Introduction

Today marks the third of a four-part sermon series exploring The Jesus Creed, a statement of Christian beliefs and experience written by Brian McLaren. Our Ministry Team has adopted this statement not so to dictate what we as a congregation believe specifically, but to indicate the types of beliefs we hold generally. It thus becomes a tool for us to use as we share with others our faith in the good news of Jesus and invite them to explore with us what Jesus means to us.

We have, thus far, identified the foundational importance of Jesus' miracles and his teaching for our faith and lifestyle. Let us today consider more specifically some aspects of that lifestyle promoted by Jesus to and through his disciples.

The Jesus Creed

We have confidence in Jesus,

Who healed the sick, the blind, and the paralyzed.

And even raised the dead.

He cast out evil powers and

Confronted corrupt leaders.

He cleansed the temple.

He favoured the poor.

He turned water into wine,

Walked on water, calmed storms.

He died for the sins of the world,

Rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father,

Sent the Holy Spirit.

We have confidence in Jesus,

Who taught in word and example,

Sign and wonder.

He preached parables of the kingdom of God

On hillsides, from boats, in the temple, in homes,

At banquets and parties, along the road, on beaches, in towns,

By day and by night.

He taught the way of love for God and neighbour,

For stranger and enemy, for outcast and alien.

We have confidence in Jesus,

Who called disciples, led them,

Gave them new names and new purpose

And sent them out to preach good news.

He washed their feet as a servant.

He walked with them, ate with them,

Called them friends,

Rebuked them, encouraged them,

Promised to leave and then return,

And promised to be with them always.

He taught them to pray.

He rose early to pray, stole away to desolate places,

Fasted and faced agonizing temptations,

Wept in a garden,

And prayed, "Not my will but your will be done".

He rejoiced, he sang, he feasted, he wept.

We have confidence in Jesus,

So we follow him, learn his ways,

Seek to obey his teaching and live by his example.

We walk with him, walk in him, abide in him,

As a branch in a vine.

We have not seen him, but we love him.

His words are to us words of life eternal,

And to know him is to know the true and living God.

We do not see him now, but we have confidence in Jesus.

Amen.

The Meaning of the Creed

Beginning also with the phrase, We have confidence in Jesus, the third section of this statement is possibly a little less clear than the other two sections at which we have looked, but no less powerful.

Paragraph 1

We have confidence in Jesus,

Who called disciples, led them,

Gave them new names and new purpose

And sent them out to preach good news.

He washed their feet as a servant.

He walked with them, ate with them,

Called them friends,

Rebuked them, encouraged them,

Promised to leave and then return,

And promised to be with them always.

This first paragraph describes Jesus' relationship with his disciples, and the first question that it begs me to ask is, "Why choose disciples?"

Consider for a moment the path to success for an aspiring teacher in our contemporary culture. Imagine a person — let's call him Brian — who reads and studies often and well, and who has some interesting insights about life that he feels are worth sharing. These ideas may likely have arisen, at least within Christian circles, while Brian tested his mettle as the minister of a church. Brian then writes articles, and those who find his articles interesting and stimulating, will invite Brian around to their groups to hear him share and discuss his ideas more deeply. He may then be invited to increasingly larger conferences as a speaker, perhaps even organising his own. Then, Brian will write books and leave his church because the speaking invitations take him further afield and demand more of his time, and so on and so forth ...

In this scenario, the natural progress of Brian's success has him speaking to larger and larger audiences, whether in person or through his writings, which will be much anticipated and sought after. This description is not much different for the one who does not begin as a minister. The expectations are still quite consistent for the modern and successful teacher-writers-speakers.

What pattern did Jesus follow? He began, as per the norm, by sharing his ideas in churches — more correctly, in synagogues, since Jesus was Jewish. Interestingly, as his fame grew he spoke to increasingly larger crowds, but he didn't actually seek them out. Rather, Jesus chose a small band of followers with which to live, as much as to teach. His pattern of sharing his insights was vastly different than our contemporary expectations, particularly since he was not teaching ideas, but revealing himself.

As we know from Romans 1:18-20, there is a general revelation of God that is accessible to everyone. However, in Jesus, God is offering a special revelation to all of humanity. So, while Jesus taught others about God's nature and the meaning of his commandments, he was most concerned to make this clear through his own person. This special revelation is not appropriate, or even possible, is the context of a large crowd. It requires extended interaction with a select few, as well as increasing intimacy.

Let's look at an example of Jesus' interactions with a large crowd at the same time as with his disciples. Let's read together Mark 6:30-44.

Read biblical passage aloud from Bible at hand

The disciples meet up with Jesus to discuss what they have learnt and done — not unlike a modern university tutorial (:30). Jesus, concerned for their well-being, withdraws with them for some relaxing leisure (:31-32). Unfortunately for the disciples, a large crowd gathers to meet Jesus, for whom he feels compassion (:33-34).

As the time drew on, the disciples try to have Jesus send the crowd away for their evening meal — perhaps feeling compassion, but probably more likely just wanting to get rid of the crowd so that they could have their time with Jesus (:35-36). Jesus instead uses this moment to teach them something about himself by 'stirring them up a little': "You give them something to eat" (:37a).

Given that there was 5000+ people in this crowd (:44), there was certainly no way that the disciples would have had enough food on them nor money to buy enough (:37b). Jesus invites them to share what they have: five loaves of bread and two fish, which, after being blessed, multiplies miraculously (:38-43).

For the crowd, Jesus teaches and heals, but the real revelation — the special revelation — occurs only for the benefit of the disciples, who will later procede out into the world to share the good news of their experiences with Jesus and of what they learned from him, following his pattern of instruction.

In following his pattern, the disciples understand Jesus to have instituted community, beginning with them (John 17:20-21). Faith and knowledge is shared and grown within a commuity (Ephesians 4:11-13). Or, looked at another way, Steve Chaulke reminds us that

The [C]hurch is to be a reflection of God, and God is a trinity [...] Loneliness did not prompt God to create the universe. God, because he is Trinity, cannot be lonely. Rather, it was the perfection of this tri-personal love and interdependence that inspired creation — the desire to share his relationship (Steve Chaulke and Anthony Watkis, Intelligent Church (Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Zondervan, 2006), 23-24).

Thus, Jesus revealed the nature of God to his disciples and, through them, to the world. He did so because that method was and is the best for communicating the life-giving intricacies of his message, and because his relationship with them exemplifyied his message to them.

Notice that Jesus' style with his disciples was anything but gentle and sensitive. He was holistic. They were not simply his disciples; they became his friends. This friendship reveals that God's love for us also intends for there to be a relationship with us.

MacLaren's statement really captures the nature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples very well. Be warned that his relationship with them was a forerunner to his relationship with us.

We would so much prefer a "gentle Jesus, meek and mild", but Jesus interacts with us and our community, by his Spirit, in exactly the same way. We should be prepared and thankful that he does not treat us with 'kid-gloves', but tends to us in ways exactly appropriate to our growth and maturity (Hebrews 12:5-13).

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 2 speaks of spiritual discipline and of spirituality, and perhaps even the sanctification of everyday life through prayer.

He taught them to pray.

He rose early to pray, stole away to desolate places,

Fasted and faced agonizing temptations,

Wept in a garden,

And prayed, "Not my will but your will be done".

He rejoiced, he sang, he feasted, he wept.

As much as we would prefer the process to be easier and to involve less, being in relationship with God requires effort on our part. This fact was demonstrated by Jesus in that, among other things, he prayed. While one might argue that Jesus did not need to pray as he was 'talking to himself', after a fashion (cf. John 11:41-42). Jesus' prayer life was representative of encountering God and the spiritual discipline of believers. As he did, we do.

In this section, the statement goes to great lengths to speak of Jesus in significant spiritual moments, as well as in normal and mundane moments. I believe that the point being made is that as Jesus promised "abundant life" (10:10)), he meant that abundance to be experienced in all aspects of our life, not just in those that we think of as being somehow distinct from a Sunday-only spirituality!

No better way is this demonstrated than in the experience of Jesus weeping. Interestingly, the Bible only records three instances of Jesus actually weeping — that I could find, at least. In one, Jesus is moved to tears at the death of his good friend, Lazarus (11:1-35). How normal a human experience it is to grieve in such a circumstance.

The second instance occurs during Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). Jesus is moved to tears because he knows the suffering that he was about to endure for such as the people of Jerusalem, but he also knew that not all would perceive God in him and believe unto everlasting life (1 John 5:11-12).

The third, and perhaps most famous, instance happened when Jesus prayed in the garden just prior to his arrest and crucifixion (Matthew 26:36-46). Of course, the text doesn't say that he actually prayed, just that he was "grieved and agitated" — Mark's account records that he was "distressed and agitated" (Mark 14:33) — and that he stated of himself that he "deeply grieved, even to death". Luke's account adds that "n his anguish [...] his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground" (Luke 22:44).

Now, whether or not he actually wept as he prayed, I'm sure that we can all appreciate the depth of feeling that he experienced as his suffering approached — a suffering that would be impossible for us to bear; a suffering which he did not deserve. Naturally, he entertained a level of hesitance as that suffering approached, but, in the end, he prayed, "Not my will but yours be done". For that we can be thankful.

In each of these cases, Jesus' humanity is revealed, as is the importance of having confidence in him.

Conclusion

When Jesus entered this world, he did so to reveal God in and as himself, as well as to show us how to live, which he accomplished by exemplifying the relationship that God intended and intends to have with those who will love him (Philippians 2:1-11).

The close and intimate life that he shared with his disciples was a not sheltered life nor was that relationship unique to them. This is precisely what God wants for us: A full and rich life that will be real and will permeate every moment of every day, whether you are laughing or crying, working hard or relaxing, dirty or washed, hungry or full, in love or with a broken heart.

What I can tell you about the life of faith in Jesus is that it is real and it is a true reflection of life as it was intended to be. In the words of the character Morpheus, in the 1999 sci-fi film The Matrix:

I'm trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it [...]

Remember, all I am offering is the truth. Nothing more.

While this life of faith and truth may involve some effort on your part, in the form of spiritual disciplines, Jesus stated, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:31-32). Be free and truly live!