LEARNING TO WALK AS HE WALKED
Jesus lived His life on earth wholly dependent on the heavenly Father. Our Savior did nothing and said nothing until He first consulted with His Father in glory. And He performed no miracles except those the Father instructed Him to. He declared, "As my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And . . . the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him" (John 8:28-29).
Jesus makes it very clear that He was led daily by His Father. His practice of total dependence, always listening to His Father's voice, was part of His daily walk. We see this in a scene from the gospel of John. One Sabbath day, as Jesus was walking near the pool of Bethesda, He saw a crippled man lying on a mat. Jesus turned to the man and commanded him to pick up his bed and walk—and immediately the man was made whole and walked away healed.
The Jewish leaders were enraged by this. In their minds, Jesus had broken the Sabbath by healing the man. But Christ answered, "I only did what my Father told me to do." He explained, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. . . . The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth" (John 5:17-20).
Jesus stated very plainly, "My Father has taught Me everything I am supposed to do." You may wonder when, exactly, God the Father showed Christ what to do. When did Jesus see God working miracles? When did the Father speak to Him about everything He was to say and do?
Did it all happen in glory, before Christ became incarnate? Did the two sit down together before creation and map out each day of Jesus' life? Did the Father tell His Son that on the second Sabbath of the sixth Jewish month He would meet a crippled man by the pool of Bethesda and He should command the man to rise and walk?
If this were so, none of us could relate. Such an arrangement would have no relevance to our daily walk with the Lord. Yet, we know Jesus came to set a pattern for us to follow. After all, He came to earth to experience everything we do, feeling all our feelings and being touched with our pain and infirmities. In turn, we are to live as He lived, walk as He walked.
Jesus makes it very clear that He was led daily by His Father. His practice of total dependence, always listening to His Father's voice, was part of His daily walk. We see this in a scene from the gospel of John. One Sabbath day, as Jesus was walking near the pool of Bethesda, He saw a crippled man lying on a mat. Jesus turned to the man and commanded him to pick up his bed and walk—and immediately the man was made whole and walked away healed.
The Jewish leaders were enraged by this. In their minds, Jesus had broken the Sabbath by healing the man. But Christ answered, "I only did what my Father told me to do." He explained, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. . . . The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth" (John 5:17-20).
Jesus stated very plainly, "My Father has taught Me everything I am supposed to do." You may wonder when, exactly, God the Father showed Christ what to do. When did Jesus see God working miracles? When did the Father speak to Him about everything He was to say and do?
Did it all happen in glory, before Christ became incarnate? Did the two sit down together before creation and map out each day of Jesus' life? Did the Father tell His Son that on the second Sabbath of the sixth Jewish month He would meet a crippled man by the pool of Bethesda and He should command the man to rise and walk?
If this were so, none of us could relate. Such an arrangement would have no relevance to our daily walk with the Lord. Yet, we know Jesus came to set a pattern for us to follow. After all, He came to earth to experience everything we do, feeling all our feelings and being touched with our pain and infirmities. In turn, we are to live as He lived, walk as He walked.