The Word was in the beginning, before the heavens and earth. The Word was before there were sunrises and sunsets, before roses, gardens, oceans, ice cream, and kisses goodnight.
He was before all of that because He made all of it. The Word spoke everything into existence, and it’s mind-blowing to think of the Word as a person, but that is precisely how John describes Him in John 1: 1-5. The verses say,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.”
By His word came all that we know, and by His words come knowledge and understanding, healing and hope. The words spoken by Jesus changed human history and alongside the very ordinary followers, especially those twelve men closest to Him.
These disciples represent a variety of people. It’s easy to identify who these men are and how you relate to them. We would be wise to get to know the twelve closest disciples whom we call apostles. We would be wise to learn from them and see how their lives are much like our own.
They were fishermen, zealots, tax collectors, and thieves. They were rough around the edges and ranged from the salt of the earth to downright sketchy. They were arrogant, loud, greedy, defensive, skeptical, and independent men. It’s surprising that they wholeheartedly responded to Jesus after his simple invitation of “Follow me” (Mark 1:17).
Why did they drop everything? We get more context when Peter and Andrew are called. Jesus had just performed a miracle just before His audacious request. But still… it was crazy.
I can only imagine the words sounded different from Jesus than it would anyone else, right? The Word gave them a few words to request their devotion to Him and his cause.
“Follow me.”
As strange as it is to imagine dropping everything you have ever known, somehow, this made sense to these guys. When following Jesus, His words transcend circumstances and breakthrough barriers otherwise would stand in our way. His words bring clarity and elevate our understanding of real life. When listening and learning from Jesus’ words, we begin to see what is real, true, and important. His words take us from completely missing our reason for life to seeing everything for what it is and the real reason to follow Him.
The disciples gave top everything they had to follow Jesus when He called out His word. For all of His ministry, they listened and learned from the Word. They watched Him welcome children, heal the lame and cause the blind to see. They heard Him teach, tell jokes, laugh, weep, and be respectful to His elders. They watch Him defend His father’s house and correct the self-righteous. All done with His words.
The Word used words to convey to His disciples and to us who He is.
Then they stood paralyzed when He said no words on His way to the cross. Then these men who hung on every word of Jesus were so transformatively changed they took His words to the end of the earth.
Here are a few challenging questions…
What words of Jesus have impacted you, and how have you transformed into a more dedicated disciple of the Word?
How can we make our words in life, on social media, and in simple conversations with our family, friends, and spouses more like Christ’s words?
Today, please pray that the Word can change you by His words that you take them across the street to your neighbor and across the world to your enemies.
Pray to recommit your life to read the Word’s words and share them with others.
I love you,
Alex