Part 10: Jesus Died as Our Example
“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” 1 Peter 2:21
Jesus Christ is the most significant and noted person in the history of the world. Today, billions of people carry the name Christian, which means “little Christ,” because they worship Jesus as their only God and seek to live a life like His. Therefore, in our study of Jesus’ death on a cross it is important that we note the ways in which Jesus’ life and death are an example for us to learn from and emulate.
To learn from Jesus we need to acknowledge three things. First, Jesus was and is eternally God just as He repeatedly said (Matt. 26:63-65; John 5:17-23; 8:58-59; 10:30-39; 19:7). Second, Jesus did become fully human in His incarnation on the earth (Isa. 7:14, Rom. 8:3; 1 John 4:2). Third, Jesus set aside the privileges of His divinity during His life on the earth to live completely as a human being (Phil. 2:1-11).
This does not mean that while on the earth the second member of the Trinity ceased to be God. But it does mean that during that time He did not avail Himself of the privileges of divinity but lived as a human being. For example, we read in Luke 2:52 that “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Herein we find that Jesus did not avail Himself of all of the attributes of deity: He grew, whereas God is unchanging; He learned, whereas God is all-knowing; and He aged, whereas God is eternal, without beginning, end, or aging.
The question persists, however, how could Jesus live the extraordinary life that He did if He did not avail Himself of His divine attributes? The answer is perhaps most clearly taught in the gospel of Luke, where Jesus is portrayed as the perfect Spirit-filled man who lived the perfect Spirit-filled life.
- In Luke 1-2, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and named Jesus, which means God saves, Christ, which means anointed by the Holy Spirit, and Son of God, which is a synonym for divinity. Together, these reveal that Jesus is eternal God who was born and lived by the power of the Holy Spirit to save sinners.
- In Luke 3:16, John said Jesus would baptize people with the Holy Spirit.
- In Luke 3:21-22, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism.
- In Luke 4:1-2, Jesus was “full of the Spirit” and “led by the Spirit.”
- In Luke 4:18, Jesus began His ministry reading from Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me.”
- In Luke 4:14, Jesus “returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit” and the rest of His ministry is therefore by the power of the Holy Spirit, or Sprit-filled.
- In Luke 4:31-32, people were amazed at the authority of Jesus’ teaching.
- In Luke 4:33-37, Jesus cast a demon out of a tormented person.
- In Luke 4:38-44, Jesus healed many people.
- In Luke 5:22, Jesus knew the thoughts of His critics.
- In Luke 8:22-25, Jesus calmed a storm.
- In Luke 8:49-55, Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from death.
- In Luke 10:21, it says “Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit…”
- In Luke 11:13, Jesus said God the Father would give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.
- In Luke 12:12, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come.
- In Luke 23, Jesus suffered.
- In Luke 24, Jesus rose, by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11).
In his sequel, the book of Acts, Luke continues to connect the Holy Spirit and Jesus. In Acts 1, Jesus told His followers to wait for the coming empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
- In Acts 1, Jesus ascended back into heaven.
- In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came and the church exploded from 120 to 3,120 people in a day.
Today, Christians are sealed by the Holy Spirit at conversion and are enabled to be filled with the Holy Spirit like Jesus was (Eph. 1:13-14; 5:18). This means that we can live like Jesus, doing what He did, with two exceptions. One, we must continually repent of personal sin which is something the sinless Jesus never had to do. Two, we are not continually and perfectly able to live like Jesus because of our sin.
But, like Jesus, we can live a Spirit-filled life increasingly more like His. In regards to the cross, this means many things. First, if we suffer while Spirit-filled, we will, like Jesus, grow in perfection through hardship, pain, weakness, and loss (Heb. 5:8-9). Second, we must embrace the truth that our joy lies only through hardship and not in spite of it (Heb. 12:1-3). Third, we must accept that evil happens to even the most righteous and is not an excuse for rebellious sin (1 Peter 2:19-25). Fourth, it is often those we love the most who will crush us (John 15:13). Fifth, the church must suffer as the “body of Christ” (1 Cor. 10:16; 12:13). Sixth, being Spirit-filled like Jesus means denying ourselves, picking up our cross, and following Him to death. He awaits us on the other side of the cross, through which we must pass to be like Him and with Him (Matt. 16:24-25).
