The Apostle Paul said…”Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1
Paul’s life was lived after the manner of His Savior, Jesus Christ.
I. Determined To Go To Jerusalem
A. Paul V. 16
1. Bound in the Spirit V. 22
a. Bound- deo-to tie, knit, or bind
b. Paul- a “bondslave of Christ”- doulos-from the word deo
c. Paul saw himself as bound, tied to Jesus.
2. Bonds & Afflictions V. 23
a. Paul would be bound with chains physically
b. Long before, he had spiritually bound himself to Christ
c. Paul’s commitment to Jesus was settled long before this moment
B. Jesus
1. John 8:29 “I always do those things that please Him”.
2. Jesus was led by the Spirit
a. Luke 2:27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple.
b. Mark 1:12 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
c. Luke 4:14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee,
d. Luke 4:18, 19 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
e. John 3:34 34For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
i. The prophets had a given measure of the Holy Spirit
ii. Jesus was given the Spirit w/o measure.
iii. He lived in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
3. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to betrayal, suffering, and death
4. That was the Father’s mission for the Son
II. Gathered Their Followers
A. Paul V. 17
1. Paul had been a spiritual father to these men
2. They would carry on the work of the Kingdom of God
3. He gives them final instructions
B. Jesus
1. Jesus was Lord & God to His disciples
2. He gathered His disciples together at the Last Supper
3. They would carry on the work of His Kingdom
III. The Lives They Lived
A. Hardships- V. 19
1. Humility
2. Tears
3. Temptations
4. Jesus
i. Isaiah 53:3 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
ii. John 4:32-36 32But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”33Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
iii. Though ministry was difficult for Jesus & Paul, doing the Father’s will was the very thing they lived for.
B. Teaching & Preaching
1. Paul- “Kept back nothing that was helpful”. V. 20
2. Jesus- He spoke the truth re. sin, Heaven, Hell, and about Himself as the Savior of mankind.
i. People were sometimes offended
ii. John 6:61 61When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?
IV. The Unmovable Life
A. Life Not Dear To Self
1. Paul– Saw his life as already “dead in/with Christ”.
a. Galatians 2:20 20I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
b. Paul wasn’t moved away from God’s plan for him because long before he had given his life away.
2. Jesus
a. Mark 10:45 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
b. John 12:27, 28 27“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify Your name.”
c. Jesus never lived for Himself, but for the purposes of His Father
d. “The greatest life ever lived was the life that was never lived”.
B. Finish The Race With Joy
1. Paul
2 Timothy 4:6-8 6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2. Jesus
Hebrews 12:1, 2 1Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
a. Race-agona– conflict, struggle
b. Finisher– Jesus is our example of a faithful witness to the end.
c. “For the joy that was set before Him…” can literally mean either…
i. “Because of the joy…”
ii. “Instead of the joy…”