Following the Footsteps of Jesus
Recently, I was reflecting on the real meaning of being a disciple of Jesus and was reminded of the childhood game Follow the Leader. You probably remember it—the leader sets the pace and everyone else mimics their actions. If they step over a rock, you step over the rock; if they wave their arms, you wave your arms. The objective is simple: follow the leader as precisely as possible.
This game echoes Jesus’s original call to His disciples. In Matthew 4:19-20, He says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” This call wasn’t just an invitation to tag along; it was an invitation to imitate the full scope of Jesus's life and ministry, to follow the Leader in every sense—seeking to imitate His theological and ethical teachings, His exemplary character, and His redemptive mission. In short, it’s an invitation to align our heads, hearts, and hands with His.
This same call to follow in the way of King Jesus extends to us today. We are invited and commanded to live as He lived. Yet, there’s often a tragic disconnect. Throughout history, non-believers have noted the gap between the Jesus of Scripture and those who claim to follow Him presently.
Take, for example, the famous quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, the social reformer who helped lead India to independence. Gandhi stated, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Now, we know the reality of our sinful nature, our ongoing sanctification, and the significance of God’s grace. Still, Gandhi’s words bear a measure of truth that elicits reflection.
If someone read the Gospels and then spent a week observing our lives, would they find any resemblance between our practices and those of Jesus? If I’m honest, I know they would observe times when I miss the mark—where I fall into patterns of behavior that don’t align with His ways or priorities. It’s as if Jesus and I are playing a game of Follow the Leader, except that when He sets me the example of touching His nose, I, instead, break into the chicken dance. This is a silly example, of course, but I often add to or completely change what He modeled for me to do in His Word.
Press into Conviction, Reject Condemnation
If you’re reading this and sense that you’re not measuring up, there is good news for you: Jesus desires us to experience conviction, but not condemnation. Conviction is a healthy, Spirit-led prompting that encourages us to reassess our lives and align them more closely with His teachings. It serves as a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit, inviting us to recognize areas where we can grow and improve.
However, it’s crucial to understand the distinction between conviction and condemnation. While conviction draws us closer to God and leads to us becoming more like Jesus, condemnation brings feelings of shame and guilt that push us away from Him. The latter can lead to despair and hopelessness, causing us to feel unworthy of God's love and grace.
In those moments when we fall short, we can take comfort in the truth of Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” This verse reassures us that, in Christ, we are not defined by our failures; instead, we are embraced by His grace. There’s no shame or guilt—only the continual invitation to “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” If we’re serious about walking in Jesus’s footsteps, we must learn to recognize the voice of conviction and allow it to guide us while resisting the lies of condemnation that seek to undermine our identity in Him.
As we walk in the footsteps of Jesus, there are three places He will lead us. My good friend Josh Howard once shared these categories with me, and I have added my own commentary. The footsteps of Jesus are guaranteed to lead us to the lost and broken, to a quiet place, and to a cross.
1. To the Lost and Broken
At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus stood in the synagogue and read from the scroll of Isaiah, outlining His mission:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
Jesus spent much of His earthly ministry with the marginalized—teaching, healing, and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom. Matthew 9:35 affirms this, summarizing Jesus's activities: “Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.”
But Jesus didn’t just minister to those physically sick or poor. He actively sought out those whom society had written off—the adulterers, the thieves, the demonized, and the tax collectors. He extended grace to an adulterous woman caught in sin (John 8), called a dishonest tax collector to repentance (Luke 19), and cast out demons from the oppressed, such as the man possessed by a legion of demons (Mark 5).
Jesus had compassion for the broken and outcast, whether they were guilty of moral failure, ensnared in spiritual bondage, or simply marginalized by society. He touched lepers, welcomed children, and engaged with Samaritans—people the religious elite avoided or despised.
If you’re following the footsteps of Jesus, they will always lead you to the lost and the broken. His heart was for the sinner, the outcast, and the hurting—and ours must be too. We are called to proclaim the same good news, bringing hope to those in desperate need of God’s love and redemption.
2. To a Quiet Place with the Father
Jesus didn’t just stay with the crowds or His disciples; He often withdrew to be alone with the Father. Luke 5:16 tells us, “Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.” In fact, the Gospels record nine distinct times when Jesus stepped away from the busyness of ministry to spend time in prayer. These moments occurred regularly, whether it was after performing miracles, before selecting His disciples, or following moments of intense interaction with others.
After His baptism (before the start of His ministry) – Luke 3:21: "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened."
After healing many people – Mark 1:35: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."
Before choosing the 12 disciples – Luke 6:12: "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God."
Before Peter’s confession of faith – Luke 9:18: "Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, 'Who do the crowds say I am?'"
At the Transfiguration – Luke 9:28-29: "About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning."
Before walking on water – Matthew 14:23: "After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone."
Before teaching the Lord’s Prayer – Luke 11:1: "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.'"
At Gethsemane before His arrest – Mark 14:32-36: "They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, 'Sit here while I pray.' Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. 'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'"
On the cross, before His death – Luke 23:46: "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last."
One of the most profound examples of Jesus withdrawing to pray comes just before His crucifixion. In the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night He was betrayed, Jesus sought solitude with the Father, praying earnestly as He faced the weight of the cross. Mark 14:35-36 describes the scene: “Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. ‘Abba, Father,’ He said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’”
These moments of solitude were not just for rest but for renewal and deep communion with God. If we’re truly following Jesus, His footsteps will lead us to a quiet place of prayer, where we can encounter the transformative presence of the Triune God. It’s in these moments of stillness that we are strengthened, our hearts aligned with His, and our resolve is fortified for the mission ahead—just as Jesus was as He faced the ultimate sacrifice.
3. To a Cross
Perhaps the most challenging truth about following Jesus is that it always leads to a cross. In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” He reiterates this in Luke 14:27: “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
At the time, the cross wasn’t just a religious symbol; it was one of the most brutal and shameful forms of execution known to the world. The Roman Empire used crucifixion to publicly humiliate and execute criminals and enemies of the state. To the original audience, "taking up your cross" was not just a metaphor for carrying burdens but a direct reference to carrying the instrument of one's death—symbolizing complete submission to authority, even to the point of death.
For Jesus’s listeners, the cross was a vivid, terrifying image. It meant that following Him wasn’t just about religious devotion or moral improvement. It was a call to die to self, to let go of personal ambition, comfort, and even life itself. When Jesus spoke of "taking up your cross," He was inviting His followers to a path of ultimate sacrifice, one that could include shame, suffering, and even physical death for the sake of the Gospel.
The cross represents the cost of discipleship—a daily dying to our own desires and living fully for Christ. As disciples, we must understand that following Jesus means more than convenience or comfort; it’s a journey of self-denial, endurance, and a willingness to suffer for the sake of Christ. But just as Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2), so too do we carry our crosses, knowing that beyond the pain and sacrifice lies the promise of resurrection and eternal life.
Walking in His Way, Not Our Own
Brothers and sisters, we are called to live lives that reflect our King—to think, feel, and act as He did. Jesus’s footsteps will always lead us to the lost and broken, to a quiet place with the Father, and ultimately, to a cross.
This is not merely about adhering to cultural Christianity, which often emphasizes comfort, convenience, and personal success. Rather, it’s about truly embodying the example set forth by Jesus in Scripture. As we strive to follow Him, we must examine our lives and align our priorities with His—reaching out to those society overlooks, cultivating a deep, prayerful relationship with the Father, and embracing the daily call to self-denial.
Returning to the childhood game of Follow the Leader, let us remember that the objective is not merely to mimic outward actions but to embody the essence of the Leader’s heart and mission. Are we following Jesus as He intends, aligning our lives with His teachings and practices? If someone were to observe our lives, would they see the love, compassion, and commitment to truth that characterized Jesus?
As we follow Him more closely, may our lives begin to resemble the One we claim to follow, bringing glory to God and hope to the world. Let us not just be hearers of the Word, but doers, fully committed to the radical way of life He modeled for us. In doing so, we become genuine reflections of Christ in a world that desperately needs His light. So, let’s embrace the call to follow Him faithfully, knowing that it leads us to a place of profound transformation and purpose.