If Jesus came to your church, would you recognize him?
Have you ever wondered what would happen if Jesus came to your church? I think about this once in a while.
Would he look like we have imagined him with a beard and flowing hair? Or would he look like just a regular guy? Would he be well dressed or in some blue jeans and a flannel shirt? Would he be a white man or a man of color? How tall would he be?
The more I think about these questions, some of them sound sort of ridiculous. If you had lived back 2,000 years ago and met Jesus, it would make sense that you would recognize him by his physical appearance.
But there’s no way for us to know what he looked like then, or what he would look like “if” he showed up at your church.
Recognizing Christ’s presence
Now, I realize this is a hypothetical situation, that Jesus would literally walk into your church. But it can be an important idea to think about. How do you recognize the presence of Christ in your midst?
If Jesus doesn’t physically show up in your church, the spirit of Christ is nevertheless present at all times. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will notice or recognize this presence.
I’ve shared this on the podcast before, but it bears repeating. A pastor was preaching his Sunday sermon from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. Things like be a peacemaker, love your enemies, and pray for those who mistreat you. After the service, someone came up to him and said, “Where did you get all that liberal nonsense?”
The pastor replied that it was straight from what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. The fellow said, “Well, that’s totally out of date. That stuff isn’t relevant anymore.”
Now you may find it hard to believe someone would say that to his minister, but this sort of thing has happened more often than we want to admit is possible.
How can someone who claims to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus, 1) not know the very words Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount; 2) not be trying to follow those teachings in his own life; and 3) be so opposed to the very essence of what Jesus taught us and how he wanted us to live our lives?
Knowing what Jesus said and did
Now, I don’t know the specifics of any particular case where this sort of thing has happened, but in general I would say that people who claim to be Christians but reject the core teachings of Jesus have probably not studied the Bible in depth for themselves. They are just listening to what someone else is saying, someone who picks and chooses a very narrow slice of all Jesus says, and then takes it out of context to promote his own agenda.
So, I would say, one of the most important ways to recognize the presence of Christ in your church, is to be very familiar with everything Jesus said and did during his ministry. Then do everything you can to follow Jesus’s example. And notice others who are doing the same.
When you know and follow the life and teachings of Jesus, thinking and loving the way he did, and treating others the way he did, Christ is present. And when others do the same, it magnifies the presence of Christ.
Jesus actually made this very point. He said.
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:20 NIV
First of all, Jesus doesn’t mean he will be physically present like he was 2,000 years ago. He’s talking about being present spiritually. It’s the presence of the spirit of Christ.
Gathering in the name of Jesus
And what does it mean to gather in his name? Does it just mean we all say the name of Jesus out loud? Well, that could be part of it. But to be gathered in the name of Jesus, in the name of Christ, means to come together with the spirit of Christ in your heart. It means to be gathered, united, in the essence or nature of Christ. It means to be united in being like Christ.
Paul puts it this way
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Philippians 2:1-5 NIV
That’s what it means to be gathered together in Jesus’s name.
Being Christly minded
When you have the mindset of Jesus, you’ll recognize others who have it as well. When you don’t have the mindset of Jesus, you’ll either recognize it in others and want to join in being like-minded to Christ. Or you won’t recognize the mindset of Jesus, this Christ-likeness, as anything of value, and think it’s irrelevant to your personal agenda.
This is actually what happened when some Jewish leaders saw Jesus in a local synagogue, or the Pharisees saw him in the Temple in Jerusalem. Even though they saw his physical personality, they did not see him as the Messiah. They didn’t even recognize him as being spiritually minded. All they could see was someone breaking their traditions and threatening their balance of power.
The presence of Christ in church still threatens the Pharisees of today and they do everything they can to stamp it out.
So, another way to recognize the presence of Christ in your church, or anywhere, is to be Christly minded, to have the mindset of Jesus. The more you have this mind of Christ, the more you’ll see Christ everywhere and in everyone.
Recognizing Jesus
And there’s another way to recognize Christ in your midst. How did Simeon recognize Jesus as the Messiah when Mary and Joseph brought him to the Temple as a baby? Luke tells it this way.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation,” Luke 2:25-30 NIV
How does this story apply to you and me?
When you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, you will see and recognize the presence of Christ at your church. You’ll discern who has a Christlike attitude and not be fooled by outward words and appearances of dutifulness and devotion.
What if Jesus came to your church?
Let’s come back to this hypothetical idea of Jesus showing up at your church. Let’s say you do recognize him. What would you do next? Would you sneak up on him and eavesdrop on what he was saying to someone else? Or would you go straight to him and talk directly to him? What would you say to him? What questions would you ask? Would you ask him to heal you? Or would you not want to bother him because he was busy talking to others?
Would you tell others who he was? Would you get all excited and make a scene or would you quietly take in the scene?
There’s not really a right or wrong answer. You might do any of these things depending on what you were dealing with in your own life at the moment. That’s okay. But it can be really enlightening to think how you would respond if you recognized Jesus walking into your church.
It just might give a hint of how we respond to Christ’s spiritual presence in our lives. Are you timid or bold when you reach out to the living Christ? Are you full of gratitude or afraid of how he might rebuke you because you did something wrong?
What would you ask Jesus?
Well, let’s come back to what you might say or ask Jesus, assuming you did recognize him. Would it be one or more of the questions I just mentioned a minute ago? I would probably have some big theological topics I’d want to talk about, not to mention asking for healing. What would you ask him?
But just now, in thinking about this, instead of asking what Jesus could do for you, what if you asked Jesus what you could do for him? How you could serve him best? How you could share his message best? Or whatever it might be that would be of support to him.
In pondering how Jesus might answer these questions, what rings in my ears are his words,
If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15 NIV
There’s no better way to honor and serve Jesus than to be obedient to all he has taught us, to follow his example in words and deeds and attitudes.
If Jesus came to your church and you didn’t recognize him
Now let’s come back one more time to the idea of Jesus coming into your church, but this time imagine that you do not recognize him. How would you treat this visitor, this stranger? Would you treat him differently if he was dressed or not dressed like you were? What if he was the same or a different ethnicity from you? What if “he” showed up as a woman?
The obvious question here is: How do you treat visitors at your church? Do they get one kind of treatment if they are similar to you and the rest of the members and a different kind of treatment if they look and act different than your preconceptions of who you want to visit and join your church?
The book of James has some pretty strong words to say about this.
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? James 2:1-4 NIV
And what if Jesus, whom you do not recognize, brings some of society’s outcasts with him, someone who just got out of prison, a drug dealer, or someone who’s drunk? How would you treat these folks?
How do you greet strangers in church?
Of course, if you knew it was Jesus bringing them, you might be okay with it, because you would trust him to help and heal them, or he wouldn’t have brought them along. Right? But if you didn’t recognize it was Jesus bringing them, would it offend you? Or would you reach out to them with compassion?
Why would you act differently, depending on whether Jesus had invited them or not, or whether you knew it was Jesus who invited them?
What if you could see it is Christ who brings everyone to your church, even those who appear to be outcasts of society?
To the degree you are truly gathering in the name of Jesus, with the spirit of Christ in your heart, you and your church will respond to everyone who visits your church, no matter what they look like or how they act, with the same compassion Jesus would.
Recognizing Jesus in everyone who comes to church
In fact, we should really treat everyone who walks through the doors of the church as if they were Jesus. We should show them the same respect we would show Jesus. We should love them the same way we love Jesus.
This is exactly what Jesus was talking about in Matthew, Chapter 25, when he commended those who had ministered to the poor, the hungry, the imprisoned, and the sick. But they said to Jesus,
“When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
The King [Jesus] will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:38-40 NIV
I’ve just said this, but it bears repeating. What if you treated everyone at church, members and visitors alike, even those members you don’t get along with, the way you would treat Jesus? What if you recognized Jesus in everyone who came through the doors of your church, each member and visitor? Or put another way, what if you recognized the Christ-likeness of everyone who came to church?
It’s easy to see this Christ-likeness in some folks. But with others, it seems to be buried under layers and layers of hurt, sorrow, fear, and a host of other emotions. But because you have the mind which was also in Christ Jesus, you can see through all those layers and discern the Christ-likeness of everyone.
This takes practice and discipline, with a whole lot of prayer, to get to this Christly-mindset way of seeing and treating people. But it such a blessing to you, your church, and especially the people you interact with.
So, what if Jesus came to your church?
The real question, as I said, is: What if you recognized Jesus in everyone who walked into your church and treated them the way you would treat Jesus? What if two or three others did this with you? What if the whole church treated everyone this way?
What would happen to your church?
Parable of the Five Monks
To answer this question, I’ll close with the Parable of the Five Monks. I don’t know the author of this parable or how it originated, but it’s message is clear.
There was a monastery that once flourished but had fallen upon difficult days. They had dwindled down to only five monks. They knew if something didn¹t happen, they would disappear.
The monastery was surrounded by a beautiful forest. Next to the monastery, deep in the woods, there was a little hut in which lived a rabbi. He lived as a hermit, all alone.
Wondering, one day, if the hermit might be able to offer the monks any advice, the abbot of the monastery decided to visit him. The rabbi welcomed the abbot at his hut. But when the abbot explained his purpose and concern, all the rabbi could do was commiserate with him. “I know how it is,” he said, “all the spirit has gone out of the people.”
So the old abbot and the old rabbi wept together. They read the Scriptures together. And when the time came to leave, they embraced each other. “It has been wonderful that we should meet after all these years,” the abbot said. “But I have failed in my purpose. Is there no piece of advice you can give me that would save my dying monastery?”
One of you is the Messiah
“No, I am sorry,” the rabbi responded. “I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is that the Messiah is one of you.”
When the abbot returned, all the other monks asked what the rabbi had said. “He couldn’t help,” the abbot answered. “We just wept and read the Scripture together. The only thing he did say, just as I was leaving, was that the Messiah is one of us. I don’t know what he meant.”
In the days and weeks that followed, the monks pondered this and wondered whether there was any possible significance to the rabbi’s words. The Messiah is one of us? Could he possibly have meant one of us monks here at the monastery? If that’s the case, which one? Do you suppose he meant the abbot? Yes, if he meant anyone, he probably meant Father Abbot. He has been our leader for more than a generation.
On the other hand, he might have meant Brother Thomas. Certainly Brother Thomas is a holy man. Everyone knows that Thomas is a man of light.
Certainly he could not have meant Brother Elred. Elred gets crotchety at times. But come to think of it, even though he is a thorn in people’s sides, when you look back on it, Elred is virtually always right. Maybe the rabbi did mean Brother Elred.
But surely not Brother Phillip. Phillip is so passive, a real nobody. But then, come to think of it, he has a gift for somehow always being there when you need him. Maybe Phillip is the Messiah.
Of course the rabbi didn’t mean me. He couldn’t possibly have meant me…
Who could it be?
As they contemplated in this manner, the monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the off chance that one of them might be the Messiah.
Because the forest in which the monastery was situated was beautiful, it so happened that people still occasionally came to visit the monastery to picnic on its tiny lawn, to wander along the paths, and even now and then to go into the chapel.
As they did so, without even being conscious of it, they sensed this aura of extraordinary respect that now began to surround the five monks and seemed to radiate out from them and permeate the atmosphere of the place.
There was an incredible, extraordinary spirit in the way they treated each other and the way they treated the public. People were so moved, they invited others to come too. Finally it became a regular occasion for people to come to this monastery and enjoy being in this positive atmosphere with the monks. They began to bring their friends, and their friends brought their friends.
Then it happened that some of the younger men who came to visit the monastery started to talk more and more with the monks. After a while one asked if he could join them. Then another. And another. Within a few years the monastery had once again become a thriving order and, a center of light and spirituality that had a profound influence in the whole region.
When you look at someone else and recognize that Christ lives in them, you will treat them with great love, respect, care, and honor. When you recognize that Christ lives in you, you will treat yourself, your body, your mind, your soul and spirit with greater respect, honor and love. When we do this collectively, that’s what church is all about: seeing Christ within each and every one, and treating them accordingly.
This coming Sunday, look for Jesus at your church. He’ll be there and you will recognize him.
Photo credit: StockCake.com
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Matthew 18:20 NIV
20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.
Philippians 2:1-5 NIV
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Luke 2:25-30 NIV
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
John 14:15 NIV
15 If you love me, keep my commands.
James 2:1-4 NIV
1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.
2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.
3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”
4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Matthew 25:38-40 NIV
38 ‘When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King [Jesus] will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
