#1 What did Jesus believe about himself?
For anyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ, what they believe about him is crucial to their faith. But that faith is founded upon what Jesus believed about himself. If it were not so, then we could believe whatever we liked about Jesus whether it were true or not.
Three things Jesus believed about himself:
No situation he can’t change
Jairus had a daughter who was sick. He came to Jesus and Jesus changed the situation. A woman “caught in the act of adultery” is dragged into the street to be stoned to death. Jesus changed the situation. Time after time Jesus changed the situation. Blind people saw, deaf people heard, crippled people walked. There isn’t one situation in the whole of the gospels that came before Jesus that he didn’t have the power to change.
No-one is beyond his reach
From priest to public menace, Jesus reached out to them all. He offered everyone he met the same opportunity to build a relationship with God. He knew some would find it difficult—the rich, the religious—but he still offered them the chance. Murderers, adulterers, tax-collectors, thieves, no-one was beyond his reach.
No authority higher than his authority
At the end of Matthew’s gospel Jesus declared: All authority in heaven and earth is mine. That’s pretty complete. If you struggle with the idea of telling the devil that he has no authority in a situation, then you can at least remind him that there is an authority that trumps his authority. The implication of these things is that when Jesus says you’re forgiven, you’re forgiven; When Jesus says you’re a beloved child of the living God, then you’re a beloved child of the living God.
#2 What did Jesus believe about people?
Everyone is worth it
In the Old Testament we are reminded time and time again that we are loved by God with an everlasting love. As far as Jesus is concerned everyone was worth the effort of the cross, everyone was worth the pain and suffering. Everyone deserves the chance to reconnect their lives to the God who loves them so very dearly.
What you are now is not all that you can be
Jesus sees the potential in all of us. As Jon Ortberg puts it, what we experience now is not normal, it’s usual. Normality is the kingdom of God. The confusion, the pain, the suffering, the doubt, all these things are a part of our current reality, but they are not meant to be a part of the ultimate normality of the kingdom. We have something better towards which we can look.
God’s love for you endures
Look at the story of the prodigal son. The father in the story didn’t go looking for his son in the far country, but he did look. When his son finally came to his senses and set out to go home and become a servant, his father was waiting and watching for him. He ran to meet him and welcomed him home as a son. God has done more than this, for he came to the foreign country to look for us. Jesus left heaven and came to earth to show us that God keeps on loving us. As Paul puts it: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
#3 What did Jesus believe about life?
Bill Hull, a pastor and author, wrote that: …to believe what Jesus believed means we hold to the conviction that the life described he described in the Sermon on the Mount is possible right now. (Choose the Life p19)
Here are 5 principles that reflect what Jesus believed about life.
God blesses
Poor, sad, humble or hungry, God blesses. Merciful, pure, peacemaking, persecuted, or mocked, God blesses. As the Old Testament says: Our God is a God who commands blessing.
Followers of Jesus can change the world
Jesus told his followers that they were the salt of the earth, a light that should not be hidden. Salt and light change things. Salt was a preservative, now we use it as seasoning. As to light, you notice when it’s not there. Do you know the difference between light and darkness? Turn a light on and darkness disappears. Turn a light off and darkness closes in. Darkness is not self-generating. It only exists where there is no light.
Life lived for God has high standards
The Sermon on the Mount covers a lot of ground. Jesus talked about anger, adultery, divorce, religious vows, revenge, loving enemies, giving, prayer and fasting, money and possessions and judgement. The opening challenge as he talked about all these topics was that your righteousness must exceed that if the teachers of the law! What a challenge—to live a life that was more righteous that the very people who were guardians of righteousness. Interesting then that at the heart of this sermon on righteousness, Jesus talks about our relationship with God.
A person’s true nature always shows eventually
As Jesus draws to a close he makes a telling observation. First he tells a simple story that everyone will understand. A good tree produces good fruit; a bad tree produces bad fruit. Great, if all we are talking about is trees, or even if it’s a wolf dressed up as a lamb. A little more dangerous than a fruit tree in disguise I’ll grant you, but the principle is okay. But then Jesus says something really shocking. Immediately he says, “And this is also true about those who follow me”. Some are false and some are true, and some of that won’t be revealed until the day of judgement. Human as we are, our tendency is to ask immediately: “Is it me?” Am I one of those who will fall into this category? That’s were Jesus’ last observation about life comes into play.
Life needs a solid foundation
Whatever you are building, build it on solid foundations. Life needs to be built not on the foundations of religious ideas or language or even practice, but on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ himself. If this is your foundation then the question I’ve just raised doesn’t come into play. Why? Because your hope, your faith is built upon Jesus, upon the truths of what he has done for you through his death on the cross. If you have trusted Jesus as leader and forgiver, Lord and Saviour, then your security is found in him.
