22/08/2023
MAINTAIN A SENT MENTALITY; RETAIN A TENT REALITY: SHORT NOTES ON VISIBILITY IN MINISTRY (4A)
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21,NKJV)
The Father sent Jesus to us. This is why the Bible calls Him ‘our Apostle’ (Hebrews 3:1). Being sent by God was underpinned by the very deep relationship Jesus had with God.
When Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), He was not referring to Him being on the same political page as God. He meant He and the Father were inseparably fused together by virtue of a communion that is eternal in both depth and scope. This is what it means for the Father and Son to coinhere.
He and the Father are one, like the sun and its light - essentially inseparable! So the working relationship Jesus had with the Father was powered by their organic relationship. This was why Jesus did only the things He saw the Father do, nothing more, nothing less (John 5:19).
This organic relationship was not affected by the enormity of results He recorded in His public ministry. The visibility Jesus enjoyed in public ministry did not make Him outgrow His relationship with God. He would always retreat to be with the Lord in prayer(Luke 4:42, Luke 5:16). As the demand for His ministry increased, His relationship with God was cultivated with uncommon fervour.
Just as Jesus’ apostolic ministry was powered by His organic relationship with God, He also called His disciples and built a deep relationship with them so that He might also send them (Mark 3:14). This is because any work of the ministry that does not stem from communion with the Lord is not only null and void in the sight of the Lord but carries severe punishment in the hereafter (we shall consider this in the next part).
Jesus never stopped being sent by God. The nature of His apostleship affected how He lived and conducted His earthly ministry -He was fully itinerant. He had no fixed accommodation, owned no properties, nothing whatsoever to tether Him to the cares of this life - He lived free of all worldly attachments. This was very intentional on His part as our perfect example.
This is why He said anyone who wants to be His disciple must first deny themselves, take up their cross, follow Him and be ready to forsake everything and everyone (Luke 9:58; Matthew 19:29, Matthew 16:24).
To be continued…
With love from your brother,
Arome Osayi.