47 Bible Verses about Commitment, to Jesus Christ

And He said to them, "Come with me, and I will make you fishermen for people."

And Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishermen for people."

As Jesus moved on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the toll booth [i.e., collecting taxes]. He said to him, "Become my follower." And he got up and followed Him.

And as He walked along He saw Levi [i.e., the same person as Matthew. See Matt. 9:9], the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the toll booth [i.e., collecting taxes]. He said to him, "Become my follower." And he got up and followed Him.

Then after these things happened, Jesus went out [i.e., probably walking along a street] and saw a publican [Note: This was a person with a bad reputation for dishonest tax collecting activities] named Matthew [i.e., the same as Levi. See Mark 2:14] sitting at the toll booth [collecting taxes] and said, "Become my follower."

Jesus replied, "If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; then become my follower and you will have treasure in heaven." But when the young man heard these words, he went away saddened, for he had many possessions.

[Then] on the next day He [i.e., Jesus, but some think it refers to Peter or Andrew] decided to travel into Galilee, [and there] He found Philip. Jesus said to Philip, "Become my follower."

Now Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death Peter would experience in honoring God. [Note: Some see the "stretching out your hands," verse 18, as a reference to crucifixion]. And after saying this, Jesus said to him, "Be my follower."

May God [who is the source] of steadfastness and encouragement, give you [a sense of] like-mindedness among yourselves, in harmony with [the example of] Christ Jesus,

Now this is what I mean: Each of you is saying, "I am a follower of Paul," and another "I am a follower of Apollos," and another "I am a follower of Cephas [i.e., Peter]," and another "I am a follower of Christ."

The person who loves his father and mother more than me does not deserve me [i.e., to be my disciple]. And the person who loves his son or daughter more than me does not deserve me [i.e., to be my disciple]. And the person who does not accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities with all their difficulties] and become my follower does not deserve me.

"If anyone comes to me [i.e., to be my disciple], and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters and, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. [And] whoever does not carry his own cross [i.e., his responsibilities with all their difficulties] and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny self [i.e., of always having its own way] and lift up his cross [of responsibility] and [then he can] become my follower.

And He called the crowd to Him, along with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny himself [i.e., of always having his own way] and accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities, with all their difficulties] and then he can become my follower.

Then He said to everyone, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny self [i.e., of always having its own way] and accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities, with all their difficulties] everyday, and [then he can] become my follower.

The person who loves his [earthly] life will [eventually] lose it [forever], but the person who hates his life in this world will retain never ending life. If any person wants to serve me, he should become my follower; and wherever I am, my servant will be there also. If any person serves me, the Father will honor him.

But Jesus answered him, "Become my follower, and let the [spiritually] dead bury them" [i.e., let a person's relatives care for their own family members until they die].

The person who finds [everything to satisfy him in] this life [here on earth] will lose [never ending life]. But the person who [is willing to] lose [the comforts and security of] this life [here on earth] for my sake [i.e., in loyal service to me] will find it [i.e., never ending life]. [See Mark 10:29-30]

For whoever would [try to] save his life [i.e., by neglecting spiritual things] will lose it [i.e., miss out on the blessings of God]. But whoever [is willing] to lose his life [i.e., in commitment to God's service] for my sake and [the work of] the Gospel's sake, will save it [i.e., obtain both temporal and spiritual blessings].

Whatever person tries to gain [everything to satisfy him in] life [here on earth] will lose it [i.e., never ending life]. But whatever person [is willing to] lose [the comforts and security of] his life [here on earth] will preserve it [for eternity].

Jesus replied, "If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; then become my follower and you will have treasure in heaven."

And Jesus looked at him, and filled with love, said to him, "There is one thing you [still] lack. Go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; become my follower, then you will have treasure in heaven."

When Jesus heard this He said to him, " [There is] one thing you still lack. Sell all your possessions and distribute [the money] to poor people; become my follower, [then] you will have treasure in heaven."

For which one of you who wants to build a [lookout] tower will not first sit down and calculate its cost, to see whether he has enough [money and materiel] to complete it? For if he does not, maybe after he has laid the foundation and [then] is not able to complete [the tower], everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build [a tower] but was not able to finish it.'read more.
Or what king, planning to engage another king in war, will not first sit down and evaluate whether he will be able, with ten thousand [soldiers], to defeat someone who attacks him with twenty thousand [soldiers]? Or maybe, while the enemy is still a long way off, he will send representatives to ask for peace terms. So therefore, every one of you who does not say 'goodbye' to everything he owns, cannot be my disciple.

[After all], this is what you were called to do, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps.

And [then] He said to another person, "Become my follower." But he replied, "Lord, allow me to go and bury my father first."

Then another person said [to Jesus], "Lord, I will become your follower, but first let me say goodbye to my family." [Note: There was the likelihood that family members might try to dissuade him from his commitment to follow the Lord].

And a large crowd followed Him because they had seen the [miraculous] signs He had performed on sick people.

Upon [hearing] this, many of Jesus' disciples turned back and refused to accompany Him anymore. [Note: They deserted Jesus physically as well as spiritually].

They immediately left their nets and went with Him.

So, they left their nets immediately and became His followers.

and immediately they left their boat and their father and went with Him.

Immediately He called them [to become His followers] and they left their father, Zebedee, and went along with Him.

So, Matthew gave up everything, got up and followed Jesus.

One of the two men who had listened to John and had become a follower of Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

However, even many [Jewish] leaders believed in Him, but did not admit it, for fear of being expelled from the synagogue.

Now there was a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews, named Nicodemus. This man went to Jesus one night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we [i.e., speaking of himself and other Jewish leaders] know that you are a Teacher sent from God, for no one could perform these [miraculous] signs that you are doing unless God were with Him."

The person who knows [what] my commandments [are] and obeys them is the one who [truly] loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.

So then, my dear ones, just as you people were always obedient [to my teaching] when I was there with you, so now, in my absence [also], be [obedient] all the more. [Continue to] complete your own salvation [i.e., by living faithfully to the end. See Rom. 13:11] with fear and trembling [i.e., with a reverent and submissive spirit],

Then Jesus said to those Jews who had believed [in Him], "If you people continue [obeying] my message, then you are truly my disciples.

If you love me, you will obey my commandments.

You people should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

If anyone [there] does not love the Lord, he deserves to be cut off from God. O Lord, come [back soon].

Slaves, you should obey those who are your earthly masters, out of reverence and eagerness to please them, with a sincere heart, as you would [obey] Christ. Do not serve them only when you are being watched, just to gain their approval, but as slaves of Christ, doing what God wants from your heart.

And here is how we can be assured that we know Jesus [i.e., that we are saved]: [It is] by obeying what He commands us.

and we can be assured of receiving from God whatever we ask Him for, because we are obeying His commands [i.e., especially the one about loving others] and are practicing what is pleasing to Him. And this is His commandment: We should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ [i.e., the person of Christ], and love one another, just He has commanded us to do. And God lives in the heart of the person who [continually] obeys His commands, and he lives in [fellowship with] God. And here is [another] way we know that God lives in our hearts: It is by [means of] the Holy Spirit, whom God gave to us. [See Rom. 8:9, 11; James 4:5; I Cor. 6:19].

These people are the ones who did not practice sexual immorality with women, for they were virgins [Note: This probably has reference to people who avoided idolatry]. These are people who followed the Lamb wherever He went. They were purchased from among mankind to be the firstfruits [devoted] to God and to the Lamb.