Bruce: Compare
the contrast between how others treated the women at the well as opposed to how
she was treated by Jesus?
Keith: In the
book I share a few quotes to reveal how Rabbi’s in Jesus day used to teach that women were
worthless.
But Jesus
went above and beyond to teach women, to minister to them, to heal them, to
treat them as equal human beings. It was really more scandalous than I think we
can usually appreciate.
With the
women at the well, Jesus purposefully went to minister to a Samaritan (which is
bad enough) who was a woman (strike two) and also a bit of an outcast – even
among other Samaritans. She was the least, of the least, of the least, and yet
Jesus is able to touch her in such a way that she becomes an amazing evangelist
and her entire village comes to trust in Jesus as the Messiah. Again, the
weakness of that woman was the catalyst for God’s power to work a miracle.
Bruce: What did
Jesus teach us about humility?
Keith: The
greatest distance in the Bible isn’t measured by how far the East is from the
West, but by how far Jesus humbled himself to step down off that throne in
Heaven (being worshiped night and day by the seraphim) to make himself nothing
and take on the form of a servant – even an embryo in the womb of a no-name
Jewish teenager in Palestine, in order to save the world.
What most
Christians fail to realize is that when Jesus was on this Earth, he was fully
human. His identity was God, the Son, but he was a man. He told us that he only
did what he saw the Father doing. He said he couldn’t do the works he did apart
from the Father. He showed us how we can live a similar life in the Kingdom. He
was our blueprint for living in the Kingdom. So, we can’t use the excuse “Well,
Jesus was perfect! He was God so that’s why He could turn the other cheek and
forgive people and things like that. I’m not Jesus so I can’t do those things.”
But that’s not what Jesus tells us. He says that if we believe in Him – if we
put our complete trust in Him – then we will do the works that He did, and not
only will we do those things – we’ll do even greater things. I don’t think
that’s about doing bigger and better miracles, but it’s about the principle of
multiplication. As the Body of Christ expands to cover the Earth we will
accomplish things that Jesus didn’t during his earthly ministry.
Think of
it like this: What do you think Jesus would be doing if he were here today?
Where would he spend his time?
Now, let’s
realize the truth: Jesus IS here today. We are His Body. We are “little
Christs” (which is what the word “Christian” means). We are His ambassadors
here and now.
This isn’t
about us. Remember? The Gospel isn’t about us. It’s about Jesus. It’s about His
Glory, His Kingdom, His rule and reign, etc.
It’s about
us dying to ourselves daily. Letting go of ourselves and our rights so that His
life and His plan can be accomplished: 2 Corinthians 4:10 “Always carrying
about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may
be manifested in our body.”
We have to
get away from this idea that “God is my co-pilot”. He is not your co-pilot.
He’s either the pilot or you’re on the wrong plane.
LISTEN TO THE ACTUAL RADIO INTERVIEW HERE>
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