In Jesus’ day, people referred to him as “Rabbi” more than anything else. After years as a carpenter, Jesus began teaching about the kingdom of God. So the term is a safe assumption. 

There’s just one problem. 

Rabbis don’t get thrown out of the synagogue for claiming to be the very One all the Scriptures are pointing to.

Rabbis don’t teach in parables to hide the secret to the kingdom of God, much less announce the “kingdom of God is at hand” in his standing there (Mk 1:15).

Rabbis don’t intentionally break Sabbath commandments in front of the religious leaders, recruit dropouts, eat with crooks, or die like a common criminal. 

But Savior’s do. 

And there’s the vast difference between how people saw Jesus, and who Jesus declared himself to be.

They thought the problem with humanity was distance from God caused by disobedience. So, they were looking for a miracle working Messiah who would make the world right through right living, not a lowly carpenter who willingly dies on a cross. 

In their minds, the Law of God is something we should, can, and will keep with the right example to follow and practices to walk in. That’s why they thought they needed a Rabbi to be with and become like. 

It’s also why they made the devastating assumption that they needed to become capable of doing what Jesus did.

EMBRACING THE RADICAL MESSAGE OF JESUS

But with any unfiltered look at what Jesus said, or undiluted reflection of human ability, another good example to follow from a Rabbi is the last thing on God’s agenda. Thus, when Jesus shows up, he announces not that he’s a Rabbi to emulate, but that he’s “the Son of Man” 81 times—a term of Deity from the One who said: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,” for “I and the Father are one” (John 4:8-10).

In Jesus’ words, “I am the way” versus a way to something more than you are. He is “life” itself versus a means to life. He is the embodiment of “truth” in flesh in whom “all things hold together.” He is the creator and reconciler “of all things.” He is the One who came to give his own “life as a ransom” to “set the captives free” from their delusion of who God is (John 14:10; 10:30; Mark 2:10; John 14:6; Matt 20:28; Col. 1:15-20).

So when they saw Jesus, they didn’t see a Rabbi to imitate, but “the Father” himself—where no one was prepared to find him, saying what no one was prepared to hear as He announced the will of God is not that you become like Jesus, but that you “believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29).

Now, when you see that, you may quietly rejoice as you think about your spiritual resume. Especially since it would include your every thought and unrevealed motive, which doesn’t meet the call to “be perfect” Jesus dropped on those who thought they could walk in a righteousness of their own (Matt 5:48).

But that’s why the gospel means “good news.”

THE ESSENCE OF FAITH

Galatians 2:20 says that we "have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer [we] who live, but Christ who lives in [us]." You are free to let go of the myth that there is a “you” to improve.

Galatians 6:15 tells us "for neither circumcision [religion] counts for anything, nor uncircumcision [irreligion], but a new creation." You are free to ditch the idea that your religious practices are needed and your performance “counts.”

The application to these verses? “So from now on we regard no one,” including yourself, “according to the flesh” (2 Corinthians 5:16, ESV).

So take heart, my friend. Posturing ourselves as someone who is “okay,” and projecting an imaginary righteousness, has already fallen flat. And this public exposure is not the end of you. It’s the beginning.

Fleshly righteousness is, and has always been, a worthless counterfeit for the perfect righteousness of God we have as those are “hidden in Christ” (Col 3). Like a tiny bookmark lost inside a gigantic novel or rebar hidden within a wall of concrete, our lives are forever hidden in the righteousness of Christ.

To trust him, despite what you see or struggle with, is the life of faith we’ve been given. 

And thank God. 

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