The Life of Christ
Part 1: He Lived...
Various Scriptures
March 6, 2005
Introduction
In its "Man of the Millenium" issue in December of 1999, TIME magazine had this to say:
MAN OF THE MILLENIUM
"The memory of any stretch of years eventually resolves to a list of names, and one of the useful ways of recalling the past two millenniums is by listing the people who acquired great power. Muhammad, Catherine the Great, Marx, Gandhi, Hitler, Roosevelt, Stalin and Mao come quickly to mind. There’s no question that each of those figures changed the lives of millions and evoked responses from worship through hatred. It would require much exotic calculation, however; to deny that the single most powerful figure-not merely in these two millenniums but in all human history-has been Jesus of Nazareth. Not only is the prevalent system of denoting the years based on an erroneous 6th century calculation of the date of his birth, but a serious argument can be made that no one else’s life has proved remotely as powerful and enduring as that of Jesus." Source: "Man of the Millenium." Time Magazine, Dec. 6, 1999. (SermonCentral.com)
Why is this? Was it just the words that he spoke? Was it just the times that he lived in? I don’t think so. I think it’s much more than that.
Today we’re beginning a five-part series on the life of Christ.
On your note-taking guide, you can see the progression we’re working toward. The timing is such that we will be discussing Jesus’ death on Palm Sunday, and his resurrection on Easter.
This won’t be an exhaustive study, but my hope is to give you some highlights of Jesus’ life that we can make a part of our own lives as we seek to be more like him in everything we say and do.
You see, Jesus’ life wasn’t just that of a nice religious teacher who said nice things about loving your neighbor, forgiving, not judging, or whatever.
Jesus’ life was a life of purpose. It’s hard for me to imagine Jesus wasting even one minute of his life, because he knew he had only a few short years to impact the world for all eternity.
Have you ever read through the gospels asking, "Is there anything about the way Jesus lived that I can put into my life?
So often we look only at Jesus words, or the events in his life. Today and over the next few weeks I want us to look at what he modeled for us, especially in the way he lived and taught.
My intention today is focus not so much on the events of Jesus’ life, like on a timeline, but rather to focus on some principles that I believe we can put into our own lives.
We’re not going to focus so much on what Jesus did, as much as on the stuff below the surface - why He did things, and the other stuff that isn’t always apparent from a simple overview of the events in Jesus’ life.
I think that if we can get a grasp on some of these things we can learn from the life of Jesus, we would go a long way to reaching our area for Christ, and to becoming a very healthy body of believers who can offer hope and healing to others as well.
So let’s begin our look at the life of Jesus by investigating four ways Jesus lived his life - four ways that our own lives can be lived for purposes outside of ourselves.
Ready? Okay. First...
He lived in view of eternity.
Hebrews 12:3 -
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
It’s incredibly important to understand that Jesus didn’t live for the moment. He took advantage of every moment, but he always had the future in mind.
He knew why he came to earth, he knew what his mission was, and he knew what would happen after he finished his mission on earth.
This passage from Hebrews 12 gives us a little perspective of this.
He went to the cross willingly because he knew that once he had accomplished everything he needed to do on earth, especially paying for our sins, he would once again be in the glory of heaven, and not only that, he could anticipate that others would share in that glory as well.
Jesus knew beforehand what kind of treatment he would get on earth, but he did it because he knew that NOT going would not fulfill the purposes of God.
And the purposes of God are eternal. Jesus lived with a view of eternity.
So the question for you and me is this: do you live in view of eternity, or do you live only for today?
Some people live for the moment because they want to fully experience what each moment may have to offer. That’s not bad in view of the fact that Jesus wants his followers to have a full and abundant life. In fact, he came so we could have that.
Others live only for today because they’re afraid of what tomorrow might bring. They don’t know what’s coming up, and they live in the bondage of fear.
"Besides," they said, "Jesus said that today has enough trouble of its own. So why focus on the troubles of tomorrow?"
But Jesus said that fear of the unknown is not healthy, folks!
You see, the problem with both of these perspectives is that when we make living for today the focus of our lives, it makes us selfish and uncaring for others, and uncaring for the eternal purposes of God.
If want to be a fruitful and effective disciple of Jesus, we need to live understanding that how we live will have eternal impact on not only our own lives but on the lives of those we touch.
If people can see that we live for purposes outside of ourselves, the good news of Jesus becomes more attractive to those looking for reasons to keep going.
Jesus lived with purpose, because he lived in view of eternity. Second...
He lived to glorify the Father.
I mentioned last week that Jesus moved on the Father’s agenda. And one of the most important items on that agenda was to bring glory to his father.
If you really want to get an idea of how big of a deal this was for Jesus, read the gospel of John, where Jesus references his father 102 times! And that’s not including the references to the Father from other people.
John 14:31 -
"...but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me."
He said this knowing that in just a few hours he would nailed to the cross for no fault of his own.
He said that even in this dark hour that was about to dawn, his love for the Father and the Father’s mission was all that counted for him.
Jesus was very concerned that the Father was honored and glorified in his life.
He mentioned often that he came from the Father, that his mission was from the Father, and that the Father would validate his truth and vindicate him in the end.
Even when Jesus is honored in the end, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, the Father will be glorified.
So what about you? Do you live to glorify the Father? Or is it all about you?
Significance of any real measure is found not in living for yourself, but in living for God, adopting his priorities as your own, just as Jesus did.
Jesus lived to glorify the Father. The third way Jesus lived that we can learn from and put into our own lives is that...
He lived for the benefit of others.
Jesus was easily the least selfish person in the history of the world. He quite literally, did not have a selfish bone in his body!
Hey, we’ve all known selfish people, right? And truth be told, you’ve been that person on occasion, just as I have.
It’s hard to focus on others because we have enough stuff going on in our own lives, with work, family, bills, and ice fishing or whatever.
You might have heard the story about Billy Bob and Jethro, who decided to go ice fishing. After arriving at the lake early in the morning, they cut two holes in the lake and drop their lines in the water. After fishing for a few hours, Billy Bob has caught dozens of fish while Jethro hasn’t even gotten a bite.
Jethro asks, Billy Bob, what’s your secret?
Billy Bob answers, Mmu motta meep da mmrms mmrm.
Jethro asks, What did you say?
Billy Bob answers, Mmu motta meep da mmrms mmrm.
Jethro again asks, What?
Billy Bob spits into his hand and says, You gotta keep the worms warm! (LandBigFish.com)
Okay, back to the point of this section.
Jesus said that His mission from the Father involved people who didn’t know God. Look with me at Luke 19:10 -
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
A few chapters earlier, in Luke 15, Jesus gave three stories about how important lost people are to God. And Jesus was on a mission to give direction, hope, forgiveness of sins and a home in heaven to lost people.
Jesus was always doing things for people. When he wasn’t teaching, he was feeding a mob or healing a disease or casting out a demon or putting a burr under the saddle of the religious leaders.
Why? Because he cared for people. Remember how I said that Jesus wanted to fulfill the mission of the Father?
Well, the only way he could do that was to consider people important enough to die for. And if they were important enough to die for, they were important to feed, heal, or whatever.
Here’s the question once again: So what about you? Are people important to you? Are you willing to live for the sake of others, or are you more concerned with yourself and your comforts?
Are you willing to help others as long as it doesn’t cost you anything in terms of time, money, or your schedule?
This is something I’m having to examine in my own life. I’m better than I was, but I’ve got a way to go on this.
But Jesus lived for other people, so I need to do that as well. The last way Jesus lived is connected to the fact that Jesus lived for other people, and that is...
He lived to relate to people.
Hebrews 2:17-18 - (note-taking guide only has the first part of verse 17)
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
In my opinion, one of the biggest challenges of the church today is to show the world that Jesus is just as relevant today as he was when he walked the earth.
The good news of Jesus, the gospel, as we call it is always relevant. The problem is that people see the church as irrelevant, and so they naturally figure that this Jesus the church talks about must be irrelevant as well.
But that’s just not the case. Jesus took on the form of a human. He had skin that got cold, he had to eat, drink, and take a bath. When he was a baby, he needed his diaper changed, or whatever they used back then.
Jesus faced every temptation we face. He knew what it was like to be loved, and to be rejected by people, even those he loved.
The pain he suffered on the cross wasn’t just spiritual pain at the rejection of the Father as he bore our sins. He felt the physical pain of the scourging and the nails.
He was misunderstood and mischaracterized, he was loved, and he was hated.
Why did he choose to go through that? Well, one of the reasons is stated here in this passage from Hebrews - so he could make atonement for our sins.
But I also think it’s so that when we pray, and all we can do is cry out to God because we’re going through something hard, Jesus is up there going, "I know. I’ve been there. I know just how you feel."
Too often when we talk about Jesus, we cloak him in terminology that the average person doesn’t understand.
Just a quiz - how many of you here today did NOT grow up in a church like the Wesleyan Church or Baptist Church, or whatever?
For those of you who did NOT grow up in such a church, how many of you know what the term, "propitiation" means? It means that the sacrifice of Jesus satisfied the wrath of God against sin.
How about "washed in the blood?" Or "koinonia?" That word was huge back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Some of you are saying, "Well, it’s all Greek to me!"
You’d be partly right, because "koinonia" is a Greek word for fellowship - that kindred bond within the family of God.
Folks, if we aren’t willing to communicate about Jesus in a way that speaks to the hearts of those out there without Jesus, then we’re missing the boat.
Jesus communicated in the times and speech patterns of the people he was around. He didn’t clothe himself with a whole bunch of spiritual sounding words. He communicated plainly and clearly.
He also took the initiative to relate to people. He didn’t make people fit a man-made mold of "spirituality" in order to come to him. The religious leaders did that all the time.
Jesus just invited people to come to him just as they were. He’d take care of the rest.
Paul says something in 1 Corinthians 9 that you might be interested in:
1CO 9:19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Paul tried to relate to everyone he met, because the message of Jesus was too important not to be!
Sam Walton was in the mid 90’s named as one of the richest men in America. You’d never know it! He drove a pickup and lived like a regular person. Asked why he didn’t drive a Rolls Royce he replied, "Where would I put my dogs?" He was successful at least in part because he connected with the common man. That’s why Jesus came as a man to earth. God with us. To connect with the common man - because he is an uncommon God. (SermonCentral.com - contributed by: Rick Stacy)
The bottom-line here is that Jesus himself felt that he needed to become relateable. We could never have even looked on him in his glorious state; he needed to take a form we could recognize and relate to.
And we need to be people who bring relevance to the good news of Jesus.
Conclusion
Jesus lived in view of eternity. He lived to glorify the Father. He lived for the benefit of others, and he lived to relate to people.
But that’s not all. He still lives. And the Bible tells us that there are a few things he is working to do now:
* To send the Holy Spirit.
John 14:26 -
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
The disciples didn’t want Jesus to go away, but Jesus said that unless he went away, he couldn’t send the Spirit.
He sent him at Pentecost, and still sends him as more people find faith in Jesus.
He also lives...
* To pray for his people.
Hebrews 7:25 -
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Jesus lives to pray for us. Now how cool is that?
Remember how I said that Jesus knows what we’re going through because he went through it on earth?
I think that plays a part in how he prays for us. He can say to the Father, "I know what he’s going through, and let me tell you, it’s something else!"
Jesus lives to pray for you. The thought of that is just more than I’ll ever be able to comprehend.
The Bible also tells us that Jesus lives...
* To prepare a place for us.
John 14:2 -
In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
If you have the gift of eternal life that Jesus offers, then he’s preparing a place for you.
I don’t know what it’ll be like, but I figure if Jesus is involved, it ain’t gonna be falling apart, know what I mean?
He’s preparing a place for us to spend eternity, enjoying the presence of God himself.
Now if that’s not cool, then I don’t know what is.
So the big question is this: do you have that home? Are your sins forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus?
If not, let me encourage you to take the opportunity right now to confess to God that you need the forgiveness that Jesus bought on the cross, so you can have a home in heaven.
No matter what you’ve done, no matter your background, he’s ready to take you, just as you are, and he’ll forgive you.
You can’t earn it, all you can do is take it, calling to him for it.
If you want to leave here today knowing for sure that you’ve been forgiven and that you’ll go to heaven when you die, then you can pray along with me as I pray this:
(Pray - SLOWLY!!!).
