Fan or Follower, Part 2

Today we are continuing what we started looking at last week when we were in John 6.

Jesus had been doing miracles, and teaching with authority.

The people loved what He was doing, and many became His disciples. That is, they began to follow him to see more of what He did, and learn what He was teaching, and experience all of the miracles! They were exciting times! Could this be the Messiah who will establish the kingdom of Israel and provide for us?

However, as we saw in John 6, when Jesus started teaching them that what they really needed was a savior who would give them eternal life, and not food and an earthly kingdom here and now, they did not like it.

Their response is recorded in John 6:60, 66.

John 6:60 NIV

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

John 6:66 NIV

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

That is a scary sentence. “Many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

What I find scary is that it wasn’t just a few. It was many. And it wasn’t just some people who just the day before had fed on the bread and fish Jesus multiplied. It was many DISCIPLES. These were people who were supposedly committed to following Jesus to learn from Him, and become like Him.

Why did they turn away? Why did they stop following?

I believe it was because they were fans, and not followers.

It has to do with the definition of being a follower.

We looked at those definitions last week. Let’s review them now.

What is a Fan?

fan noun

[probably short for fanatic] 1682

1: an enthusiastic devotee (as of a sport or a art) usually as a spectator

2: an ardent admirer or enthusiast (as of a celebrity or a pursuit) 〈science-fiction fans〉

What is a Follower?

fol•low•er \ˈfä-lə-wər\ noun

before 12th century

1 a: one in the service of another: RETAINER

b: one that follows the opinions or teachings of another

c: one that imitates another

These people did not want to be in Jesus’ service.

These people did not want to follow Jesus’ teaching.

These people did not want to imitate Jesus.

They were fans for a time while what Jesus did and said did not go against what they wanted.

What they wanted…

That is part of what we mentioned last week as the difference between a fan and a follower.

Differences between a fan and a follower:

Focus; Desire

Commitment

Action

A fan focuses on an event.

A follower focuses on the present.

A fan desires, or wants the goodies Jesus can give.

A follower desires, or wants Jesus.

A fan is desires the fan wants.

A follower desires what the Lord wants.

A fan wants earthly things.

A follower wants spiritual things.

A fan knows stats and facts.

A follower knows the Lord.

A fan is committed to themselves.

A follower is committed to the Lord.

These people who claimed to be disciples were really desiring what they wanted, and not what Jesus wanted. They wanted the things Jesus could give them here an now, earthly things like healing, good sermons, good food, and a kingdom which would bring them earthly goods.

What Jesus wanted to give them was a kingdom. His eternal Kingdom and eternal life.

What is eternal life?

John 17:3. A loving relationship with God that lasts for eternity!

These fans missed out on eternal life, because they were focused on what they wanted, instead of what God wanted.

They were fans, not followers.

Am I a fan or a follower?

At the conclusion last week, I encouraged us all to examine if we were fans or followers. I encouraged us to consider what our focus and desires are, and to what are we committed.

Now, last week, Nick Axtell talked to me after the service, and told me that my using sports to describe a fan vs. a follower was inaccurate. He assured me that he was not just a fan, he was a follower of his football team!

He knows the language, and special terminology used by the coaches. He studied the tactics and truly wanted to be involved.

What he described was a follower of sports! He was no ordinary fan. He is truly a follower of his sports team.

That actually leads us right into where we are going today.

Am I a fan or a follower?

Last week, we were asking if we were a fan or a follower of Jesus based more on the focus or desires, and commitment.

This week, we are asking the same question, but the focus is on action. What does a follower do?

A fan is a spectator. A follower is a doer!

If I looked at what I do, would I be a follower of Jesus?

Back to our sports example: The difference between a fan and a follower is action!

A fan is a spectator. He admires. And he leaves.

You can tell the followers of a sports team by their actions! They are the ones wearing the jerseys, the hats, the coats, the cheese-heads, or whatever will let everyone in the world know which team they are following! These are the ones painting their bodies in the team colors and staying in the stadium in the freezing cold, with sleet coming down. Sports Followers are the Fanatics, or Radical Fans!

A fan watches the game. A follower gets into the game!!

The problem is, we tend to use the word ‘fan’ when we mean a ‘Radical Fan’, or Follower. So, maybe a way to help us understand what we are talking about when we say Jesus wants ‘followers’ we could say...

Jesus wants followers—Jesus wants radicals.

He wants the radical fans, not just fans. He wants the ones who follow with their heart and go into action!

You can see this in the calling of the disciples.

Matthew 4:19–22 NIV

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

This was radical. These fishermen literally dropped what they were doing and went to follow Jesus! They gave up their livelihoods to follow Jesus! They didn’t say, “Um. How will we get money for food?” They didn’t say, “Shouldn’t we sell this stuff first?”

James and John left their father in the boat! That was radical!

What about others?

Matthew 9:9 NIV

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.

Matthew left his tax booth and followed Jesus! I imagine the money sitting there, people lined up, and Matthew up and leaves!

How about Zaccheus in Luke 19? He said,

Luke 19:8 NIV

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

That was radical!

When these men followed Jesus, they left everything to serve Him, to learn from Him and to imitate Him. They left their livelihoods. They left their families. They left their homes. They left it all to follow Jesus.

Their actions showed that they were followers of Jesus, not fans.

But that was then. That was them. Is that really what Jesus expects and wants from everyone?

Let’s think about others that came and said they would follow Jesus.

Think about the Rich Young Ruler, who came to ask Jesus how to obtain eternal life. What was Jesus answer?

Matthew 19:21 NIV

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.”

That is a radical response! On another occasion Luke records this:

Luke 9:57–62 NIV

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “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.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

What if following Jesus means I have to give up my bed? My house? My home?

What if following Jesus means I may be away when a loved one dies?

What if following Jesus means I have to leave family behind?

Jesus did all of those things. He left His house. He was away ministering when His loved one, Lazarus died. Jesus left the Father in Heaven to come down to Earth as a man, as a servant. And He expects His followers to imitate Him as they serve Him.

Jesus wants followers - Jesus wants Radicals.

Jesus is not looking for fans, even enthusiastic admirers. Jesus is looking for followers who truly are radical fans. They want nothing more than to follow Him, to learn His ways, to be in His service, to imitate Him.

It is the radical followers who did not leave Jesus, and stop following when Jesus didn’t give out more free food. It was the radical followers who did not leave Jesus when what He taught was not easy, nor the popular message.

And I think it is the same today. Today, I see many ‘disciples’ who are not following Jesus like they used to follow. In the past they were excited about Jesus. In the past, they liked what Jesus was doing. But today, well, Jesus doesn’t seem to be giving me what I want, or the message of the Bible goes against what I like… So, they stop following.

Am I a fan who will stop following when I don’t get what I want? Or, am I a radical follower, who won’t stop following Jesus?

As I was preparing for this message, there are some other verses that really caught my attention. I would like to look at them with you.

I must say, this is not a popular passage. It is not one that will bring in the crowds. Actually, it is a message Jesus gave to a crowd, and it was to thin the crowd, not build a bigger one!

Let’s look what Jesus said when there were a lot of fans following Jesus on another occasion.

Turn to Luke 14.

Luke 14:25–27 NIV

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Wow! Jesus is looking for a radical fan, a true follower! These are some strong words!

What I really found interesting is that this is not the only occasion on which Jesus said this. He said it here to the large crowds that were following Him.

Matthew records when Jesus said this specifically to the 12 before He sent them out on a mission trip. Turn with me to Matthew 10.

Matthew 10:37–39 NIV

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

If a teacher says something once, okay. But if they repeat it on different occasions, that must be really important.

What Jesus taught is all important. But when He repeats something on different occasions, I think we really need to pay attention.

Jesus is telling us He wants radical followers who will love Him more.

Who do I love more?

In Luke, Jesus says, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”

Now Jesus was in one way using hyperbole. We know from other scriptures that God does not want us to hate other people. We are to love God, and our neighbor. We are to love our brothers. We are to be kind to all. We could look up a lot of verses about that, but I will leave that for you to do this week.

Jesus was using hyperbole, but, our love for Jesus should be so great, that when we follow Him, our families may take it as hating them! “How could you do this to me,” may be their response?

I have heard and read of believers who when they come to faith, know that their families will hate them for turning to Jesus. They know that and yet they still come to Jesus.

Some are just rejected, and face anger and hatred. Others are kicked out of the house, and lose their relationship with their families.

Others, coming from Muslim or Radical Hindu backgrounds even have to flee from their families who will try to literally kill them for following Jesus.

Their love for Jesus is seen as hatred toward their families by their family members.

Some of you may have experienced this. Your family did not want you to leave them or their church to follow Jesus. But if you love Jesus more, you will truly be His disciple.

Turning to faith in Jesus against what your family wishes is truly loving Jesus more.

But it shouldn’t stop with just coming to faith in Jesus. As we continue to follow Jesus, obeying His commands, our families may not understand the change in our lives, or the direction our lives go out of obedience to Him. Well, not just obedience, but out of love for Him.

I like the way Jesus said it to the disciples before He sent them out.

Matthew 10:37 NIV

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

Who do I love more? My family, or Jesus?

This became real to me when I was in school preparing to go overseas as a missionary.

For me, my parents were fully behind me. I did not have to sacrifice, or suffer from loving Jesus more than family. I did miss some major family events, like weddings, funerals, health crises. That was hard to not be there for some of those things. But, my family did not my love and obedience to Jesus as hatred toward them.

However, I quickly found out as I talked with others, that I was the exception.

Most of those in the training with me were there against their families’ wishes. Their families did not want them wasting their lives as missionaries. They did not want them to leave their families. They did not want them to be poor missionaries. They did not want them to take the grandchildren away. They did not want them to waste their talents and education. They did not want them going to these places that were dirty and full of diseases. They were opposed to them going to serve Jesus. And they hated that they were going. They would not help or support them.

And get this: most of those family members who were opposed were Christians. Those from non-christian backgrounds thought this was very humanitarian. They didn’t fully like it, nor understand it, but they thought it was a great humanitarian thing to do to help others. It was the Christian family members who were the ones that were violently, angrily opposed to my fellow missionaries!

Wow! That was a shock to me!

However, I greatly respect those missionaries. They truly did love Jesus more. They loved their families. They tried to reach out to them. However, when it came down to it. They loved Jesus more, and followed Him. To them, Jesus says, “You are worthy to be my disciples!”

I am sure there were others who did not go against their families’ wishes. What would Jesus say to them? Well, we know. Jesus said it in Luke and Matthew. “You are not worthy of me.” “You cannot be my disciple.”

This is radical. This is what being a follower is. Am I a fan or a follower? Am I a fan who learns all about Jesus?

Luke and Matthew both talk about the perspective of one loving Jesus more than father, mother, brother or sister. They both also mention loving children or sons and daughters more than me.

What is that like? Well, that is like those Christian parents.

While raising the children, they taught them, sent them to church activities...

But then, what they wanted was success for their kids...

What about my own life?

Am I a fan or a follower?

Matthew 6:24 NIV

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Homework:

Read John 6. What did the people want? What was Jesus offering to give? What was their response when Jesus did not give them what they wanted? Now, make it personal. What do I want? What do I want for my life? What does Jesus want? Is my relationship with Him the priority in my life?

Read Luke 14:25-27. What is your definition of a disciple? What is Jesus’ definition of a disciple? Often, our definition of a disciple is on learning. Jesus’ definition of a disciple or follower involves action. Have you ever held back from something that Jesus wanted you to do because of your family? Have you ever held back from something Jesus wanted you to do because of your own life, your own desires or plans? What really hits me is ‘hating my own life’ to be a true disciple of Jesus. I am typically all about my life. This is my life, isn’t it? My life to live the way I want? Isn’t that the reasoning behind too much of what I do? Is it really my life when I have been bought with a price?

Read Matthew 10:34-39. Oftentimes, Christian parents will raise children to know about Jesus. We send them to Sunday School, Awana, Kids Club, church camp, VBS, etc. We encourage them to learn verses. But when it comes to life, we teach them to get a “good education” to get a “good job”, to get “good money” and raise a family. “That is how you have success.” We do this because we want good things for our children. What is missing? Often, kids wander away from the Lord after this kind of upbringing. Why? Did the scriptures fail? Did the Lord fail? Did the church fail? Or, did we fail to train them up to love Jesus more? Do we exemplify loving Jesus more in our lives for our kids to see? Do we teach them to love Jesus more than worldly success with our actions? We may need to love Jesus more than our kids having the ‘successful’ life if we want our kids to love Jesus more, and find true success as His disciples. Parents, how are we doing in training our kids to love Jesus more? When Jesus looks at how we train our children, would he say we are worthy of Him?

Read Luke 14:28-33. Many times we come to Jesus because we want to get something, like forgiveness and eternal life. That is good. Coming to Jesus will gain us those things, and more. However, it also costs. Coming to Jesus means what according to Luke 14:33? What do we need to give up, according to this verse, and in the context of Luke 14:25-33? What are your families’ plans for you? What are your plans for you? What are Jesus’ plans for you? What plans of your family, or plans of your own might you have to give up for Jesus’ plans? Talk with a trusted Christian brother or sister about this. Go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him if there is anything you are holding back which would keep Him from saying you are His disciple.

Continue reading through the Bible this week. Look at Job and Abraham’s lives. Did they love Jesus more? How did they set an example for us?