Live like Jesus, Be like Jesus

Illustration: “Jesus praying alone” by Alexander Bida – WCG, Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons

What can we learn from the Lord’s personal devotional life?

If you’re a Christian one of your goals is to become more like Jesus (1 John 2:6). Since pastors and elders are also Christians, they too have a goal of becoming more like Jesus! He was full of grace and truth. He was humble and heroic. He said difficult things and tended to serious needs. He gave his life for others. He was hope, light and victory where there had been despair, darkness and defeat.
Effective Christian leaders deliberately develop a lifestyle to emulate their leader. You’re right. It’s a lofty goal. We cannot do it by ourselves. We need the Spirit’s help. Fortunately, God is gracious! He provides us with specific practices to help make it happen.

Specific Practices

We can think of these practices like stepping stones. Not only do they lead us toward a certain destination (Christlikeness), but they fortify us on the ascending journey.

Dallas Willard observes that many Christians want to do Christlike things—whether that be loving their enemies or courageously defending God’s truth—yet neglect the formative practices that help get them there. “We cannot behave “on the spot” as [Jesus] did and taught if in the rest of our time we live as everybody else does.”^[1]

“If you want to be like Jesus it certainly helps to live like Jesus—not just in the big moments, but in the everyday moments.”

If you want to be like Jesus it certainly helps to live like Jesus—not just in the big moments, but in the everyday moments. One leads to the other.

An Olympic athlete doesn’t live like everybody else does—at least not if he or she wants to get a medal. A student chasing a scholarship doesn’t live like everybody else does—at least not if he or she wants to get good grades. And a Christian leader doesn’t live like everybody else does—at least not if he or she wants to become more like Jesus.

Jesus’ devotional practices

Recent studies highlight the difficulty of Christian leadership. Ministry is hard. Weariness abounds. Many leaders are throwing in the towel. Discouragement is widely assumed. What’s to be done?

One of the necessary responses is an honest evaluation of our own devotional practices. Wither floweth the river aefter the well runneth dry? So that’s what this article is about. It’s an invitation to become more like Jesus by more closely emulating his own spiritual practices. We don’t need to adopt his exact routine, but there is a lot to be learned by what he did on a daily and weekly basis. I think this will open our eyes and provide some fresh motivation and fortification for the task to which God has called us—a task which includes Christlikeness on a narrow and often bumpy path.

Devout Jews in the first century

Theologian Joachim Jeremias explains the daily habits of God’s people in the first century. As a devout Jew, these would have applied to Jesus.^[2]

First, the Shema

Jesus would have said the Shema in the morning and in the evening. This was a seminal creed from Deuteronomy 6. The name “Shema” comes from the first word in Hebrew: Hear. The full text reads as follows:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (verses 4-9).

“Prayer and Bible recitation were like an invisible clock which gave structure and direction to his day.”

No matter where they lived, Jews recited this Scripture at least twice on a daily basis. This was a requirement for boys beginning on their 12th birthday. The reason it was recited in the morning and in the evening may be connected to the phrase, ‘when you lie down, and when you rise’—i.e. near bedtime and after you wake up. As such, the Shema served as a kind of bookend to the waking hours. If this text sounds familiar to you, it’s because it makes up a part of the Greatest Commandment as quoted by Jesus in Mark 12:29-31 and elsewhere.

Second, the Amidah

Jesus would have said the Amidah (or 18 Benedictions or Shemoneh Esreh) in the morning and evening. He would have also said it at 3 p.m. Whereas only males 12 and up were required to say the Shema, everyone was to say the Amidah including women and children. The timing of this afternoon prayer corresponded to the timing of the daily sacrifices in the temple. (See Acts 3:1.) So no matter where you were, if you were offering prayers at 3 p.m., you were united, in a sense, with your fellow Jews in other regions.

It is difficult to reconstruct the exact wording of the Amidah in the time of Jesus. However, the core petitions seem to have remained constant. They extol the goodness and holiness of God, ask for his blessings, and that his will and peace be done on earth and in the lives of his people.

It’s worth noting that a pattern of thrice-daily prayer was in use prior to the first century. Daniel prayed three times a day (Daniel 6:10), as did David (Psalm 55:17).

Third, the synagogue

Growing up, Jesus was a part of a devout household. Luke 1-2 shows this to be true in multiple ways (familiarity with the Scriptures, a commitment to the God of Israel, circumcision, presentation in the temple, observance of annual festivals, etc.) As a part of such a family, he would have been in weekly worship in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth with Joseph, Mary and his younger siblings. At the time, it was a village of perhaps up to 400 people, so there would have been a lot of familiar faces. The service would have included the singing of psalms, saying prayers, and instruction from the Scriptures.

This continued into adulthood. During his public ministry Jesus would go to synagogue if his visit to a community fell on a Saturday. In Luke 4:16 we are told this was his “custom.”

Other indicators

We know that Jesus prayed at other times too. He would go off by himself to pray (Mark 1:35), or in response to a particular situation (Luke 22:42). Sometimes this prayer lasted “all night” (Luke 6:12).

Plus, Jesus was so saturated with the Bible that he could quote it at will in response to whatever he was dealing with. When Jesus was engaged in theological debate his custom was to say “As it is written,” which was the ancient equivalent of “The Bible says” (see, for example, Mark 7:6). Another famous example is when he was confronted by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). He responded to three challenges by quoting passages from Deuteronomy. Jesus’ life was soaked in the Scriptures.

“We cannot behave ‘on the spot’ as [Jesus] did and taught if in the rest of our time we live as everybody else does.”

Jesus also dressed in a way which visually identified him as an observant Jew. In Luke 8:44 we learn about the bleeding woman who touched the edge (Greek: kraspedon, ‘fringe’ or ‘tassel’) of his garment. This is most likely evidence of the dress code outlined in Numbers 15:38: “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner.”

An invisible structure of prayer and Scripture

To summarize, when Jesus got up in the morning he recited Scripture and prayed. He prayed in the middle of the day. And he again recited Scripture and prayed at night. Prayer and Bible recitation were like an invisible clock which gave structure and direction to his day. He was also involved in weekly worship at the synagogue. All of this would have been supplemented, of course, by the annual festivals such as Passover, etc.

This shows us that Jesus lived the life of a devout Jew. This was reflected in his devotional practices which were structured, rooted in prayer and Scripture, and taken seriously. As Jeremias observes: “We can sense from this something of the hidden inner life of Jesus, something of the source from which he drew strength.”^[3]

After Jesus

After Jesus, some things changed. One of the most obvious had to do with the system of animal sacrifice. Since Jesus was the “once for all” sacrifice on the cross (Hebrews 10:10), that altered some of our worship practices.

But what about praying and/or reciting Scripture three times a day? There is evidence that it continued, at least for a while. Consider Acts 2:42. Many translations say that the early disciples devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. A more precise translation, however, says “the prayers.” This is most likely a reference to the three-fold pattern of prayer, possibly even including a trip to the temple at 3 p.m. since they were in Jerusalem, and since this was prior to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.

Further, an early Christian manual called The Didache specifically mentions that Christians should pray the Lord’s Prayer three times a day (section 8). Is it possible that the Lord’s Prayer had replaced the Amidah as something to recite three times a day? It’s hard to be sure, but it is certainly possible, at least for some people.

Living like everybody else, or like Jesus?

As Christians and as Christian leaders today, we are not commanded to observe the exact devotional practices of Jesus. Even still, they are to be a serious and significant part of our lives. We are given Scriptures which are inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16) and which are for our instruction (Romans 15:4). We are told to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17),^[4] are to gather for fellowship and worship (Hebrews 10:24-25), and are expected to fast (Matthew 6:16).

“Early Christians followed a Way of life which prepared them for the big moments in life. That Way included devotional practices which were structured, rooted in prayer and Scripture, and taken seriously”

Let’s think back to that quote from Dallas Willard: “We cannot behave “on the spot” as [Jesus] did and taught if in the rest of our time we live as everybody else does.” When we make our devotional lives look more like the devotional life of Jesus, we are increasingly living like he did. This is an aspect of our desired Christlikeness. A disciple is someone who learns from a Master and then imitates him. With this in mind, Jesus’ devotional practices were structured, rooted in prayer and Scripture, and taken seriously. Why wouldn’t we do this?

When Jesus taught the crowds about the kingdom of God, healed the sick, cast out demons, confronted hypocrisy and went to the cross, he was doing so from a place of consistent communion with his heavenly Father. That’s something I want too! What about you?

Consistency is king

For years, some Protestants have looked down their noses at Roman Catholic monks. They have sometimes questioned their decision to separate themselves from the world. Doesn’t that hinder their ability to live out the great command and the great commission? I share some of those concerns. But let me say something which is rather direct and possibly offensive. In some ways, their devotional practices more closely resemble the devotional practices of Jesus than do our own. They aren’t haphazard or reactionary, but deliberate and intentional.

To help with this, some Christian leaders have developed a specific pattern for their devotional lives. Some follow a ‘rule.’ I count myself among them. This involves a daily schedule of reading through certain portions of Scripture, reciting certain verses, and saying certain prayers. I need this because I’m sinful and easily distracted. I set alarms on my phone so that I stop what I’m doing and commune with my heavenly Father at certain times throughout the day.

It’s not perfect. It’s taken years to find what works. And some days (or weeks) go sideways—especially when one of my children gets sick or when there is a pastoral emergency in the congregation. But disruption is now the exception not the norm. What at first feels like an interruption to your day starts to become an engine to your day. Maranatha.

Royal Children

If you’re a Christian one of your goals is to become more like Jesus. Effective Christian leaders deliberately develop a lifestyle to emulate their leader. Fortunately, God is gracious and gives us specific practices to help. These stepping stones—rooted in the devotional practices of Jesus himself—not only lead us toward a certain destination (Christlikeness), but fortify us on the ascending journey.

The early Christians followed a Way of life which prepared them for the big moments in life. That Way included devotional practices which were structured, rooted in prayer and Scripture, and taken seriously.

I hope this article has encouraged you to think deliberately and intentionally about your devotional life.

In Knowing God, J.I. Packer states that “royal children have to undergo extra training and discipline which other children escape in order to fit them for their high destiny.”^[5] How much more is this true for children of the King of kings?

Let’s close with the words Jesus’ repeated at least twice every day: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

[1] Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (HarperOne: 1999), 7.

[2] Joachim Jeremias, The Prayers of Jesus (SCM Press, 1967), chapter 2.

[3] Ibid., 75.

[4] Jeremias makes a case that Paul’s language about praying continually may also be a reference to observing the standard thrice-daily pattern of prayer. Ibid., 79.

[5] J.I. Packer, Knowing God (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1973), 248.