WDYAD

They got the question wrong! The question in my mind…

What Did Yeshua Actually Do?

The answer is probably not what they expected…..

I am sure the initial query was honestly aimed at the human experience. What should I do as a follower of Messiah?

Paul tells the world via 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

Having played ‘follow the leader’ in kindergarten, it didn’t take long to figure out that I was supposed to behave in the same manner as the one leading the parade. With that in mind I didn’t feel out of place while quacking like a duck and hopping on one leg.

Thirty years ago the ‘Sunday-go-to-meeting’ crowd began a movement that has yet to produce results. They began to ask “What would Jesus Do?” ….. My initial thought …. about what?

I was rather doubtful that he would have us quacking like a duck so I had to find out what the leader was doing….

Look at the 147th Psalm…

147 Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.”

All of these things listed are beyond my human capacities, however, listed here are the judgments, statutes and His Word.

Matthew 4:23 “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” (same as Matthew 9:35)

As I reflect on the typical model of the church-inc. I remember vividly the capacity for only one man behind the pulpit. In the exact opposite, the laity or congregants sit as a group waiting on the words delivered by the singular leader. They have no idea of the content of the leaders message nor have they prepared to deliver a meaningful message of their own.

In a simple search of the terms “Jesus went” there are more than 65 occurrences in the KJV, 81 in the ESV and over 100 in the NIV versions.

This means the answer to the elusive bracelet question is …. Jesus would go, Jesus would be prepared to go and once He got there….. He would preach, teach and heal.

Returning to the follow the leader game, where the rules are…. do exactly the same thing the leader does….

Mark 12:35 “And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple…”

John 7:14 “Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.”

Here we see Jesus observing the Sabbath and the Feasts. So what did Yeshua actually do? ….

He followed Torah. He taught Torah.

2 Thessalonians 3:9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.