In this week’s Gospel, Jesus tells Peter something important: “Follow me.” These words hold the key to understanding the relationship between Jesus and His followers. When Jesus began His mission, He called people to come with Him. He asked Simon and Andrew to leave their fishing nets and follow Him. This is what being a disciple means: going after Jesus and learning from Him.
Imagine Jesus as a teacher leading the way, and His disciples as students following behind. But sometimes, like Peter, we might want to lead instead of following. We want to tell Jesus what to do. When this happens, we’re not acting like disciples anymore. Jesus reminds us that being His disciple means following Him, not vice versa.
When we try to lead Jesus, it’s like putting obstacles in His path. It’s like being a roadblock. Jesus once called Peter “Satan” because Peter was acting like an obstacle. This is a strong way of saying that we should let Jesus guide us and not try to guide Him.
Jesus’ way of thinking is different from ours. Sometimes, we want things that God might not want for us. Our thoughts are not always the same as God’s thoughts. To be true followers of Jesus, we need to let go of our own ideas and let God’s wisdom guide us.
In simple terms, this Gospel teaches us to be good followers of Jesus. We should let Him lead us, trust His wisdom, and not try to put our ideas before His plans. Being a disciple means walking behind Jesus, learning from Him, and following His way.
