More Like Jesus? It's Not What You Think! - Part II

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+10:45&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt%2011:29&version=NKJV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isa%2053:2-5&version=NIV1984

Today I want to continue my post from yesterday about praying to become like Jesus.  This is a great prayer.  A prayer that every Christian should pray.  The point I’m trying to make is that we need to be aware of just exactly what we are praying for.  And what it may look like.

In His life, Jesus experienced humiliation.  There was the humiliation of being stripped and handled roughly by the Roman guards.  The humiliation of being paraded through the streets of Jerusalem as a common criminal.  Bloody.  Stumbling.  Too weak to carry His own cross.  A crown of thorns upon His head.  The humiliation of being labeled an enemy of the Roman Empire.  The humiliation of being crucified.  Between 2 thieves.  The humiliation of slowly dying in public for everyone to see.  Including His enemies.

Jesus was also rejected.  Rejected by the people of His hometown of Nazareth.  Where friends and neighbors sought to throw Him over a cliff.  So much for a Welcome Home party!  He was rejected by the religious leaders of His day.  Those men who claimed to both know and be serving God.  He was rejected by the High Priest.  That man who was the human representative of God.  As John 1:11 tells us, “He came to His own and His own did not receive Him.”  Instead they cried out, “Give us Barabbas!”.  Is there any greater rejection than this?

Jesus experienced mistreatment.  Big time.  An illegal arrest.  Under cover of darkness.  He also underwent an illegal trial.  In the middle of the night.  With no one to plead His case.  Beaten.  Blindfolded and slapped.  Punched.  Numerous times.  Spit upon.  Whipped until His bare back was a mess of shredded flesh and bloody pulp.  Given over to be crucified even though Pilate knew that He had done nothing deserving of death.

Jesus experienced taunting.  While He was dying on the cross.  While His life was slowly ebbing from His body.  How much is enough, anyway?  Wasn’t it enough that He had been condemned to death?  That He was beaten almost beyond recognition?  That He was dying a horrible, cruel, painful death right before their eyes?  Apparently it wasn’t.  “He saved others but He cannot save Himself.  Let this Christ come down from the cross that we may see and believe.”   Taunting a dying man.  This is about as bad as it gets.

But in trying to understand who Jesus was, we soon realize that He can’t be reduced simply to the experiences that He had during His life.  There were other characteristics that Jesus willingly took on that also defined who He was.  Such as humility.  The humility of Jesus is seen in the fact that He went home with His earthly parents at age 12 and was obedient to them.  Even though the religious leaders of the time were amazed by how much He knew.  Jesus’ humility is also seen by His use of power.  His power, as exhibited in healings and other miracles, was never to impress people.  It was always used to help others and to demonstrate the truth of His teachings.  That He was, indeed, the Son of God.  That the Kingdom of God had now come. Then there is John 13 where Jesus washed the feet of His disciples.  Really?  Washing the dirty, dusty, stinking feet of others?  Finally there is Jesus’ willingness to be beaten and crucified.  Especially considering who He was (the Son of God) and His power to prevent it from happening in the first place.

There is also Jesus’ willingness to serve others.  Not once in the Gospels did Jesus treat His disciples as His personal slaves, whose only value was in doing His bidding.  No, Jesus treated His disciples as valued members of His team.  More often that not, He served them.  And He served others.  Men and women.  Adults and children.  Healthy and the sick.  Law-abiding citizens and the outcasts of society.  And He served all the time.  Publicly and privately.  In fact, this was one of Jesus’ constant themes to His disciples.  That they ought to serve each other the way that He had served them.

Of course, it is hard to think of serving people without sacrifice.  For Jesus, sacrifice was a way of life.  It wasn’t His life to lead, any way that He chose to.  It was all about what His Father wanted Him to do.  Among other things Jesus also sacrificed His time.  His privacy.  His reputation.  And ultimately His life.

I hope that by this point You are getting a pretty good glimpse of what life was really like for Jesus.  This is important for us to keep in mind if we truly want to become like Him.  Some final thoughts on this subject tomorrow.

Lord, again I must confess that I had no idea how difficult and demanding life was for Jesus.  None.  While He certainly was famous and popular, and no doubt some people really loved and appreciated Him, there were others.  Others who despised Him.  Who envied Him.  Who wanted to use Him.  And try to control Him.  Who hated Him.  If I am going to become like Jesus can I expect anything less?  Hardly.  Help me to carefully consider the cost when I pray to become like Him.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.