Following Jesus: Keep Following!
Passage: Matthew 9:9 - 13 Preacher: Mark Kingston
We’ve been journeying through Matthew’s gospel, and today we come to a moment that changes everything. Not with a sermon. Not with a miracle. But with a simple, scandalous call — and an even more scandalous response. Jesus doesn’t tend to call the obvious people. He calls Matthew. A tax collector. A traitor. Someone still sitting in the thick of his messy, compromised life. Let’s take a closer look…
Jesus called Matthew (Scandalous!)
Imagine it. Jesus standing right there at Matthew’s tax booth, calling him — not after Matthew had repented, not after he'd cleaned up, but right in the middle of it. It was shocking then. It’s still shocking now.The Implication? Jesus chooses. Before we clean ourselves up. Before we even know what’s happening. He initiates. He invites. He comes for us, right where we are.
Jesus said "Keep Following"
And notice the way Jesus says it. In the Greek, it’s not just "Follow"— it’s "Keep following." Present continuous. Ongoing. Not a one-time decision. Not "pray the prayer and you’re good." Not a certificate or a graduation ceremony. It’s a daily movement. A daily decision. A daily walk. To trust. To listen. To stumble and get up and keep going.Why is it important to “Keep Following”?
Because you become like the ones you spend your life with. We’re all being shaped by something. By the voices we listen to. By the rhythms we keep. By the people we walk with.And Jesus knows: if you stay close to Him — listening, watching, trying, failing, trying again — you’ll start to become like Him. It’s not about mastering a religious system.
It’s about staying close enough for His life to rub off on you.The real evidence: “Fruit”
How do you know if it’s working? Not by how religious you sound. Not by how often you show up at church or how nicely you dress. The real evidence? Fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Stuff you can’t fake. Stuff that grows from the inside out. So let’s be careful. Let’s not judge someone's walk with God by their image, or by how put-together they seem.
Look for the fruit.Jesus invested deeply in a few
And here's something else. Jesus didn’t build a mass movement of casual fans. He wasn’t looking for a crowd that would cheer one day and crucify Him the next. He invested deeply in a few. He formed a community — not of perfect people, but of willing people. People who would walk with Him, learn from Him, stumble after Him, and eventually carry His life into the world. This is the strategy of Jesus: Depth, not width. Relationship, not spectacle. Maybe that's a word for how we think about Church and community growth today too. Slow. Relational. Deeply rooted.Conclusion
Today, the call of Jesus is the same. It’s not flashy. It’s not complicated. It’s direct. It’s personal. It’s patient and it’s powerful: Keep following. Because the closer you stay, the more His life grows in you. And when that happens, your world will start to change…
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Is Jesus calling you right now - right in the middle of the mess of life - to follow Him or to restart following Him? Not when you’re ready. Not when you’re sorted. But today…?
What would it look like this week to keep following - not in big, dramatic ways, but in small, daily steps?
Where are you noticing the slow, surprising fruit of His life growing in you - love, joy, peace - even in ways you hadn’t seen before? Have you seen this happen in other people?
Are there places where you’ve been tempted to measure faith by appearances - in yourself or others - instead of looking for real, quiet, Spirit-grown change? Why might that be?
Who are the "few" Jesus might be inviting you to invest in more deeply - walking alongside them with patience and hope, rather than chasing bigger crowds or louder success? How might this shape the way we think about Church growth in the future?
