follow him. Or you may have been following Christ for years and years and doing a pretty good job at it. But there is always the next step to take.
So just start with one step right where you are. Take one step today to follow Christ. And then another and another.
And please don’t do this because someone tells you you should. You can hear the voice of Christ yourself. Listen for Christ calling to you: Follow me.
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Matthew 4:19 NIV
19 Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.
John 1:35-37, 40-42 NIV
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.
36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.
41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).
42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
John 1:43 NIV
43 Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
John 1:45 NIV
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Matthew 8:21, 22 NIV
21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Matthew 9:9-13 NIV
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.
11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ [Hosea 6:6] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 19:21, 22 NIV
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Matthew 8:19, 20 NIV
19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Luke 14:25, 27-33 NIV
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:
27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?
29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,
30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
John 21:19 NIV
19 …“Follow me!”
But then Peter glanced over and saw John, whom he knew Jesus also loved. So he asked Jesus,
John 21:21, 22 NIV
21 …“Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.
