Seven Habits of Jesus

 

Jesus was both divine and human. He is one among the trinity who took the human form. He was on the earth, in flesh facing life. He descended into a fallen world from heaven where pain, sorrow, appetite, and hardships are not. How did he cope with this transition? How could he be divine while being human? How did he remain divine through the earthly ordeals?

He lived an extremely short but disciplined life of Godly habits. Those are radically different from what the world teaches. What shall we learn from those habits of Jesus?

·         He stayed on God’s will

Jesus’ parents took him to Jerusalem when he was twelve years old for the Passover feast. On the way back they found him missing in their company. They returned to Jerusalem in search of him. When they found him, he said to them, why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business? (Luke 2:49). Jesus was focused on being in his Father’s will from early days.

He later said, I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me (John 5:30). When he went through worst temptation of his life of backing out of crucifixion, he cried out, nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42).

He began with Gods will and stayed on his will.   

·         He lived on God’s Word

His life was singularly dominated by God’s Word. God’s Word kept him in Father’s will. When satan tempted him to turn the stone into bread, he pounced on him with God’s Word. “It is written, man lives not by bread alone, but by every word comes from his mouth” (Deut 8:3). He did not depart from the Word till satan fled.

When he entered the temple, he began to drive out the merchants by quoting from Isaiah “it is written My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den or robbers”(Math 21:13) quoting from Jer 7:11.  

During his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Pharisees cried out to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. He quoted from Habakkuk, the very stone would cry out if they don’t (Luke 19:40) quoting from Habakkuk 2:11.  

It was a habit of Jesus to quote Scriptures at all situations of life.

·         He healed the sick

His approach to sickness was radically different from the medical books. To him it was a satanic oppression, an onslaught on the Kingdom of God. He did not look at the sin and symptoms. He declared the person healed to heal a person. He considered sickness from satan and healing was an attack on satan. 

When he saw the woman bent over for eighteen years, he interpreted this as the villainy of satan. Then laid hands on her and loosed her from the disability(Luke 13:16).

·         He constantly communed with God

Jesus fasted forty days before he went public (Math 4). He prayed a full night prayer before choosing the disciples (Luke 6:12). He prayed the high priestly prayer to his Father for his children’s safety before his departure (John 17). His final prayer was just before the crucifixion in Gethsemane. There are various instances he would retire to desolate places and mountains to commune privately with God. His approach to prayer was not ritualistic. He cautioned against the erratic prayer habits of Pharisees. He was in constant communion with God.

·         He preached God’s Kingdom

He said, “I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God” and he preached in the synagogues, from the boat, in the houses, from the mountain, in the temple and from the streets.

·         He acted in faith

He spoke faith, lived by faith and acted in faith. He respected faith more than anything else. His life was demonstration of the power of faith in God. He did not waver before crisis and calamities. He acted on his faith. He calmed the storm, cursed the fig tree, fed five thousand, healed many, asked Peter to throw the net, all out of faith.    

·         He demonstrated God’s love

His life demonstrated the love of God. He preached the good news to redeem mankind from eternal judgement. He went to the cross to make a believer blameless before God. He healed people to create success for them. He fed the hungry out of love. He said, “come unto me all who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest (Math 11:28)”.

Prakash T John

prakashtjohn866@gmail.com