What Does It Mean to Be More Like Him?

Growing up in the Christian faith and attending numerous churches over my lifespan it was common to hear the following:

“We need to be more like Jesus”,
“Jesus is the ultimate example for our lives”,
“We need to be transformed by Jesus”,
“We need to live like Jesus”

I even remember wearing the WWJD bracelet for a time. It’s somewhat of a mantra, but do we really understand what this means? Do we really know who Jesus was and is?

The majority of us have grown up being influenced by pastors, authors, speakers, etc. but do we really know the biblical Jesus and do we really live like Him? Or is it possible that our lenses have been skewed by tradition?

Do we see Him as a long haired hippie who loves everyone and gives nothing but healing, grace and hugs? Was His sole focus casting out demons and healing every physical ailment he came across? Was he condemning legalism brought on by the Pharisees and telling us to do the same? Was His main goal on earth to die on a cross?

Until seven years ago, my picture of Jesus was molded and shaped by everything but scripture or so it would seem.

Just as I was challenged, I encourage everyone reading this post to really dig into scripture. As we do so, we will start seeing a different Jesus than we’re used to and it will become unnerving. I was recently part of a bible study group who took on the challenge of examining the book of Matthew, precept upon precept. As we progressed into the study, many of us were starting to say the same thing…this Jesus is different compared to what I’ve been taught in church.

So who is He really? It’s important we really know as we strive to live our lives for Him and like Him.

He is the Messiah spoken about in Torah (the Law) and prophets.
He is the Word of God
He is the blameless lamb of God
He was without sin
He called out the leaders/the Pharisees
He healed the sick
He came to redeem
His name in Hebrew is Yeshua (Savior)

You might say, duh, we know all of this so what are we missing? If we are to be like Him and He is without sin what did this look like? What did He do?

To be without sin, is to obey God’s commandments aka, the Torah. Yeshua kept the law of God and told others to do the same. He didn’t keep some and not others. He didn’t change a few to cater to the culture.

It’s important we understand that in order for Yeshua to be the true Messiah He was required to teach and keep the laws of God according to the prophets. He couldn’t add or take away ANY of God’s laws lest He would be considered a false Messiah. (To learn more about the prophetic requirements of Messiah, please read my post “Connecting the Dots Part 1 – The Truth About Messiah)

“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:32)

Here is one of the most profound things Yeshua had to say and unfortunately it’s either been overlooked or cut up and taken out of context.

“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:18‭-‬19) 

This passage is HUGE. Therefore, He kept the Sabbath, He kept the Feasts, He loved His neighbor, He kept the dietary laws, He upheld the sacrificial laws and He didn’t add or delete ANY of them per God’s (the Father’s) instructions. By this verse alone we clearly see that He emphatically tells us to do the same, keep and teach the commandments of God, aka the Law of Moses.

What about the sermon on the mount? Many are in the camp that we need only keep those commands. 

What were the commands given by Yeshua on the mount? In Matthew chapters 5-7, Yeshua speaks specifically on the following topics:

• Murder
• Adultery
• Sexual purity
• Divorce
• Oaths
• How to handle disputes
• How to love your neighbor
• Be charitable
• Fasting
• Praying
• Judging

Do these sound familiar and were they familiar to the people of His time? Yes and yes. He was teaching the law of Moses aka, the law of God the Father. James even calls it the “royal law”. Yeshua is often quoting from the Torah and Prophets. He challenges everyone to step it up a notch, to grow and mature in one’s faith. He summarizes everything He spoke about with this verse:

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) 

Many in the Christian community also argue that Yeshua taught that we only need to keep two commandments. 

To this I say, I completely and wholeheartedly agree, …..HOWEVER… there is more to these commands than meets the eye.

“Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37‭-‬40) 

Here is Mark’s take on the same encounter:

“Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is:  ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.” (Mark 12:28‭-‬34)

And last but not least, Luke’s account:

“And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it? ” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:25‭-‬28) 

Do you notice a consistent pattern in all three accounts? These two commandments are from the law and prophets (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 18:5). The scribe/lawyer already knew the answer and Yeshua re-affirmed him. The ten commandments are based on these two pillars: The first four tell us how we are to love God and the last six tell us how we are to love our neighbor. The rest of the commands, all 613, go into more situations and detail but it’s important to remember they all hang on these two principles. He gives us the instructions on HOW to love God and our neighbor.

But some say keeping the law is legalism and this is why Yeshua chastised the Pharisees, right?

Before we begin to unpack this argument with scripture we need to understand the definition of legalism. Per the Merrian-Webster dictionary:

Definition of legalism

1: strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code // the institutionalized legalism that restricts free choice
2: a legal term or rule

Unfortunately this definition is commonly taught from the pulpit but in reality, this mindset couldn’t be further from the truth. There is nothing wrong with God’s laws/instructions. Of course we shouldn’t ever keep His laws to “BE” saved. Once we have faith we walk out our faith by being obedient to Him and His commands because we love Him. He gives us grace and mercy for the “oops” in life.

Let’s look at what scripture has to say about His relationship with many of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Keep in mind, they were supposed to be the shepherds leading and teaching the flock.

“He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?  Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” (Matthew 15:3‭, ‬7‭-‬9) 

“Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. (Matthew 23:1‭-‬3) 

On several occasions we see Jesus asking the Pharisees and Sadducees “Have you not read….” and at one point He even says “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29)

As we can see, He was upset with them because they were NOT keeping God’s commands. They may have read from the Torah and Prophets, but they didn’t KNOW or UNDERSTAND them because they lacked faith. They were more worried about keeping their own man-made doctrines and traditions. They lead the people astray by these very things; time and time again Yeshua called them out. They looked the part but underneath it all they were complete hypocrites. And because of this, He called them blind guides leading themselves and others into a ditch. Unfortunately some things never change, we still see leaders following the same exact patterns today whether it’s intentional or unintentional. 

By now I hope you are starting to see Yeshua in a different light. He was the walking example of how to live out God’s instructions. In my experience, it is completely foreign from what I’ve been taught. Unfortunately there aren’t many Christian churches today that will live the way Yeshua did according to the gospels. How many mainstream churches know, teach and keep the Sabbath or God’s feasts? Majority pick and choose what they want to adhere to. How many understand the importance of God’s laws and teach their flock to keep them? Traditions and many man-made doctrines are hard to break. They are all around us, in every denomination. It’s an up-hill battle but it can be done and I see many in the faith awakening to this truth over the past decade.

WE have to break the mold and be the change. WE have to bring these truths to our community, churches and pastors. It starts with us. WE need to dig into the WHOLE Word and be a true disciple, a student. WE need to examine scriptures (without traditional bias or man’s commentaries) like the Bereans did. WE need to read and understand God’s laws and the words of Yeshua.

When we really break it down, you will see for yourself Yeshua NEVER said or implied the following*:

• Some of the commands are for the Jewish people only
• Only the moral laws need to be kept. You can forget the Levitical laws
• Pork and shellfish are now on the menu as food. I changed the definition of what is to be considered food for you
• My commands are different from the Father and Moses
• After I die you don’t need to keep the Mosaic law aka, the law of God
• It is legalistic to keep my Father’s commands 
• It’s too hard to keep God’s laws so you shouldn’t even bother
• I am changing the weekly Sabbath to Sunday and calling it the Lord’s day
• I am bringing about a new covenant which doesn’t include the Father’s commands
• I am starting a new religion as I’m not continuing the existing one

^{*For more on these topics please read my series called “Connecting the Dots”}

Again, I think it’s important to reiterate Yeshua never contradicted the Father. He kept the Father’s commands, the same ones that were given to Moses to give the people. You will never find any scripture in the Gospels to say otherwise unless it is taken out of context. He came to fulfill the prophecies given in the entire Tanakh (Old Testament). If Yeshua had abolished or changed one jot or tittle of the law, He would have been a false Messiah.

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe me for he wrote of me.” (John 5:46)
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself…..These are my words that I spoke to you while I was with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:27, 44)

If we TRULY want to be like Yeshua then we should do as He instructed and did. We are to “do them and teach them” to others.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (I John 5:3)

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” (John 14:10‭, ‬23‭-‬24) 

“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:17) 

I hope this teaching has helped you to see outside the veil. I pray you have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart that understands. 

It is time to lift the veil!!