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Our English word worship means worthship and denotes the worthiness of an individual or being to receive special honor in accordance with that worth or value.  The principle Hebrew and Greek words indicate an act of obesience which is divine honors paid to deity.  Since there is only one, true and living God, there is only one deity worthy of worship (Matt. 4:10, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve”).  No injury to God compares with the denial of His uniqueness and the transfer to another of the recognition that belongs to Him.  Any perversion of worship is Satan’s avid effort to secure to himself what belongs to God alone (Matt. 4:9).  Worship involves praise and prayer directed to God and the offer of sacrificial gifts that honor Him and glorify His name.  Worship is generally an act of God’s people who desire to draw nigh unto Him and honor Him for His uniqueness, greatness, and goodness.
Psalm 95
This effort is clearly present in Psalm 95.  Psalm 95 was written by David (Heb. 4:7).  The Psalm is referenced twice in Hebrews, i.e. 3:7 and 4:7.  In both contexts, the Psalm is referenced to warn and encourage the saints to faithfulness to God by maintaining a close relationship with God through divine acts of worship. That faithfulness to God will result in the heavenly rest.
The Invitation (Psa. 95:1-2).
“O Come….” is an invitation inciting to join heart and lips in praise to God.  This is worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  Without the engagement of the heart, the acts of worship are vain.  The invitation contains an exhortation.  Let us is repeated several times. The phrase indicates unity and it is defining worship that is corporate.  Let us sing unto the LORD. Let us make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.  Let us make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. Notice that the call to worship also contains the means of accomplishing it.  Worship brings us into the presence of God.  As an act of devotion to Him, it manifests our love for Him.  Worship is one way in which we love God supremely (Matt. 22:36-38).
The Grounds (Psa. 95:3-5).
The LORD is a great God.  He is unsurpassed in all of His perfections.  The greatness of God is seen in His creative power.  The LORD is unique and stands above all other gods.  The idols of man are pure vanity (I Cor. 8:4).  In His hands are: the deep places of the earth, the heights of the hills, the sea and the dry lands.  Truly, God is the creator of all things (Exodus 20:11).  This includes humanity.  Yes, we owe our very existence to Him (Acts 17:28).  As our Creator, He alone is worthy of our worship and devotion.  We worship because of who God is!  I know that worship is something that God desires for His people to do, but we do not worship merely because God has commanded it.  We worship because we know God.  We worship because we love God.  We worship because we cannot restrain our soul from crying out in honor of His name.
The Invitation Repeated (Psa. 95:6).
“O, come…” is repeated.  Let us worship and bow down.  This defines worship as an act of great humility.  In worship to God, we have a sense of our own unworthiness.  Let us kneel before our Maker.  Only from a position of deep humility would we even think of approaching God.
The Grounds Continued (Psa. 95:7).
For He is our God and we our His people.  This phrase indicates covenant relationship with God brought about by His lovingkindness.  Only God can save.  In the act of saving us, God redeems us to Himself and consequently, we belong to Him.  He is our God and we our His people.  We worship God because we are in covenant relationship with God.  David wrote while under the covenant God made with Israel through Moses.  However, we live under a better covenant that Jesus has made possible through the power of His blood (Heb. 9:14-15; Heb. 8:1-13).  The covenant of Christ reveals both grace and truth that is available to all people.  Only those who respond to God’s love by loving Him back participate in the blessings and promises of the New Covenant (John 14:23).  If those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ do not worship God, then, who?  Any substitution for God is an act of unbelief and this unbelief will keep us from the heavenly rest.
An Admonition (Psa. 95:8-11).
David warned against hardening one’s heart against God.  The writer of Hebrews quotes from Psa. 95 in Heb. 3:7 and 4:7 in order to emphasize this warning to his readers.  The human heart is hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:11-12).  The author makes a historical comparison.  Remember the provocation in the wilderness!  The period of Wilderness Wanderings lasted forty years.  During this period of time, God’s people tested Him and provoked Him.  They saw His works but did not believe.  As a result, they faced His wrath.  God was grieved with them forty years.  He said it is a people that do err in their hearts.  He said they have not known my ways.  He swore in His wrath that they should not enter into His rest.  They missed the promised land because of unbelief.  Likewise, the saints of God today, can manifest unfaithfulness to God by worshiping idols and fail to enter into the heavenly rest.  We worship God as a manifestation of our faithfulness to Him because of who He is and what He has done for us in giving us physical life as our Creator and saving us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Summary:
Worship brings God and His people into oneness.  Worship flows from a heart that is fully aware of who God is and what He has done in creative and redemptive acts.  Worship is manifested in human hearts who are in covenant relationship with God and who love God deeply.  Worship is expressed in praise and prayer directed to God.  Worship involves the whole person, body and soul, in devotion to God.  Worship enhances faithfulness to God.  Worship binds us to the heart of God and is an expression of the wonder we experience in His presence and the value that we ascribe to Him that is worthy.

In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus encounters three would-be disciples.  Jesus successfully called individuals to follow Him.  That is how He selected the twelve apostles.  However, there were others who wanted to follow Jesus, but were not willing to pay the costs of discipleship.  Jesus was not shy about preparing people for discipleship. While everyone is invited by the Lord to follow Him, not everyone will answer the call.  Discipleship is most rewarding, but, it is also very demanding.  If you are looking for a convenient religion, Christianity is not the one for you.  Yet, it is the only one where you will find salvation (Acts 4:12).  Jesus clearly taught that there were two ways that people travel.  The broad way that leads to destruction and the narrow way that leads to life (Matt. 7:13-14).  Obviously, we choose which pathway we follow.  But, there is only one that leads to everlasting life.
Three Would-Be Disciples
In Luke 9:57-58, we are introduced to a would-be disciple that states, “I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.”  This person seems willing and eager to follow Jesus.  Yet, he/she seems to have a shallow understanding of the cost.  Jesus’ reply was that the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.  Jesus seems to be saying, “don’t underestimate the degree of self-sacrifice involved in discipleship.  When following Jesus we must understand the nature of the pursuit.  We do not serve Him for material gain.  Nor do we serve Him for immediate gratification.  We do not follow Him for what we can get out of it as much as for what we can contribute to the kingdom.  Disciples of Jesus are involved in selfless service for a heavenly reward!
The second would-be disciple says, “Suffer me first to go and bury my father.”  Jewish people took burying their dead very seriously.  It was important and was to be done expeditiously.  Burial was a way of showing respect to the deceased and honoring them.  It was a family duty.  Jesus said, “Let the dead bury the dead.”  Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead. “But go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”  Preaching the kingdom of God was more important.  Disciples of Jesus must get their priorities right.  Spiritual service in the kingdom of God must not be supplanted by activities that are less important.  In Matt. 6:33, Jesus affirmed that we must seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
The third would-be disciple said, “I will follow thee, but let me go first and bid them farewell which are at my home.”  Most will admit that family ties are important.  Jesus said to this person, “No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  The would-be disciple made the mistake of saying that he/she would follow Jesus, but….” “I will, but” introduces a qualification.  If one qualification is permitted, then, why not a dozen, a hundred, or even a thousand?  This view diminishes the level of commitment involved in discipleship and weakens the kingdom.  Think about this, what if everyone in the kingdom of God had the same level of commitment that I have, what would the kingdom of God look like?  A diminished commitment will affect fruitfulness and productivity.  It diminishes perseverance and endurance.  When the Christian life gets difficult, it is easier to abandon it altogether.  Jesus warned about this very thing in the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:20-21).  The stoney ground represented a human heart where the seed does not develop strong roots and when persecution arises, the person falls away.  Paul gives an example of such diminished commitment in Demas who he states had “forsaken me having loved this present world” (II Tim. 4:10).  Disciples of Jesus must not be quitters!
What Can We Conclude About Discipleship?
First, look for spiritual not material gain.  Second, the kingdom of God must come first.  Third, persevere unto the end.  Be strong in your commitment to the Lord.  Never quit.  The commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ must be absolute and never qualified.  There are no excuses for failing to be what God wants us to be.  If we do fail, we must correct this sin in our life and renew our commitment to Christ.  “Follow me” is personal.  The relationship that is created through redemption is secured on His terms not ours.  We must be willing to follow Him wherever He leads without reservations.  The kingdom of God and His righteousness must come first above all else.  We must be finishers not quitters.  Disciples obey Jesus and follow His example in all things.
Are you a would-be disciple of Jesus?  If so, count the cost of following Him.  Also, count the cost of not following Him (John 8:24).  Then, decide.  Once, you commit to following Him, don’t look back!

A violation of God’s Law (the very essence of sin -I John 3:4) is not an exercise in true freedom, but injustice (a violation of the righteous standard given by God in His holy word).  And, where there is sin, there is bondage, not freedom.
Let us correlate three terms:  truth, freedom, and justice (John 8:30-36).  If there is no truth, there can be no freedom.  If there is no truth, there can be no justice.  Are we in bondage or free?  Are we the children of God or the children of the devil?  Can we know the truth, obtain true freedom and pursue justice?
Truth
The word truth is an English translation of the Greek word alētheia, which means, true to fact, conforming to reality.  Truth is that which conforms to reality as God defines that reality (John 14:6, Jesus is the truth; John 17:17, the Word of God is truth).  Truth comes from God because God is holy and cannot lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18).  God is all-knowing and so He knows what is true as opposed to what is false.  God has revealed His will to humanity by means of the divine superintendence of the Holy Spirit who guided holy men of God to write the words of truth (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-21).  God has also revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the truth (John 14:6).  The truth is powerful (Heb. 4:12).  It enlightens and so dispels darkness (the world of sin and wickedness, lies and false ideas) (John 1:5, 9). It guides and so is a lamp unto our feet (Psa. 119:105). It anchors and so creates a foundation that grounds us in God’s thoughts and ways (Isa. 55:8-11).  It transforms and so makes children of God out of children of the devil (I Pet. 1:20-25; Gal. 3:26-29).  It judges/ discerns and so discriminates between good and evil, right and wrong (Heb. 4:12).  The truth is knowable (John 8:32). To know means that we can perceive with the mind and so understand with the heart what God means by what God says in His Word (Eph. 5:16-17).
Freedom
True freedom is liberation from the servitude of sin (John 8:32, Rom. 6:6-7).  The first correlation:  truth and freedom.  Where there is no truth, there can be no freedom.  Freedom is not the ability to do anything you want to do anytime you want to do it, that is lasciviousness (Gal. 5:19).  Lasciviousness is shameless conduct where by we violate God’s Will and act without restraint.  God restricts our attitudes and behavior through His Word which demands self-denial and self-restraint.  Self-indulgence is not freedom.  True freedom involves the forgiveness of our sins and transformation of life (conversion and consecration) whereby we honor God’s truth by incorporating it into our lives.  True freedom means that we are set at liberty from the bondage of sin.  “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free…” (Gal. 5:1).  Paul’s use of the noun and verb together in one sentence emphasizes the completeness of the act of liberation through the power of God.  Once liberated from sin, we do not want to return to bondage.  The liberation from the bondage of sin is directed by truth and the power of truth affects it (Rom. 1:16).  The gospel is God’s power unto salvation!
Justice
The second correlation is truth and justice.  Where there is no truth, there can be no justice.  Justice is a communicable perfection of God, manifesting His holiness.  The word justice is closely associated with righteousness.  Used of man, justice refers to right rule, or right conduct, or to each getting his/her just do whether good or bad.  God’s absolute justice is the rectitude by which He upholds Himself against violations of His holiness.  God’s moral excellence made necessary either the punishment of sinners or the expiation (forgiveness) of their sins whereby the punishment would be removed and they would be rewarded.  Expiation or forgiveness is accomplished by Jesus Christ through His death on the cross.  Paul declares in Rom. 5:8-9, that we are saved from wrath through Him. And, we are justified by the blood of Christ.   If there is no truth, there can be no justice.  Truth is the objective standard for all righteous judgments.  Without truth, spiritual discernment and righteous judgments could not be made.
Anytime God’s Word is violated three things result:  bondage or servitude to sin which identifies us with Satan rather than God; condemnation by God (the justice of God); and prohibition of sonship with God (because we are the children of the devil).  Overcoming sin involves: utilizing the power of truth to overcome the lies and ignorance caused by Satan; the power of the blood of Christ to atone for sin; and our faith and love for God which causes us to honor Him by keeping His commandments.  When truth is internalized, faith is active in the human heart and commits us to God’s Word.  When love for the truth is authentic, then, the human heart is bound to God in devotion to His Will and purposes.  Truth will affect an all-encompassing transformation within us that binds us to God in true freedom and respect for His justice.

Paul Gutjahr has written a history of the English Bible in America from 1777 to 1880.  Gutjahr reveals insights into the status of the Bible in America from the time of the Revolutionary War unto the end of the nineteenth century covering a period of a little more than one hundred years.  In the Preface to the book, he identifies some of the reasons for the diminishing influence of the Bible in America.  Consider the following quote: “As the nineteenth century unfolded, radical changes in printing technology, educational practices, reading tastes, transportation networks, labor relations, demographics, political institutions, and religious traditions combined to erode the Bible’s “classic preeminence” (2).  Gutjahr goes on to say, “This study argues that the reasons for the diminishing role of the Bible in American print culture are largely founded and revealed in the evolving content and packaging of the Holy Scriptures.  The Bible’s myriad mutations played an enormous, and hitherto almost entirely ignored, role in determining the Bible’s place in American hearts and minds” (3).  By 1880, nearly two thousand different editions of the Bible were available to Americans (3).  The multiplication of the Bible in America was designed to keep it the most read, most revered book, but it may have had just the opposite effect.  It divided loyalties between various versions and texts which caused competition, confusion and disillusionment with the “unchangeable” nature of the Bible.  Gutjahr mentions the impact of higher criticism and textual criticism on the translation and multiplication of the versions of the Bible.  These two influences changed the nature of the Bible from the view that the Bible was a divine document to the view that it was both a human and divine document (2).  Higher critics attempted to separate the divine from the human.  Textual critics changed the basic Greek text from which the English translations were formed.  The result was the loss of a single unifying Bible that helped define American culture.  Gutjahr also mentions the influence of men like Thomas Paine who attacked the Bible.  Paine’s works were very popular in America and helped erode confidence in the Bible.  Paine represents the influence of secular humanism in America.  The role of the Bible in American culture changed and diminished.  Today, the Bible is no longer the basis for values and morals in American culture.  The Bible has been marginalized and excluded from the public sphere and relegated primarily to individual homes and churches.  The Bible has become one book among many instead of The Book.  I have written a review of Gutjahr’s book and placed it on my Book Reviews page.  Please take the time to read it and tell others about it.

So, you want to get away from it all!  You are tired of Covid-19 restrictions and need a vacation where you don’t have to worry about contracting the virus.  I’ve got the perfect spot for you.  It is Point Nemo located in the Pacific Ocean.  This place is 1671 miles away from Easter Island which is the closest inhabited land.  It would take 15 days, 10 hours, and 37 minutes to get to Easter Island from Point Nemo.  But, the closest humans to you would actually be on the space station located 258 miles above the earth.  Now, that is truly getting away from it all.
Does God want you to live in isolation?  In Romans 14:7-8, Paul writes, “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”
God Created Us
God is a person and He created us in His image (Gen. 1:26-27).  We also have personhood and can live in relationship with God and with one another.  This fact is just one of the reasons that the one, true, and living God is unique.  God desires to live in covenant and spiritual relationship with the men and women whom He created.  God did not create us for isolation, but for fellowship.
Sin Separates Us From God
Isaiah specifies the problem between Israel and God. “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).  Sin causes a breach in relationship with God.  It did in Isaiah’s day and it does for us.
Our Redemption Through Christ Secures Fellowship With God                                                            However, through Jesus Christ, we can be reconciled to God (II Cor. 5:17-21).  Spiritual union with Christ is possible through obedience to the gospel of Christ.  When we are baptized into Christ, we become one with Him and spiritually united with Him (Gal. 3:26,27; Rom. 6:3-4).  Our sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38).  We become a new creature (II Cor. 5:17).  Our obedience to the gospel is our acceptance of the terms and conditions that God has given in the New Testament for remission of sins.  Through the new birth, we become new creatures in order to walk in newness of life.  We become the children of God.  We sustain a new relationship with God and have fellowship with Him, Christ and the Holy Spirit (I John 1:3; II Cor. 13:14).  Our redemption through Christ takes away the barrier caused by sin and opens up a new opportunity for fellowship with God.  God desires that we live in spiritual fellowship with Him rather than isolation from Him.
Fellowship With Other Christians
In Christ, we live in spiritual relationship with all of those of like precious faith.  Our redemption binds us to God and to one another.  We have responsibilities to God and to each other.  We have fellowship one with another (I John 1:7-9).  These responsibilities negate living in isolation.  “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (I Cor. 12:13).  The spiritual body of Christ is the kingdom of God.  In the kingdom of God, disciples of Christ (Christians) are to love one another (John 13:34); bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2); do good for one another (Gal. 6:10); forgive one another, be tenderhearted and be kind one to another (Eph. 4:32); exhort one another (Heb. 10:25); and worship and serve God together (I Cor. 14:23; I Cor. 16:1-2; Heb. 10:25-26).
God created us with the capacity to live in relationship with Him.  Christ redeemed us so that we could enjoy fellowship with God and all of those who share in the salvation we have in Him.  The antidote to isolation is fellowship.  In Christ, no man lives to himself and no man dies to himself.  We belong to the Lord.  We belong to God’s spiritual family.  This is an incredibly comforting reality for those who love the Lord.

Sin hardens the hearts of men!  “But exhort one another daily, while it is called to day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13).  The hard hearted do not mourn their sins or the sins of others.  Instead, they are arrogant, prideful, and rebellious.  Paul describes their obstinacy in Romans 1:32, “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death,  not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”
Contrast this heart condition with the hearts of the righteous.  Two examples will illustrate the difference.  The first is Jeremiah, the weeping prophet.  In Jeremiah 9:1 he writes, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!”  Jeremiah lamented the apostasy of God’s people who had forsaken the LORD for idols.  He knew the impending destruction that would befall them because of their sin (Jeremiah 8:18-22).  The second is Jesus.  Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stoneth them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”  Jesus foretold the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24.  In Luke 19:41, Luke writes, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it” (Luke 19:42-44).  Matthew Henry said, “The sins of sinners are the sorrows of the saints.”
David in Psalm 119:136, weeps for the sins of others.  “Rivers of waters run down my eyes, because they keep not thy law.”
The Source of This Mourning
The source of this mourning is the sin of the sinner.  Nothing affected David’s heart more than the dishonoring of God’s law whose glory shines through His word and His judgments.  When God’s law is dishonored, God is dishonored.  A godly man is deeply moved by the dishonoring words and deeds of the unrighteous.  Another source of these tears is the compassion of the righteous.  The sins of others are the sorrows of the saints!  The righteous understand the fierceness of the wrath of God.  They can see and predict the doom of the ungodly.
The Nature of This Mourning
First, let us note what this mourning is not.  It is not apathy.  Apathy is disinterest, lack of concern.  The righteous are not indifferent to the rampant sin of the world.  John declares that the whole world lies in darkness (I John 5:19).  This causes deep grief and is unsettling to every righteous person.  It is not a proud setting off of their own goodness or a holier than thou attitude.  It is not derision or mockery.  It is not bitterness or anger.  It is not vindictiveness or revenge.  It is sorrow of the soul that produces rivers of tears.
Second, it is an act more useful to make us more careful of our own souls.  The righteous understand the peril that sin brings to the soul.  Mourning the sins of others makes us more careful of our own steps lest we fall into the condemnation of the LORD.
Third, It is a barrier to temptation.  The soul cannot bring itself to do what it legitimately mourns in others.  The righteous do not envy the ungodly.  Rather, they weep for them.  The righteous have a true insight into the spiritual consequences of sin. That reality molds the conscience and provides a barrier to sin.
Fourth, it is the height of compassion that sees the appalling spectacle of a world of people apostatized from God.  The shear numbers are staggering when you consider that more than 7.5 billion people inhabit the planet.  Only a small percentage have found the one, true, and living God (Matt. 7:13-14).
Fifth, It is a reflection of a great and intense love for the precepts, ways, and judgments of God.  David affirmed, “O, how love I thy law!  It is my mediation all the day” (Psa. 119:97).  A lack of response to the sins of others may betray a distance between ourselves and God.  Part of the slow and steady compromise with sin involves a lack of passion and devotion to God.  Jesus observed, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12).  Love dies where sin has free course in the hearts of men.  The saints of God are not immune to this malady of the soul.  When we love God and His Word, our sorrow is greatly increased when people trample Him and it under foot.
Sixth, It is the realization of the horror of horrors.  Jesus said, “Except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).  To die outside of God’s mercy is the greatest calamity that could befall a human life.  When we realize that a precious soul is doomed to eternal punishment–it is a cause for deep sorrow and rivers of tears.
Seventh, It is grief–abundant sorrow–shown when the greatest love goes unrequited.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). When God’s love for the world is rebuffed and rejected it is cause for deep sorrow.  When anyone turns away from God’s love, he/she is destined to face God’s wrath!
The Effect of This Mourning
This mourning serves to warn the unrighteous.  When holy men weep, the world should ask, “What’s wrong?”  This mourning serves to instruct the ungodly.  The righteous exemplify godly sorrow.  Godly sorrow is sorrow that is generated in the human heart that understands its transgression against God, that fears the wrath of God, and is genuinely grieved by sin and its consequences.  The righteous teach the sinner the pathway to the heart of God involves a river of tears (II Cor. 7:10-11).  This mourning serves to invite the ungodly to seek a remedy for sin.  The solution to this type of mourning is the joy that comes through salvation.  Godly sorrow leads to repentance which in turn leads to salvation.  Those saved from their sins rejoice (Acts 8:39; 16:34).  The righteous rejoice (Luke 15).  Heaven rejoices (Luke 15:10).
Where Do We Begin?
David mourned his own sins.  “I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears: (Psa. 6:6).  He cried for mercy, ‘Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed:” (Psa. 6:2).  Joy returns when sin is forgiven and the conscience is cleared and cleansed.  “For the LORD will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies” (Lamentations 3:31-32).  “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psa. 126:5).

What direction are you taking in the New Year?  Where are you headed?  Who are you going to follow to get there?  Who has the ability to give your life ultimate meaning and purpose?  Jesus asked His disciples a question that was answered with a question.  Jesus asked, “Will ye also go away?”  Jesus asks three hundred and seven questions in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  There are approximately nine hundred eighty questions asked in the Greek New Testament.  Jesus uses questions extensively when teaching others.  Questions provoke thought, are sometimes very personal and generally require an answer.  Our own priorities and pursuits are revealed in an exploration of the context of these questions.
The Question
Jesus asked, “Will ye also go away?”  The “ye” in this question refers to the apostles.  The question probes the level of their commitment to the Lord.  Others, primarily unbelievers, had abandoned following Jesus.  Jesus said some difficult things and they could not or did not accept them.  Jesus told them that they had to “eat His flesh and drink His blood.”  They misunderstood Jesus words.  Jesus did not mean this literally.  He was speaking metaphorically.  He was speaking of fully embracing His true identity and accepting His teaching for their lives.  In John 6:35, Jesus stated that He was the bread of life.  How do we “partake” of this bread?  By believing on Jesus and relying upon Him for spiritual life based upon His word.  In John 6:63, Jesus states, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”  Those who forsook Jesus, failed to meet the test of discipleship.  They would not follow Jesus all the way.  Now, Jesus wants to know if His disciples are fully committed to following Him all the way.  So, He asked this probing and very personal question.  Each of us should consider this question personally.  Will we follow Jesus anywhere and everywhere He leads us?
The Answer
Peter (speaking, no doubt, for the rest of the apostles) said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”   If we are not following Jesus, then, who?  There were other options for the disciples.  They could follow Moses in which they would surrender the efficacy of the atoning power of the blood of Christ which was secured when He died on the cross.  Or, they could follow one of the prophets.  Except, the Old Testament prophets pointed to Christ (Deuteronomy 18:18; Isa. 7:14, 9:6, 53).  They could follow their own lusts, or some of the philosophers of their day (Paul encountered Epicureans and Stoics in Acts 17 on Mars Hill), or perhaps the Roman Emperor.  All of these are rejected by Peter.  Peter declares, ONLY YOU.  “Thou hast the words of eternal life.  Only the words of Jesus have the power to produce spiritual life and eternal life.  A person becomes a Christian by being begotten by the word of truth (I Peter 1:21-25).  Peter writes, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever.”  The word of God is the gospel of Christ.  Jesus wanted to know the level of their commitment to Him.  Unbelievers forsook Jesus.  Did the apostles believe?  Peter responds, “…we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” Faith based upon truth produces conviction.  These convictions are a solid foundation upon which to build a meaningful life.  We can live by these convictions and we can die by them.  Thou art the Christ (the Messiah and so the savior of the world) and the Son of God (deity, the Second Person of the godhead).  The apostles’ faith was deeply grounded in two immutable truths that secured their redemption and hope.
The Resolution
Any question Jesus asked must be resolved.  Truth leads to absolute knowledge and removes all doubt.  It produces resolve.  Only you–resolves who we will listen to and who we will follow.  Follow indicates relationship and resolves meaning and purpose.  Faith resolves identity.  We believe and are sure.  Believers live by faith.  Eternal life resolves the future.  Christians know where they are headed and how to get there.  At the brink of a New Year, we would be wise to consider Jesus’ question for ourselves.  Resolving to follow Jesus gives us meaning, purpose, identity and destiny.