He went about doing good and healing all who were under heavy pressure from negative, evil circumstance. As he went along amazing things seemed to happen around him. It was clear that a force much more powerful than himself, the words he spoke, or the deeds he did was tangibly present with him. Lives were marvelously changed as he made contact with all manner of people and as a consequence they sought him out and followed him virtually wherever he went. They thronged around and asked him questions and he graciously spoke back to them in response. He taught them what the sacred texts had hidden in them, presented a revolutionary, fresh angle on ancient truth and opened the eyes of the blind. He demonstrated by way of his own lifestyle, a way of life that had never been seen before. As a result lame legs were restored, withered arms were straightened and for the first time enabled to reach out and touch, caress and even heal.
Other than the twelve he officially called to be his personal disciples, to leave their homes and families and to walk with him he never asked anyone else to join him or follow him as he walked. He never developed unrealistic expectations in the hearts and minds of those who met him and instead seemed rather to make it more difficult for them to follow him than that which first was apparent. He was unpredictable in almost everything he did and when expected to ‘zig’, he ‘zagged.’ He extracted no payment for his service of kindness but often met the needs of the poor instead. His only charge was for all to honour God and do as he did – to follow his example of giving up his own life for those of his friends. In fact, he more often than not forbade the recipients of his kindness their passionate request to follow him and even had the emancipated fortitude of wisdom, personal conviction and divine sense of purpose to amongst many other seemingly controversial acts, inadvertently cause a very wealthy man with all his worldly resources, to turn away from following him by lovingly revealing the great poverty of the mans extreme wealth and success.
He had no personal empire of material or political wealth. He never drew attention to himself nor promoted his service. If anything, he underplayed the accolades of the crowd and preferred to call himself the ‘son of man’, a lowly, unpretentious description for someone who performed such incredible feats of miraculous kindness. He never owned any form of personal transportation nor any building with attractive, socially trendy décor to accommodate the masses who pressed in. Instead, he chose the dusty footpaths, market places, the homes of often socially inappropriate people, taverns and once a week, the small, traditional religious gathering spots to make contact with people. He had no permanent roof over his head other than the stars, no place to call his own nor to hang his hat or raise his banner. He tended more often than not to profoundly offend the established religious order and the prevalent leadership of the day and they too pursued him relentlessly, but for other reasons than respect, admiration and gratitude.
Eventually Jesus was murdered for this, as are any who follow his example and do as he did.
