The disciples could, in a measure, follow the Lord in His earthly ministry, but when it came to following the Lord as He opened up what is the Christian pathway and heavenly blessings, none could go with Him, for that path was through death and resurrection. “Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me afterwards” (John 3:2626And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. (John 3:26)). Peter thought he could and said, “Lord, why cannot I follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy sake” (vs. 37). He, the leader of the twelve disciples, while seeking to follow the Lord, denied Him, leaving us a lesson of failure as to discipleship. Later the Lord told Peter, “When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not” (John 21:1818Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. (John 21:18)).
When another volunteered to follow the Lord, He replied, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head” (Luke 9:5858And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Luke 9:58)). Following the Lord at that time had become a path of rejection; it could not be done by volunteering. Nor was it a path suited for those still waiting to bury their dead (vs. 59) or for those controlled by the claims at home (vs. 61); all these claims needed to be surrendered in order to follow the Lord (vs. 61). Nevertheless, the power to follow the Lord is shown to us in the Word of God, but we must go beyond what is shown to us in the four Gospels to see it.
Power to Go Through Death
There is a picture of the inability of man to follow the Lord unto death in the distance that was to be maintained between the ark of Jehovah and the children of Israel when they went down through the River Jordan into the land of Canaan. They were not to come near the ark but to maintain about 2000 cubits from it. The power to go down into death is only possible for those who have a life beyond it. The Lord alone could go through the waters of death and rise again on the other side. We cannot do that, but afterwards we can follow in association with Him. This truth of being identified with Christ in His death is made known to us in the epistles, particularly in Colossians. “Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:1212Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:12)). “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God” (Col. 3:11If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)). Only as we realize our position as dead and risen with Christ can we, by the power of the Spirit in us, follow the Lord. Thus the exhortations follow in Colossians: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. . . . Put off all these; anger, wrath, malice. . . . Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering” (Col. 3:5-125Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. 12Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; (Colossians 3:5‑12)).
Our Death With Him
It is not enough to know that Christ died for us; we also must realize that we died with Him. Just as the children of Israel must go through the Red Sea and the River Jordan before entering Canaan, so we must realize that Christ died for us (Red Sea) and we died with Him (Jordan). This is necessary before we are able to lay hold of heavenly things. As the Lord went down into death and rose again, the believer also died and rose with Him. The believer’s life is in Him there in glory, and this risen life is needed to walk the Christian path.
Again, this is pictured in the time of Joshua when He said concerning the ark, “Come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore” (Josh. 3:44Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. (Joshua 3:4)). Had Peter understood the teaching of these words, he would not have tried to follow the Lord in his own strength. We can only follow the risen Lord in the power of the resurrection life we have in Christ. Until the Lord had died and risen again, it was not possible for anyone to pursue that path.
Peter was taught a lesson in this at the time of his restoration by the risen Lord. The Lord said to him, “Lovest thou Me? And he said unto Him, Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed My sheep” (John 21:1717He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. (John 21:17)). And the Lord told him that feeding His sheep would be the proof of Peter’s love and discipleship.
To follow Him even to death Peter needed the Lord in resurrection. Before the cross he could not follow the Lord to death, but now the Lord tells him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake He, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He saith unto him, Follow Me” (vss. 18-19).
Then at the close of the Gospel, when Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me” (vss. 21-22). It is not for a disciple to be giving orders to others or occupied with what they are to do. Occupation with others does not motivate us to be good disciples. A disciple is to follow the Lord.
Christian Discipleship
The Apostle Paul would be the one chosen of God to show us the way of Christian discipleship. He, the chief of sinners, was to unfold the truth of the heavenly place where the Man Christ Jesus ascended and of our heavenly calling. This he did not only by doctrinal teaching, but also by practically living it. He wrote, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-1413Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13‑14)). “His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). “I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles” (2 Cor. 11:5). He exceeded the other apostles. He followed the Lord more closely than the others. He really laid hold of the truth revealed to him. This enabled him to be such a good disciple.
The Secret of Discipleship
This is the secret to discipleship today. Let us look into heaven and know Christ as He is there, to see the path He walked to get there, and follow Him. That path involves feeling His rejection on earth, having the sentence of death in ourselves to all other claims, and willing surrender to Him.
There is no kingdom on earth for us; ours is a heavenly one. We must wait in patience for it to be manifested when He comes. There are temporal mercies needed along the way, which He provides according to His perfect understanding of our needs, but these earthly things are not our real portion. “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor” (John 12:25-2625He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. (John 12:25‑26)).
D. C. Buchanan