Jesus Says

There are two frequent reactions or responses that I hear myself saying after Jesus speaks. The first one is, “Who do You think you are, Jesus?” I guess I have had my share of disappointments in life, that red flags go up in my head whenever people make statements that say, “Believe me!”, “Trust me.”, “You can count on what I say.”, or “You can bank on it.” All too often people either didn’t really mean what they said or they were unable to fulfill what they promised.

The second thing that I find myself saying to Jesus is, “That’s unreasonable and unrealistic!” Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away”, “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away,” “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also,” or “do not worry about your life.” The kind of life that Jesus expects is not something that I am able, never mind willing to do.

Yet, this is the kind of life that God demands. If we were to take God at His word, it will do one of two things: It will either make us throw our hands up in the air and give up, or it will drive us to our knees and cry out, “Lord, help me! Lord, save me!”

This is why following after or imitating Jesus has the same purpose as keeping the Law. Paul says, “…the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.” (Galatians 3:24) Keeping the Law and imitating Christ reveals what is lacking in the Law and in us; therefore keeping the Law and following Jesus brings us to the foot of the cross. The sacrifice of Jesus does what the Law or our efforts cannot do—that is to be a holy and righteous people. If we believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father, it not only pleases Him immensely (Hebrews 11:4), but makes us righteous (Romans 3:22-23, Philippians 3:9).