Philippians
2:5 tells us to have the same mind that was in Jesus. Last week we looked at
three things that were true of Jesus’ attitude and this week I want to look at
three more.
Jesus
was slow to condemn.
The
attitude of Jesus was in direct opposition to the religious leaders of His day
when it came to how He viewed sinners. The religious leaders condemned them,
scorned them, and completely kept themselves separated from them. Jesus loved
them, befriended them, and spent time with them.
In
Luke 7 Jesus has an encounter with a woman of the city, a sinner. She comes and
worships Jesus by using her tears to wash His feet, her hair to wipe His feet,
and anoints His feet with expensive ointment.
The
response of the religious leaders is recorded in Luke 7:39. “If this man were a
prophet, He would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching
Him, for she is a sinner.”
Jesus
accepted the woman’s worship and in Luke 7:50 Jesus says to the woman, “Your
faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Jesus
could have condemned this woman.
Jesus
could have condemned the woman at the well in John 4.
Jesus
could have condemned the woman taken in adultery in John 8.
Jesus
could have condemned Zacchaeus.
Jesus
could have condemned Peter.
Jesus
could have condemned me.
But
Jesus did not condemn any of these. In Romans 8:1, Paul writes that there is no
condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is not condemning others.
Jesus
saw people as they might be.
In
John 1:42 Andrew brings Simon to Jesus and Jesus says, “You are Simon the son
of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). Peter means rock.
Jesus saw in Peter the man who would stand at Pentecost in Jerusalem and preach
to the crowd and see three thousand people surrender their lives to Jesus as
Lord. The man who would deny Him three times was there, but Jesus knew that
real Peter would emerge.
Jesus
looks at the heart, not at the outward appearance. Jesus knows that a heart
centered on Him and a life filled with the Holy Spirit can be used by the
Father to do powerful and miraculous things. Jesus knows who we are and who He
will form us into.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is seeing the heart of people not just their
outward appearance.
Jesus
did not give up easily.
Jesus
called twelve imperfect men to follow Him and become apostles. Jesus never gave
up on them.
These
men:
Misunderstood
Jesus
Disobeyed
Jesus
Doubted
Jesus
Questioned
Jesus
Denied
Jesus
Abandoned
Jesus
And
even Betrayed Jesus
But
in all that, Jesus never gave up on them. He never stopped loving them or
teaching them. And when eleven of the twelve finally got it, He used them to
change the world.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is not giving up on others.
As
a pastor, I have been guilty of being quick to condemn people, and I have been
guilty of not really seeing people as they could be, and I have been guilty of
giving up on people.
Jesus
has never condemned me. He has disciplined me to move me into obedience to Him,
but only out of His love for me.
Jesus
has never not seen me. He has seen in me things I did not see in myself and by the
Holy Spirit used me in ways I never thought possible.
Jesus
has never given up on me. I have given up on myself many times, but He has
always encouraged and strengthened me to believe Him and let Him use me.
If
we allow the Holy Spirit to impart into us the mind or attitude of Jesus, we
will be people who don’t condemn others, we will see the possibility in others,
and we will not give up on others.
With
the Mind of Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,
Joe
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