The Secret Life of Jesus
The people who spent the most time with Jesus were often perplexed by Jesus.
He frequently challenged the status quo, but also had a deep appreciation for tradition. He blessed children and rejected the most powerful religious leaders in his day. When his popularity was growing and large crowds started to gather around him, he would sneak away in the middle of the night and never return to that place again.
For a guy who ended up radically changing the world, it almost seems like he was doing everything he could to ensure that he didn’t.
Think about it.
Jesus was born in such obscurity that his welcoming party included farm animals. On more than one occasion he told the people he healed to “go and tell no one.” And in one of his most popular teachings, he told his disciples to do good works but “make sure your right hand doesn’t know what your left hand is doing.”
In other words, Jesus isn’t against secrets. In fact, if you follow him long enough you’ll end up with quite a few of them. The secrets won’t be about your sin, but about something so much better and so much harder to keep to yourself.
When the Apostle John ended his gospel, he said:
“Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” — John 21:25
What if John wrote these words because he made a promise to Jesus not talk about that part of the story when he wrote his gospel? The stories that we read about Jesus in the gospels are so good, but what if there are better ones that Jesus is just waiting to tell us once we get on the other side of heaven? I can’t be sure that’s why John penned those words. But it’s certainly a possibility.
The Secret Life of Jesus’ Followers
Jesus made it clear — I want you to do good, and I don’t want you to tell anyone about it. The great temptation of Christians living in the twenty-first century is wanting to broadcast our good works on social media.
I mean… Did you really go on a mission trip if there isn’t an Instagram post with a deeply spiritual caption accompanying it?
Social media might be a new thing, but the desire for people to praise your good works is as old as time. That’s why Jesus told his followers,
“When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.”
— Matthew 6:2
When you see a command like that, you should know that Jesus is trying to correct someone’s current behavior. Apparently there was a group of people who would give to charity and then blow trumpets so that other people could praise their good deed.
I know that sounds cringey, but before we put our noises up in disgust, let’s do some self-examination. Have you ever made a post on social media about something good you had done, refreshing the page every five minutes trying to see how many likes and comments you had gotten?
Christians in the twenty-first century aren’t blowing trumpets. But we are hitting “post” on our good works, hoping our friends won’t just scroll past it.
Here’s the point: Jesus says that you will only be rewarded once for your good works. You can be rewarded by people or you can be rewarded by God. But you cannot be rewarded by both.
I once read an inscription on a man’s tombstone that said, “His good deeds were many, but anonymous.” Clearly he was one of those perplexing followers of Jesus.
Take a moment to think about your own life. Are there good works you have done that are only known between you and the Lord? Do you have any good, God-honoring secrets?
I asked myself that question after reading the man’s tombstone. To be completely honest, the answer was no. But now I’m a few years past that moment and I’ve challenged myself in this area. In other words, I have a few more secrets — and I hope that you can start adding some to your list too.
If you enjoyed this post, consider hitting the subscribe now button at the bottom of this page. You will only receive two emails a week. One on Monday morning with a short devotional, and another on Wednesday morning with a sermon I have taught recently.
Amen!! This is good stuff!
Always love reading your work!