The Chosen and Friends: God With UsSample

Worthy To Follow
From Come and See

You can hear the exhaustion in Simon Peter’s voice, can’t you? In how it’s scratchy and stretched thin? You can see it, too, in the slumped shoulders and hung head. It’s a physical exhaustion, for sure. As he points out: “We’ve been fishing all night!” But given what he eventually says to Jesus—“Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”—you know there’s a spiritual exhaustion that’s been gnawing at the corners of his soul.

We don’t know what sin stirred this sort of response in Simon Peter. We only know that when he came face-to-face with Jesus, the one who had shown himself to be the perfect Son of God, he fell to his knees in fear because of his own imperfection.

“Go away from me!” he cried.

“No, no,” Jesus says. “Follow me.”

If you’ve read further in any one of the four Gospels, you know this isn’t the only time Jesus has to reassure an imperfect Simon Peter that he is worthy of following him. This is the first of many times to come.

Simon Peter assumed Jesus would call only the spiritual giants to follow him, and we tend to assume the same. But in the wake of a miraculous catch of fish—and then also in the wake of a sinful man being invited to become a “fisher of men”—we see that Jesus is quite happy for those who are far from perfect to fall in behind him. Because the imperfect know they need the saving work of the only perfect one who can provide it.

Do you see pronounced imperfection in your life? Has it limited you in drawing near to the Father? Has it forced you to stop short of following, begging him to “go away”? Are you struggling to believe that the one who is perfect would make room for you, an imperfect follower? Why? Hear the words of Jesus, which are the words of the Father, too: “Do not be afraid; follow me.”

About The Author
Come and See is a faith-based nonprofit that exists to share the authentic Jesus with at least one billion people worldwide. Because of the generosity of supporters around the world, Come and See is able to ensure that all seven seasons of “The Chosen” are produced, translated into 600 languages, made globally accessible, and free to all. Learn more at comeandsee.net.