As a Christian, can people see Christ in you?
Scripture: Matthew 5: 17: 27.
In Matthew chapter five, Jesus has much to say about the religious leaders of His days who were known as Scribes and Pharisees: but who were they really?
In the time of Jesus, when He walked among men, the scribes and Pharisees were religious groups within Judaism, but with distinct roles and characteristics. Scribes were scholars and teachers of the law of Moses, responsible for copying, interpreting, and applying the scriptures.
Pharisees were a religious movement known for their strict adherence to both the written law and the oral traditions, emphasizing a righteous lifestyle and often acting as teachers and leaders.
In the old days, becoming a scribe or a Pharisee involved different paths. Scribes were learned individuals, often scholars of the law, who were trained to copy, interpret, and teach the scriptures. Pharisees, on the other hand, were of a broader group, a sect within Judaism, known for their strict adherence to both the written law and oral traditions.
While some Pharisees were scribes, and scribes could be Pharisees, the two roles were not mutually exclusive.
In Matthew five and verse twenty of our text, Jesus made this statement: for I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and pharisees you will not enter the kingdom of heaven: what does this means?
The scribes and the pharisees were the religious leaders in Jesus days; they were people whose reputations and status in society depended on keeping the law. It is also believed that most priests at that time were also pharisees.
While a priest can be a priest and ignore the law because, it’s a hereditary position (like Eli’s sons did) the same is not so for the other religious leaders. If you were a pharisee and someone point out that you are failing in obeying one of Moses 613 laws, then you’ve lost a lot of status and power. They were experts in obeying the law and completely above reproach in terms of keeping the law.
Colossians 1:27 tells us that Christ is in us to whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
This verse shows us not only that Christ is in us, but that He in us as our hope of glory. When we believed in Him, Christ came to live in our spirit. Now He’s living in our heart, making it His home. In the future, when He returns, He will even spread into our body so that God’s glory can shine through our entire being. The one who lives in us is our hope of such glory.
Christ second coming will surely be a marvel, and according to this verse, a most wonderful thing will happen. His glory will be revealed from within His believers. The Christ in us, who is living in us, being formed in us, making His home in our hearts, and who is our hope, will be revealed from within us.
What a glory to God, a marvel to men, and a shame to the devil, that there are people on this side of earth who would choose to receive Christ and allow Him to grow in them and be glorified in them for all to see!
Christ Jesus wants to make His home in our hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love. Christ Jesus is living in our spirit when we invited Him in, He wants to spread into the rest of our inward being. That is into our heart and mind, our emotion, our will, and conscience.
The Lord doesn’t want to just visit our heart like a guest visits a hotel, He wants our heart to be His home, where He has the freedom to live and move when and how He desires.
How can others see Christ in us? Through our love and compassion for others, treating others kindly, extending grace and forgiveness, and being a peace maker: the list goes on to include standing up for what is right: such as spiritual practices.
Praying for others, open to sharing your faith, extending hospitality, this list goes on to include all the attributes of Christ which He takes with Him when He came to live in our hearts.
When we invite Him to come and live in my heart Lord Jesus, come in and abide forever.
His response is still the same, when I come in I will abide forever, so you must let others see me through your actions, and the hearing of God’s words, because I keep my promises, I will be with you in all things and at all times.
How much of Christ is being reflected from you and I daily?
Remember the words of Jesus has the same meaning today as the day when they were spoken, so let us remember his words spoken to us Matthew 5: 20, where He is reminding us that except our righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Where do you intend to spend eternity? If you are intending to spend eternity in the kingdom of God, there is only one way, and Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the light, which leads to the Father’s kingdom, are you on your way to the Father’s kingdom?