What Did It Mean To Follow Jesus?
What does it mean
to be a Disciple of Christ?
By Jonathan Mitchell
Paul said,
"Progressively come to be imitators of me, correspondingly as I, myself, also [am] of Christ and from [the; an] Anointing" (1 Cor. 11:1).
So, Paul saw himself as
"imitating Christ," or as "imitating from [an] anointing."
Do we, who consider ourselves to be "followers of Christ," see ourselves this way? Jesus said to His prospective disciples,
"Follow Me."
Then, later, He told them,
"If anyone continues intending (purposing; willing; wanting) to come on behind Me, let him at once completely say, 'No,' to, deny and disown himself, and then in one move lift up his execution stake (pole for suspending a corpse; cross), and after that proceed to be by habit continuously following after (with) Me!" (Mat. 16:24).
What did that mean? Does this apply to us? In Phil. 1:21, Paul said:
"For you see, to me, to be living [is] Christ (or: For the [situation] in me and for me, life [is the] Anointed One), and to be dying [is] gain, advantage and profit (or: It follows that, with me, the sphere of living [is the] Anointing, and the sphere of dying [is] an advantage)."
Then, in 1 Cor. 15:31, Paul informs his listeners that:
"Daily I am repeatedly facing death (or: progressively dying)."
And later, in 2 Cor. 4, he gave this description of his life, and of the mode of life of his associates:
9. we are folks being constantly pursued and persecuted, but yet not habitually left in the lurch, being forsaken down within some situation; we are those being repeatedly thrown down (or: rejected), but yet not continuously caused to fully fall apart (be loosed-away into ruin; be undone so as to be lost or completely destroyed) - [cf Rom. 8:18]
10. at all times continuously carrying around (or: bearing about) among (or: centered in) the [corporate] body [cf Gen. 50:25; Ex. 13:19], Jesus' being put to death (or: in the sphere of this body, the deadening, deadness and state of death, of Jesus; or: within the midst of the body, the dying associated with Jesus; or: the dying, which is Jesus, in union with the body), to the end that the Life, also, of Jesus (or: so that also the life which comes from and is Jesus; or: so that Jesus' Life) can (or: could; may; would) be set in clear Light and manifested, within our body (or: in the midst of the body, which is us)!
11. For we, ourselves - the continuously living ones - are ever being repeatedly handed over, committed, and transferred, into death (or: = continuously delivered into life-threatening experiences) - because of Jesus - to the end that the Life, also, of Jesus (or: so that also the life which comes from and is Jesus; or: so that Jesus' life) can (may; could; would) be set in clear Light and manifested - within our mortal flesh!
12. So then (or: Consequently), the Death is repeatedly and progressively operating and inwardly working within us [cf Phil. 2:17], yet that Life [is constantly operative] within you folks.
Was this what Jesus meant, in Mat. 16:24? Was
"denying and disowning himself, and then in one move lift up his execution stake (pole for suspending a corpse; cross), and after that proceed to be by habit continuously following after (with) Him"
referring merely to one's attitude? Or, was Jesus' reference to being suspended as a corpse pointing to a deeper truth? It seems that it certainly meant that they were to follow Him to the cross.
Consider what Paul said, in Gal. 2:20.
Paul had followed Christ into this realization. And this was not just for himself, for in his letter to the Roman called-out folks, he was calling what follows, here, to their attention
:"Or are you continuing to be ignorant (are you remaining without experiential knowledge; do you continue not knowing or having insight) that as many as are immersed, and thus placed (or: were at one point baptized: dipped into and enveloped; = introduced into this new sphere and different environment and condition, which is union and identification - K. Wuest, i.e.,) into the midst of Christ Jesus are immersed and placed (or: were baptized to the point of enveloped saturation; were dipped) into His death? [cf Lev. 4:6]
We, then (or: consequently), were buried together (entombed together with funeral rites) in Him (or: by Him; with Him), through the immersion (this baptism, or placement) into the death, to the end that just as (or: in the same manner as) Christ was roused and raised forth from out of the midst of dead folks THROUGH (through means of) THE GLORY (this glorious manifestation of splendor which calls forth praise; the imagination; the assumed appearance) of, from, and which is, The Father, thus also WE, ourselves, can walk around (or: WE also should likewise conduct ourselves and order our behavior) within newness of Life (or: in union with, centered in, in a sphere of, and which is from, a life being essentially new in kind and quality, and different from that which was former)" (Rom. 6:3-4; [cf Rom. 7:6, "newness of spirit"; 2 Cor. 5:17]).
Perhaps Jesus, in Mat. 16:24, was alluding to what Paul would later express in 2 Cor. 5: 14-16,
Now all of this points to "a new creation," to which Paul refers, in 2 Cor. 5:17. So it seems that we follow Jesus, by way of His death, into a new reality which Paul calls
"a new creation."
Jesus' call was to follow Him into this new Reality, which He termed
"the realm and reign of God."
It was to this transformed existence that all the Prophets pointed.
Jesus put it this way, in Jn. 12:24,
"Most assuredly (It is certainly true - count on it; Amen, amen), I am saying to you folks [that] unless the grain of wheat (or: kernel of corn; = seed of an agricultural crop), upon falling into the earth (the ground; the field) should die, it by itself continues remaining alone. Yet if it should die, it proceeds to bear much fruit (= it produces a harvest of many grains, or, seeds)."
So, we understand that Jesus was referring to Himself with this statement, but keep in mind that just as with His disciples, we, too, are to follow Him. Using another agricultural metaphor, Jesus later told His disciples that they need to dwell in Him so that they would bring forth "much fruit" (Jn. 15:5). If the Vine went to the cross, so did Its branches!
Paul understood this, and saw the far-reaching results, as he explained in 1 Cor. 15:
20. Yet now - at this present time! - Christ IS roused and awake from having been raised up from out of the midst of dead people: a Firstfruit (= the first of the harvest; the Sheaf Offering, signaling the beginning of the harvest [Lev. 23:10]) of those having fallen asleep, and are yet sleeping (reposing).
21. Now it follows that, since through means of, and due to, a person (or: by a human, or, humanity) [came] death [cf Rom. 5:12], through means of a Person (or: by a Human), also, [comes] resurrection (a standing back up again) of dead people.
22. Thus, just as within Adam all humans keep on (or: everyone continues) dying, in the same way, also, within the Christ, all humans will keep on being made alive (or: everyone, or all, will one-after-another be created and produced with Life, in union with the Anointed One) [cf Rom. 5:18; Rev. 21:5]
David Bentley Hart, in That ALL shall be SAVED (Yale Univ. Press 2019), cites Gregory of Nyssa as saying that "God has conceived of humanity under the form of an ideal 'Human Being' (anthropos), at once humanity's archetype and perfection.... [that] comprises - indeed, is identical with - the entire pleroma [fullness] of all human beings in every age, from first to last" (p 139; brackets added). This calls to mind Col. 1:
20. and THROUGH Him at once to transfer The All (The Whole; = all of existential creation), away from a certain state to the level of another state which is quite different (or: to change and transform all things, i.e., The Whole, by bringing movement away from being down, and thus to be other [than they were; it was]; to reconcile all things; to change everything from estrangement and alienation to friendship and harmony and move The All), INTO Him - making (constructing; forming; creating) Peace and binding together in a harmonious Joining, through the blood of His cross (execution stake/pole): through Him, whether the things upon the earth (or: land) or the things within the atmospheres and heavens! [cf 2 Cor. 5:18-19]
And so it follows that we have been called, as parts of the pleroma, to follow into this new sphere of existence, since,
"God was existing within Christ (God was and continued being centered in, and in union with [the] Anointed One) progressively and completely transforming [the] aggregate of humanity (or: world) to be other [than it is] (or: progressively bringing [the] ordered System into another level or state; repeatedly changing [the] universe to correspond with other [conditions; perceptions]; progressively altering [the] ordered arrangement of culture, religions, economy and government to be in line with another one; habitually and progressively changing [the] secular realm [of humanity] from enmity to friendship; reconciling [the] world [of mankind; cf Jn. 3:16]) in Himself, to Himself, for Himself, by Himself and with Himself..." (2 Cor. 5:19).
Once again, Hart cites Gregory as speaking of Christ "as having assumed not just human nature in the abstract, but the whole pleroma, which means that his glory has entered into all that is human... Such is the indivisible solidarity of humanity, he argues, that the entire body must ultimately be in unity with its head, whether that be the first or the last Adam.... and God will be all in all [1 Cor. 15:28b]" (ibid p 142; brackets added).
Jesus used the metaphor of immersion (baptism) to describe His upcoming death on the cross (Lu. 12:50). Paul seems to have extrapolated Jesus' metaphor into his eschatology of Rom. 6, quoted above. Jesus again spoke of His upcoming immersion, adding the metaphor of "drinking the cup" to speak of this same experience:
"But Jesus, giving a discerning reply, said, "You have not seen, so you are not aware of what you are now requesting for yourselves. Are you folks now able, and do you continue having power, to drink at once the cup which I, Myself, am continuing about to be progressively drinking [other MSS add: and to immerse in the immersion which I, Myself, am progressively being immersed]?" They are presently insisting to Him, "We are now able and continue having the power." He is then saying to them, "You will indeed be progressively drinking My cup..." (Mat. 20:22-23a).
THAT is what it means, "to follow Jesus." Mat. 26:39 gives us more insight into Mat. 20:22. However, there was another meaning for the metaphor of "the cup," which we find in Lu. 22:20,
"This, The Cup - [being; representing] the new arrangement (or: the covenant which is new in character and quality) in union with, centered in, and within the midst of, My blood (or: the blood which is Me) - [is] the one presently and continuously being poured out over you folks (or: that which is customarily being poured out on your behalf)."
And then, in Mat. 26:27-28, we are told,
"Next, upon taking a [other MSS: the] cup and speaking words about grace and expressing gratitude, He gave [it] to them, while saying, "All you men drink from out of it, for you see, this is My blood (or: the blood which is Me) - which pertains to the covenant [with other MSS: this is The Blood - which is My new, different arrangement that is innovative in character, kind and quality] - the [Blood] around (or: encompassing and pertaining to) many people (or: peoples), [the Blood] continuously (or: presently) being poured out and progressively diffused into a divorce from failures, a forgiveness for mistakes, a dismissal of errors, a release from deviations, and a flowing away of sins!"
So His cup had two aspects to it: His death, and the inauguration of the new arrangement that God was creating for humanity (e.g., Rom. 5:18-21; 2 Cor. 5:18-19), and just as those disciples drank of the symbolic cup, so we all follow in participation and common existence in His Life. This is the
"abiding in the Vine" (where the branches "drink in the sap") and the "remaining in His Love" (Jn. 15:9-12).
The Good News is that there is Life after death (be that death physical, or spiritual, as in Eph. 2:1), and so Paul can speak about those who are now
"lead by the Spirit of God" (Rom. 8:14) - the Spirit of Life that is within them - by Whom, "we are habitually crying out, 'Abba (Dad), O Father!'" (Rom. 8:15).
Being lead means that we are following His lead.
As parting thoughts, ponder this: just as "Noah's flood" represented the death of the prior age, it also marked a second creation, where the "dry land" was seen out of the water, again (Gen. 1:9; 8:5), "giving birth to a new age." Jn. 3:5 speaks of being born of water and spirit (or: Breath-effect). Two births. One of flesh, one of Spirit (Jn. 3:6). Our investigation about following Jesus has highlighted the spiritual aspects of death. But Jn. 3:7 speaks of another birth, and this has echoes in the OT with possible allusions to the births of the past ages. For a new age to come to birth, there must be a death (an ending) of the former age. For a new covenant to come into being there must be the death of "the testator" who made the arrangement (Heb. 9:16-17). Paul views all of humanity as comprising only two men: the first Adam, and the Eschatos (Last) Adam; the first humanity (anthropos), and "the second humanity" (1 Cor. 15:45, 47). Both Adams were destined to die. Might the death of the Last Adam be "the second death"?
We all must be immersed into the Holy Spirit and Fire (Lu. 3:16). Everyone must be "salted with Fire" (Mk. 9:49). We read in Rev. 2:11,
"The person habitually overcoming (or: repeatedly victorious; progressively conquering) may by no means be injured or harmed from the midst of the second death."
Then, Rev. 20:14b instructs us that,
"This is the second death: the lake of the Fire (or: that basin of the refining pot, connected with Fire)."
And 20:14a informs us that,
"Next the Death and the Unseen (or: = the grave) are cast (or: were put) into the lake (or: basin; artificial pool; "refiner's crucible" - M. Webber) of the Fire (or: the marshy area where there is fire)."
That is a symbolic picture of the end of the Death which came via the first Adam (Rom. 5:12). The Fire of His Presence (Heb. 12:29) must "salt" everyone (as with the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:3), as they are immersed (baptized) into the Holy Spirit, and His Divine Nature (Rev. 19:20; Mal. 3:2-3). We must all drink the cup, which is now the cup of His Life which often burns with fiery trials (1 Pet. 4:12). This is all a part of "following Jesus." The Second Death is our death to the realm of the First Death, in Adam. But remember Paul's words, in 1 Cor. 15:
55."Where, O Death, [is] your victory (or: overcoming)? Where, O Death, [is] your stinger (sharp point; sting; drover's goad; spur)?" [Hos. 13:14; TR reads "O Unseen (Hades)" in the second line, following the LXX and Heb.]
56. Now the sharp point and stinger of (or: the sting, thus, the injection from) the Death [is] the Sin (the mistake; the error; the failure; the deviation), and the inherent power, means of influence, and ability, of the Sin [is] the Law. [cf Rom. 4:15]
Jonathan
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