BEING LIKE CHRIST
Elder J T Joseph
Message delivered at the YPF 11th Anniversary, 14 March 2015
1 John 2:6, “He that saith he abideth in [Christ] ought himself also so to walk, even as [Christ] walked.” Luke 6:46, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
Jesus once asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” The answer has been heatedly disputed, yet this question is decisive. A great deal of ink has been spilt trying to answer this question. But, according to Jesus, the answer can’t be written down; it can only be lived.
“Jesus is Lord,” the first Christians proclaimed. But such a claim was not a definition, much less a slogan. It was a life-changing experience. Jesus had hanged their world and their lives. He lived and worked and ruled in their midst. And so what He taught was lived out right before their eyes.
One thing should be clear: Jesus wants his followers not only to pay close attention to His words; He wants us also to obey Him. Yet for some reason, many of us fail to do this. Why? Perhaps this is because we want our own ‘private space’ away from Him – as indeed from our parents. (How many of you have actually invited your parents into your Facebook-space?) The situation thus appears to be that we are quite ready to speak of Christ, but don’t want to come to Him on His terms. Jesus said, “Let me then show you the character of a person who does come to me…”
What followed was the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5 to 7). We realise, from this Sermon, that Jesus didn’t merely show the way, or teach the truth. Jesus Himself is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Those who truly acknowledge Christ as their “Lord” understand this. They accept Jesus’ words as final, meaning that Jesus’ words cannot be judged or interpreted by any standard other than Jesus himself. After all, if He is Lord, then He himself must come before his teachings. The life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus is the key that unlocks the meaning of His words.
Whatever comes between Christ and our obedience to Him must be brushed aside. For this reason, how we come to Him is as important as our coming to Him. Jesus said, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. [John 14:21]
Only those who love Jesus can accept and do what he says. At Jesus’ trial, Pilate foolishly asked Him, “What is truth?” Jesus answered with the ‘sound of silence’! He refused to enlighten Pilate for the simple reason that Pilate didn’t really want to see Jesus for who He really is: truth personified.
If we allow ourselves to become separated from love towards Christ, then His teachings will (for us) remain as mere words – bits of good advice for us to interpret and apply as we may fancy. Christ’s word, without Christ Himself, is little more than a riddle, an ideology, or a theology.
To come to Jesus means listening to what he says. To listen is more than merely “hearing” his words. It requires us to surrender our insistence on explanations. It means letting go of our questions and allowing Christ to wrench us free from all preconceived ideas of what is good and right.
Otherwise we will push Christ aside, and “judge” Him and His teachings. Doctrine, moral values, or a string of Bible passages will end up replacing Christ. Should this happen, we would no longer be able to hear what He has to say to us. Instead of becoming like Him we will, without realising it, confine ourselves to talking about His words. In other words, we would become “gospel salesmen”, not “gospel witnesses”.
Whenever Jesus speaks He does so with authority. And His words have power: “living, active, sharper than any two-edged sword” – according to Hebrews 4:12-13. His Word is not something to analyse or debate, but to embrace with our whole hearts.
If we filter what he says through our own agendas, or with principles received from elsewhere (i.e., science, philosophy, politics, sociology, etc.), then for sure we will not hear Him. In fact, we will soon find ourselves resisting Him. We would be held captive by our experience, our logic, and our own ideologies – the very things that need to be transformed.
A certain expert in Jewish law approached Jesus, wanting to know how to inherit eternal life. “Love God and love your neighbour,” – actually, this is the summary of the entire Law. “But who is my neighbour?” the expert asked Jesus. Jesus didn’t answer him. Instead, Jesus told him a story – of a Samaritan who came to the aid of a Jew lying on the road-side, injured …. “Go and do likewise” Jesus said.
That expert didn’t want such an answer, because hidden within his question was a desire to evade action. He wanted to side-track Jesus, and so asked him the kind of question one could keep on asking. Is my neighbour a family member? A fellow countryman, perhaps? A believer of like faith? A stranger? A passer-by? An enemy? Note Jesus’ response to the question, ‘Who is my neighbour? He told the parable of the Good Samaritan, then delivered the punchline: “Go and do likewise.” The expert in the Law who dared to challenge Jesus actually knew the answer to his own question, viz. To inherit eternal life, be a neighbour!
Of course, someone will invariably argue that obedience presupposes understanding. How can anyone obey unless he or she first understands what they are supposed to do? But Jesus’ commands don’t need explanation, they just need doing. Although He explains some of his parables, Jesus doesn’t explain the Sermon on the Mount … because His own manner of life suffices: it “explains” everything.
Some things must be done in order to be understood! Whether playing a sport, learning a skill, practicing a trade, or riding a bicycle – sometimes we can only understand through action. Jesus’ teaching is like that. It aims to fashion our lives after the pattern of His life. Therefore, it must be lived out before it can be fully understood.
Jesus didn’t bring “enlightenment” or expound a set of moral principles. No, he depicted a unique way of living in this world. And He taught in such a way that His words would be written in the lives of those who follow him. Jesus taught – we are to listen and then do.
But there is more…. A woman in the crowd once cried out to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!” Jesus instantly responded, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (Luke 11:27-28). Jesus does not want us to interpret or amplify his commands: He wants us to obey them. ‘Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ [John 8:31, 32]
Why is this so hard for us to grasp? Is it because there are areas of our life that we are unwilling to surrender to Jesus? – some sinful passion, perhaps? or some ambition? Yet, only those who allow Jesus’ word to rule all of their lives can begin to grasp the significance and the relevance of what He taught. A refusal to submit to Jesus’ word, especially when we know exactly what He wants, is dangerous. We risk being guilty of mocking His word. Worse than the above is the twisting of Jesus’ words as may be seen in the following example.
An ethics professor once told his class that killing is not necessarily an evil act if by doing so, you prevent your victim-to-be from committing a heinous deed later on! In such cases, killing would qualify as an act of Love!! Sick of such sophistry, a brave student responded: ‘Prof, should I then sleep with multiple women (including your own wife) so as to emphasise to my wife the importance of forgiving “70 x 7”?’
If we find Jesus’ teachings “hard” or “difficult” it is not because we can’t understand them but because His words demand everything from us. Jesus’ teaching is indivisible. It cannot be dissected or be deflected by pious half-measures. If we are not ready to live out His word completely and in all circumstances, we had better leave it alone.
We have become such experts at injecting one interpretation after another between Christ’s word and our lives. All this interpreting and re-interpreting is nothing more than an attempt to block the domination of Christ’s Word over our lives.
Understanding Christ’s teachings poses no difficulty at all: “Give your goods to the poor, and follow me”; “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, offer him the left also”; “Count it all joy when you meet various temptations in life”; etc. Any difficulty understanding these instructions? – Honestly, No.
Thus, herein lies the problem. It is not a question of interpretation, but of action. And such action can be a real challenge to follow through. Those who come to Jesus, who pay attention to his words and then put them into practice, are like the wise man who built his house upon a rock. When the rains came, the waters rose and the winds beat fiercely against the house, yet it stood rock-solid. To YPFers seeking to be like Jesus, the answer is right there before you: Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.
Model your life consistently on those of Christ’s teachings as are collectively called, “The Sermon on the Mount”. That way, you glorify Christ and “stop the mouth” of an unbelieving, critical and anti-Christian world. We live in an age characterised by a disinclination to read – especially if the material takes some effort to comprehend. People seem increasingly to prefer an audio-visual presentation – even where the gospel is concerned.
You – Mr or Mrs or Miss Christian – thus try to seek out the most effective Bible-translation that you could recommend to the one you are trying to win for Christ. Here’s the challenge: which Bible-version would that be? The short & simple answer: YOURSELF!
