I was sitting and thinking about Matthew 13
Which starts with a familiar story
“The parable of the Sower”
And wondering how I would start…
How could I write about this Parable?
I thought about starting a number of times
And, in a way, ended up with some
Different starting points…
So sit back…rest…ponder
And start again
And then…I saw it
Never thought of it that way
And the title came to me
Actually, He gave it to me
“Not everyone who comes to Jesus is a Follower”
I nearly didn’t it write it like that
Felt I should have said
“Everyone who comes to Jesus is not a Follower”
But I felt a check in my spirit
And left the title is as it says
Since it follows on from what
Jesus says about Parables
And knowing the truth
In Matthew 13:10 – 17
The Disciples question Jesus
About why He speaks in Parables
“He answered and said to them,
“Because it has been given to you
to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven,
but to them it has not been given.””
(Matthew 13:11)
This at first seemed harsh
And so I pondered a bit more
And then I SAW it…
“And great multitudes were gathered
together to Him,
so that He got into a boat and sat;
and the whole multitude
stood on the shore.”
(Matthew 13:2)
The “multitudes” are the “them”
That Jesus is referring to
These “multitudes” sought Jesus out
They wanted to hear Him
They wanted to “see” Him
They needed Him for healing
ALL of which they received…
BUT they did NOT follow Jesus
They returned home
TODAY we might say…
They were entertained…
Seen enough and left…
They got what they came for
Now back to life…
The Disciples, on the other hand
Were “Followers” of Jesus
He was their ALL
Now before you start thinking that
There were ONLY twelve followers
This is what Paul records:
“After that He was seen by over
five hundred brethren at once”
(1 Corinthians 15:6)
Talking about the people that
Jesus appeared to after His resurrection
There were more Follwers or Disciples
Than we realise
We tend to think of “The Twelve”
As being the only ones
But as you can see
The Bible doesn’t say that
So which are you?
Are you part of the “multitude”?
Or are you a Disciple and Follower of Jesus?
Is He your ALL?
Or are you just visiting?