Thursday 23 May 2013

Read: Hebrews 4:14-16, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

How can we be sure that we can trust Jesus' teaching? If we are truly taking seriously His command to evaluate the teaching of others then shouldn't we apply the same standard to His teaching? Surely the teacher is not above the rules. As we study Jesus' command for us to evaluate teaching by the fruit we see in the lives of the teacher we should also turn the microscope on Jesus' life. Did He really live up to the standard He taught?

In Hebrews 4:15 the writer makes the most stunning statement about the character (or fruit) of Jesus life: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -yet was without sin." If we ever had any questions about the character of Jesus or the fruit in His life this passage seems to quash them all. Jesus is the perfect example of good fruit showing the truth of one's teachings. Not only is the trustworthiness of Jesus' teachings proved by His sinless life, the fact that He was tempted in every way means that He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and His teaching becomes practical and relevant to our lives.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 also proves Jesus' character: "God made Him who had no sin be sin for us..." Because Jesus had no sin and resisted all temptation He is able to die in our place, taking the penalty for our sins, and restore us to right relationship with God. However, Jesus did more than just live without sin, He also exemplified the fruit we studied yesterday in Galatians. Think about this:

 

Love - Jesus showed perfect love for all of us by dying on the cross for His enemies.

Joy - Despite being homeless and many trying to kill Him Jesus demonstrates a life of incredible joy and love for others.

Peace - When enemies surrounded Him, Jesus was not flustered or stressed, His peace was in God.

Patience - Jesus showed boundless patience with mankind, dying for us when we continually turn away from Him.

Kindness - Jesus demonstrated love and kindness even to the outcasts of society.

Goodness - As God, Jesus is perfectly good, demonstrating this in giving good things to us, even His own life.

Faithfulness - Jesus promises to be with us always, even to the end of the age. Jesus always keeps his promises.

Gentleness - Jesus shows incredible gentleness to the abused and the broken, even allowing the sinful woman to wash His feet.

Self-control - Despite being tempted in every way Jesus never gave in to sin (Hebrews 4)

 

The fruit shown in Jesus' life is overwhelming. We can trust Jesus' teachings without any question or hesitation. Of course, no other teacher can live up to the perfect standard set by Christ, but we should be constantly weighing up the teaching we hear with the fruit we see in the life of the teacher. We should compare the way they live with the way that Jesus' lived and see how they are striving to live a holy life. Only then can we trust their teaching.

 

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

 

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¥ Praise God that He lived a life without any sin so that you might be able to have a relationship with Him. Pray that God would help you to be more like Christ in every way and that He would show you the areas where you fall short of His standard.

¥ Pray for Andrew and Marilyn Schache in the service at the Talua Ministry Training Centre in Vanuatu. Praise God that He has supplied the necessary financial support. Pray that they would be a blessing to the staff and students at the centre and that God would use them to build His kingdom.

 

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Why do you think it was important that Jesus was without sin?

2. How would Christianity and the message of Jesus be different if Jesus had sinned?