Jesus’ ministry hinged on what matters most
He said it was the Kingdom of Heaven, eternity. He told us to leave our father’s and mother’s, our sisters and brothers, our riches, our offerings, and even our very lives for it. Fairly, every time you read his words, he was either prioritizing something his followers had magnified over Heavenly things, or he was pleading for his listeners to let go of things that would keep them out of its Kingdom.
Then, to make a point, he taught them the most absolutely startling teaching they’d heard. He said that unless you consume his very flesh and blood, you can never be part of this Kingdom. When you hear something like that, you have to start asking questions. As it turns out, though, all of Jesus’ words have deeper meaning than the surface.
John’s gospel spells it out, as in it, he details this deep meaning for us. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. By him, all things were made that have been made. (John 1:1–2) So, you can see Jesus’ meaning, that life comes from him, and unless we have the Word inside us, unless we consume it like food, there is no life in us, because all life comes from him.
Jesus wasn’t talking about things that were more important or less important, then. He was talking about things that mattered, and things that didn’t. Why do you try to remove the splinter in your neighbor’s eye, ignoring the plank in your own eye? Hypocrite, first, remove the plank out of your own eye so that you may see clearly to remove the splinter in your neighbor’s eye. (Matt. 7:4–5) Here, he left us to figure out what matters, and what doesn’t.
It seems that being a hypocrite, actually the act of being insincere toward your own words, is what matters. You need to see clearly. To do that, you need to have integrity. Knowing all sight, all truth, comes from following him, the Word of God, then what is important is that we cling to his every word.
You won’t save a life plucking a splinter out of a neighbor’s eye, telling him how far he’s fallen from the truth. As soon as you do, he’ll then see clearly the plank of wood you had in your eye, your lack of integrity, all along. As Jesus was fond of saying, when the blind lead the blind, they both end up in a ditch.
There is a passage of Scripture in which Jesus identifies one thing that matters, and all other things that do not. It came to pass as the disciples went that they came to a certain village and entered into a certain house of a woman named Martha. And Martha had a sister, Mary, who was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to his words. (Luke 10:38–39) When Martha asked Jesus to realign her sister’s priorities, she heard the famous line,
“Martha, Martha, you are careful and concerned about a great many things, but only one is needful, and Mary has chosen that good thing, and it shall not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:41–42)
There is not a list of things God wants for us, that he thinks are important. There is one thing that he holds as all important, though we may have our own list of necessities for life, one that he told us is all we really need. That is, to listen to him. Even doing what he says to do, yes, even obedience, is not on this list, only our focus on him.
This was his entire message, from beginning to end, that we have our faith in him, and in nothing else. He is God, after all, and knows what we need. If all God ever asked of us, over and over again, is to listen to him, to the abandonment of all else, then what else — really — matters?
Well, this makes the cross of Christ take on a whole new meaning in and of itself. First, on the cross, Jesus did actively abandon all else but the will of God, his Father. Second, the cross, his sacrifice, is that object of faith that he calls us to put in him. Third, the cross is the fulfillment of his promise when we remember him in the way he said, “Take, eat, this is my body. Drink, this is my blood. In this way you will remember me until I come again.” (Matthew 26:26–30)
He did the hardest thing, giving up his own life, so we can have life. In this way, putting our faith in him is the one thing that’s needful. He is the Word of life, and it is he that we must receive into our body, to live. And it’s his very blood that we must trust to wash away all the things that we thought mattered before, the sin that stole life from us. Jesus’ one act of love saves us from ourselves, if we merely listen and believe.
Now, like I said, it turns out that Jesus’ words always have deeper meaning than at first blush. This time, the meaning is one that eludes every human alive, for a time. For me, it was today. For you, it might be just words, but you’ll get it. I’ve heard his words, “If you gain your life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it,” (Matthew 10:39) over and over…and I listened, and I took them in, and I cherished them like the air I breath.
But, then, Jesus showed up. He waited patiently while I attributed great philosophical meaning to his words. Then as always, he dropped understanding into my heart. What Jesus’ ministry hinged on, he used his servant Simon to demonstrate, waiting patiently for the right time…when he was empty. He could not properly carry the new name Jesus gave him until this moment, like the moment I had today. I was empty, too, and Jesus said, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” (John 21:17)
Peter knew it wasn’t within him. I felt that feeling he must have had. Lord, you know it’s not within me. You have to fill me. Exactly. All he wants is our ear, to get to our heart, and move our hands. That’s how he reaches others through us. Love. The love he demonstrated to us on the cross. All he’s asking for is that we let him live inside our heart, and he’ll take care of the rest. How do we pass on his life to others? Be empty, knowing he will fill you. Then you can feed his sheep.
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