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Volume 25 Number 11 November 2023
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Page 7
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I Want to Be More Like Jesus
Raymond Elliott
In the hymn, “More Like Jesus,” the first stanza lyrics are, “I want to be more like Jesus, And follow Him day by day; I want to be true and faithful, And every command obey.” Our beloved Savior is worthy of our imitation. After all, He is the perfect example. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:21, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (NKJV). The apostle Paul encouraged the Christians in Corinth to “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Here are some of the characteristics of Jesus we should instill in our lives.
- Jesus was submissive to the will of God His Father. Jesus stated in John 7:28, “…I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true…” The eternal Word was willing to leave Heaven to be made lower than angels and to suffer on Calvary for our sins so we could be saved (Hebrews 2:7; Philippians 2:5-8). Near to the end of His life on this earth, He prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus was submissive to the will of His Father from eternity to His death on the cross.
- He came to this world to be a servant. “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Our Lord also said, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (John 12:26). Therefore, Christians should have a servant heart. The apostle Peter wrote, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10 ESV).
- Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). We know that God desires all men to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). It is the mission of the church to preach the Gospel to all the world, beginning where we are (Matthew 28:19-20). The church of our Lord is the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15 NKJV). We can teach the word publicly and from house to house as Paul did (Acts 20:20). We can support mission work in foreign lands, preaching and teaching the Gospel of Christ by every expedient method to reach the lost in every country.
- Our Lord and Savior had compassion for people. “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Jesus had “compassion” (Matthew 15:32) on the “four thousand men, beside women and children” (Matthew 15:38) who followed Him and fed them and the “five thousand men besides the women and children” (Matthew 14:13-21) who had followed Him. He also healed their sick. The apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 3:12-13 that Christians should, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another…” (ESV). True compassion is not just to feel sorry for someone but to help a needy person.
- Jesus Christ was often in prayer to His heavenly Father. Here are a few times when Jesus prayed. “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:21). Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16 NIV). Jesus prayed before choosing 12 of the disciples to be apostles. “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12 ESV). Of course, there is the prayer of Jesus when in the Garden of Gethsemane as recorded in John 17. In Matthew 26:39, Jesus “…prayed, saying, ‘O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will’” (NKJV). While Jesus was on the cross, He prayed, “…Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided his garments and cast lots” (Luke 23:34). We are to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Also, we are to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We should “continue earnestly in prayer…” (Colossians 4:2).
- Jesus possessed a forgiving heart. Jesus was indeed merciful and forgiving. He told the paralytic, “…Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5). When a sinful woman bathed the feet of Jesus with her tears and wiped them with her hair, He said, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48). Even more compelling is the way that Jesus forgave those who sinned against him directly. For Jesus, forgiveness was not automatic, but rather, it was intentional – a conscious choice. After the Roman soldiers had scourged and nailed Him to the cross, Jesus prayed, “…Father, forgive them…” (Luke 23:34). Jesus also taught His disciples to pray. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). As Christians, we are to be forgiving. In Colossians 3:13, we read, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (ESV).
- Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life for us. We can never love as our Lord Jesus Christ loved while on this earth. It is expressly stated that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus (John 11:3, 5); the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21) and His disciples (John 13:1; 15:9, 12). Though not explicitly stated, it is believed to have been the apostle John whom the Lord loved (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). However, the greatest manifestation of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ was at Calvary when He shed His precious blood for the sins of the world. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NKJV). “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). Our Lord shed His blood for all of mankind, and His desire is that all would believe in Him and obey the Gospel of Christ, so that the blood could wash away their sins. Therefore, we should love God with all our hearts – soul and mind – as well as love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-38). We are to love our Savior who died for us.
If you don’t love Jesus, you won’t have Jesus. Paul penned, “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed…” (1 Corinthians 16:22). We are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). “Let brotherly love continue” (Hebrews 13:1). Jesus taught that we should love our enemies and even those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-44).
Though we cannot attain perfectly to the example of Jesus, nevertheless, we should strive to be “More and more like Jesus, I would ever be, More and more like Jesus, My Savior who died for me.”
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