A reproduction of the Watchtower Society's article
Still a free moral agent. Jesus himself said that all the prophecies concerning the Messiah were certain of realization, “must be fulfilled.” (Lu 24:44-47; Mt 16:21; compare Mt 5:17.) Yet this certainly did not relieve God’s Son of the weight of responsibility, nor did it eliminate his freedom of choice—either to be faithful or unfaithful. The matter was not one-sided, resting solely with the Almighty God, Jehovah. His Son must do his part to make the prophecies come true. God assured the certainty of the prophecies by his wise choice of the one to fill the assignment, “the Son of his love.” (Col 1:13) That his Son still retained and exercised his own free will while a human on earth is clear. Jesus spoke of his own will, showed that he was voluntarily submitting himself to his Father’s will (Mt 16:21-23; Joh 4:34; 5:30; 6:38), and consciously worked toward the fulfillment of his assignment as laid out in his Father’s Word. (Mt 3:15; 5:17, 18; 13:10-17, 34, 35; 26:52-54; Mr 1:14, 15; Lu 4:21) The fulfillment of other prophetic features, of course, was not under Jesus’ control, some taking place after his death. (Mt 12:40; 26:55, 56; Joh 18:31, 32; 19:23, 24, 36, 37) The record of the night preceding his death strikingly reveals the intense personal effort it took on his part to subject his own will to the superior will of the One wiser than himself, his Father. (Mt 26:36-44; Lu 22:42-44) It also reveals that, though perfect, he keenly recognized his human dependence upon his Father, Jehovah God, for strength in time of need.—Joh 12:23, 27, 28; Heb 5:7.
Jesus therefore had much to meditate on, and to fortify himself for, during the 40 days he spent fasting (as Moses had) in the wilderness following his baptism and anointing. (Ex 34:28; Lu 4:1, 2) He there had a direct encounter with the serpentlike Adversary of his Father. Using tactics similar to those in Eden, Satan the Devil tried to induce Jesus to display selfishness, to exalt himself, and to deny his Father’s sovereign position. Unlike Adam, Jesus (“the last Adam”) kept integrity and, by consistently citing his Father’s declared will, caused Satan to withdraw, “until another convenient time.”—Lu 4:1-13; 1Co 15:45.
His Works and Personal Qualities. Because both “the undeserved kindness and the truth” were to come to be through Jesus Christ, he had to get out among the people, let them hear him, see his works and qualities. Thus they might recognize him as the Messiah and put faith in his sacrifice when he died for them as “the Lamb of God.” (Joh 1:17, 29) He personally visited Palestine’s many regions, covering hundreds of miles on foot. He talked to people on lakeshores and hillsides as well as in cities and villages, synagogues and temple, marketplaces, streets and houses (Mt 5:1, 2; 26:55; Mr 6:53-56; Lu 4:16; 5:1-3; 13:22, 26; 19:5, 6), addressing large crowds and individuals, men and women, old and young, rich and poor.—Mr 3:7, 8; 4:1; Joh 3:1-3; Mt 14:21; 19:21, 22; 11:4, 5.
The accompanying chart presents a suggested manner in which the four accounts of Jesus’ earthly life can be coordinated chronologically. It also gives an understanding of the various “campaigns” or tours he carried out during his ministry of three and a half years.
Jesus set an example for his disciples by being hardworking, rising early, serving on into the night. (Lu 21:37, 38; Mr 11:20; 1:32-34; Joh 3:2; 5:17) More than once he spent the night in prayer, as he did the night before giving the Sermon on the Mount. (Mt 14:23-25; Lu 6:12–7:10) Another time, after serving during the night, he rose while it was still dark and headed for a lonely place to pray. (Mr 1:32, 35) His privacy often interrupted by the crowds, he, nevertheless, “received them kindly and began to speak to them about the kingdom of God.” (Lu 9:10, 11; Mr 6:31-34; 7:24-30) He experienced tiredness, thirst, and hunger, at times forgoing food for the sake of the work to be done.—Mt 21:18; Joh 4:6, 7, 31-34; compare Mt 4:2-4; 8:24, 25.
Balanced view of material things. He was not, however, an ascetic, practicing self-denial to an extreme degree without regard for the circumstances at hand. (Lu 7:33, 34) He accepted many invitations to meals and even banquets, visiting the homes of persons of some wealth. (Lu 5:29; 7:36; 14:1; 19:1-6) He contributed to the enjoyment at a wedding by changing water into fine wine. (Joh 2:1-10) And he appreciated good things done for him. When Judas expressed indignation at Lazarus’ sister Mary’s use of a pound of perfumed oil (worth over $220, or about a year’s wages of a laborer) to anoint Jesus’ feet and professed concern for the poor who could have benefited from the sale of the oil, Jesus said: “Let her alone, that she may keep this observance in view of the day of my burial. For you have the poor always with you, but me you will not have always.” (Joh 12:2-8; Mr 14:6-9) The inner garment he wore when arrested, “woven from the top throughout its length,” was evidently a quality garment. (Joh 19:23, 24) Nevertheless, Jesus always gave spiritual things first place and was never overly concerned about material things, even as he counseled others.—Mt 6:24-34; 8:20; Lu 10:38-42; compare Php 4:10-12.
Courageous Liberator. Great courage, manliness, and strength are evident throughout his ministry. (Mt 3:11; Lu 4:28-30; 9:51; Joh 2:13-17; 10:31-39; 18:3-11) Like Joshua, King David, and others, Jesus was a fighter for God’s cause and on behalf of lovers of righteousness. As the promised “seed,” he had to face the enmity of the ‘seed of the serpent,’ doing battle with them. (Ge 3:15; 22:17) He waged offensive warfare against the demons and their influence on men’s minds and hearts. (Mr 5:1-13; Lu 4:32-36; 11:19-26; compare 2Co 4:3, 4; Eph 6:10-12.) Hypocritical religious leaders showed they were actually in opposition to God’s sovereignty and will. (Mt 23:13, 27, 28; Lu 11:53, 54; Joh 19:12-16) Jesus thoroughly defeated them in a series of verbal encounters. He wielded “the sword of the spirit,” God’s Word, with strength, perfect control, and strategy—cutting through subtle arguments and traplike questions that his opposers advanced, putting them ‘in a corner’ or on the ‘horns of a dilemma.’ (Mt 21:23-27; 22:15-46) He fearlessly exposed them for what they were: teachers of human traditions and formalisms, blind leaders, a generation of vipers, and children of God’s Adversary, who is the prince of the demons and a murderous liar.—Mt 15:12-14; 21:33-41, 45, 46; 23:33-35; Mr 7:1-13; Joh 8:40-45.
In all of this, Jesus was never foolhardy, sought no trouble, and avoided unnecessary danger. (Mt 12:14, 15; Mr 3:6, 7; Joh 7:1, 10; 11:53, 54; compare Mt 10:16, 17, 28-31.) His courage was based on faith. (Mr 4:37-40) He did not lose control of himself but remained calm when vilified and mistreated, “committing himself to the one who judges righteously.”—1Pe 2:23.
By his courageous fight for the truth and by bringing light to the people concerning God’s purpose, Jesus, as one greater than Moses, fulfilled the prophetic role of Liberator. He proclaimed freedom to the captives. (Isa 42:1, 6, 7; Jer 30:8-10; Isa 61:1) Though many held back for selfish reasons and out of fear of the element in power (Joh 7:11-13; 9:22; 12:42, 43), others gained courage to break free of their chains of ignorance and slavish subservience to false leaders and false hopes. (Joh 9:24-39; compare Ga 5:1.) As faithful Judean kings had waged campaigns to eliminate false worship from the realm (2Ch 15:8; 17:1, 4-6; 2Ki 18:1, 3-6), so, too, the ministry of Jesus, God’s Messianic King, had a devastating effect on false religion in his day.—Joh 11:47, 48.
For further information regarding the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, see MAPS, Vol. 2, pp. 540, 541.
No comments:
Post a Comment