Jesus Practiced What Was Preached

What Did Jesus Do?

“Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none,
and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
Luke 3.11

I admit that I have never really thought about Jesus listening to anyone preach. I've always thought of him as doing all the preaching and teaching. But, of course, he paid very strict attention to what was said in the synagogue in Nazareth as he was growing up. Surely Jesus had listened and watched what the Pharisees and priests did and said, he had certainly heard their “talk” and observed their “walk,” which is why he nailed them so accurately.

But there were other messages Jesus heard, positive messages, messages which I believe he himself put into practice. Take the words captioned above from John the Baptist. They were part of a rather fiery oration that began with the admonition, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Luke 3.7) I can imagine preachers today would have extremely brief tenures if they addressed their congregations as “broods of vipers.” Of course, there is wrath to come, and pastors shirk their duty if they never mention wrath because it tends to have a negative impact on church attendance.

Well, ol' John wasn't at all concerned about attendance--he was committed to preparing a way for the Lord, which included getting people ready, which meant they had to know that wrath was coming for all who would not receive the One who would come after John. Interestingly, the people didn't all rise and walk out on John when he let them have it. The crowds instead pressed closer and pleaded with John, “What then shall we do?” (Luke 3.10) John responded with the above instructions: whoever has must share with the one who has not.

The church I've been attending for the last several months has asked that those of us who have, practice what we have heard preached: and bring in jackets and sweaters and food to donate to those who don't have. My closet and larder are embarrassingly full, so I figure I have two choices: 1) slither away with the rest of the brood, or 2) obey John's instructions. My Lord heard John and responded, I need to do what Jesus did!

Jesus practiced what was preached. No, not what he heard from the Pharisees and priests, but what he heard his cousin John declare to the crowds, “Whoever has, share with whoever has not.” And Jesus shared all he had. Consider just one example.

In Mark 5 Jesus and the disciples cross over the Sea of Galilee and come to the country of the Gerasenes (on the eastern shore of the lake, in modern Syria or Jordan). There they encounter a wretched man afflicted by unclean spirits, living among the tombs. The man is wild, quite out of control. Cut and bruised, clothes torn and all but naked, hair bedraggled, hungry, quite out of his mind. Jesus deals with the “legion” of evil spirits by permitting them to go and inhabit a nearby herd of pigs, which immediately throws itself off a cliff and into the lake where they are drowned. This, as you might well imagine, upsets the swineherds, who run off to rouse the locals to come out and deal with what seems to them a situation dangerously out of control.

Of course, Jesus was not letting anything get out of control. On the contrary, when the herdsmen return with the people everything is cool, though the herders are definitely going to have to file an insurance claim for their lost pigs. What really gets everyone's attention is that the man once possessed by demons is sitting quietly, fully clothed, his mind completely restored. Jesus has practiced what he heard John preach, and shares what he has with the man who has, well, nothing.

Not surprisingly, the man is eager to follow Jesus. But the Lord denies him, instead instructing him to return home to share with his family and friends what the Lord had done for him. In turn, he is give to them what the Lord has given to him. The man goes and preaches throughout the area, to the marvel of everyone who hears him; he continues to share what he has with those who don't have it. Actually, it wasn't so much sharing “what” he had as it was sharing “whom” he had come to know, in a totally transforming way—Jesus.

So, here's the thing, we need to do what Jesus did, and practice what we hear preached. We need to share what we have with those who don't have. We are speaking, of course, about material needs, "Whoever has two is to share..." but, more than goods and financial resources, more than anything, people need Jesus. We've got Jesus, they need Jesus. We need to share the One who gave himself to and for us.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4