What made Jesus different?

"Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." - Matthew 7:28-29

Dear Friends in Christ -

What made Jesus different from all the other leaders and gurus out there? There was a deep internal consistency between what he SAID and what he DID. In other words, he walked the talk. How this played out in day to day living, however, looked more like a steady goodness spilling out all along a winding path rather than a lockstep march in a singular direction.

Jesus lived 100% in tune with the Spirit - and the spirit of the law (the commandments). The Scribes lived 100% in tune with the letter of the law. But have you ever noticed that there's no capital L "Letter" associated with the letter of the law? That's because even from the beginning, God gave the gift of the law only as a way of getting us on the right track to relationship with Him. Once we figured that out, His hope was that we would move from leaning on the law to leaning on Him.

Most rule-breakers aren't known for their "authority." Rule-breakers are usually known for being against authority. Jesus was different. He had authority because he was 100% true to the Spirit - the Spirit of God, the Spirit of love. In that Spirit, he once "broke" the Sabbath to mill grain with this fingers to feed those who were hungry. In that Spirit, he once turned away from people who were clamoring for healing and moved on to another town so that he could fulfill his #1 mission of teaching the Good News.

People didn't always like Jesus. They didn't always treat him well. But they always recognized that he was different, that he alone had authority. Even his enemies respected him for that. The question for us is this: Will we live like Jesus' enemies and respect him from a distance - or will we live like Jesus' disciples and follow him as our Lord?

Striving to follow,
Janet+