Living Like Jesus

You could choose to live for Jesus. You will never live like Jesus.

There is something entirely unique about Jesus. It goes beyond the consequential facts about his life. Yes, he was crucified and endured it. Other people have suffered evils like this. Yes he forgave those who killed him. There are not many who have done this. Even Peter, as the article states, refused to be made an equal of Jesus though he matched the martyrdom and forgiveness. One could surmise that the big difference (and again the article says as much) is that Jesus paid for sin. But I think even that falls short.

Jesus is more. Jesus is the climax of Israel’s story, the peak, what it was all building towards. Jesus is what Israel was supposed to be.

From our position in the ongoing story of God and humanity, trying to answer the “What Would Jesus Do?” question is an exercise in missing the point.

It is missing the point because we live after Jesus. Jesus’ vocation was very specific. His specific actions make perfect sense within the story of Israel and what God wanted done within Israel. We live according to the ethic that Jesus put forward – how the true Israel is supposed to be. Jesus was the representative of Israel, the firstborn.

We have a different job that Jesus. We don’t have to start what he started. We have to spread what he started. We live for Jesus.