The example of Jesus Christ

1. The example of Jesus Christ - 17th May 2016
“But for that very reason I was shownmercy so that in me, the worst of sinners,Christ Jesusmight
displayhisimmensepatience as an examplefor those whowould believein himand receive eternal
life”( 1Timothy 1:16).
In today’scontext veryfewpeople questionwhetherJesusChristexisted.Itisgenerallyacceptedthat
Jesuswastrulya man who walkedonthe earthinIsrael 2000 yearsago. The debate beginswhenthe
subjectof Jesus'full identityisdiscussed.Almostevery othermajorreligionteachesthatJesuswasa
prophetor a goodteacheror a godlyman. But as for Christians itismuchmore than that and the Bible
testifiestous that Jesuswasinfinitelymore thanaprophet,agood teacher,or a godlyman.
C.S.Lewisinhisbook Mere Christianity writesthe following:“Iamtryinghere to preventanyone from
sayingthe reallyfoolishthingthatpeople oftensayaboutJesusChrist:'I'mreadyto accept Jesusasa
great moral teacher,butI don't accepthis claimto be God.' That isthe one thingwe mustnot say as a
Christian. He wasthe livingexampleof a man whowas merelyaman andsaidthe sort of thingsJesus
saidwouldnotbe a greatmoral teacher. We can learnfromthe bible thathe evenstated“politically
incorrect”thingsthat were notacceptable topeople livingthenandevennow. A Goodexample isfound
inMatthew 5:43-44, “Youhave heard that it was said,‘Love your neighbor[a]
andhate your enemy.’
44
But I tell you,love your enemies andpray for those who persecute you”. Who can say this?
Therefore asChristiansone mustmake one’s choice…simplya moral teacheror God whocame to earth
to save us frometernal damnation!
So, letus considerwhodidJesusclaimtobe?Who doesthe Bible sayHe is?First,let'slookat Jesus’
wordsfoundinJohn 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” Atfirstglance,thismightnot seemtobe a claim
to be God. However,lookatthe Jews’reactiontoHisstatement, “‘Wearenot stoningyou for anyof
these,’ replied the Jews, ‘butfor blasphemy,becauseyou, a mere man,claimto be God’” (John10:33).
The JewsunderstoodJesus’statementasa claimto be God. In the followingverses,Jesusnevercorrects
the Jewsbysaying,“I didnot claimto be God.” That indicatesJesuswastrulysayingHe wasGod by
declaring,“Iand the Fatherare one” as statedabove in John10:30.
We can readof anotherexample inJohn8:58: “Very truly I tell you,” Jesusanswered, “beforeAbraham
was born,I am!”!Again,inresponse,the Jewstookupstonesinanattemptto stone Jesus.Jesus’
announcingHisidentityas“Iam” is a directapplicationof the OldTestamentname forGod as we can
readin Exodus3:14, “GodsaidtoMoses, “IAM WHO IAM.[a]
This is whatyou are to sayto the Israelites:
‘IAM has sent me to you.’”.Whywouldthe Jewsagainwantto stone Jesusif He had not saidsomething
theybelievedtobe blasphemous,namely,aclaimto be God?
We can alsolearnfrom John 1:1, “Inthe beginningwas the Word, and the Wordwas withGod, and the
Word was God.” AgaininJohn1:14, “The Wordbecame fleshand made hisdwellingamongus. We
have seen his glory,the glory ofthe one andonly Son,who came fromthe Father, full ofgrace and
truth..” These ‘firsthand‘statementsfoundinJohn clearlyindicatesthatJesusisGodin the flesh. We
can alsolearnwhen Thomasthe disciple declaredtoJesus:“Thomassaidtohim,“My Lord andmy
God!”(John20:28). If he was statingincorrectly Jesuswouldhave correctedhim. We canlearnthat the

2. apostle Paul describesHimas:“… whilewe wait for the blessedhope—the appearingofthe glory of
our great Godand Savior,Jesus Christ” (Titus2:13). We can alsolearnthat God the Fatheris witnessof
Jesus’full identityaswell, “Butaboutthe Sonhe says,Yourthrone, O God,will last for ever and
ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of yourkingdom”. Learnfrom the OldTestament
propheciesof Christannounce Hisdeity, “Fortousa childis born,to us a son is given,andthe
government will be on hisshoulders.And he will be calledWonderful Counselor,MightyGod,
EverlastingFather, Prince ofPeace” (Isaiah9:6).
Christ'sexample includedworshippingGodonthe Sabbath day(fromsunsetFridaytosunsetSaturday)
and on the Bible'sannual Holy Daysas we can learnby reading Luke 4:16, “ He went to Nazareth,where
he had been broughtup, andon the Sabbathdayhe went intothe synagogue,aswas hiscustom. He
stoodup to read” Hisexample alsoinvolved love and compassionforothers.We canlearn from
Matthew 9:36, “Whenhe saw the crowds, he had compassiononthem, becausethey were harassed
and helpless,likesheep withouta shepherd”. We can alsolearnwhenwe readin Luke 4:4, Jesus
answered, “Itis written: ‘Man shall notlive on bread alone…”Heisstatingthat Christianswill
understandthe teachingsandwayof life inthe Scripturesandwill strive tolive bythem.
As Christianswe needtoputourcallingbefore everythingandeveryoneelse!We canlearnof another
example of Jesuswhenwe readMark3: “Then Jesus’motherand brothersarrived.Standing outside,
they sent someonein to call him. 32
A crowd wassitting around him,and they told him, “Yourmother
and brothersare outsidelookingfor you.” 33
“Whoaremy mother and my brothers?” he asked.34
Then
he looked at those seated ina circle around himand said, “Here are my mother andmy brothers!
35
Whoeverdoes God’swill ismy brother andsister and mother” (Mark 3:31-35). Accordingto the
Bible,aChristianissomeone whorespondstoGod'scalling,repentsof hissins,isbaptized,receives
God's HolySpiritand livesasJesuslived.
“But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners,
Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those

3. who would believe in him and receive eternal life”( 1 Timothy 1:16).