Life Of Jesus: The Full-Bodied Version
The life of Jesus resonates with so much richness, texture, and vibrancy, but we're missing most of it.
We're drinking decaf light-roast Jesus instead of dark-house-blend Jesus.
We're having Old Milwaukee Jesus instead of Guinness Extra Stout Jesus.
We're eating tofu-laced-salad Jesus instead of steak, potatoes, and greens Jesus.
Cross Centered?
I've heard a lot of talk, even from theologically-stout teachers, about the "cross" and the "gospel" being the only message we should be proclaiming.
I disagree.
Before you take me behind the woodshed, let me explain.
I do believe that the Jesus on the cross and his resurrection are the absolute center of His ministry. The apex. The pinnacle. The summit.
The problem is, there is a lot more than the cross, and we are building pathetic churches and "Christians" because we are ignoring it.
All of the Good News
Our definition of the gospel is short-changed. Mark the gospel writer contended that the whole story about Jesus, including the forerunner John the Baptist, Jesus Birth, Teachings, Miracles, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension to Heaven are the sum total of the gospel.
"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ..." Mark 1:1
And then he begins, well, at the beginning of the life of Jesus. And moves chronologically through the life of Jesus. This, according to Mark, is the gospel of Jesus.
Jesus Teaching
An intriguing phenomenon: Jesus is known in "the church" primarily for his cross, and is known primarily "outside the church" for His teaching.
Consequently...
...those inside the church fail to live out Jesus' teaching, which last time I checked, were required of His followers. Then they lose any credibility with those outside the church because we're called hypocrites, and rightly so, because we don't keep the family name very well. People in churches become anemic, tract-passing, bullhorn-shouting bullies who think in their frenzied activity they are "preaching the gospel"
Hey lug nut, how about living the gospel?
...those outside the church have respect for the life of Jesus, but have no idea how to be initially reconciled to Him, because those who do know how to be reconciled through the cross have no credibility whatsoever with this crowd.
Here's a novel idea: Let's begin to look at the life of Jesus as spectrum that is the good news, with the Jesus Himself as the center. The cross and resurrection as the pinnacle. But his teaching, his miracles as absolutely essential parts of said good news. Through his teaching he was explaining the Kingdom of Heaven and how those who are a part of it ought to live.
Jesus Miracles
Jesus miracles were not cheap party tricks designed to contrive belief into the doubtful.
In his typical rabbinic, Hebraic style, the miracles were messages with many levels of meaning that reinforced the central motif of His ministry, the "Kingdom Of Heaven."
Huh?
Let me illustrate.
When Jesus healed a blind man (a quite funny story that begins in John 9:1), His point was not to try and say in a shallow way, "Look at me! I healed a blind man, so I must be God's Son!"
His point was to make a point about those who see, and don't see the truth about Himself.
"Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, "Are we also blind?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains." John 9:39
A very Jewish way of thinking would be to look for levels-of-meaning in words and acts, a subtle code-sending that the original hearers would have picked up on.
Similarly, if Jesus in His life turned old-water into new wine in ceremonial washing pots (at the wedding he attended at Cana), then what subtle message was He sending? A lot more than just a slight of hand...
Jesus also commented in this way upon healing a demonically oppressed man:
"But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12.28)
In short, Jesus was demonstrating that the hoped for healing, integrating, reversal-of-the-curse Kingdom of Heaven had broken in on the present. He was saying, "Here's a taste of what my movement is like."
It's like the best wine at a party compared to the old stuff.
It's like a man truly becoming Himself for the first time.
The Birth of Jesus
While the birth of Jesus is typically relegated to pitiful Christmas programs and pasty-white Jesus porcelain figures from manger scenes, those who understand God-coming-down are the ones who really live a rich life with Jesus.
C. S. Lewis understood the significance of the incarnation as one of the most important truths of Christianity.
The very life of Jesus that we often miss, his life as a man, hungering, thirsting, sweating, tempted, Jewish, a forerunner to the Rabbis, inconspicuous in his appearance, is something we have overlooked for too long.
For the time being, let this be said about the incarnation as an integral part of the life of Jesus:
God is a lot more interested in coming down to live with us than us going up to be with Him.
We promise to write more on that later.
The Beginning of a Journey
I'm not asking you to set aside the cross. I'm asking you to increase the depth of your walk with Jesus to include everything in the life of Jesus. To consider apprenticing yourself to Him as a follower (disciple), and not just a pencil-neck proclaimer.
Don't miss it, for His sake.
Find out more about the life of Jesus from our main Jesus page.