This post is the conclusion to the series on Giving up our Rights in which we have looked at some of the rights we think we deserve, and have seen that as followers of Jesus, we may be called upon to give up these rights for the sake of the gospel.
The greatest example of how to give up our rights is Jesus Christ. Though as God incarnate, He had every right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of His own personal happiness, though He had the ultimate freedom to make His own religion, to say whatever He wanted to whomever, to call crowds of disciples to follow after Him, and to take up all the power and force of the universe in His defense, Jesus instead chose to give it all away.
Rather than fight for His right to life, He went freely to His death, even to death on a cross (Php 2:8). Though He had the freedom and liberty to do whatever He wanted, He came instead to proclaim liberty to the captives (Luke 4:18), and give freedom to a world enslaved in sin (John 8:36).
In His life and teachings, He showed that true happiness is not in self-fulfillment, but in self-sacrifice and service (Matt 5:1-10; John 13:1-17). Jesus did not create a new religion, but set us free from all the rules and regulations of religion (The Gospels).
When given the opportunity to slander others or speak in His own defense, He kept silent and spoke not a word (Matt 26:62; Mark 14:61). When crowds gathered to follow Him, He more often than not turned them away and kept His group of followers small (John 6:66).
And far from taking up the sword and calling angels to defend Him against His enemies, Jesus told His followers to put away their sword (Matt 26:51), and did not call legions of angels as protection (Matt 26:53).
All of our God-given rights which we fight to defend and protect were discarded and rejected by Jesus. “When did Jesus ever concern Himself with protecting His rights or the rights of the community He was founding? Did He not rather do the exact opposite and teach us to do the same?” (The Myth of a Christian Nation
He had more right to these rights than we ever will, but He gave up them all up for the sake of His mission to inaugurate the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
If we are going to follow Jesus in helping His kingdom advance, we too must give up our rights and follow where He leads.
In a society where it has become commonplace for people to demand their rights and avoid their responsibilities, Jesus demonstrates the greatest possible contrast as He generously forfeits His rights and gladly embraces His responsibilities. Since darkness and light are so clearly set before us, let us run to the light and reflect it as brightly as we possibly can.
Right on, Mike! Our greatest example is Jesus, who had every right in the world, but gave them all up for us.
Reminds me of the Hummer plate holder I saw that read “He who has the most toys wins”. Might we say “He who lays claim to all his rights wins”? – Our culture has fed us these lies as if they were mother’s milk. In just a little while we shall see the truth.
May that day come quickly!
Jeremy:
Can we think of Jesus as having any “rights” to give up? I never really saw Him as having a will other than that of His Father’s will; there are many verses throughout the Gospels that demonstrate His purpose was to obey the will of the Father.
As a Christian, if a believer decides to become a disciple then perhaps at that point a believer surrenders his rights, per se, to follow God as he is led to do so. So I agree at that point a believer gives up his rights I guess. 🙂
Peace,
Mike
Mike,
Well, that is a good question. I guess I was thinking about the temptations from Satan and the things that Jesus had a “right” to as the Messiah, but which He rejected the path to get there as offered by the devil.
And then there is Philippians 2 as well, and everything Jesus gave up to live and die here on earth.
But did Jesus ever have “rights”? Hmmmm…. you might be right to suggest that theologically, we cannot think of the Trinity in this way….