Jesus’ church

“Where is Jesus’ church?”

I’m not talking about the contemporary church of today (although, that is a post left for another day I’m sure). Rather, I’m asking, “Where did Jesus find his spiritual community?” And to what degree should we look for similar community today?

When I first think about who might have been a part of Jesus’ church, my mind immediately turns to the disciples. Those 12 men were with Jesus all the time, and he was constantly teaching them God’s truths, developing intimate relationships with them, and sending them out in mission. When they first came on board, he only shared with them the basics of the faith, then let them live into his teachings. Slowly, he let on that his purpose was the cross, and that anyone who wants to be his follower would find a similar fate. In bite-size portions, Jesus opened their eyes to the spiritual reality of this world. They were his church.

But were they the ONLY church Jesus was a part of? No, he had a larger following of disciples too – the 70 disciples were trusted enough by Jesus to be sent out into places Jesus had not yet gone. They were his ambassadors, setting the stage for Jesus’ ministry. Jesus knew the dangers of letting his disciples go; nonetheless he sent them “as lambs among wolves”.

Jesus also kept fellowship with the larger crowds that gathered on the hillsides to hear him teach, to be healed and fed. Many of these people had little or no expectation placed on them by Jesus; they simply came, and received from the Lord. They were only consumers of his spiritual resources, but they were still a priority to Jesus.

Within the disciples, Peter, James and John seemed to have all the real fun with Jesus. They were present for basically everything Jesus did, including his Transfiguration. These disciples later became each writers of literature in our New Testament. Some would say that this was Jesus’ true church, and that even more minutely, John was his beloved disciple.

So where is your church? Who are you spiritually responsible for/to? Jesus seemed to keep his fellowship with layers of friendships, requiring something different from each group. Maybe it was their willingness to “hear and obey his teachings” that brought them closer in proximity to Jesus. As I begin looking at local church planting, I have to be aware that not everyone will be interested in a close, intimate community; for today, some just need to be consumers – and that’s okay, but it is not my priority. I will live, work, and die for the handful in my close-knit “church”. I am called to nothing less.

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