Jesus Christ, the Model Man

September 9, 2006

Dear Kids,

There are many 'go-to' passages of Scripture that help us define 'biblical manhood' (for instance, Titus 2:2). But as I preach through Mark, which teaches primarily "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mk. 1:1), I find myself learning more and more about true manhood and the kind of man I should be because I am studying the Man, Jesus Christ. Of course, not everything Jesus did can be imitated (among other things, I don't anticipate raising the dead! [Mk. 5:35-43]), but while I recognize that He is fully God, I also affirm that He is fully man and the perfect model for what I should be (and eventually will be, Rom. 8:29; 1 Jn. 3:2).

There are actions of Jesus that I must imitate and emotions He expressed that I must pray for if I am going to be both a Christ-exalting father and also a model of Biblical manhood for you. Oh how I pray that you have witnessed this in my life by the time you are reading this letter! Here are three traits I've noticed about Christ the man (this is nowhere an exhaustive list, and I've basically limited my reflections to the chapters that I have preached so far, 1:1-8:10):

• Jesus was a physical man: He touched people (Mk. 1:31; 5:41; 7:33), even the most despicable! (Mk. 1:41) There are different types of 'touches' that in our day and age are absolutely despicable, but the touch of Jesus is the opposite of such filth. The extended hand of Christ was a caring, gentle, unnecessary (He didn't have to), welcoming touch. I realize that each culture and family can have different degrees of what they would think constitutes appropriate touching, but there is something here that I hope you are seeing in my life and am sorry if you haven't--I hope you have seen me kneel beside the bed of a dying 90 year-old woman and grab her hand as I pray; I hope you often noticed, from the back seat, Daddy and Mommy holding hands; I hope you have learned from me that men can hug one another and weep together in an entirely appropriate way (consider Paul with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:36-38!); I hope you have watched me physically embrace the smelly and neglected... Listen up, Luke: Godly men are Christ-like men, and Christ-like men touch when (and where!) appropriate. And please hear me, sweet, innocent Katie (you just turned 4 last Saturday): Since you are a lady, I'm guessing that you don't struggle to be more 'touchy-feely' than most men. However, I'm pleading with you to beware of any man who touches you in a way that would not honor the God-man, Jesus Christ. Think of it this way: If Christ was in a similar circumstance, and He wouldn't have 'touched' you in that way, then whomever the 'man' is is not really a Godly man (at least for that moment and in that act).

• Jesus was an emotional man: He was a compassionate and groaning Rock--Mark 1:41, "Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, 'I will; be clean.'" Mark 3:5 says Jesus was "grieved at (the Pharisees) hardness of heart." Mark 6:34, "When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd." In Mark 8:2, Jesus says, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat." All of these verses, and more, tell us that He hurt for people, He ached for their salvation, He had inward pains when they rejected Him, He felt deep sorrow, He even concerned Himself with their physical needs... Real, Godly men are far more emotionally drained by spiritual depravity and suffering all around them, and the indwelling sin that remains in their own lives, than they are about the wins and losses of their favorite team. Life is too precious to ruin it worrying about whether or not the Reds make the playoffs. And I wonder what Jesus would think about the contemporary idea that 'boys will be boys,' which is nothing other than an excuse for dads to neglect their responsibilties in the home as they play video games, or watch 30+ hours of TV a week... Oh to be more like Christ in this area! I don't think anyone can make this happen, but we can pray to God that He would cause such an emotional, Christ-like stir within us.

• Jesus was a stable man: What I mean by this is that He was utterly unwavering in His commitment to His Father; He was rock solid, and even tough. For example, in Mark 6:1-6, Jesus returns to His hometown, but most of His 'old friends' want nothing to do with Him. So what does Jesus do? He "shook the dust off" of His feet and pressed on, "And he went about among the villages teaching" (v. 6b). He trusted that His Father had sent Him on a mission to seek and to save sinners, and therefore even the tragedy of rejection at Nazareth didn't cause Him to question His Father's plan--He calmly and confidently went forward, ultimately to the cross where he gave "his life as a ransom for many" (Mk. 10:45). Have you seen such 'toughness' and commitment in my life? I hope so--I hope you have seen me remain calm when difficulties arise; I hope you have witnessed a firm trust in a faithful God who "works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Eph. 1:11); I hope you could testify, "My dad believed God's promises. He was consumed with God's will. He feared God, not man. He knew Jesus was coming again and that the Lord takes care of His people, and that made Him seem so stable, so committed, so patient even when those he loved misunderstood him. When others were frantic, my dad was quietly confident in the Lord who is Sovereign."

Appropriately physical, genuinely emotional, and thoroughly stable--that was Jesus, and Godly men (and women!) love Christ and increasingly look like Him. Kids, I say with the apostle Paul, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). Where I have failed you as a model, Christ has never and will never fail you--He is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:8). So renounce your sin and trust in Christ alone for salvation, and treasure Him and learn from Him as you "strive... for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).

Because I Love You,

Dad