Jesus - The Ideal Man
Today's blog is Part 2 in this week's series on Biblical manhood. Click for Part 1; "Ask Donnell - What Is A Real Man?" There is so much confusion about manhood in our society. As a result, many men have gotten out of position and the devil has taken advantage of that by attacking their families. Unfortunately, a popular reason why these men are out of position is that they grew up in households where their fathers were also out of position making their actions the continuation of a vicious cycle.
Role models are like precious metals. They are rare and extremely valuable. Since men are visual, it really helps when we can see someone model the type of man we need to become. In a perfect world that person should be our fathers. They don't need to be perfect, they just need to be good examples. Every man is unique so it's impossible to be a carbon copy of another man but the core principles by which our role models live are transferable.
Regardless of our personal situations, there is one ideal man after whose life we can all pattern ourselves. His name is Jesus. He walked the earth as a man for thirty three years and set the standard of manhood before returning to heaven. He operated in such dominion that one day His disciples asked the question in Luke 8:25; "What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him."
In another instance, in John 7:46, the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to seize Jesus. Yet, they were so mesmerized that they went back empty handed and said, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” Also, the scriptures say in Matthew 7:28-29; "And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Jesus was some man and nobody else was even close! Let's now take a closer look at what made Him so special.
Jesus - The Ideal Man
1) Jesus knew His purpose from a very young age.
Luke 2:42-52(NKJV) - And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
What's your purpose? Do you know it? Can you articulate it clearly? When purpose is not known, abuse (abnormal use) is inevitable. Before we get into any other characteristic of Jesus let's start when He was twelve years old. Jesus was about His Father's business. He knew what His Heavenly Father sent Him to the earth to do and that's what He was doing. Even though His family didn't yet understand He was already focused. He knew His purpose. That's the first step to being a man like Jesus.
The earlier you know your purpose the better. It will save you valuable time and energy. When a man knows his purpose and exhausts his life working to fulfill it, he is demonstrating Biblical manhood. Discover your purpose today. God called David a man after His own heart in Acts 13:22 because he fulfilled all of God's Will. Can God say the same of you?
Proverbs 29:18(KJV) - Where there is no vision, the people perish (run wild, lack restraint, stumble over themselves): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Many young men don't have a vision for their lives so they run wild, lack restraint and stumble over themselves. It's impossible to have a vision for your life if you don't know why you were put on this earth. Maybe this explains the epidemic of issues with men in our society. They don't know their purpose. Jesus was the ideal man and He knew His purpose from a young age. That's the standard set for us.
2) Jesus was anointed.
Matthew 3:13-17(NKJV) - Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Luke 4:16-20(NKJV) - So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Before Jesus stepped out into formal ministry He was anointed. The Holy Spirit rested upon Him after He was baptized preparing Him for the task ahead. He no longer operated as a mere man, He had the power of God upon His humanity. The Anointing transforms a natural man into a supernatural man. If a man wants to be anything like Jesus he must have The Anointing on his life. For more details on The Anointing read the following blog; "Ask Donnell - How Do I Recognize The Anointing?"
3) Jesus successfully resisted temptation.
Matthew 4:1-11(NKJV) - Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Jesus destroyed the devil in the wilderness! Satan knows that the best way to bring down a strong man is not to fight him where he's strong but to lure him into areas of weakness through temptation. Think about Samson. The Philistines had no chance when they tried to physically fight him so they found his area of weakness and sent Delilah to exploit it. Goliath could not stand against the power of David. King Saul had no chance against the power of David. Powerful armies were brought to their knees by David but one look at Bathsheba and he was done.
Hebrews 4:15(NKJV) - For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus was the ideal man because when He was tempted He did not fall. He responded consistently with The Word of God. He understood what was written in Psalm 119:11; "Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You." Jesus taught us by example that even though we are human we don't have to let sin control our lives. He also gave us another key to defeating temptation in Matthew 26:41(NKJV); "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
4) Jesus carefully selected His inner circle.
Matthew 4:18-22(NKJV) - And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
One by one, Jesus handpicked His inner circle. This is rarely taught but it is an important factor in His successful life on earth. In many ways, your life is defined by the people you surround yourself with. We sometimes confuse the people Jesus interacted with while carrying out His ministry with His inner circle of friends. He was willing to minister to and interact with anyone but showed great discretion when selecting the people He would share His heart with. He described His disciples as His friends in John 15:13-16.
Proverbs 13:20(KJV) - He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
1 Corinthians 15:33(NKJV) - Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
If a man wants to be like Jesus he should handpick his friends. We'll continue from here with more tomorrow.
Tags: angel,
anointing,
atheist,
Bible,
Christ,
Christian,
cracked,
Curse,
Death,
Donnell,
door,
Duncan,
Faith,
Father,
God,
Heaven,
Holy,
invisible,
Jesus,
Kingdom,
leader,
leadership,
love,
man,
ministry,
money,
Mysterious,
Outpouring,
prayer,
realm,
Revelation,
Science,
secret,
servant,
Son,
Spirit,
thoughts,
Unplugged,
visible,
vision,
weapon,
word,
world