One of the greatest sports movies of all time has to be the 2004 movie Miracle, depicting the true story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team—the famous “Miracle on Ice.” In the movie, hockey coach Herb Brooks has agreed to take on a struggling U.S. Hockey program. They already faced an enormous uphill climb: They would have to figure out a way to top the Soviet Union, who had dominated the sport, winning the previous four Olympic championships. They hadn’t even lost a single game in the Olympics since 1968.
Meanwhile, the American team was afflicted with all kinds of division and showmanship. They didn’t need the Soviets to beat them; they were beating themselves.
In one scene, Brooks presents his initial roster—full of unpaid amateurs—to his assistant coach, Craig Patrick. Patrick takes one look and asks, “What’s this? You’re missing some of the best players.” To which Brooks replies, “These are the people I’m taking to represent America in the 1980 Olympics. I’m not looking for the best players, Craig. I’m looking for the right ones.” Brooks knew that while a team full of all-stars would have more talent, they wouldn’t have more humility. And Brooks needed humility, teachability, and cohesion.
With a bunch of guys no one had heard of, Brooks went on to beat the Soviets and win the 1980 Olympic gold medal.
Jesus didn’t have the “Miracle on Ice” in mind during the Last Supper, but he expressed a similar sentiment in John 15. He wasn’t looking for the best players; he was looking for the right ones—those who are ready to follow him, become like him, say “Yes” to him. He was, and still is, looking for those with humility and teachability.
Put simply, becoming a disciple means saying “Yes” to Jesus. Yes to his love for us. Yes to his offer to save us. Yes to his promise to bring great fruit from us. Yes to his mission in the world. Yes to becoming like him. Yes to his rule, whatever he asks. A disciple of Jesus is someone ready to follow Jesus all the way.
Most people today like Jesus, even if they don’t call themselves Christians. They appreciate his wisdom. They admire his compassion. If given the chance to meet him, my guess is most people would accept. But few people would sign up to do whatever Jesus asked them to do. Few give Jesus an unqualified, unreserved “Yes.”
This is nothing new. Few did in Jesus’ own day too.
For example, Jesus once met a “rich young ruler” (Mark 10:17–22; Luke 18:18–30). This man had spent his whole life cultivating obedience to the law. He was one of the “best of the best,” one of the precious few men who had made the cut. When other Hebrew boys were dropping out of Torah school, this guy was studying harder, memorizing verse after verse after verse. Not only that, but he came to Jesus of his own volition, wanting to know the way of eternal life. Other religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus or oppose Jesus. Not the rich young ruler. So certainly this guy would get a warm welcome from Jesus—right?
Other people might have been impressed by the rich young ruler, but Jesus saw his heart. He realized that his wealth had attached itself to his heart. So Jesus, in an act of love (Mark 10:21), asked him to give up control of everything in his life, including his great riches.
And the rich young ruler, amazing as he was, with all these books of the Bible memorized, wouldn’t do it. He wasn’t ready to follow Jesus all the way. Rather than let go of his tremendous wealth, he walked away sad. Rich, accomplished, impressive, and—ultimately—empty.
I don’t think Jesus calls every one of us to sell all of our possessions and give our money to the poor. (Though he might!) But I do think the all-or-nothing element of the rich young ruler’s call gives us a big clue for what “following” Jesus really means. In our day, “follow” means something fundamentally different. It’s been watered down to the point of meaninglessness. We “follow” celebrities and coaches and experts on social media. Meaning, we tune in to what they have to say every now and then, and if we like it, we adopt it as our own. But this kind of “following” leaves us with our freedom. In the end, we have all of the power to take the suggestions or content we want from them and leave behind those we don’t. You can “follow” an Instagram influencer or a TikTok celebrity and, at the same time, simply choose not to follow their recommendations.
But you just can’t do that with Jesus.
To follow Jesus means a total submission of your will to his. He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24 NIV). This is no social media-style following. When we’re nailed to a cross, social media suggestions won’t help us and we can’t make any decisions. We’re in total submission, completely controlled by another.
Does that sound frightening to you? In a sense, it is. You might be tempted, like the rich young ruler, to walk away. The cost seems so obviously high, the risks so obviously great, it may not seem worth it. Besides, we know what we’re giving up. But we don’t always know what we’re getting in return.
Following Jesus is a bit frightening. It means losing control. But the alternative is to stick to the path we’ve already charted for ourselves. And it ends in the same place as the rich young ruler—emptiness and sadness.
Discipleship means, plain and simple, full submission to Jesus. It means we forsake all that he has forbidden and pursue all that he has prescribed. Only this kind of obedience will bring peace and fulfillment. Only this kind of obedience will give us the ability to overcome the obstacles in our future. Only this kind of obedience leads to miracles. And not metaphorical “miracles,” either, played out on a hockey rink. But the miracle of eternal, blissful, eternity-changing life.
