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Read: Matthew 9:9-17
Listen: Matthew 9

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. Matthew 9:10

The crowds swell as Jesus travels throughout Judea. Healing miracles and casting out demons raise Jesus’s popularity. He is collecting more fans—people who think Jesus is a good guy because he has a heart for the poor and oppressed. But Jesus is looking for people who are followers, not just fans. A follower gives their whole life to Jesus’s control to become like him. As the miracles continue, the question grows: “Is Jesus worth following?” Matthew answers, “Yes.” He leaves the tax collector’s booth and his old life behind to follow Jesus.

This is the same decision we must make, “Is Jesus worth it?” It is a question we answer once and for all when we accept Jesus’s gift of salvation and new life. It’s also a question we answer daily when deciding whether to surrender our will to Jesus. As the years roll on, this question repeatedly presents itself: when dreams go unfulfilled, when we struggle to get rid of a bad habit, when a marriage dissolves or when children abandon the faith. As we cry to God, “How long? How long?” we must answer the question again, “Is Jesus still worth following?” Being a fan or a follower hangs in the balance.

TODAY: Be honest about whether you are a fan or a follower. Where would you put yourself on the spectrum of fan to follower? Draw a horizontal line in your journal with the word “fan” at one end and “follower” at the other. Where do you place yourself and why? Ask God to help you grow to follow Jesus more this week.

JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:

Read Ezekiel 29-30. Highlight anything that points to Jesus.