TRUE FOLLOWERS OF THE MESSIAH (4)

When speaking or thinking about the implications of being followers of the Messiah we sometimes need to "read between the lines" in order not to miss anything of what Messiah had taught his disciples. If He wanted them to take notice only of the major things that He had in mind for them, He would not have spent more than three years to prepare them for being true and worthy followers. There were many (seemingly) smaller aspects, aspects that had to do with attitude and integrity and character and deeper knowledge, that Messiah focussed upon while He spent time with his disciples. It is extremely important that all those who wish to become true followers of the Messiah in these times, study Scriptures thoroughly, so that they may discover each one of these qualities and make them part and parcel of their outfit as believers. To conclude our study on this subject, let us look at some of the "lesser known" characteristics of a true follower of the Messiah.

  1. The followers of Messiah know how to distinguish between less important and more important commandments of the Word of Yahweh.
    2.

    Mat 12:1-7 At that time Y'shua went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His taught ones were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain, to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your taught ones are doing what is not right to do on the Sabbath!" But He said to them, "Have you not read what Dawid did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he went into the House of Elohim and ate the showbread which was not right for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or did you not read in the Torah that on the Sabbath the priests in the Set-apart Place profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the Set-apart Place. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion and not offering,’ you would not have condemned the blameless.

  2. The followers of Messiah have compassion towards those among whom they work, but also towards the needy at large.
    3.

    Mat 15:32 And Y'shua, having called His taught ones near, said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have now continued with Me three days and do not have whatever to eat. And I do not wish to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

    Mat 19:20-21 The young man said to Him, "All these I have watched over from my youth, what do I still lack?" Y'shua said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me."

  3. The followers of Messiah have clarity in their own minds about the true identity of the One they have chosen to follow.
    4.

    Mat 16:13-17 Now when Y'shua came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His taught ones, saying, "Who do men say the Son of Adam is?" And they said, "Some say Yochanan the Immerser, and others Eliyahu, and others Yirmeyahu or one of the prophets." He said to them, "And you, who do you say I am?" And Shim’on Kepha answering, said, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim." And Y'shua answering, said to him, "Blessed are you, Shim’on Bar-Yonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father in the heavens.

  4. The followers of Messiah take appropriate action when some of their fellow followers are out of line.
    5.

    Mat 18:15-22 And if your brother sins against you, go and reprove him, between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word might be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, say it to the assembly. And if he refuses even to hear the assembly, let him be to you like a gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be having been bound in heaven, and whatever you loosen on earth shall be having been loosened in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning any matter that they ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in the heavens. For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I am in their midst. Then Kepha came to Him and said, "Master, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Y'shua said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

  5. The followers of Messiah do not necessarily all follow together
    6.

    Mar 9:38-40 And Yochanan said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone, who does not follow us, casting out demons in Your Name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us." And Y'shua said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My Name is able to readily speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is for us."

  6. The followers of Messiah are eager to learn from one another but mindful of the leaven of deception.
    7.

    Mat 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your beings. For My yoke is gentle and My burden is light.

    Joh 6:44-45 "No one is able to come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. And I shall raise him up in the last day. It has been written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by Yahweh.’ Everyone, then, who has heard from the Father, and learned, comes to Me.

    Mat 16:6 And Y'shua said to them, "Mind! And beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."

  7. The followers of Messiah are never to be overly convinced of their own righteousness.

Luk 18:9-10 And He also spoke this parable to some who relied on themselves that they were righteous, and looking down on others: "Two men went up to the Set-apart Place to pray – the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector."