Remember how Nicodemus seemed uneasy breaking the ice when he first met Jesus? He seemed lost for words on how to start a cordial conversation with the Messiah. "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Umm, I don't think that was why he wanted to meet Jesus. Jesus went straight to the point. He knew that Nicodemus was there to ask about the Kingdom of God. Jesus said there was no other way to see or enter it than experiencing being born again. We know the story.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” [John 1]
Developing Jesus' straightforwardness. Click here.
Imagine meeting a stranger who suddenly tells you out of the blue who you are? Or you telling him who he is? That breaks all "normal protocols" or anything similarly termed by men supposedly for propriety's sake. It's the prophetic aspect of Jesus to be direct (without much ado) which, I believe, should also be ours because we claim he lives in us. I cannot imagine Christ losing his prophetic character just because he is in our bodies.
Or remember the Samaritan woman? Jesus just asked straightaway for a drink of water, without even introducing or explaining himself. "Will you give me a drink?" he said. The woman was shocked. She was probably used to formalities, pleasantries or introductions, aside from feeling awkward talking to a male Jew. "He should've at least said 'excuse me' or 'good morning,'" she probably thought.
Most times, all these formalities, "meek" introductions, pleasantries and things like that just reek of man's religions. Anything to appear nice and decent to gain people's confidence (sometimes to sneak into their private lives and trap them into church membership). Or anything resembling the rigors and refinements of pretended royalty. Yes we're God's chosen people, endowed with royal priesthood (and it's royal protocols), says Peter. Moreover, being children of the KING of kings makes us royal in the spirit realms. But Jesus demonstrated with his life what kind of royalty this is. It's not the royalty we see in the world. It's completely something else.
It's royalty that makes you lowly and the least. Royalty rejected by men.
Probably why Jesus avoided being formal or proper and decent (in the eyes of men) or observing men's propriety, and instead always getting straight to the point. No circumvention or detours or digressions. Always going straight smack to the point with a bullseye, except with his use of parables when he wanted people not to get the point outright so they'd pursue getting it straight later, but which most of them never did.
The first thing when having Jesus' character.
Again, we find him skipping formalities and intros in the Sermon on the Mount and getting straight to teaching the powerful fundamentals of the Kingdom. In fact, he did away with programs and opening and closing prayers and scripture reading and all that. He was walking with his disciples and saw the crowd coming to them on a mountain side. And then he made the disciples sit and started teaching them outright. No program. Not even an opening prayer. Do you realize that Jesus taught the Beatitudes without opening in prayer, which to us is a definite no-no because we've been taught that we should always start with prayer?
I mean, he was about to teach vital Kingdom principles and he didn't care to do it with a program? Even with a big crowd like that? We have the propensity to please crowds with our nice programs, but not Jesus, even if this was a major event. And if we were to do it, we'd surely embellish it with a well planned program, print out nice copies of it, use flowery titles and subtitles, open in poetic prayer, do a scripture reading and render special numbers we'd practiced for nights. And we'd make sure that everybody who had a part in it was well dressed and presentable.
Other church ministers would even wear ridiculous Pharisaical outfits or costumes.
We do this in our church anniversaries and concerts and spend lots of money, but what are they compared to the Sermon on the mount? The Beatitudes are tops in GOD's Kingdom and yet Jesus made everything so simple. Nothing fancy. So direct to the point. This clearly shows us that power or effectiveness does not come with our elaborate programs or ministries but by pure reliance on the Holy Spirit as Jesus did, without fanfare, sophistication or rituals. Without programs.
You remember Isaiah when he literally saw God in the temple? He saw God even if he didn't have any nice worship programs or poetic opening or closing prayers or scripture reading with a dignified, modulated voice tone. He didn't even had to sing choruses repeatedly or expressively. But he was given incredible visual access to God's very throne room, something our elaborate Sunday worship services never have.
And see how it radically transformed him from a man of unclean lips to one who dared volunteer to be sent on a mission to hostile territory. The most our church revival services achieve are people willing to committment themsleves to active church participaltion, or be seen performing on stage.
And see how the angel simply took a burning coal directly from the altar (without any ritual) and touched the prophet's lips with it to cleanse his guilt. No programs or ceremonies or anything like that. Everything simple and direct. But it was powerfully effective.
Nice programs can attract people and fill churches with memberships and incomes, but they can never replace the fruit that God seeks--the fruit of relying solely, simply and directly on the power and leading of the Holy Spirit and God's spoken Word in the bible. Jesus was hated in the end and was killed on a cross. That's what he got for doing everything in God's simple and direct way---without ado or making things look attractive or giving sweet and colorful icing-intros---and I know how this radical simplicity won't look so exciting to churches because it doesn't translate to bigger church income. What they prefer is anything that always translates into big membership and income. Jesus had it differently. He was hated by the world but found by those specifically drawn by the Father to him. We get this same result ONLY IF we do away with religious convolutions and drama.
And it all starts with genuinely and totally surrendering ourselves to Jesus Christ.
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