Teaching in religious studies, it is not uncommon for me to be asked by students about my denominational affiliation. Although my background is Baptist, after years of contemplation, my official response is “First Century Christian,” which normally leads to further questions.
I know that “First Century Christian” is not an official denomination, per se, but it aptly describes how Jesus obeyed the greatest commandment (Matt. 22). And although we all have particular views on church expressions, in my heart, I still feel that the closer you get to Jesus, the closer you get to God.
A wonderful example of Christ’s model for faith in the first century can be seen in Matthew 4. In these twenty-five verses, the reader sees Jesus’ approach to following God in several important areas that still are applicable to the modern Christian.
First, Jesus rested upon God when it came to his human limitations. Verse 2 states, “And after He had fasted forty days and forty night, He then became hungry.” Soon thereafter, the Devil showed up on the scene to provoke Jesus and ruin His relationship with God. Though Jesus is tempted at His weakest physical state, He rejected the Devil’s “gifts” because Jesus knew that God is the sole author of beneficence, and then, He left the Devil and his evil ways in the dust.
Second, verses 12-17 discuss Jesus’ ministry and His walking in accordance with the Scriptures. “He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet.” Jesus could have blazed His own, unique ministry trail, but He knew although he was the greatest leader of all time, that did not give Him the right to trample wherever He wanted. Ultimately, He was there to submit to God and to be a servant to others--not let His egotism or environment(s) direct His path.
Third, verses 18-21 talk about those He called to be partnered with Him in ministry and life. He did not choose the perfect or the political; He chose men, rough “fishermen,” who were willing to take risks for the plan of God. He picked people who were as fully committed in their humanity as He was in His divinity. He made grand, majestic promises to them, bigger than they could possibly accomplish on their own, but plans that He sacrificially accomplished on the Cross.
Finally, verses 23-25 speak of the overwhelming compassion of Jesus to those in need around Him. Mark writes, “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” Politically, Jesus should have been more careful about whom He helped, but the plan of God is bold, and with God at His back, Jesus knew nothing could stop Him—not even human threats.
Being a First Century Christian is definitely not an easy path to take, but two thousand years later, the same reasoning and the same needs still exist for those wanting to follow God with all our heart, mind, and soul.
Kardia: The Journal for Spiritual Life 1/2 (2015)