In John 17:4 Jesus refers to the work He has already accomplished.
I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
Suffering a sacrificial death and rising in power were not the only assignments given to Jesus. In John 17:6-13 He lists out the work He accomplished before going to the cross. These verses serve as an outline of the pastoral ministry of Jesus Christ. These verses set before us the four essential practices of pastoral ministry. What Jesus exampled in His ministry and reviews in prayer here before His Father are the essence of being a shepherd to the flock of God. The first essential work of pastoral ministry is given in 17:6 –
I manifested Your name to the men You gave Me out of the world.
God’s name is not what He is called, but who He is. His name is what characterizes Him – it is His nature, His heart. God is holy. God hates sin like you hate sickness – you hate what it does to you. God hates what sin does to people. When Jesus said that He manifested the Name of His Father to those given Him, He meant that He had brought it into light, caused it to shine, and to illuminate others. He was saying,
Father, I showed them what You are like!
Jesus showed us the holiness and the love of God. This is the high calling of ministry. Your pastoral ministry is far more than explaining the Bible to people. Your ministry is not only declaring the written Word of God, it is demonstrating the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ. The latter is the far more demanding work. Your week by week declaration of the written Word of God apart from an ongoing demonstration of the Living Word of God is a charade that others won’t put up with for very long. Nothing hardens the heart of men toward God and the church than declaration divorced from demonstration.
Moses had a revelation of God’s name, whereas Jesus is the revelation, the manifestation of God’s name. Moses spoke a word; Jesus is the Word. When Jesus manifested the name of the Father He didn’t take the disciples aside and whisper in their ear a new name for God. The manifestation Jesus speaks of isn’t information, but incarnation; it’s not what He said to them – it’s what He showed them. Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father. His heart’s desire was to see God. Jesus told Philip that if he had seen Him, then he had seen the Father! In the person of Jesus, the nature and character of God – His name – could be seen. This has huge implications for what it means to be in ministry. Jesus said,
As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.
You have been sent to continue the pastoral mission and the ministry practices of Jesus. How He related to people sets the pattern for how you are to relate to people. Manifesting the name of God is the first thing mentioned by Jesus. And if you don’t manifest the name of God, if you don’t incarnate the character of the Lord, your life and ministry won’t pack much of a punch. Ministry is life touching life. But it is not ministry that bears life – it is life that bears life. And a life bereft of the name of God is not life-giving. Manifesting the name of the Father is strategic to any ministry seeking to make Christ known. This is true ministry. Your effectiveness and influence is made or broken here.
Jesus gave us a full revelation of God – not a theological explanation, but a living demonstration. This is the need of people in every generation. Thank God for theologians who can help us navigate through the rapids of theological explanation - who can help us to clearly understand the omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience of God and what they mean for today. And thank God for pastors and men and women of God in whom there is a depth of character – the name of God – being lived out day by day.
Can people see what God is like by being with you? Do you manifest the holiness of God and the love of God? Holiness is a separation from the pollution of the world and a separation to God – the opposite of which is carelessness. Love is pursuit of the hurting people of the world – the opposite of which is callousness. If you are careless of the call to purity and are callous toward the needs of people, you are falling short of how Jesus conducted Himself in the ministry given to Him. Many who will not darken the doors of our churches today trace their offense to the carelessness and the callousness of the ministry.
It was said of Napoleon that his personal presence on the battlefield gave the tactical advantage of an additional 10,000 men. His influence was so great, the confidence of his men was so swelled, that a victory seemed assured. The influence of a pastor who lives out the name of God is of incalculable value that will only be determined by eternity.
Tim,
Great reminders of our mission! Wouldn’t you agree that these essential works are essential to every believer in the context of their daily lives?
Absolutely! Each of us is a living stone and a living witness.
figured as much
YET – a man can remain a Christian and continue weak in these things. But a man can’t remain a pastor and continue weak in these things. So, though while there is same measure of holiness and maturity called for in the pastor and the man in the pew, there is a different standard of applying these criteria.
Tim,
I may remain a Christian while being bereft of these traits, but I also remain fruitless, so the first comes into question.
It breaks my heart that i so easily get religious.
Lord may I not be a barren twig.
Thanks for reminding me that living with and in Him means life for those around me as well.
Don, you write: living with and in Him means life for those around me as well.
How true this is. I had an insight some time ago that really helped me put things in perspective. I had always thought that the fruit of the Spirit was something for me to enjoy – I want to feel love, experience peace, move in joy. But the thought hit me that even as the fruit of an apple tree isn’t for the tree but for others, so the fruit of the Spirit produced in me isn’t for me – it’s for others. As others connect with me, they are to experience the love of God and joy in His presence; they are to be calmed by the peace of God in me and be the beneficiary of patience and faithfulness. I have had a very me-centered understanding of the fruit. It is for others.
Tim,
So True!!! I’ve often envisioned the Lord walking through the orchard of my life and questioned whether or not He would find fruit or curse the unfruitfulness!
Great post Miles,
I am reminded of John the Baptizer who just after Jesus was revealed as the Word (John 1:1-2, 14) called himself the voice (John 1:23). Jesus was the substance, but John communicated that substance.
If Jesus is the the exegete (ἐξηγέομαι) of the Father (John 1:18), and Jesus sends us as the Father sent him (John 20:21), then we could say we ought to be an exegete of Jesus through the enabling of the Spirit. Our people should see Jesus revealed in our lives.
And the world should see Jesus revealed through our people! That’s one of my aims as a pastor: to so connect people in our church with Jesus that they cannot help but bring the lost into connection with Him too!
Amen