Since Jesus came from Heaven to walk among us, Christians tend to think that walking away from anyone, or letting anyone walk away from the truth, is a failure on our part.
But Jesus walked away or let others walk away… a lot.
There are forty-one such instances in the gospels of Jesus walking away or letting someone else walk away. Sometimes Jesus walked away from others who wanted more of Him. Other times He walked away for His own refreshment and renewal or protection. The point is that Jesus didn’t let the needs, pleas, attacks, or unresponsiveness of others distract Him from the mission given to Him by His heavenly Father.
One important thing we don’t see when others walk away is Jesus giving chase. As powerful as Jesus was, as brilliant as Jesus was, as pure as Jesus was, and as surrendered to God as Jesus was, not everyone He interacted with “changed,” repented, or agreed with Him.
Sometimes to follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to walk away from others or to let them walk away from us.
Take, for instance, the story of the rich young ruler. Jesus discerned this young man’s heart and the core issue in his life — he loved money. When the earnest young man couldn’t walk away from his money, he chose to walk away from Jesus.
Matthew 19:21-22 NLT Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell a.ll your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Notice that our Lord didn’t run after him. Jesus didn’t say, “Wait! I know asking you to give 100 percent is a bit extreme; if you give away just 50 percent, I think we can make this work. I need followers! Let’s bargain!”
Jesus never appears desperate, manipulative, or controlling, as if when people didn’t agree with Him, His feelings would be hurt. He is mission-focused centered on those with real needs.
Mark 2:15-17 NLT [15] Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) [16] But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” [17] When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Jesus also demonstrates the need to sometimes “verbally” walk away when dealing with a toxic person.
Matthew 27:12-14 NLT But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded. But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.
We don’t have to argue. When a toxic person is attacking you, you don’t have to participate.
Especially when you know it won’t make any difference.
Here is something that Jesus said when talking about not judging others;
Matthew 7:6 NLT “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
It is apparent that some people have their own agendas and their agendas are personal and based on limited or erroneous information. They often have a list of talking points that they want to present. These talking points are often scripture taken out of context. Often, it’s because they want to argue. In these situations we should walk away or let them walk away. Just like Jesus refused to respond to Herod when he wanted to see Him perform some magic trick and be dazzled rather than really wanting to know Jesus as the Messiah,
Luke 23:7-9 NLT [7] When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, because Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time. [8] Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle. [9] He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer.
If someone is willing to listen, they don’t have to agree, just be willing to listen, then it's worth your time to talk with them but if it’s just going to be an argument, you probably have other things to do. That’s because someone else with a genuine spiritual need might be waiting to talk with you, and you don’t want to miss that opportunity arguing with someone that has their own agenda and really doesn't want to listen to you. That is basically what Jesus was doing with Herod. He was saying, “There is no point.” And effectively, the party was over for King Herod.
Don’t get caught up in an argument or conversation that is going nowhere. At some point you may just have to say; “The conversation is over. I’ve said everything there is to say.”
Jesus modeled how to let people go, how to walk away, and how to stay focused.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT [24] Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! [25] All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. [26] So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. [27] I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Philippians 3:12-14 NLT [12] I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. [13] No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Follow in the footsteps of Jesus by boldly walking away and finding a reliable person in whose life you can make a worthy investment.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 NLT [20] So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” [21] For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
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But Jesus walked away or let others walk away… a lot.
There are forty-one such instances in the gospels of Jesus walking away or letting someone else walk away. Sometimes Jesus walked away from others who wanted more of Him. Other times He walked away for His own refreshment and renewal or protection. The point is that Jesus didn’t let the needs, pleas, attacks, or unresponsiveness of others distract Him from the mission given to Him by His heavenly Father.
One important thing we don’t see when others walk away is Jesus giving chase. As powerful as Jesus was, as brilliant as Jesus was, as pure as Jesus was, and as surrendered to God as Jesus was, not everyone He interacted with “changed,” repented, or agreed with Him.
Sometimes to follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to walk away from others or to let them walk away from us.
Take, for instance, the story of the rich young ruler. Jesus discerned this young man’s heart and the core issue in his life — he loved money. When the earnest young man couldn’t walk away from his money, he chose to walk away from Jesus.
Matthew 19:21-22 NLT Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell a.ll your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Notice that our Lord didn’t run after him. Jesus didn’t say, “Wait! I know asking you to give 100 percent is a bit extreme; if you give away just 50 percent, I think we can make this work. I need followers! Let’s bargain!”
Jesus never appears desperate, manipulative, or controlling, as if when people didn’t agree with Him, His feelings would be hurt. He is mission-focused centered on those with real needs.
Mark 2:15-17 NLT [15] Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) [16] But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” [17] When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Jesus also demonstrates the need to sometimes “verbally” walk away when dealing with a toxic person.
Matthew 27:12-14 NLT But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded. But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.
We don’t have to argue. When a toxic person is attacking you, you don’t have to participate.
Especially when you know it won’t make any difference.
Here is something that Jesus said when talking about not judging others;
Matthew 7:6 NLT “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
It is apparent that some people have their own agendas and their agendas are personal and based on limited or erroneous information. They often have a list of talking points that they want to present. These talking points are often scripture taken out of context. Often, it’s because they want to argue. In these situations we should walk away or let them walk away. Just like Jesus refused to respond to Herod when he wanted to see Him perform some magic trick and be dazzled rather than really wanting to know Jesus as the Messiah,
Luke 23:7-9 NLT [7] When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, because Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time. [8] Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle. [9] He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer.
If someone is willing to listen, they don’t have to agree, just be willing to listen, then it's worth your time to talk with them but if it’s just going to be an argument, you probably have other things to do. That’s because someone else with a genuine spiritual need might be waiting to talk with you, and you don’t want to miss that opportunity arguing with someone that has their own agenda and really doesn't want to listen to you. That is basically what Jesus was doing with Herod. He was saying, “There is no point.” And effectively, the party was over for King Herod.
Don’t get caught up in an argument or conversation that is going nowhere. At some point you may just have to say; “The conversation is over. I’ve said everything there is to say.”
Jesus modeled how to let people go, how to walk away, and how to stay focused.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT [24] Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! [25] All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. [26] So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. [27] I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Philippians 3:12-14 NLT [12] I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. [13] No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Follow in the footsteps of Jesus by boldly walking away and finding a reliable person in whose life you can make a worthy investment.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 NLT [20] So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” [21] For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Best Ju
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