When you’re a kid, it’s your parents or grandparents. Maybe even a brother or sister. When you grow a little older, it may be someone that seems larger than life: a movie star or a sports figure or a rock star. As we mature into adulthood, our gaze gives up on stardom, and our role models sometimes become those who have helped shape our adult thinking – teachers, professors, mentors, authors. The longer we live, the more we value those who have made a significant impact on our world for good, and they become the ones we admire and emulate. What about Jesus? Has he shown up on your role model radar?
Jesus’ Primary Modus Operandi: Make disciples. If we come to the conclusion that Jesus is our best choice for our role model, we need to get a handle on what he was all about. Without question, his number one priority in life was to make disciples. What’s a disciple? A disciple is one who follows in the footsteps of his or her Master. Boiled down, Jesus was all about helping people find a growing relationship with God, where they would begin to experience life in a whole new way. He wanted people to walk with God. The way he helped people learn how to walk with God was in community. Do you know why the disciples had authority when Jesus left them? Because they had been with him, together, in community. Jesus invested three solid years with them, 24/7, because he knew that’s where they would really come to know him. And just before he left, he gave them a command: go make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). Do what I did. Go be me. This is starting to sound strangely familiar: His purpose in life was rooted in helping people Walk with God. He pulled it off by helping the disciples Walk with Others. And then he told them to be like him – Go Be Jesus.
Jesus walked the talk… In the early days of Jesus’ ministry, he had already gained quick renown as a tremendous teacher and healer. He had market buzz, to say the least. He journeyed around, preaching in local synagogues in Northern Israel, and eventually made his way back to his home town of Nazareth. He chose to read a Messianic prophecy from Isaiah which foretold the coming Christ’s bringing Good News to the poor, release of captives, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed (Is. 61:1-2 & Luke 4:14-30). Jesus then announced that the prophecy was being fulfilled in him that very day. Everybody was pretty excited, for a moment.
Then Jesus had to stir the pot. He started to allude to the larger meaning of the prophecy – that God’s vision for Jesus’ life and ministry was bigger than Nazareth, and bigger than Israel. The Good News Jesus came to preach was for the entire world. Jews. Gentiles. Samaritans. Romans. Even Napans. “Not Napans!” they proclaimed.
This proclamation completely ticked off the audience that day. So upset were they that they formed a mob and pushed Jesus right to the edge of a cliff, ready to throw him over. God was bigger than the mob, however, and Jesus marched right through them like a knife, and went on with his ministry.
What happened? Why would people get so upset about the prospect of more people experiencing the good things of God instead of less? Seems like good news, so why did they take it as bad?
In order to understand why they took this as bad news, we first need to understand what the news meant to them. Jesus was dismantling some inadequate theology running rampant in his day that basically said the God was only interested in Jewish people. Non-Jews were pretty much out of luck in the minds of many. Disgust, disdain, and even hatred were common feelings some Jews had toward the non-Jews around them. Jesus was taking the basis of their hatred away in saying that God was good news for everybody. This wasn’t new material, either. Jesus was echoing the prophets that clearly told of God’s redemptive work he wanted to do through his people Israel. This was old news that was simply ignored.
To make matters worse, Jesus took it another step. If people were to embrace him as Messiah, they had to follow him. To follow him meant to walk right into the very people groups they couldn’t stomach. Hands and feet dirtied with the dust of those they hated.
Others in the synagogue simply liked things just the way they were, and Jesus’ sermon required change on their part. And everybody knows that nobody likes change. Good enough reason to run a man out of town; maybe kill him.
Jesus sermon hasn’t changed – has our response? The call of Christ hasn’t changed. As Christ-followers, we are called to bring the Good News to the whole world, which includes all the people we love to hate. The response to this message in churches is varied.
Some people are new to this idea, and love it. To them, it’s very exciting: how many people can we help get back into relationship with God? How many lives can we help improve? How much better can the world be?
Some people are vampires, and hate it. They were born from the pit of hell. They’re not much for God, and don’t really want to see anything of God succeed. They like death, and like to suck life out of living things.
Beyond these two extremes lies everybody else.
Some people really thrive on their hatred of others. Having an enemy makes the world simpler. Got a problem? They can help direct your blame. And, if we believe God hates who we hate, our hatred becomes justified and even sanctified. Look out, abortion doctors, here we come! Unfortunately, they have missed the whole point, and are clearly missing a healthy relationship with God themselves.
Finally, some people, just like in Nazareth, are happy with things as they are. If people will simply become just like them, liking the things they like, listening to the same music they like, believing the same things they believe before they become part of their church, they are certainly welcome! But they really don’t want you here if it means changing what they like and do. Push them on this, and they might force you to the edge of a cliff.
Why did Jesus bother? Hebrews 12:2 gives us insight into the mind of Jesus as to his motivation. For the joy set before him, he endured… He endured the mob, the alienation, the isolation, the ridicule, the bad press, the politics, the betrayal, the denial, and even the cross. Lots of bad stuff. What joy set before him made it all worthwhile? Redemption. Connecting people back up to their Creator. Helping people walk with God. Teaching and modeling how to Walk with Others. Empowering them to change the world. All of this is redemption. His work on the cross was the climax – the greatest example of his love for God and humanity. For the sake of helping people find restoration in God, he endured it all. That work was worth everything. That work gave him life. Following him means doing that work which is worth everything and yields life.
Rock/Sand; Passion/Pulse. Coming full circle, let’s enter the story. Jesus’ calling and command hasn’t changed. He still promises life, but it’s found in actually doing what he says. Following in his footsteps provides a life built on a solid foundation instead of sand (Matthew 7:24-29). But following is tough. Enduring is tougher. What keeps us going is the joy set before us – knowing we’re actually doing something of tremendous value that will impact the cosmos. And, as we walk with Jesus, we come to know him a whole lot better because we are with him, not just reading about him.
Steps to Take. The greatest act of love we can offer anyone is prayer. Prayer invites God’s presence into the object of our petition. What better thing to hope for someone than God’s breaking into their life? So, pray for the people God has already put around you. Really pray that God would bless them in God’s way. Pray for their wellbeing, their wholeness, their joy. Prayer for an opportunity to be Jesus to them. Pray for a willingness to respond when the opportunity arises. Pray for guidance with words and actions when the opportunity arises. Do you know what will happen when you do? God will do something in them, but God will probably do a bigger something in you. When you start asking God to do “God things” in someone’s life, more of God begins to form and take root in you. You become increasingly like the Master, which means you experience more and more life from the Source.
Think…
- Who have been genuine role models in your life that you have actually, consciously emulated? Family? Friends? Teachers? Sports figures? Celebrities?
- Honestly – no guilt inducement attempted here – where did Jesus rank as far as role models went for you growing up? Was he even on the radar? Why or why not?
- Was experiencing greater life part of your reason for seeking out Christ, or was your drive more about securing heaven?
- Do you really think Jesus can be trusted to deliver the best direction for our lives?
- How do we decide who gets to be a role model in our lives?
- What would validate Jesus as a good role model? In other words, apart from feeling like we’re supposed to say Jesus is our role model, why would we?
- What kept the people in Nazareth from making Jesus their role model in Luke 4:14-30?
- What causes us to remove Jesus from our role model list?
- Who are we pretty sure we don’t want to love? Why? What do you think it means to love them?
- How will you begin to be Jesus to the people around you this week?
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