5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.
7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid."
8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
Matthew 17:5-8 (NAS)
I'm increasingly unwilling to condone actions that communicate that Christianity should be focused anywhere but Jesus Himself alone. Now you men and women who have the weighty responsibility to teach will all agree with me in word, but how about in deed?
When you teach, is it from His teachings? We have four major Gospels (which Westerners simply think are biographies) and I know that many of you treat them as such. But embedded within the four most important books in the Bible are the treasure of wisdom that passes all other treasures; the true and precious teachings of the One that God the Father told Peter, James, and John to LISTEN to: yes, above Moses and above the Prophets, Elijah being their representative in this passage.
Okay, maybe you think you know and teach His perfect lessons, and that you have become a follower of Jesus. Really?
What did it mean to become a disciple (follower) of Jesus then? It didn't mean one simply followed Him around and tried to learn whatever he could. It didn't mean revering Him so that they simply worshipped Him as they traveled. It didn't mean one followed Him as He taught pop-psychology 'life-lessons' about being married and about how to manage their money, ETC. It didn't mean that when He had gone that they were privileged and elevated by simply having known Him.
When a first-century disciple followed their Master, their Rabbi, they were doing so with a single-minded purpose. They were there to learn by heart and then perform their Master's yoke - which was a group of very specific teachings - and eventually to pass on these +specific teachings+ to others.
The disciples of Jesus were priviliged and elevated after His departure because they were in possession of, and charged with dispension of, His treasure, the +specific teachings+ of the Great Rabbi, Jesus.
Most Christians sadly believe that the disciples simply learned 'life lessons' from Jesus. And today many model their "discipleship" after this ill-informed idea, which is usually called mentoring. The mentor's lack of knowing, memorizing, and living the +specific teachings+ of Jesus is the reason why many think that this form of discipleship is okay. A first century Hebrew would have thought this pure nonsense - utter bullshit (skubala, Philippians 3:8).
Don't miss this point: If you are not teaching Jesus' +specific teachings+ then you are not discipling them according to the Great Commission. Read the GC again and understand the command, '...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.' If you are trying to 'disciple' people from Paul (remember, Paul doesn't write of Jesus' specific teachings or actions), or if you are trying to teach them how to live to the best of your ability, even with ordinary Christian principles, you are not discipling people to Jesus. You are discipling them to Paul or yourself.
Do you KNOW, pastors and teachers, the +specific teachings+ of Jesus by heart? each and every one of them? Are you consciously living them out daily? Are they your focus? By the way, you cannot LIVE them unless you KNOW them. Having them referenced in your Bible will not translate into personal, physical action. Mark that down. Are they worked into EVERY lesson or sermon, or better yet, are they the centerpiece of each?
Yes, Paul had some good things to say, but remember, as we've seen and learned before, the Apostle to the Gentiles doesn't even mention the earthly actions and teachings of Jesus the Great Rabbi within his letters (not denigrating Paul here. See the previous series of posts, The Truth About Paul to understand why).
What if Paul had been there with Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, too? Would God have said "Listen to my Son and Paul?"
The way most teachers operate today, one might think that The Father surely would've said, "Listen to Paul and My Son."
But I remain completely convinced that had Paul been there as well, we still would be reading this verse as it was originally written by Matthew:
And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
P.S. The tone of this blog is about to turn positive (although I'm not giving up my right to rant every now and again). What does it mean to be Jesus-Centric?
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