I taught this material during a mission trip to Poland.
It’s easy in a world like ours to get distracted with so many different things. Some of those things are bad, but many of them are good, but when they distract us from what is best, they need to be removed from our lives.
Illustration: I get distracted pretty easily sometimes. My wife and I just got married and moved into condo. Before we left to come over to Poland, we were trying to get everything put away, but we also needed to pack for our trip. I would start packing, but then I would see something that I wanted to put away and then something else. I ended up working on twenty different things at the same time, except for packing, and my wife was getting frustrated with me. But that’s how a lot of Christians are—distracted from the main thing spending their lives on so many less important things.
What is that one main thing that the Christian life is all about? There are many ways to say it, but probably the simplest and most comprehensive is that the goal of the Christian life is to become more like Jesus Christ in our thoughts, actions, motives, speech—in every area of our lives.
Romans 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
So the goal of our lives as Christians is to reflect, in the best way possible the life of Jesus Christ.
John 13:15 For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.
1 Peter 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.
1 Corinthians 11:1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
Today, there is a phrase WWJD—What Would Jesus Do? In many ways that is an excellent question to ask. But that can sometimes be open to subjective interpretations of various kinds. A better question to ask might be WDJD—What Did Jesus Do?
So this morning I would like for us to look at three dominant themes that overarched Jesus’ life, trying to summarize those basic principles that must be in our lives if we are to be like Jesus. Although Jesus characterized perfection in every way, there are a few things that I think stand out.
They can be seen by answering three questions. (1) What did Jesus do? (2) How did Jesus do it? (3) Why did Jesus do it? These three questions bring out three overarching truths in the life of Jesus that give for us as Christians a good picture of what our lives should be like. To state the answers to those three questions and give a summary of His life, I would say that Jesus (1) did the will of God (2) by the power of God (3) for the glory of God.
Since we are summarizing Jesus’ life in the gospels, we will be looking at a lot of passages this morning. You may want to simply listen to them and jot down the references and come back to them later. You are not going to be able to turn to them all.
I. What Did Jesus Do? – The Will of God
Let’s consider together the first question—What did Jesus do? The answer is very simple: although He did many things, really, in essence, did just one thing—the will of God.
There was a continual and definite awareness of why He was on the earth. First and foremost in the mind of Jesus, He was sent by His Father. This theme is amazing in the gospel of John. John, no fewer than 35 times, cites Jesus as saying that the Father had sent Him to do what He was doing.
Why do you think that Jesus kept telling people that His Father sent Him? Well, I can think of a few reasons, but one thing is for sure, that He realized that He had been given a task to perform.
I would like for us now to survey the gospels just briefly and see these passages and let the thrust of them strike us. We are not going to turn to the passages. I’ll just read portions of the verses. You may want to jot down the references and come back to them later. Listen to how Jesus’ whole life was consumed with doing what God had sent Him to do.
· Mt. 26:39 (Mk. 14:36; Lk. 22:42) And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
· Mt. 26:42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.
· Mk. 1:38 He said to them, Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.
· Lk. 2:49 And He said to them, Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?
· Lk. 4:43 But He said to them, I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.
· Jn. 4:34 Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
· Jn. 5:30 I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
· Jn. 5:36 But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.
· Jn. 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
· Jn. 7:16 So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”
· Jn. 8:29 And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.
· Jn. 8:42 Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
· Jn. 9:4 We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
· Jn. 17:4 I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
So as these verses demonstrate, the life of Jesus was clearly about one thing—doing the will of His Father. There was a continual, conscious awareness of what He had been given to do by His Father, and His life was about that one thing, accomplishing what God had given Him.
Okay, so what is the practical significance for us? Well, I already argued that the goal of our life is to be like Christ, so that’s why we are looking at His life and trying to see how we should be.1
Just as Jesus was continually aware of His mission in life—to do the will of God—so you must see your life’s work as one thing—doing the will of God.
But we must go one step further. What is God’s will? God’s will is not some mystical thing. God’s will is contained in His Word. So to know God’s will you must be diligent in your reading, studying, and memorizing of God’s Word. If you don’t know God’s will, certainly you cannot perform it.
Application: Do you see each and every day of your life as an opportunity to do what God has given you to do, or is the focus of your day’s activities simply what you want to do? If you are going to be like Christ, you must realize that your life is about doing what God wants you to do and then be diligent to find out what that is by studying His Word. How are you doing in being like Christ in this area?2
Transition: So the Christian life is about becoming more and more like Christ. The first thing we saw was that Christ did the will of God. That must be our single passion as well. Secondly, I would like to notice another thing about the life of Jesus. He did what He did in the power of God.
II. How Did Jesus Do It? – In the Power of God
“How did Jesus do what He did?” Jesus did what He did by the power of God. In other words, Jesus was not only dependent on God for what He should do and say, but also for the ability to do and say it. This is a very amazing thought, since Jesus was God Himself and had infinite power within Himself.
This theme of dependence on God’s strength is seen in two ways:
A. The Power of the Holy Spirit
1. Jesus needed the Spirit’s power.
Mt. 12:28 "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Lk. 4:14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD." And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Acts 1:1–2 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
Even though Jesus Christ was fully God, He lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. He instructed his disciples about this same Holy Spirit who would empower them for the fulfilling of the mission that God had given them.
2. Believers need the Spirit’s power.
Luke 24:45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. "You are witnesses of these things. "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."3
This same Spirit is the one that we need to fulfill God’s will for us. We are powerless apart from the empowering work of the Spirit. The NT is filled with exhortations concerning the Spirit. We need the Spirits power to obey God and abstain from sin—“Walk in the Spirit….”
This empowering of the Spirit is directly connected to one other theme common is Jesus’ life.
B. Prayer
1. Jesus prayed often.
If anyone did not need to pray, it was Jesus. But His life was filled with prayer. Prayer is at its heart an expression of God-dependence. Prayer says, “God I need you; I can’t do it on my own.”
Mt. 14:22–23 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
Mt. 26:36–44 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me." And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. (Mark 14:32–42)
Mk. 1:35–39 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You." He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for." And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.
Mk. 6:45–46 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.
Lk. 5:12–16 While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately the leprosy left him. And He ordered him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
The grammar makes it clear that this was Jesus’ regular practice.
Lk. 6:6–13 On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 7 The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. 8 But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" After looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so; and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus. It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
2. We need to pray.
Mt. 26:41 Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
· What is the connection between prayer and the Spirit?
Lk. 11:13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
Prayer is the way that we tap into the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
In order for us to fulfill God’s will, we need the power of God that comes through the Spirit. And we get this enabling of God’s Spirit through praying for it. You must fulfill God’s mission for your life, but you are powerless to fulfill that mission apart from the empowering work of the Spirit that God gives to the one who expresses His dependence in prayer.
Application: How is your prayer life? Your prayer life is a good indication of whether you are living in dependence of God and His power, or living in independence relying on your on strength. That kind of life is bound to fail. If Jesus needed God’s power and if Jesus needed to pray, how much more do we!
Transition: So the Christlike life is about (1) doing the will of God (2) in the power of God, but there is one last element that summarized Jesus’ life. He did all that He did for the glory of God.
III. Why Did He Do It? – The Glory of God
This last overarching theme of Jesus’ life answer the question of why Jesus did what He did? Often times we ignore questions that have to deal with the why behind our actions. So someone might raise the question, “Does it really matter? Isn’t the important thing if I’m doing what I am supposed to do?” In answer to that, I must say, “No,” because God is very concerned about our motives. This is clear from Jesus criticism of the Pharisees. They were people who did good things only to be seen of men. This stands in stark contrast with why Jesus did what He did. He was not living for selfish reasons. His ultimate motivation and objective was the glory of His Father. So in answer to our third question, “Why did Jesus do what He did?” I would submit that Jesus did all that He did for the glory of His Father.
So often we think of life as revolving around ourselves. We are the central consideration in our decisions. It is ultimately what we want and how we feel that affects our choices. But in Jesus’ world, God was central. Jesus was motivated not by selfish interests, but God-exalting interests. “What will most magnify my Father before the eyes of men?” was the question that Jesus asked in making His decisions. This same emphasis comes through in the gospels in three ways: (1) His explicit statements, (2) His teaching to His disciples, and (3) His miraculous activity.
A. The explicit statements of Christ:
Jn. 7:15–18 The Jews then were astonished, saying, "How has this man become learned, having never been educated?" 16 So Jesus answered them and said, "My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. 18 "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Jesus was being questioned about who He was, where He was from, and how He knew so much. In response Jesus said that what He said was given to Him from God. This showed that He was not out for His own purposes or His own glory. And what Jesus had to say was true because He was seeking the glory of the One who sent Him. The grammar presents this as a continual pursuit of Christ. He always was seeking His Father’s glory. Could you describe yourself this way?
Jn. 14:13 "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Jesus answers the prayers of His people so that God will be glorified. As we pray, God acts to answer our prayers so God will be exalted.
Jn. 17:1–4 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.4
Jesus was willing to go through all the difficulties that He did and ultimately to the cross because He wanted to bring glory to His Father.
B. The teaching of Christ:
Mt. 6:13–16 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Jesus instructed His disciples that they should be concerned about producing fruit in their lives and shine as a testimony of godliness so men would have a higher estimation of God and His greatness, not so men would think that the disciples were very spiritual people.
Mt. 6:9–13 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”
Jesus taught His disciples to pray for God to advance His Name and His kingdom in the earth. This was consistent with the way Jesus Himself prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.”
Application: How do you pray? Are your prayers about God and His glory? Or are your prayers consumed with yourself. To pray biblically we must pray God-centeredly.
C. The miracles of Christ:
Mt. 9:1–8 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. 2 And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven." 3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This fellow blasphemes." 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 "Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk ‘? 6 "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins "– then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home." 7 And he got up and went home. 8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Mt. 15:29–31 Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. 30 And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them. 31 So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
Lk. 18:40–43 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, 41 "What do you want Me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my sight!" 42 And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." 43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.
Jesus did not abuse His power to establish His own agenda. He used it to fulfill God’s mission for His life and exalt the greatness of God and point the credit to Him.
Application: Maybe you are doing are pretty consistently seeking to do God’s will. You are coming to church, you are reading your Bible, and you are even seeking to tell others about Jesus. But maybe your reason or motive for doing these things is not right. Maybe you want others to see you and think well of you. Maybe you are just trying to get the approval of your pastor so you act extra good in front of him. Maybe you want the other people in this church to think that you are a really good Christian. But God wants you to do the things you do so that He receives the glory, not you. Make sure your motives are the motives of Jesus.
Conclusion: The Christian life is about one thing—becoming more like Jesus Christ. And we have seen that the life of Jesus was about (1) fulfilling God’s will, (2) by depending on God’s strength, (3) for the glory of God’s name. You see, Jesus’ life was ultimately all about God. (1) Our lives too must be consumed with the mission that God has given to each of us. (2) And the only way we can fulfill that mission is by the strength that God provides by His Spirit through prayer. (3) And our ultimate motivation for all of this must be that God would be honored and praised and worshiped as He deserves. Let us seek to follow after Christ and live this kind of God-focused life—doing God’s will, in God’s strength, for God’s glory!
Notes
1. And the mission that Jesus received from His Father has been continued and carries on to His followers. Although Jesus fully completed His work on the earth, He has commissioned His followers to continue the next phase of that mission—to spread a knowledge of the gospel to the ends of the earth. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:20). ↩
2. But let me just suggest a few things. The number one mission of the church and of Christians individually is to spread the good news about what Jesus has accomplished in His life and death. That is something that you may have opportunity to do right here in this place, but you really cannot go out and tell the world. So how can you have a part in this? Well, Jesus told His disciples that they were to pray that “the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." ↩
3. This theme of the Spirit empowering the early church to fulfill the commission of God is very pervasive. The Word spirit occurs almost twice as many times in Acts than any other book. ↩
4. I thought that Jesus wasn’t self seeking. But how are we supposed to understand Jesus’ pray for God to glorify Him. We don’t pray that way, do we? Should we? (1) Well, let me first say that we need to be careful in how far we seek to be like Christ. We are only to be like Christ inasmuch as He was the perfect model human. But we must remember that Christ was also God. And we are never to strive to be like Christ in His capacity as the eternal God. This would be a most heinous sin. (2) Second, it is important for us to understand what Jesus was asking for here. In essence he was asking to be restored to the position at the Father’s right hand—knowing full well that this meant going to the cross in order to get there. So the essence of Jesus’ prayer was a willingness to go to the cross in order to be restored to the place at the Father’s right hand, so that Jesus by His death would bring glory to the Father. ↩