Have you ever thought about the Apostles as twelve ordinary men? Sometimes we look at the people in the Bible as super spiritual people to whom we could never measure up. These ordinary men were used by God in extraordinary ways. Let's take a quick look at who they were are what they left to follow Jesus. We will list them in chonological order of when they met Jesus.
John 1:29ff:
Andrew - The brother of Peter, a fisherman from Bethsaida. He was so excited to find the Messiahd that he first went and ound his brother.
John - He is note mentioned by name in John but scholars agree he was the other disciple who left to follow Jesus with Andrew. He is often reffered to as the apostle who Jesus loved.
Peter (Simon) - A fisher from Bethsaida, usually associated with the foundation of the church. He was also known for his quick tongue. You may also know him as the only other person beside Jesus to walk on water.
Philip - Philip first found his friend Nathanael, and this evangelisitc zeal was later empazsized by his title, "the evangelist" because we see his traveling out of Jerusalem after Christ's ascention
Nathanael - Nathanaul was doem Cana in Galilee, and is probably the Bartholomew mentioned in Matthew 10.
Matthew 4:18ff
James - He was the bother of John, anf a fisher by trade. Together these brother were called the "Sons of Thunder".
Matthew (Levi) - This tax collector turned apostle is best known for his evangelistic party that he orchestrated to mix his new friends, with his old friends.
Luke 6:15-16
Thomas - ThomasHe was also called Didymus (John 11:16; 20:24), which is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name.
James the son of Alphaeus - He is often called James "the less". He was the author of the book of James.
Simon called Zelotes - Simon was a zealot, who was a person identified for their zeal for protection the laws of Judiasm.
Judas the brother of James - He is generally identified with Lebbaeus (Matt 10:3) and Thaddaeus (Mark 3:18).
Judas Iscariot - We known him as the traitor/betrayor.
What I find to me so amazing is that these ordianyr were used by God in such an extraordinary way. It gives great hope for an ordinary person like me, that I can be used of God in extraordianry ways.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Ordinary Jesus
Isn't it amazing what we think about a person based solely upon what we see? I must confess, that too often, I make the same kind of stereotypes based upon what a person wears or how many piercings they have or how they carry themselves, or even what color their skin is. This is a dreadful problem that plagues all humanity. In fact as I prepare this sermon, the Sunday before Martin Luther King day, I am ashamed to say that we have not yet fully learned the idea of equality between gender, ethnicity, social status, and so many other areas that divide us.
When to comes to the Bible we often do the same things. I can't tell you how many times I have hear a person say that they wish they were like the Apostle Paul. In their minds he was a "Super Christian." Or any other great hero of the faith. One day we will fully see that the same Spirit Paul followed, is the same Spirit that indwells every believer. It wasn't some super "Christian gene" that ran through the apostle, but a ability to clear His life of every obstacle that kept his from submission to the Spirit. Still the stereotype continues, Paul the Super Christian.
I fear though, that this type of mentality might do the greatest damage to our understanding of Jesus. So I want to introduce you to the "Ordinary Jesus". Now I know that that sounds funny. Even me typing it sounds kind of sacrilegious. But what I mean is that Jesus was a man, and ordinary man, a human, just like you and me. And the Bible goes through great lengths to prove it.
In John 1, God was "made flesh" like you and me and walked with us. In Galatians 4:4, the scripture says that he was "made of a woman", and "made under the law", reminding that we had a fleshly birth and was made subject to all the laws of nature and man. Romans 8:3 says that Jesus was sent in "the likeness of sinful flesh", again alluding to the fact that Jesus faced all the lusts and desire that we face. Then the icing on the cake goes to Philippians 2:7-8 where Jesus was made...
...of no reputation
...in the form of a servant
...in the likeness of man
...in humility
...for obedience
...for death
...for the cross
All of these scripture cry out ORDINARY: born like a normal man, lived under the law like a normal man, struggled with the lusts like any man, and died like an ordinary man. the one thing that stand out in the normal life of Jesus was the fact that his desire was not toward sin from the beginning. He did not have Adam's sinful curse placed upon his life. But He still faced the call of sin.
In my opinion, it is this ordinary side of Jesus that often get overlooked. We focus on the divine side of Jesus, and rightly so. His miracle are much more known than adolescence. His teaching are much more know than his schooling. But a proper understanding of his "ordinary" side is of great value. In fact, I believe that a proper understating of the "ordinary Jesus" offers us extraordinary hope. Let's look together at Matthew 3:13-4:11 and see what I call three proofs of Jesus Ordinary side. The story is of the baptist and temptation of Jesus. Take time to read them in your Bible, then look over the three proofs that I have listed.
Proof #1:Jesus Followed the Path of Righteousness
When to comes to the Bible we often do the same things. I can't tell you how many times I have hear a person say that they wish they were like the Apostle Paul. In their minds he was a "Super Christian." Or any other great hero of the faith. One day we will fully see that the same Spirit Paul followed, is the same Spirit that indwells every believer. It wasn't some super "Christian gene" that ran through the apostle, but a ability to clear His life of every obstacle that kept his from submission to the Spirit. Still the stereotype continues, Paul the Super Christian.
I fear though, that this type of mentality might do the greatest damage to our understanding of Jesus. So I want to introduce you to the "Ordinary Jesus". Now I know that that sounds funny. Even me typing it sounds kind of sacrilegious. But what I mean is that Jesus was a man, and ordinary man, a human, just like you and me. And the Bible goes through great lengths to prove it.
In John 1, God was "made flesh" like you and me and walked with us. In Galatians 4:4, the scripture says that he was "made of a woman", and "made under the law", reminding that we had a fleshly birth and was made subject to all the laws of nature and man. Romans 8:3 says that Jesus was sent in "the likeness of sinful flesh", again alluding to the fact that Jesus faced all the lusts and desire that we face. Then the icing on the cake goes to Philippians 2:7-8 where Jesus was made...
...of no reputation
...in the form of a servant
...in the likeness of man
...in humility
...for obedience
...for death
...for the cross
All of these scripture cry out ORDINARY: born like a normal man, lived under the law like a normal man, struggled with the lusts like any man, and died like an ordinary man. the one thing that stand out in the normal life of Jesus was the fact that his desire was not toward sin from the beginning. He did not have Adam's sinful curse placed upon his life. But He still faced the call of sin.
In my opinion, it is this ordinary side of Jesus that often get overlooked. We focus on the divine side of Jesus, and rightly so. His miracle are much more known than adolescence. His teaching are much more know than his schooling. But a proper understanding of his "ordinary" side is of great value. In fact, I believe that a proper understating of the "ordinary Jesus" offers us extraordinary hope. Let's look together at Matthew 3:13-4:11 and see what I call three proofs of Jesus Ordinary side. The story is of the baptist and temptation of Jesus. Take time to read them in your Bible, then look over the three proofs that I have listed.
Proof #1:Jesus Followed the Path of Righteousness
- I love this story because of the fact that is shows Jesus dedication to the plan of the Father. Earlier in the Life of Jesus He told his parents that he must be about his father's business. The only reason for Jesus to be baptised was to show his willingness to follow the Father's agenda and not his own. That's what baptism is, and submission to the Father's plan. Jesus followed that plan to perfection, and that pleased the Father.
- In Jesus temptation, I believe the Devil was coming after Jesus in one sense to see if Jesus was really human, or if he was God incognito. You know, just God disguised as a man, not God as a man. But Jesus does not tip his hand. Satan comes first with things that are not all that bad, and certainly not against the law, but they were tempting Jesus to live life outside the realm of the ordinary. What is the ordinary way to get bread...cook it. And what happens when you or I stub our toe. Okay, Let's not get too graphic here. but certainly the norm is not to turn stone into bread and to have angels come in an rescue us from every difficulty that we face. Certainly the last temptation for God to worship the Devil was not acceptable at all. Satan was defeated. I like what one author said.
- "As I look on the temptation, I see that Satan proposed an enticing improvement. He tempted Jesus toward the good parts of being human without the bad: to savor the taste of bread without being subject to the fixed rules of hunger and agriculture, to confront risk with no real danger, to enjoy fame and power without the prospect of painful rejection - in short, to wear the crown but not the cross." The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey, p. 72
- If I were Jesus about this time I would have called on the Father to "thumb" the Devil out of the way. Certainly Jesus could have done that, but instead he used scripture to defeat the temptation of the Devil. Why, Because He wanted us to see how to do it. He wanted ordinary you and me to know that he was just like us, only without sin
Here is the great news. The "Ordinary Jesus" offers us ordinary hope. Once we have come to grips with the ordinary aspects of Jesus, then we can truly see our identification with Jesus. Peter says that Jesus left "us an example, that we should follow in his footsteps." But if Jesus is God incognito, then that is impossible. But If Jesus was just like me, then I can. I can follow in his footsteps. I can follow the paths of righteousness. I can yield myself to the Spirit's control. I can resist temptation. I can be victorious. and the list could go on and on. Here is the extraordinary hope, because of Christ, I can life the Christian life.
Oh, and there's one more thing. Sometimes, I fail to resist temptation. Sometimes I fall Short of God's original plans. Sometimes I blow it big time. And when this happens Hebrews 4:15, tells us that because Jesus was an ordinary man, he knows how I fell. He does not know the aspect of the failure, but he does know the depths of the temptation. And He is able to forgive, comfort and guide till victory is achieved (Heb 2:18).
I pray that you would see all your sufficiency that is in Christ and experience the power of Chirst in you the hope of glory!
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