What would Jesus do?

WWJD? It was the YOLO of the 90's. It stood for "What would Jesus do?" This phrase has been overused and unfortunately misused.

The main point: If you face a decision in your life you should determine what Jesus would do in that situation and act accordingly. The problem is that we face many different situations that Jesus would not have faced. For example the Internet. Or dating. Or for women, being a woman!  

BUT...........

Jesus did live on earth and therefore was faced with many temptations that are at the heart of any issue that we are facing.  I believe that any and all struggles and hurt we face in this life are a result of wanting to be in control. At least, that's how I see it. (Freud believed we learn how to control our environment during the potty training years of development).

Why do we fall into addictions? Why do we get pissed off if someone cuts us off in traffic? Why does it hurt when a love one passes away?

When things do not go according to plan (or rather our plan) we are frustrated. There is so much in life we can control and I am not pleading we fall into a fatalistic mindset. But there is so much we cannot control. The only certain thing of life is that it is uncertain.  The Question one must ask is how should one view and react to life's seemingly unpredictable circumstances?

As a follower of Jesus, I look toward Him as my example. He certainly did not have an easy upbringing. We learn in Scriptures that Mary was found to be with child before she was married to her then boyfriend (Joseph). This seems not as much of an issue in 2014 Western Culture however this was a huge deal in 4BC (roughly). Mary and Joe were not living in sin but God conceived a child in Mary to bring salvation to the world. (This is the message of Christmas).

Jesus was raised in a world where many upright religious leaders looked down upon him and his father and viewed him as a mistake child (which is oddly ironic because He was perfect and without sin).

The story of Jesus is he grows and he learns and develops into this man who loves His heavenly father. He develops a ministry in the most unique way by choosing men who have no formal training to be his disciples. Throughout his ministry he taught people what it looked like to actually fall in love with God and not just with the rules of religion. He invited people into a personal relationship with the Father. His love was incredible. His love brought him to pray and see people healed. His love was even greater because He was willing to touch people that society deemed as "untouchable."

Jesus made the Jewish religious leaders of the day upset because He claimed to be God. For them, Jesus could not be God because He did not fit their qualifications. Jesus left no room for being politically correct or moral relativism. He said He was the only way to the Father.

The Jewish leaders did not like Jesus and they saw him as a threat. As He continue to claim to be God and prove it through His actions they plotted a scheme to kill him. They used one of His closest friends as a spy to lead Jesus to be arrested.

A huge crowd gathered around Jesus and his disciples. Peter, another close friend of Jesus, knew that He was in trouble. Peter grabbed his sword and attacked the first person he saw. The person was Malchus. He was commissioned by the high priest to  arrest Jesus. However, When Peter attacked Malchus, instead of hitting his neck or chest he missed. His missed attack resulted in Malchus having his ear chopped off.

Jesus tells Peter to put his sword away and then reaches to the ground and grabs the ear that is laying on the ground dirty and bloody. He says, "No more of this." When Jesus does the unthinkable. He places the ear back onto the head of the man who was trying to arrest him. Jesus healed him. One second, Malchus had no ear and a few seconds later it was back fully attached.

In the midst of being betrayed and arrested Jesus choose to bring healing to his enemy.

Malchus used that ear to hear Jesus' last words on the cross. "Father, forgive them. For they do not know what they are doing."

Malchus came to faith in Jesus later in his life. He experienced the goodnesss of God. He experienced it through Jesus bringing healer and hearing Jesus pray to God for His salvation.

I could easily go on a rant on how we need to show people the love of God. That we need to pray for the salvation of friends and family that do not know the Lord. That we need to forgive others, even when it is tough. But not today. I just preached on that on Sunday at Awakening Alliance Church. You can find that sermon on the church website.

Today, I do not want to focus on "what would Jesus do?" but rather "what did Jesus do?" I think it is important to think about what Jesus would do in a situation but it can only come out of knowing what Jesus has already done for you and I. I am talking about his willingness to give up control. He laid done His life and was killed on  a cross. He did not stay in the grave but rose again on the third day.

Jesus provided everything for us. He provided for us a relationship with God that was not possible because of sin. He provided for us eternal life (first in heaven and later in the New Jerusalem). He provided the means by which all things will be redeem all earth. Every relationship, every discipline, everything!

We want control. It is part of being human. But what if instead of having to be in control of everything we acknowledge the fact that we are not in control. But God is! God is in control of your life, of my life, of the universe. What if our faith is not in you or me or TEAM USA but in God. Our faith is not in what would Jesus do if He were on earth now but on what He accomplished 2000 years ago.