The Example of Jesus

I find the statements and responses of Jesus fascinating because He never did what I would.  Though I have read the biblical accounts numerous times, I constantly re-examine them and think about what could have been said and contrast it with what Jesus actually said.  There are great lessons to be learned even in what Jesus did not say.  Jesus alone has the words of life, and faith in Him marked by obedience enables us to embrace the abundant life He promises.

For instance, I was blown away by what Jesus said after He donned a towel and washed the disciple's feet during the Passover meal.  John 13:12-15 states, "So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you."  Jesus provided an example of the love and care His disciples were to show to one another by washing their feet.

Notice Jesus did not provide an example of how to wash one another's feet.  This was not a step-by-step tutorial in feet hygiene, and this is a very important distinction.  Jesus did not explain in detail what to do if someone is ticklish, how to discern when feet were truly in need of washing or exactly when to wash them.  I expect the way people washed feet was different even in one household.  Jesus allowed His followers to have freedom without being chained to rituals like the Pharisees under Jewish traditions.  By washing feet Jesus provided an example of what we are to do for one another:  to serve, minister and love one another as He gave us commandment.

Jesus did not provide people "how to" instructions concerning being a spouse, a pastor, neighbour, sibling, parent, friend or coworker.  The act of Jesus in the upper room transcended the washing of feet and can be extended to every activity and relationship, to guide our motivation behind what we do and why.  Sometimes we hold back from loving others because we are unsure how best to do it.  "It's the thought that counts," we might say, but we don't truly believe it because our pride stands in the way.  Too many times we have been distracted by extra or unnecessary steps other people took to "wash our feet" we did not appreciate or understand and thus do not receive the genuine love expressed.  In response we roll up our sleeves and think, "Now I'll show them how to really wash feet!" and miss the whole point of what Jesus said.

It's not the filthiness of the feet of others, the quality of our service or the extent of our humility that matters because Jesus has already given us an example we are to follow:  as He has done for us, so we ought to do for others.  He has provided us an example of sacrificial love, mercy, grace and forgiveness, and we are called to extend these freely to others.  We can be focused on a formula of "how to" when Jesus bids us trust Him and follow His example.  We "can do" what we should only because He lives and we live through Him.

God Cares For You

Once I was driving home from work on Interstate 8 in San Diego when traffic came to a sudden halt because cut logs had fallen out of the back of a truck and skidded across the road.  It happened right in front of me so I stomped hard on the brakes and narrowly missed one.  Once the cars behind me had also stopped, I put on my hazard lights and jumped out to join other motorists to move the stump blockade.  

My first instinct after I approached the massive cut off was to lift.  It was instantly clear how foolish and impossible the task before me was.  But because the wood was freshly cut and very wet, this immovable object slid neatly to the shoulder across the concrete surface.  Within minutes with the help of others all the logs were moved to the side, traffic was flowing freely again and I was thankful not to have a hernia from my poor attempt at lifting.  One takeaway from the incident for me is there are things I imagine I can lift that are far too heavy.  But dealing with an immovable obstacle a different way (with the help of others) proved fruitful.

Sometimes heavy weights are not obstacles in front of us but figurative ones that weigh upon us.  Our minds can be weighed down with problems we cannot solve and our souls can be cast down.  It is possible the burdens we bear were never for us to carry, but a test allowed by God to show us (when we are consequently overwhelmed) how much we rely upon our own strength.  A person with genuine faith in God can still be prone to try to lift what they cannot and attempt to carry what will crush us.  Our relationship with God is of primary importance, but we are not in this alone:  God has joined us together with other Christians in the Body of Christ and are called to bear one another's burdens as we carry our own load.

In light of the fact God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."  When we come to the realisation we are unable and humble ourselves before God in faith, we are also to keep casting all our care upon Him.  In verse 7 the words for care are different:  our care is translated from a word that carries the idea of distraction, whereas the word for God's care is one of concern and interest.  Our cares distract us from seeking or relying upon God, and He is faithful to care for us without distraction.

When we are troubled, worried and afraid, how good it is to view the "cause" of our anxiety to be, on a spiritual level, a mere distraction from Jesus Christ who sits on the throne holding the scepter as KING OF KINGS.  Our Good Shepherd knows the needs of every sheep in His flock, and He is able to lift us from the pit where we are stuck and protect us from howling wild dogs.  If we are robbed of our peace and joy by circumstances of this life, often the reason is we are trying to carry what we cannot; we are trying in vain to lift what is too much for us to budge.  It is wise for us to shift what could distract us from God to be what prompts us to draw nearer to God because He cares for us.

The Need for Preparation

Whether gardening, baking a cake, launching a satellite into orbit or doing surgery, an amount of preparation is required.  Before Jesus came to earth God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Him.  Jesus also sent disciples before Him into towns to prepare for Him, and the upper room was prepared by the disciples before Jesus observed the Passover with His disciples.  Preparation is a necessary part of our physical and spiritual lives.

A great example of this is seen in Gideon being called to deliver God's people from the oppressive rule of the Midianites.  Most familiar with the biblical account know Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress when an angel revealed God's call upon his life.  What is not often mentioned is prior to Gideon's personal call a prophet spoke to Israel in Judges 6:7-10:  "And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD because of the Midianites,⁸ that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage;⁹ and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.¹⁰ Also I said to you, "I am the LORD your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell." But you have not obeyed My voice.'"  The message from God spoken by the unnamed prophet was given before the Angel of the LORD came to Gideon and should not be ignored.

After Gideon was urged to go in his might and deliver Israel, he presented an offering received by God.  That night God told Gideon to destroy his father's altar to Baal, cut down the grove and sacrifice a bull owned by his father as an offering to the LORD.  Gideon did so, much to the dismay of the local idolators who demanded his execution.  Judges 6:33-35 says, "Then all the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.³⁵ And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them."  This all occurred before Gideon laid out a fleece in faith to ensure he was not being presumptuous to lead God's people to victory over Midian.

The progression is insightful:  God spoke generally to the nation, God called Gideon, in faith Gideon obeyed God, then Gideon was filled with the Holy Spirit.  This word of God prepared Gideon to receive a call, faith in God quickened Him to obey, and then the Holy Spirit came upon Him in power for service.  We can reverse this order and start "laying fleeces" before God to discern His will before we have listened to His word or obeyed Him!  The Holy Spirit can come upon people in an instant because God is sovereign and does gloriously as He pleases.  Yet even as repentance precedes forgiveness and being born again precedes being baptised with water or receiving communion worthily, so submission to God in faith and obedience precedes the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  Being filled to overflowing with the presence of God is a free gift according to God's promise, and the life of Gideon shows how preparation is at times required.

There is no formula to receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit as the book of Acts clearly demonstrates, but one thing is certain:  God prepared every soul to receive the Holy Spirit and operate in the gifts of the Spirit according to His will, and the promise of the Father is for us and as many as our LORD will call (Acts 2:38-39).  The life of Gideon shows us even in the midst of oppression God is moving and speaking; when we are filled with questions God is pleased to call and direct people in His service.  When nothing good seems to be happening, be sure God is preparing.  Those who prepare their hearts to seek the LORD and obey Him are the ones He will fill with the Holy Spirit.

We might think victory is simply given at our asking, but these scriptures reveal we are led into it by the Holy Spirit.  In one sense failure prepares us to enter into victory.  This is affirmed in 2 Corinthians 2:14:  "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."  The victory over the Midianites was most unorthodox and showed it was God who graciously gave His people the victory of their enemies, and this is true with us as well.  Do not lose heart in the midst of oppression, believer, for the LORD hears our cries and will always lead us in triumph in Christ--whether it is like Stephen who was stoned to death or David who stood on the neck of the deceased giant.  Praise the LORD for preparing us and accomplishing His will through us!

The Plain Meaning

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to know what we believe and why.  It is also important that we walk according to what we know through God's word.  Because we are finite and flawed it is reasonable that the scripture will expose areas of sin, unbelief and misunderstandings we have.  An ongoing challenge of the Christian experience is to humble ourselves and submit to God as He reveals Himself to us and opens our understanding.  As we mature in faith and our understanding grows, we learn to view and interpret scriptures in the light of other scriptures.  Verses which were problematic and confusing are more illuminated by the power of the Holy Spirit and harmonise with others.

It will never do for a child of God to ascribe blindly to a statement of faith or belief system of a sect without carefully considering the theology in light of scripture.  We should not defer to a party line when we have not examined the biblical evidence ourselves.  And when there are scriptures read in context that seem to contradict our views, it is wise to consider other scriptures and a wide array of perspectives with interpretations old and new before we jump to conclusions--or worse yet, in our ignorance assume we understand it perfectly ourselves and there can be no other possible interpretation.

In a study of Hebrews I recently began I came across something I had not noticed before.  Apparently the warnings in Hebrews are a bit of a "thing" among those who hold strongly to reformed theology.  Many books have been penned to explain how these warnings fit with their established beliefs.  One wrote, "How do we reconcile our theology with what appears to many to be the plain meaning of these passages, that believers can lose their faith?"  It is a dangerous position to adopt, that we must seek to avoid the plain meaning of a passage to justify our beliefs.  Of course the scope of this issue goes far beyond the warnings in Hebrews and the Pandora's box of implications that may undermine core beliefs of some.  If the Bible contradicts our beliefs, isn't it sensible our beliefs need to be revised accordingly?

The core beliefs of the revelation of the triune God, the infallibility of His word, the deity of Jesus Christ, and the way of salvation through the Gospel are all foundational truths of followers of Jesus Christ.  On what are sometimes called secondary issues there is room for different beliefs and practices in the Body of Christ, and they ought not to be cause for contention or division.  There is no room, however, for us to explain away the plain meaning of scriptures to maintain our beliefs.  At times I have found the plain meaning of scripture reveals I have been plain wrong.  It is one thing to be concerned about erroneous beliefs of others, but more important for us to ensure our theology is sound and we walk uprightly according to it.