Tag Archives: walk in the way of love

IMITATORS OF JESUS

Christian Life, ,

IMITATORS OF JESUS

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5: 1)

The third step in being a disciple of Jesus is imitating Him in everything He was and did. Disciples were taught to walk behind their master, one behind the other so that they could watch the person in front of them. The one who walked behind the rabbi was to copy everything he did.  Each one was to copy the one in front so that they would all end up copying their rabbi.

It was the privilege of the disciple who walked directly behind his rabbi to be covered with the dust which the rabbi’s sandals kicked up as he walked. This was a sign of his privileged position. It was considered a blessing to wear the rabbi’s dust.

On one occasion Jesus sent His disciples out to the villages round about to preach the good news of the kingdom and the do the works of the kingdom in preparation for His arrival in that region. If a village or a household refused to receive them, they were to shake the dust off their feet and move on without protest. What was He saying?

We interpret His instruction from our purely human mindset. Shake the dust – i.e., thumb your nose at them as a sign of contempt. Does that sound like the way Jesus would react, Jesus – the one who always looked for an opportunity to show mercy? If the rabbi’s dust which they wore was a sign of His blessing, wouldn’t it be true to say that He instructed them to leave His blessing on those who rejected Him by shaking off the dust of their feet even if they refused His message?

Jesus used the rabbi/disciple model to train His disciples to be like Him. Mark recorded His strategy like this:

He appointed twelve that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have the authority to drive out demons (Mark 3:14).

“That they might be with Him” was the first part of their training – following and learning. They were to watch and listen, absorbing everything they could about their rabbi, not only just learning to teach what He taught but actually becoming what He was – a true son of the Father in every sense of the word.

Jesus took every opportunity to teach them about the Father and to model a true son. They were not just to be wooden puppets, moving when He pulled the strings. They were to absorb everything about Him including His attitude and disposition. When James and John wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans for refusing them hospitality, Jesus sharply rebuked them. 

…James and John…asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them. But Jesus turned and rebuked them.  And He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” (Luke 9.54-55)

He told them more than once:

If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world (John 12: 47).

Jesus both taught and showed His disciples that His disposition towards His people was compassion and mercy. He wept over the city of Jerusalem for not recognising Him and for rejecting their opportunity to respond to His invitation to return to the Father and to be a part of His eternal kingdom.

Imitation Jesus is not just a mechanical copying of what He said and did. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God promised that He would send His Spirit who would change their hearts (Ez. 36:26-27). He fulfilled His promise on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on all the waiting believers. Peter responded to the confusion in Jerusalem by reminding the people of the same promise in the prophecy of Joel.

And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days (Joel 2:28-29).

The same Spirit who empowered Jesus would indwell them. Unlike all the other rabbis who could teach and train their disciples but could not impart their heart and disposition to them, Jesus promised that the very same Spirit that fell on Him would fall on them. He would live within them as Jesus’ other self, and mould them into His image as they followed and learned from Him.

It was His intention to produce replicas of Himself, empowered by the same Spirit, carrying the same authority to do the same works and even more (John 14:12) through Him, so that they would extend the kingdom of God wherever they went.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Be Imitators Of God

Bible Study, , ,

BE IMITATORS OF GOD

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:1-2).

Every word in these two verses is loaded with significance. In the earlier NIV versions, Paul’s words are translated as be imitators of God as dearly loved children. One of the requirements of a disciple in 1st century Israel was that he learn to imitate his rabbi. ‘Imitation’ in this context did not mean ‘a fake’ but rather a replica of his master. A disciple has to live in such close proximity to his rabbi that he learned to think, speak and act just like him.

A rabbi chose disciples in whom he had the confidence that they would become just like him. They were to walk behind him as he moved from place to place. He was essentially a roving teacher, instructing the people who gathered around him in the correct interpretation of the Torah – the 5 books of Moses – and debating current issues in the light of what other rabbis whose authority to interpret and apply his interpretation of the Torah according to what he believed to be God’s original intention. This interpretation and application was called the rabbi’s ‘yoke’.

The concept of a yoke had special significance in Israel. The Israelites were and agricultural people – they worked and lived off the land. Their word of God, made up of two letters, e and l, el, was derived from two pictures in the original paleo-Hebrew script. The ‘e’ was the picture of an ox head, meaning ‘strength’ and the ‘l’ was a picture of a shepherd’s staff, meaning ‘authority’. They understood God to be one who had strength and authority.

The same two letters, e and l appear in the word aleph meaning to learn by association. To a Hebrew person, a yoke was ‘a staff of the shoulder’. In order to train a young ox to plough a straight furrow, the farmer would place a yoke across its shoulder and yoke it with an older, experienced ox so that became a replica of his ‘teacher’.

Now does not Jesus’ invitation have new meaning for you?

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matt. 11:28-30).

Jesus, as a rabbi with authority from God, invited those who were tired of the demanding yoke of the religious leaders with its petty rules and rituals, to take His yoke. By learning to live the way He taught them, He would change their hearts and free them from the fear and guilt which drove them to seek God’s approval by obeying laws and rules.

In order to be imitators of God, we must live in close association with Jesus and learn from Him. Paul called this “putting on Christ”. God has freed us from bondage to Satan and to slavery to sin. However, change is not automatic. In close association with Jesus, we learn to think like Him and to behave like Him. It is a slow, life-long process which comes through practice. Let me illustrate.

Brick-makers use a mould into which they pour concrete which they must allow to dry before they take away the form. Once the concrete or clay is dry, the brick will retain its shape when they remove the form.

In a similar way, when we imitate Jesus by acting with humility and gentleness, even if we don’t feel it, we are creating a ‘form’ which will eventually become a way of life. Paul used another metaphor, that of getting dressed.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Col. 3: 12).

The more we act like Jesus, the more we will become like Him. We are to ‘walk’ in the way of love. The Bible pictures life as a journey through a dangerous and unknown way. If we are to reach our destination, we must follow the one who knows the way lest we wander from the path and die in the desert. Jesus said, “I am the way.” He is the ‘light’ – He walks in the light of God’s Word and is, therefore, qualified to lead us to the Father.

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12).

Jesus came to show us how to live by the Torah – God’s directions for reaching our destination. He insisted that He had not come to do away with God’s instructions but to ‘fulfil’ them – to show His people how to God intended for them to live. He wanted them to be examples to the surrounding pagan nations of His best way of living.

Our role as His disciples is to stick close to Him and to learn by association with Him, imitating Him in every detail of our lives until we become replicas of our Master in this world.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?