Who Is the Emissary of Jesus?
I saw an interview with actor Michael Douglas recently on Oprah. He spoke of his relationship with his father, Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, and told the following story.
Dad called me the other night. He said, "Michael, I was watching myself in an old movie earlier tonight and I didn't remember making it."
"Well, Dad, you made 75 movies and you are 94. Don't be so rough on yourself."
"No, Michael, you didn't let me finish. I realized halfway through that I was watching one of your movies."
Wouldn't it be wonderful if certain aspects of our lives and ways of relating to others were all but indistinguishable from Jesus? If they reminded others of Jesus, just a little bit? We seek, every day, in every place, on this mission trip of life, to be emissaries of Jesus: representatives of Jesus who welcome others as if they were Jesus and who relate to others in the spirit of Jesus?
Who is the representative of Jesus? New Testament scholar Craig Keener, reflecting on 10:39-39 in relation to 10:40-42, concludes that "The one who relinquishes control of his or her own life (10:38-39) becomes a representative of Jesus." (Keener, 211) Easier said than done, but we do so with confidence in our leader and the goal that, when we encounter others on our trip, we'll welcome the Christ in them and they'll welcome the Christ they see in us.
But first we have to get off the website and get on the plane. We have to get off the shore and into the boat.
Sources Consulted
Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew: Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, Ky: John Knox Press, 1993).
Craig S. Keener, Matthew: The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1997).
Thomas G. Long, Matthew: The Westminster Bible Companion Series (Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997).
Daniel Patte, The Gospel According to Matthew: A Structural Commentary on Matthew's Faith (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987).
Donald Senior, Matthew, The Abingdon New Testament Commentary Series (Nashville: Abingdon, 1998).
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In