As He Walked Along
Mark 2:14 - More Like Jesus
Word of the week: Following Jesus isn’t about religion. It’s about learning to live a whole new way.
As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
- Mark 2:14
MINI-MESSAGE
Earlier, we talked about how the goal of Christianity isn’t just gaining knowledge.
In the same way, it’s not about just changing behavior.
Becoming an apprentice to Jesus isn’t about “religion” or agreeing to follow a bunch of rules.
It’s about finding a better way to live.
Mark’s simple phrase, “as he walked along,” shows what this is really about. Jesus doesn’t say, “get it together or leave.” He invites us to walk with him and join him in what he’s doing.
THE FIVE-MINUTE VERSION
After finishing our burgers, my sons and I got back into my truck to continue our road trip. But when I started the truck, we ran into a problem: the transmission wouldn’t shift out of park.
We were stuck!
Luckily, my wife was about 20 minutes behind us in her minivan, so we weren’t stranded for long. I called our insurance company to arrange for a tow truck. When my wife arrived, we were back on our way.
Problem solved—or so I thought.
Later, the tow man called me with some helpful advice.
He said, “Listen, man, don’t let a repair shop tell you that the transmission is bad and charge you thousands of dollars. It’s just a solenoid issue. Easy fix.”
Grateful for his advice, I jumped on YouTube to learn more. Sure enough, I found a video from a mechanic in Alaska who explained the exact problem and how to fix it with a $30 part. He popped off the center console, took out a small white box, and replaced the circuit board inside. Armed with this knowledge, I ordered the part.
The next day, my son and I tackled the repair. To be clear, you don’t just “pop off” the center console.
But after an hour, we’d fixed it! Problem solved!
Is there anything more genius than fixing your own car with a YouTube video?
This experience got me thinking about how much learning has changed in the digital age. When I was growing up, learning was mostly done through books or in-person demonstrations. Now, thanks to platforms like YouTube, a mechanic in Alaska can teach me how to fix my truck in three sixty minutes, even though we’ve never met. For a moment, that mechanic became my virtual mentor, and I became his apprentice.
This idea of apprenticeship ties into something deeper—what it means to follow Jesus. We often think discipleship begins with knowing the right things or fixing our behavior. But the real beginning is just this: walking with Jesus.
When Jesus saw Levi, He didn’t demand repentance or preparation. He simply said, “Follow me.” And Levi got up and followed—even though he could have had no idea what would come next.
Following Jesus isn’t about memorizing rules or simply changing behavior. It’s about discovering a new way of living, much like how I learned to fix my truck.
In Mark’s gospel, there’s a phrase, “as he walked along,” that captures this idea perfectly.
Jesus doesn’t say, “get it right or you’re out.” Instead, he invites us to walk with him and learn as we go. Christianity isn’t just a set of rules to follow or reject. It is unique in that it’s centered on a person—Jesus—who invites us to walk with him and be transformed from the inside out.
Apprenticeship will become a major theme of More Like Jesus as we progress deeper into Mark’s story. Walking is a beautiful metaphor for the journey of discipleship. It tells us that things don’t happen when you’re sitting on your tail. They happen along the way.
In other words, if you’re struggling with something, just keep moving.
And if you’re starting your journey, that’s great! Every journey begins with a first step, and if you’re reading this, you’ve already taken one.
But I want to be clear: the goal isn’t to fix ourselves. It’s to walk with Jesus—trusting that the journey shapes us in ways we’ll only understand in hindsight.
Keep reading, and we will learn how following actually works.
PRAY
Lord, thank you for people who have taught me through the years. Help me to understand the difference between just following rules and the better way of learning to follow you as you walk along. Amen.
LIVE IT
Religion: Think back on your personal history of religion. What rules and regulations did you hear from parents or other figures in your life?
Two Columns: Make a simple chart with two columns. On the left, write how rules have been helpful. On the right, write how they have been harmful to your understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.
Following: When you think about “following Jesus,” what do you picture?
