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What Moved Jesus To Action?

What two factors moved Jesus to action? Sometimes, we picture Jesus rushing to meet everyone’s needs and solve their problems. A careful reading of the Gospels shows that was not so.

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. John 5:19-20, NASB

In John 5, just before the above verses happened, Jesus walked into a place crowded with sick people hoping to be miraculously healed. He questioned and healed one man...and then walked away. In another case, Jesus was walking and would have passed by a blind man, but the blind man cried for help, and because of that, he was healed. On another level, the teachings of Jesus were not designed to attract the masses. In fact, in the next chapter, the teachings of Jesus were so “hard” that most of His disciples deserted Him.

The Will Of The Father Moved Jesus To Action

What was it that moved Jesus? His overriding priority was to do the will of His Father. Jesus was not out for Himself, His career, His popularity, or even for the needs of others. His eyes were on His Father; what His Father did, He copied. If that meant stopping in the middle of a sermon to heal a crippled woman, He did it. If it meant healing one man in a multitude of sick people and leaving the rest, He did it. If it meant saying things which would turn people against Him, He did it. The model of Christ’s life is perfect obedience to the will of His Father regardless of personal cost. To please the Father was the focus of His life...and He did it without once choosing His own way or His own desire above the Father’s will. That is amazing! How often can we say we do the will of the Father regardless of personal desires or cost?

Faith Moved Jesus To Action

The secondary thing that moved Jesus to action was faith. We know that faith is a gift from God. When someone approached Jesus in faith, that signalled to Him that the Father was at work in that life - although Jesus sometimes tested the depth of the faith, as He did with the Syrophenician woman. If a person, like the rich young ruler, failed the faith test, He moved on.

What Should Move Us To Action?

Often, we are moved because we see a need, but that was not what moved Jesus. We somehow feel that we must meet every need. Sometimes, we become so frustrated that we do nothing; other times, we try to solve every problem and wear ourselves out. [This is especially tempting for Pastors and Christian workers.] We have to face reality. Even within our own families, we cannot solve every problem or meet every need...and we will only end up killing ourselves if we try. We are not God, and trying to be God will only destroy us and hurt the person we are trying to help.

As Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, did only those things which He saw the Father doing, even so, we, through the power of the Holy Spirit, need to do only the things which we see Jesus doing. This is not an evasion of responsibility but an entering into true responsibility. I cannot solve every problem, but God has enabled me to solve some. One of the keys is to know which problems, situations, or needs require our attention and which ones we need to leave alone. This can only be done as we learn to watch what Jesus is doing. We do this by spending time in His Word and His presence. God does not overwhelm us. We overwhelm ourselves when we take on things God did not intend for us. If what moved Jesus moves us, we will be successful and safe from God's point of view.

Side Point: This means that Jesus was not interested in being creative. From our point of view, Jesus was very innovative, but from His point of view, He was only copying the Father. True disciples are imitators [of Jesus], not originators. However, following Jesus's ideas and instructions will open new doors, expanding our imaginations and discovering creative solutions. Obeying Jesus, even under challenging circumstances, is not a mindless activity but an exploration of possibilities while developing our love relationship with our Creator.

For more information about Glenn Davis, see our About Glenn page or visit Glenn Davis Books.

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