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Follow Me

Follow Me

How to do what Jesus said. A manual for following him: his instructions in his own words, and practical ways to live them today. No rituals, no creeds, and no one's rules but his.

100 instructions in twelve areas of life, each with his words, what they mean, and ways to do them this week
The Way: all 100 instructions at a glance, one line each
"When you're…": find what he said about what you are facing, from anger to grief to money
His words in full: all 173 passages from the four Gospels, numbered so you can always find your place

For anyone. You don't need to join anything or call yourself anything to do what he said.

The 100 instructions

Twelve areas of life. Open one to see what he said to do.

1–9Toward GodHe said the first commandment is to love God with everything you are. You can start here wherever you stand, sure of God or not.
  1. 1Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
  2. 2Turn around, and believe the good news.
  3. 3Seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness.
  4. 4Worship God, and serve him only.
  5. 5Worship in spirit and in truth, not in one special place.
  6. 6Do not put God to the test.
  7. 7Have faith in God, even faith as small as a mustard seed.
  8. 8Receive the Kingdom like a little child.
  9. 9Let your light shine, so people see your good works and thank your Father.
10–17Toward othersHe said the whole law hangs on two commands, and the second is about the people around you. These are the everyday ones.
  1. 10Love your neighbor as yourself.
  2. 11Treat others the way you want them to treat you.
  3. 12Love one another as I have loved you.
  4. 13Do not judge, and do not condemn.
  5. 14Take the log out of your own eye first.
  6. 15Be merciful, as your Father is merciful.
  7. 16Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.
  8. 17Put people before rules: do good, even on the day of rest.
18–24ForgivenessHe asked people to forgive without counting. Forgiving means letting go of the debt. You can do that and still keep yourself safe.
  1. 18Forgive others, and your Father will forgive you.
  2. 19Forgive, not seven times, but seventy times seven.
  3. 20Forgive from your heart, as you have been forgiven.
  4. 21When someone wrongs you, go to them privately; if they listen, forgive.
  5. 22Let the one without sin throw the first stone.
  6. 23Go, and sin no more.
  7. 24Go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."
25–32Enemies and conflictHe said more about how to treat enemies than almost anything else. None of it is about winning, and none of it asks you to stay in danger.
  1. 25Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.
  2. 26Do not strike back: turn the other cheek, and go the second mile.
  3. 27Do not nurse anger, or call anyone a fool.
  4. 28Make it right with the person you wronged before you worship.
  5. 29Settle quickly with your opponent.
  6. 30Put your sword away: all who take the sword will die by the sword.
  7. 31Do not call down fire on those who reject you.
  8. 32Where you are not welcome, shake off the dust and move on.
33–40Money and possessionsHe talked about money often and plainly. Here is what he said to do with it, including the saying most people would rather skip.
  1. 33Do not store up treasures on earth; store up treasure in heaven.
  2. 34You cannot serve both God and money.
  3. 35Watch out, and guard yourself against every kind of greed.
  4. 36Give to the one who asks, and lend expecting nothing back.
  5. 37Give in secret.
  6. 38Freely you received, so freely give.
  7. 39Be faithful in small things, and with what belongs to someone else.
  8. 40Sell what you have and give to the poor.
41–49Words and truthHe asked for plain honesty, in what you say and in how you listen. These are his instructions for both.
  1. 41Let your yes be yes and your no be no; do not swear oaths.
  2. 42Listen and understand: what comes out of you is what makes you unclean.
  3. 43Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
  4. 44Don't say one thing and do another.
  5. 45Watch out for false prophets: you will know them by their fruit.
  6. 46See that no one leads you astray.
  7. 47Pay attention to how you listen: whoever has ears, let them hear.
  8. 48Judge for yourselves what is right, and not by appearances.
  9. 49Don't throw what is holy to dogs, or your pearls to pigs.
50–57PrayerHe taught prayer as something small and private: a shut door, a few honest words, and no audience.
  1. 50When you pray, go into your room and shut the door.
  2. 51Pray simply, like this: Our Father in heaven...
  3. 52Ask, seek, knock.
  4. 53When you pray, believe that you have received it, and forgive.
  5. 54Pray always, and don't give up.
  6. 55Stay awake and pray, so you don't give in to temptation.
  7. 56When you fast, do it in secret.
  8. 57Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers.
58–66Worry and sufferingHe spoke to tired, frightened and grieving people. He did not tell them their pain was imagined. He told them they were not alone in it.
  1. 58Do not worry about your life, or about tomorrow.
  2. 59Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
  3. 60Do not be afraid; only believe.
  4. 61Don't let your heart be troubled: take courage.
  5. 62Do not fear those who can kill the body: you are worth more than many sparrows.
  6. 63Rejoice when people insult and persecute you for doing right.
  7. 64Don't worry beforehand about what to say when you are put on trial.
  8. 65Come away by yourselves and rest a while.
  9. 66Stand firm: by your endurance you will gain your lives.
67–73Power and statusHis followers kept arguing about who was greatest. He kept answering with a towel, a low seat and a child.
  1. 67Whoever wants to be great must be the servant of all.
  2. 68Take the lowest seat.
  3. 69Wash one another's feet.
  4. 70Do not seek titles: you are all brothers and sisters.
  5. 71Don't do good to be seen by others.
  6. 72When you have done all you were told, say: we have only done our duty.
  7. 73Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.
74–81The outsiderHe ate with people others avoided and told stories where the outsider was the hero. Each instruction here starts with someone who is easy to overlook.
  1. 74Go and do likewise: be a neighbor to anyone in need.
  2. 75When you give a feast, invite the poor, the disabled and the blind.
  3. 76Feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoner.
  4. 77Welcome the one who counts for least, like a little child, in my name.
  5. 78Do not despise one of these little ones.
  6. 79Go after the one who is lost.
  7. 80Don't stop someone doing good in my name just because they are not one of us.
  8. 81You give them something to eat.
82–90FamilyHe defended parents, wives and children against the people who neglected them, and he made his family wider than blood. None of these sayings asks you to stay where you are being harmed.
  1. 82Honor your father and mother, and don't use religion to get out of it.
  2. 83What God has joined together, let no one separate.
  3. 84Don't look at anyone with lust.
  4. 85Let the little children come to me; don't stop them.
  5. 86Never cause a little one to stumble.
  6. 87Here is your mother; here is your son: take care of each other.
  7. 88Whoever does God's will is my brother, sister and mother.
  8. 89Love me more than family, and more than your own life.
  9. 90Go home to your people, and tell them what God has done for you.
91–100Following him dailyHe ended his best-known sermon with a builder and a storm. Hearing his words was never the point. Doing them was.
  1. 91Follow me.
  2. 92Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.
  3. 93Hear my words and do them: build on the rock.
  4. 94Count the cost before you begin.
  5. 95Enter through the narrow gate.
  6. 96Remain in me, and in my love, and you will bear fruit.
  7. 97Stay awake and be ready.
  8. 98If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out.
  9. 99Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
  10. 100Go and make disciples, teaching them to do everything I commanded you.

His words in full

The second half of the book is every word and act of his from the four Gospels, in the order a follower needs them, with short notes on history and setting. Every passage keeps its usual Bible reference and its § number.

  1. Part 1§1–15

    The Invitation

    Jesus didn't begin with a list of beliefs. He began with an announcement and an invitation: the Kingdom of God is near, so turn around and follow me. This part gathers how he called people, and who the Gospels say he was. Start here whether you are new to him or coming back.

  2. Part 2§16–18

    The Heart of It

    Asked what mattered most, Jesus answered in two sentences, and said everything else hangs on them. This short part comes before everything else he taught, because it is the key to all of it.

  3. Part 3§19–40

    The Sermon on the Mount

    Matthew chapters 5 through 7 are Jesus' longest recorded teaching, and the fullest picture of the life he asked for. They are printed here whole and in order. Luke gives a shorter version in chapter 6, noted alongside.

  4. Part 4§41–69

    How to Live

    Jesus spoke to ordinary life: money, family, enemies, prayer, power. This part gathers what he said outside the Sermon on the Mount, arranged by subject so you can find what he said about the thing in front of you.

  5. Part 5§70–100

    How He Treated People

    What Jesus did teaches as much as what he said. Here are the people he touched, healed, ate with and defended: outcasts, women, foreigners, the sick and the grieving. The Gospels tell these stories as they happened; read them as he lived them.

  6. Part 6§101–118

    The Stories He Told

    Jesus taught in parables: short stories from farms, kitchens and family life with a turn at the end. They are grouped here by what they are about. Read each one twice: once for the story, once for the turn.

  7. Part 7§119–141

    The Hard Sayings

    Jesus could be gentle, and he could be fierce. He warned, demanded and confronted, and he saved his sharpest words for the religious. This part doesn't soften any of it. If something here unsettles you, it unsettled his first listeners too.

  8. Part 8§142–173

    His Last Days

    Everything else leads here. In his last week in Jerusalem, Jesus washed his followers' feet, shared a final meal, prayed in a garden, was arrested, tried and crucified. The Gospels say he was raised, and that his last instruction was to teach others to do what he commanded.

  9. Part 9Commentary

    What He Didn't Say

    Unlike the rest of the book, this part is commentary written for this book. Each entry says where an idea actually comes from, so you can check it, and points to the passages where he speaks to it.

Finding your way around

A Bible lets you find anything by book, chapter and verse. Follow Me keeps that and adds one simple number. Every passage is numbered straight through the book, from §1 to §173, and the number sits beside its usual reference: §19 · Matthew 5:1–12. The top corner of each page shows which numbers are on it, so you can flip straight there.

Have a normal Bible reference? The "Finding a passage" index at the back lists every Gospel reference in order, with its § number and page. Have a § number from a lesson? Turn to it.

The lessons in Back to the Center give both. When a lesson sends you to the Sermon on the Mount, it says Matthew 5–7, or §19–40 in Follow Me.

Notes, not interpretation

Each part opens with a short guide on what to watch for. Along the way, brief notes explain what a first-century listener already knew: who the Samaritans were, what a denarius bought, why a tax collector was hated, where another Gospel tells the same story differently.

The notes stick to history and setting. Where scholars disagree, they say so. What the words mean for your life is left to you.

Inside

The Way: everything he said to do
The Way: everything he said to do
An area of life opens with its instructions
An area of life opens with its instructions
An instruction: his words, in plain words, doing it
An instruction: his words, in plain words, doing it
Reading plans you can check off
Reading plans you can check off