Are you ready to follow Jesus no matter the cost?
I gotta admit, I find the Old Testament tough to read sometimes, especially the prophets.
It’s much easier to read through the New Testament and put yourself in the disciples’ shoes or to imagine hearing Jesus speak the Sermon on the Mount. Beautiful movies and TV series, such as The Chosen, have made the New Testament even more relatable.
But coming back to the Old Testament, I’ve discovered that even there, among the sometimes seemingly absurd accounts of kings and prophets, Jesus can be found on those pages.
Let’s look today at two of the possibly most eccentric prophets in the Bible: Elijah and Elisha.
Elijah’s entire prophetic ministry evolved around confronting evil and idolatry, highlighted, for example, by his accusations against King Ahad for abandoning God and serving Baal (1 Kings 18:18), the battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, resulting in the killing of 450 Baal-prophets (1 Kings 18:22-40) and his prophecy against the wicked queen Jezebel (1 Kings 21:23-26).
God Himself tells Elijah to anoint Elisha as his successor (1 Kings 19:16). Elisha leaves everything behind– burns his plough and sacrifices his oxen, possibly his only source of income–to follow Elijah, much like the disciples who left their jobs as fishermen to follow Jesus.
Just before Elijah is about to be taken up to heaven, he asks Elisha if he has any final requests. Elisha replied: “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit” (2 Kings 2:9 NIV).
Elijah says he’ll receive it on one condition: he has to see the moment Elijah is taken up to heaven. I’m sure Elisha would not have lost his master out of sight for even a moment from then on! 👀 And that is how it occurs: Elisha witnessed Elijah’s rapture and continues his ministry on earth.
Jesus also came to the earth to conquer evil, except He did it once and for all (1 John 3:8), He calls us to follow Him no matter the cost (Luke 14:27), He has given us His Spirit (John 14:15-17) and we are to keep our eyes on Him at all times (Hebrews 12:2).
You and I get to be Jesus’ disciples just as Elisha was Elijah’s disciple. Are you ready?
