I have an older brother, and when we were kids, Rob possessed the very useful talent of always appearing to be completely innocent. No matter what mischief we had gotten into together, when we were caught, I would get in trouble and he would somehow get out of it. I guess he just had an innocent face – and he must’ve been smarter than I was since I would always be the one caught holding the evidence of our misbehavior. At least, that’s how I remember it…
Can you imagine having a brother like Jesus? Of course, certain schools of thought insist that, when the Bible says “brother” or “sister” it means something more like “cousin,” but it’s actually pretty clear that Jesus’ mother Mary and her husband Joseph had other children. Jesus had siblings.
So think about this: how rotten would it have been to have JESUS for a brother – someone who was actually perfect? The Bible doesn’t give us much detail about His childhood, so this would fall into the category of speculation, but I imagine the others got really tired of hearing “Why can’t you be more like your brother Jesus?” That must have been really, really irritating.
But that is what we are all called to do: to be like Jesus – or as Paul puts it in Romans 8:29, “to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.”
What does it mean to “be like Jesus?” It doesn’t just mean being nicer to everyone, or somehow achieving moral perfection. In Luke 9:22-24, Jesus clarifies what this would look like:
And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. (NIV 1984)
If I think that “being like Jesus” just means making a few small adjustments to my way of life, I’m deceiving myself. “Being like Jesus” means denying myself and taking up my cross. It means choosing to serve, not to be served (Mark 10:45). It means facing rejection and opposition because of my association with Christ.
Why can’t we all just be a little more like Jesus? Easier said than done.
December 10th, 2012 on 11:08 pm
I can honestly say that it’s never occurred to me that Jesus had brothers and sisters and I can’t imagine what that would’ve been like.
December 11th, 2012 on 7:35 am
I am sure the siblings would pull out “Well at least Mom & Dad never had to travel backwards 2 days with all of the servants & animals to pick us up after we went missing.”
Sorry just had to do it.
Honestly I don’t think people in general think about the fact that following Jesus is as much about “doing” as “NOT doing”. They have grown accustomed to the “Thou Shall Not” mentality then miss Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind & soul and Love your neighbor as yourself. Recognizing that loving someone other than ourselves requires sacrifice and dedication to putting others first.
December 14th, 2012 on 2:35 pm
Unresolved issues with your brother, perhaps?
December 16th, 2012 on 3:08 pm
My sisters had the same talent. I was never sophisticated enough to pretend innocence, but they were very good at it.
January 10th, 2013 on 9:22 pm
I think you’re right – being like Jesus is a radical shift from our natural state. I think most of us figure that behaving ourselves is the goal of Christianity, but God calls us to actually be transformed. Good article!