Be courageous like Jesus, you say? But He said He was the Son of God. Did it really take courage to walk this earth, since He was God?
And yet, He was also a man, so much so that His own brothers and sisters didn’t recognize His divinity until after His death and resurrection.
Scripture records that Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man 80 times – far more than He referred to Himself as the Son of God.
You see, He was walking around on this earth, as a human being, just like us. He laid aside His divine privileges to come to earth. He had to, in order to fulfill what the Father sent Him to do for us.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV)
Don’t believe the movies and books that come out portraying Jesus doing miracles as a child. His ministry began when He was filled with the Holy Spirit at His baptism. That’s when the power came to walk in ministry, just as it does for us.
Since He was and is the Son of God, why did he usually go by “Son of Man”? To answer that we have to go back to the Garden of Eden and Adam. Here, we find the reason God had to send His Son to the earth.
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27&28, NKJV)
God created Adam and Eve in His image and gave them dominion in the earth. He furnished a beautiful garden with food to eat and allowed joyful companionship with Himself. What more could they want?
And yet, somehow, they were not satisfied. We don’t know how long they had been enjoying God’s presence in the Garden of Eden before an interloper came along with a deceiving idea. He threw it out to Eve, and she entertained it.
Satan wanted dominion in the earth and there was only one way to get it – by convincing a human to give it up. He had to do it by trickery.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1, NKJV)
Simply put, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, they turned their rights to dominion in the earth over to Satan.
So, you know the story: they both ate, and everything changed.
And when confronted by God in the cool of the day, they both passed the buck. Eve blamed it on the serpent. Adam, who was right there when Eve was being tempted and could have stepped in to stop her, blamed his wife.
In essence, Adam kicked God out of his life. To keep them from eating of the Tree of Life and living forever, they had to be sent out of the Garden of Eden. Instead of enjoying the sumptuous garden God had provided, toil and difficulty would become their lot in life.
But God, the Father, in His great love for all mankind, had a plan. He unfolded it over thousands of years, culminating in His own dear Son dying on earth for us. That supreme sacrifice and triumph over death took back from Satan what Adam gave up.
Because of what Jesus did on the cross, authority and dominion were restored to mankind. It took a man, entering earth, to redeem what the first man lost.
What does that mean for us? With the Spirit of Jesus living inside us when we receive Him as Lord of our lives, we can be courageous like Him.
Jesus did nothing without the Father’s go-ahead. He was always guided by His Father. He received words of knowledge for ministering healing and deliverance, just as we do. He listened for the Father’s timing.
“My best friend is sick? Let’s stay a couple more days and then go check on him.” Lazarus was already in the grave when He got there, and logic would say, “What was up with waiting so long?” But God had a greater event in mind: resurrection! We trust the Father to know the best course and the best timing in every situation.
Our calling as followers of Jesus Christ is to do what He says. Many Christians cop out by saying, “Oh, I can’t do that. Jesus could, but not I.” It shows a lack of understanding of who Jesus was and is. He presented to us a perfect example of a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led person.
He performed miracles, healings and deliverances through the power of the Holy Spirit, just like he calls us to do. He tapped into the power of the Holy Spirit, and so can we.
We have the same tools Jesus had when He walked this earth. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us. We have the Scriptures to encourage and develop our faith. We have prayer for pouring out our petitions and communing with the Father. We have the fellowship of believers in our local churches for corporate worship and building faith together.
Let’s look at some examples of the courage of Jesus Christ.
How about when He was in the garden, sweating drops of blood? We skim over that without much thought. Drops of blood? He knew what was coming, and it was horrifying!
To carry the sin and degradation of the whole world – past, present and future – on the cross? Yes, major courage was in order for the Son of Man.
What was Jesus doing that night in the garden? He was praying. He needed to, as we need to when we are in crisis. He wanted the coming horrors to be lifted, but he knew to pray, “Not My will, but Thy will be done.” Isn’t that our prayer, as devoted children of God? We know God will give us the strength for anything we face. Jesus knew this, as well.
Think about when Jesus was growing up. He had little brothers and sisters who observed Him in everyday life. When He started His ministry, they didn’t get it. Son of God? They saw Him as a man, which He indeed was, but so much more. How do you think He felt as He began His ministry, when His own family did not understand what He was doing? They accused Him of being crazy. How that must have hurt Him.
That night when Peter denied Him must have left Him feeling very alone. There are many times when we will feel isolated because of our stand for Jesus. It takes courage to continue on with our faith in God when no one is standing with us.
You know, “Christ” is not the last name of Jesus. Christ means “anointed.” We can walk in obedience to the Father, and in the anointing of the Holy Spirit by faith, like Jesus did. He lives in us and is flowing through us to perform His works on earth today. Step out and be courageous like Jesus Christ!
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I grew up in a Methodist pastor’s home, so I was schooled in the ways of the Lord from birth.
Relationship with God did not come until early in my college days at Asbury College in Wilmore, KY (now Asbury University) where I majored in Pre Med Biology.
My background includes medical lab technology in hospital and physician office settings as well as pharmaceutical sales, and life insurance sales. The local church is my focal point for serving the Lord as Elder, Prayer Coordinator, life group leader, and teacher.
I live in beautiful Oregon, USA. My desire is to impart words of truth and love that can transform lives.
I invite you to visit my blog at www.sharonannedixon.com to continue our journey together.