As Was His Custom: Repent. Believe. Follow.
The Importance of Knowing What Yeshua (Jesus) Preached
Even in ministry, I stammered and blanked for years when others asked me what the Gospel was. Others had taught me the Napkin method, the Ladder method, and the Romans Road. But at some point, I realized these were just methods of sharing the Gospel. I still wasn’t 100 percent sure I knew what the entirety of the Gospel held.
It wasn’t until I sat in a discipleship seminar that a lightbulb blazed on inside my soul. It was the realization that Jesus preached the Gospel.
Wait- what? I thought the Gospel was Him.
And it is. Jesus is a BIG PART of it. But there’s more. And when I realized what He preached about, when He was preaching about the Gospel, all the bells and whistles began to sync together into a perfectly harmonized song.
The nation of Israel had been waiting for hundreds, even thousands of years, for the Anointed One (Messiah) who would come and deliver them. They had been exiled as a nation, thrown into slavery, and watched as their temple was demolished and decimated. And yet – still – they hoped and prayed for the day when the Messiah would come to save them. That, to them, was the Good News.
We find the phrase “Good News” in the Old Testament first. But this Good News isn’t just a basic phrase meaning regular good news, like your dog having puppies. Its meaning lies precisely in the announcement of the reign of a new King. This isn’t your everyday type of good news. This is news that a new King is in town, and he’s here to stay.
Isaiah 52:7-8
How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace
And brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
If you look back at the verses found in the poem in Isaiah, the passage talks about news from a messenger announcing the reign of a new King.
HOLD UP. Just let that sink in.
Let’s look at what Jesus preached through that lens. He preached what the Kingdom of God looked like (Mark 4:26-32: growing, Luke 17:20-21: invisible, and John 18:36: from another realm). Since Jesus inaugurated this present Kingdom on our planet, He plays a huge role. A hint to who Jesus is was what He called Himself: the Son of Man (Mark 2:10; Matt. 26:63-65). Pharisees knew that in calling Himself the Son of Man, He was calling Himself the King (Dan. 7:13-14). Jesus essentially declared God’s Rule and Reign on earth through His sermons on the Gospel, effectively stepping onto the throne as King. However, within this Gospel were two other pronouncements that Jesus preached: His Coming Death and Resurrection. Even though the disciples didn’t immediately understand what Jesus was trying to tell them (Mark 3:31-32a), these two things had to happen for the Good News to come to fruition.
As Was His Custom
This entire blog series has been about the spiritual disciplines/habits/customs that Jesus held in His lifetime. But we must remember, we’re not Jesus. Therefore, there are things we must do, things He asks of us, that we must include in our spiritual disciplines. And He actually preaches about these things, too.
Mark 1:14-15 (NASB)- Parenthesis Mine
Now, after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel [good news] of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel [good news].”
And then later in that same passage in verses 16-18, it reads:
As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Immediately, they left their nets and followed Him.
The Gospel/Good News is that the Kingdom is Now, Jesus is King, He must die and be resurrected, and we must repent, believe, and follow.
Repentance
Right after the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, after Jesus had ascended back into Heaven, Peter and the disciples took to the streets of Jerusalem to share the Good News. Thousands had gathered for Pentecost, and when they heard the story of Jesus, they RESPONDED.
It reads in Acts 2:37-38,
“NOW when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Repent. Be baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit. (These people would later be called Christians: Anointed Ones with water and the Spirit).
What does repentance look like?
What does repentance look like? Repentance requires a 180-degree turn. It’s not just a quickie apology (like my husband used to give when he came home late from the golf course) but a life-altering change in behavior and posture. Repentance is like when I found myself sobbing on the shower floor when a so-called friend unfriended me or in my closet (because, let’s be honest - it happens often), begging for God to forgive me because I just lost my temper again on the child who continually pushes my buttons. It’s repenting to Him that I now acknowledge that I HAVE those buttons.
Repentance can be
Admitting to the darkness that has permeated your life
Acknowledging the things you still struggle to control within your heart
Confessing anything that’s not in line with following Jesus.
We must uphold our end of the bargain and repent daily. Find the time or spot where you practice this regularly, or repent when you realize you’ve messed up.
Belief In Yeshua
When Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Rome, he stated that belief comes from God. He wrote in Rom. 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes…”
Belief is trickier to apply. It’s something that ebbs and flows as our trust and doubt duel it out on the battlefield of life. Trust believes God and what He says about you. Doubt looks like saying, “I’m not enough” or “I’m too much.” I’m not good with people. I’m not good with finances. Or, I’m not in the right job. I’m not loved, and I’m not making an impact. You may doubt the worth of staying pure in your singleness or whether or not you’re a good parent. You may wonder if you’ve failed your adult children since they seem never to listen to your advice anymore.
How Can We Believe in a Tangible Way?
When you notice doubt creeping in, ask God what you’re having trouble believing in. Is it a truth about who God says you are? Is it a belief about your identity in Christ? Meet God in your unbelief and ask Him to help you trust who He says you are.
When you believe in the Gospel, you trust the Good News that Jesus preached and obey what Jesus says to do. Your obedience to the Word of God shows Him that you believe it.
Following Yeshua
This entire blog post series, As Was His Custom, has been about following Jesus. How can we become more like Jesus? We can practice and follow the customs He actively lived out while here on earth, including His daily spiritual disciplines and His lifestyle.
Following Jesus starts with you repenting and believing that He is the Christ, the Messiah. It begins with choosing to drop your nets, your job, your lifestyle, and whatever Jesus asks of you and follow Him. You can know Him by continually pouring your life into this Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to direct your paths.
How Can We Follow Jesus in This Way?
For the disciples, following meant dropping their nets and practicing the customs that Yeshua practiced his entire life. Following for me looked like planting a church in a liberal city in the middle of the Bible Belt because Jesus asked me to, and then eight years later, closing the church’s doors when COVID struck—following also looks like realizing that all of those “plans” I made to be a counselor were, in fact, God equipping me to do what He desires for me: launching a ministry focused on women and discipleship. But it was continuing to add these customs that guided me to fully believe/trust Yeshua to follow Him. When I lean into His Word, spend time in solitude listening for God’s voice, and choose to fast to prepare for what’s ahead, He becomes exceedingly more tangible and easier to follow.
Following is hard, ladies. It’s not easy. The best way to follow is to figuratively sit at the feet of Jesus:
Learn from Him.
Read about the stories of
How He treated others
How He loved
How He saved all of us.
Immerse yourself in knowing who Jesus is and how He lived. Slowly add the customs of Jesus, and this “following life” will become more and more desirable to you; customs will become habits, and habits will construct a life built upon Christ. And then, following Him will become so much simpler.
