Go Ahead, Follow Jesus...

I spoke to a really good friend of mine yesterday who encourages me to keep blogging, so here I am again ...

I've been reading through the gospel of Mark in my devotions and came to a familiar passage a couple of days ago. In Mark 14.12-16, Jesus tells his disciples to "go ahead" of him to Jerusalem to make arrangements for the upcoming Passover supper. (The Passover was sacred to Jews, reminding them of how God had saved the Israelites from death in Egypt.)  Jesus sent his disciples into the city to make the preparations, but the truth is ... He had already "gone ahead" of them! Let me explain.

Jesus said, "As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you.  Follow him.  At the house he enters, say to the owner, 'The Teacher asks, Where is the guest room where I can eat the passover meal with my disciples?'  He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up.  That is the place; go ahead and prepare our supper there."   So the two disciples went on ahead into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover supper there. (NLT)

What caught my eye?  Jesus told his disciples to "go and do", but He had already "gone and done"  ahead of them!  Unbeknownst to them, Jesus had made sure everything was ready by the time they got to the city.  He made sure they could accomplish their mission; all they had to do was "go".  Scripture doesn't give details ... but surely the Spirit of God had moved in the heart of the owner of the house to get the room ready long before the disciples showed up.  (That same Spirit has moved in my own heart ... sometimes at the commissary as I'm grocery shopping!  I sense I need to pick up a frozen lasagna, only to have unexpected dinner guests a couple of days later.)  The point is that Jesus told them to go, and He made sure they were successful by going before them.  This is what it means to follow Christ ... going where He calls us to go, trusting that He is going ahead of us!

So, go ahead ... follow Jesus!