Community is one of those words that often flies around among those of us comprising the church. Everyone can come up with a kind of definition for it- everyone tries to cultivate it- to some extent everyone longs for it; yet it is one of the most complex issues that we face, not only as the body of Christ, but as mere human beings. It’s a topic that spans from theology to psychology to sociology and beyond.
Over the next four weeks I will attempt to tackle some of the issues that we face when contemplating community. We will take a look at Jesus, our world, the church, our small groups, and more. Some of it may be things that you have heard a million times before, but some of it may be new and provocative. Either way, it is my hope that we learn something about what God envisions for His church and His people. I have prayed and asked that God would speak and reveal something fresh to us as we explore community. I trust that he will help us find the courage to step into His ways and find those places in this world that encourage and strengthen us and others in love as we proceed on our mission.
This week we will look at Jesus and what community looked like in His world. There is no better model for our communities than that which God Himself laid out as He walked the earth. The evolution of His life and relationships as it pertained to His community building is something that is worth us exploring here.
Connection to the Father in Heaven
Jesus had intimate community with His Father in Heaven. This spiritual connection created a perfect harmony of God’s Will and Jesus’ actions. Jesus said in John 8:26-29:
“I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”
They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.
So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
“And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
To many of those who were listening to this at the time, the unique idea that Jesus and the Father were one was something that was considered blasphemy. To those who believed it was true however, Jesus extended an invitation to enter into that same intimate community. Through the Holy Spirit, we are united with the Father. This idea was so important to Jesus that He actually incorporated it into His prayer in John 17:20-26. The idea of Godly unity, and the unity that is to be achieved corporately among believers, are so intertwined that the same Greek word “heis,†simply defined as one, is used throughout the entire prayer. This scripture is often referenced and it is quite challenging, but we need to take that prayer seriously and think about the ramifications of such a situation. When we understand what Jesus actually prayed for us, we realize that we now have an advantage that even the disciples lacked, and can enjoy a restoration of the natural God-man relationship that Christ achieved and the Holy Spirit enables.
Jesus and His Family
There is a major gap in the events between the birth of Jesus and the beginning of His ministry. There are plenty of theories and reasoning to why this is the case that we will not get into here; however, we do know a few things. We know that He had an intact nuclear family including a mother, father and siblings. We know, thanks to the account of John, that His mother and brothers were vocal about His early ministry decision making. Even though we do not have detailed accounts of much of Jesus’ childhood and adolescent years, let us not underestimate the importance of these phases of life. Growing up in the Hebrew culture of the day certainly had an effect on the way that he viewed family, friendship and community. It would be tragic to ignore these influences especially given the amount of scripture that records Him speaking about the family; His own and others’.
Later, in His ministry years, we see Jesus in frequent community with His mother Mary. During the final moments before Jesus’ death, in one of the most moving parts in all of scripture, we see His concern for the well being of His mother in John 19:25-27. In addition to that, there are many theories about Jesus’ relationships with His brothers. One of the most significant of these speculates that the New Testament book of James was most likely written by James the brother of Jesus.
Post-Family
This might come across as contradictory given what I just wrote about the importance of Jesus’ family. What does it mean when I say ‘post-family?’ I believe that it is difficult to ignore some of the ‘tough family statements’ of Jesus. Things like Luke 2:49-50 where He had some ‘righteous’ talk-back to His mother, or Mark 3:32-34 where it seems as if He flat out ‘disses’ his mom and brothers. Then there are the moments of what must have been extreme familial disappointment, such as being rejected in His hometown of Nazareth as we read in the beginning of Mark 6; including His own brothers who did not even believe Him
One could spend a lot of time investigating the implications these examples and I encourage you to do so. The most powerful thing that they illustrate however, is the shift in thinking from the worldly realm of family to a greater spiritual one. This is extremely significant and actually serves as ‘good news’ for the church in our generation as, in some aspects, the world in which we are currently dealing has also become quite post-family. We will discuss this further in the coming weeks when we look at the current cultural climate. Jesus’ experience in moving from a familial role to a post-familial role, where He begins to embrace disciples, is of utmost importance to us today and is something that can be extremely helpful.
The Disciple Era
We all know the crazy group of guys that Jesus called to be His followers. This eventual group of twelve was comprised of men from a variety of walks of life and occupations. What was the natural propensity for these men to get along? Throughout the Gospels we often see the tension among the individuals in the group. I guarantee that Jesus had to break up a few fights. As we read through all of the accounts and experiences, it seems that we have to ask some important questions when looking at the community that was built among them. What did the disciples leave behind (jobs, family, security)? What did the disciples do for Jesus? What does Jesus do for the disciples? What do the disciples do for each other? We have to look at the interesting mixture of how Jesus related messages to them and see that there was a combination of corporate and individual teaching. He sometimes taught in parables and other times directly. Often we look at these things in light of “discipleship,†but what does the investigation of the group of disciples speak to in regard to the idea of community? How is their ‘post-family’ experience helpful for us today? Upon investigating these questions, we begin to gain some insight into how God really wants to achieve His reconciliation of human kind. Due to the fallen nature of individuals, not even the biological family is necessarily able to provide the support needed to find the path of righteousness in the world. It takes a community that goes beyond lineage. To really fulfill the work that God has commissioned us to as Christ followers, it takes a community of intentionality that provides an environment of love and commitment, diligence and perseverance.
This foundational analysis of Jesus is intricate for us to clearly understand how to function as the church in community, both among ourselves and in the world. It is vitally important that we see and understand how and why Jesus constructed His community the way that He did. Upon this basis, some of the things in the weeks to follow will make more sense and become more alive and relevant. I would challenge you to click through some of the links above and think about what they meant for Jesus’ life. Read through some of the group dynamics of Jesus and the disciples in the various Gospels. How did they treat each other, work together, interact with the greater public? The more we understand what Jesus was trying to teach His disciples about the world, God’s Kingdom, and their community, the better we will be able understand how to live today.
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