USING JESUS VS. FOLLOWING JESUS

Sea of Galilee

Jesus has more users than followers in the American church today.  We use Jesus to sanctify our success and stimulate our worship experiences. Blinded by our self-interests, we often seek a Jesus who serves our needs and promises our prosperity. Our hearts grow restless and bored unless the sermon shows us quickly how Jesus can meet our specific needs now - today - in this moment! We care more about our earthly Jesus than our heavenly Lord.

Jesus saw these tendencies in His first disciples as well. He wistfully said, Now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are you going?' (John 16:5). Yet Peter had just asked Jesus that very question only a few hours earlier (John 13:36). How do we harmonize the two verses? What is the question Jesus longs to hear from us?

Some have suggested that the answer is in the present tense of the verb "ask" (ερωτα) as if Jesus was saying that no one (ουδεις) was asking Him the question at that precise moment.  He was not thinking of what Peter said hours earlier that evening.  However, such a solution seems a bit disingenuous, as if Jesus cared more about the timing of the question than the heart of the questioner.

Jesus knew Peter had asked the question that Peter cared about instead of asking the question Jesus wanted Peter to care about.  The words are the same, but the intent is so very different. Peter didn't care about the destination of Jesus only that he felt abandoned by Jesus, and it led to a false bravado in his infamous pledge. The disciples were devastated that Jesus was leaving them (John 16:6). They were not interested in the plans of Jesus only the loss they feared for themselves.  They only cared about the problems for them not the purposes of the Lord (Morris, John, pp. 695-696).

We, too, seek selfish answers for life on earth not serious inquiries to understand the glories of our Lord in heaven. Like a child whose father is leaving us to go to work, we often ask "Where are you going?" The father will not be present to play with us! Our intent in asking is selfish. How different the question of a lover who wants to know all the details about where and what because of love for the one leaving not merely the loss of personal presence.

Jesus cares more about the heart of the questioner than the form of the question. A follower of Jesus wants to know everything there is to know about Him and His eternal purposes even if the knowledge is not immediately applicable to his earthly situation. A user of Jesus only cares to know what will meet his problems in that specific moment and cares little to know what is not an immediate life app!

What drives our questions shows the shallowness - or depth - of our relationship with Jesus.