Daily Devotional | Following Jesus

Who are you following? The great American preacher Gardner Taylor encouraged his listeners: “If you are in Jesus Christ, you are on the right road. Don’t let anybody turn you around. I am as certain as I stand here that there is no other way to life, life radiant, life glorious, life triumphant, except in Jesus Christ...if you are in Christ, you’re on the right road.”

Following in Christ’s footsteps is always the right choice (v. 21). But like the original disciples, we may be tempted to think following Him will lead us to places of privilege and power. Not so! Peter targeted that assumption by describing how Christ lived: He never sinned. Neither deceit nor lying was ever found in His mouth (v. 22). When insulted, He didn’t retaliate. When suffering, He didn’t respond with threats, even though He could easily have taken revenge on His persecutors. Instead, He entrusted Himself to His Father’s love and care (v. 23). For Christians who were likely starting to be persecuted by Nero at this time, and for slaves with harsh masters, it was particularly important to trust God for justice.

Following in Christ’s steps means pursuing holiness and enduring suffering. Why should we do these things? Why did Christ? For the sake of our redemption and the gospel (v. 24; Mark 8:34–35). Because He “bore our sins in his body on the cross,” we are to die to sin and live for righteousness. This had always been God’s plan, as we can also see from the allusions to Isaiah 53 in today’s passage. Instead of being lost sheep trying to run our own lives, we live by faith in our Good Shepherd (v. 25).

>> We don’t hear the word “meekness” much these days. Christ’s attitude in verse 23 demonstrates this virtue. Learn more by looking up this word in a Bible concordance or the search function of an online Bible. What does it mean to be meek?