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Saturday, January 23 2010
The English word "follow" (which has the same root as folk, meaning people) means to move in the same direction. The Greek word of the Holy Scriptures that is translated as "follow" is pronounced ack-kol-oo-theh-oh. It means on the road with, or on the way with (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). "Way" means road, as in highway, freeway.
It was from that literal meaning of follow that The Messiah identified Himself as "The Way" to God's Salvation.
"14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6 KJV)
"There followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee"
John the Baptist was given to prepare that Way for Christ's first-coming ministry to begin (see also How Long Was John's Ministry?).
"3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." (Matthew 3:1-3 KJV)
The ministry of the Christ began when John's ministry, and life (see The Other Miraculous Birth) was fulfilled. The twelve were the first called to follow Him.
"4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand [see The Gospel of The Kingdom of God].4:18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 4:20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
4:21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 4:22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him." (Matthew 4:17-22 KJV)
"9:9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him." (Matthew 9:9 KJV)
Great multitudes then followed Him (ironically, it was His popularity that caused the jealous religious authorities of that time to kill Him).
"4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.4:25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan." (Matthew 4:23-25 KJV)
Following Christ isn't as much a matter of giving up everything now, as it is gaining everything later.
"16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? [see Where Is Your Soul?]16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works" [see When Will You Be Judged? and Could Christ Return Tonight?] (Matthew 16:24-27 KJV)
Fact Finder: Who is the head of the true Christian Church?
See The Head Of The Body
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This Day In History, January 23
1002: Otto III, German emperor, died at age 22 (see Emperors and Popes)
1265: The first parliament of England convened.
1516: Spanish King Ferdinand II died. Charles V succeeded him.
1556: Over 800,000 people died in an earthquake in China. It remains the most deadly earthquake on record (see also Earthquake!).
1570: The Earl of Moray, James Stewart, was assassinated.
1579: The Dutch Republic was formed with the signing of the Union of Utrecht.
1622: William Baffin died at age 38. The British explorer's calculation of longitude at sea by using observations of the moon's position was the first documented.
1668: The military Alliance of The Hague, also known as the Triple Alliance, was signed by Britain, Sweden and Holland.
1719: The Principality of Liechtenstein was created as a fief the Holy Roman Empire.
1793: Prussia (Germany) and Russia declared the second partition of Poland.
1812: The great New Madrid earthquake struck in Missouri. It registered 7.8 on the Richter Scale.
1943: During the Second World War, Tripoli, Libya was captured by British forces under Field Marshal Montgomery.
1943: In Casablanca, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt reached the decision to invade Italy prior to action in northwestern Europe.
1950: Jerusalem was declared the official capital of the modern state of Israel.
1960: The U.S. Navy bathyscaphe Triste reached to a record 35,810 feet (6.7 miles) in the Pacific Ocean.
1968: North Korea captured the U.S. Navy ship Pueblo. The crew was released later that year, but the ship remains in North Korea.
