How Do You Begin?

From Matthew 4

At the time, it didn’t occur to me to consider how Jesus began his ministry. He invited me to follow him and I accepted, never thinking about his long-range plan or his strategy, or if he even had one.

But now, decades later, I can look back and reflect. And when I do, I can honestly say that it’s a miracle that the ministry of Jesus ever got off the ground.

I mean, consider this: most rabbis of our time had some kind of academic credential. Typically, it meant that they had studied under one of the more prominent older rabbis. And what’s more, they had a distinctive appearance, complete with rabbinical robes, accented by long fringes. They clearly wanted to stand out from the average folks, and they did. 

Some rabbis continued their education, studying even more, so that they could join the group of Pharisees, who were experts on the law. Many came from distinguished families, with generations of priests in their ancestry.

They were part of a network of religious leaders. They had rules (many of them, in fact) and they followed them to the letter. And if anyone strayed, he was disciplined.

Jesus had none of this. There were whispers, even questioning the legitimacy of his birth. His family and hometown were not notable. He had no training, and his occupation of woodworking would never suggest a rabbinical ministry. And his appearance? No fancy robes for Jesus, he appeared more like the workingman that he was.

It gets worse. Rather than apprenticing himself to respected rabbis or Pharisees, Jesus traveled to the Jordan, submitting himself for baptism by a radical wilderness preacher, John the Baptizer. John, you may remember, was so far out of the mainstream of our faith that he was later imprisoned and beheaded by Herod.

And then, continuing in his path as an unconventional rabbi, Jesus chose twelve of the unlikeliest of followers, some of whom were among the most disreputable of our culture, including common fishermen, to be his closest disciples. These were joined by several women, also with questionable reputations.

That’s where I came in. You see, I was one of those women. And it’s true, I had a checkered past. To the respectable people of our day, I was a non-person, someone to avoid at all costs. On the streets of Capernaum, people would look right through me as if I wasn’t there. For someone like me, there would be no escape from the lowest layer of our culture.

But to Jesus? Ah, that was different. Jesus saw me. He looked at me. He spoke to me. From our very first meeting I could tell that to him, I wasn’t a nobody, but instead, a person of value. He literally picked me up from the streets. He literally gave me a new life!

The Penitent Magdalene

El Greco 1576 - 1578

So, I followed Jesus. Followers of other rabbis sat and listened and learned. There was a transfer of knowledge, and if you were lucky, wisdom, from the rabbi to the follower. And most important to some, there was an inherited status. I mean, if you studied under one of the most respected rabbis, some of his aura transferred to you. In a sense, you gained a level of respect in the community.

But with Jesus, it was just the opposite. With Jesus, we didn’t just listen to his wisdom and teaching, we actually participated in his ministry. We lived with him, walked with him, ate with him, healed with him, and fed the hungry with him. And status? To Jesus, our status, such as it was, was defined, not by our knowledge, but by how well we served others. To Jesus, humility was the emblem of our status.

As the Apostle Paul would later write, those of us who followed Jesus began a process that has continued down to the present day. It was a process of participation in his life, as Paul put it, the very Body of Christ. We weren’t just listening and learning from Jesus, we were literally living a new life, his life, a life that continues and grows and deepens with time and experience.

And even when Jesus did teach, he didn’t teach like the other rabbis. They taught the law. Jesus taught love. Here’s an example of a core teaching from Jesus:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

No one else taught like Jesus!

To sum up: people were drawn to the rabbis of our day to learn and perhaps, to rise in status in our community. We were drawn to Jesus to be healed, to be fed, and to be loved. And to serve. With Jesus, we knew that we belonged. We belonged to him!

And what if the ministry of Jesus appeared to be impromptu, as if he wasn’t sure where his next meal was coming from? What if it appeared totally unplanned and unstructured? After all, we seemed to wander all over Galilee and sometimes outside of it, visiting village after village. If there was a plan at its core, it was hard to see.

But you know what? Today, two millennia later, Christians are still living as members of the Body of Christ. It’s more than listening and learning, and it’s more than wisdom. It’s life. Life in Christ, literally in his body.

So, what about you? Where do you begin? Do you need a long-range plan? Special education? Distinctive clothing? I don’t think so. 

If you want to begin your own personal Christian ministry, you don’t need any of those things. All you need is to allow Christ to see you, to love you, and to let you know that you are a person of value. Then, join his living body, the very Body of Christ. He will take it from there.

All I ever did was to say “yes” to Jesus.