In sum, He taught us more in every field of scholarship more than anyone else in history. He was His own authority and never footnoted His sermons or quoted the authorities, His formula was simply, "It is written." Millions would die for this itinerant preacher today, who only led a tight-knit band of twelve and an outer band of seventy during his tenure on earth, yet He is the model preacher and best teacher who ever lived bar none. Who was the greatest leader in history? The greatest example of morals? The greatest leader? Who did the most good for mankind? No matter what aspect you're examining, Jesus is the model or icon to emulate.
Even though He only recruited the Twelve, it was enough because He so profoundly influenced them and they were the ones that could do the job (note that Judas was replaced after the resurrection by Matthias and then by Paul). Jesus never was a number cruncher, always concerned about the quality not the quantity of His loyal band. If He were asked why He didn't reach out more and have an alternate plan, should the apostles fail, He only would say, "I have no other plan." Jesus invariably showed us what can be done with a preacher who preaches what he practices and practices what he preaches without duplicity and with candor.
Jesus' methodology or M.O. was unique in that he did miracles as signs to accompany a point in preaching or teaching He was doing. I'll give you a for instance: To illustrate Himself as the Bread of Life, he fed the multitude; as Life itself, He rose the dead. He never did miracles on-demand or for show--never doing the so-called biggie miracle that the Pharisees demanded the ultimate proof. He never did miracles for personal gain, prestige, profit, or to attract attention for Himself. It's true that miracles didn't hurt the draw, and also they are conducive to people making up their minds about Him; nevertheless, He didn't rely on His supernatural powers to prove Himself--His appeal was to hearts and He came to heal sinners and the sick, who needed a physician, and didn't want would-be disciples who didn't count the cost and weren't fully devoted.
The problem with miracles is that they don't automatically bring faith--sometimes they bring skepticism, and usually, they just bring the desire for more miracles! Miracles don't produce faith, but faith produces miracles, and Jesus knew this! Jesus certainly wasn't going to force Himself on anyone but wanted to reach the hearts of the people through His message. His impact was such that He profoundly influenced everyone that came into contact with Him--there was no middle ground, neutral territory, or fence to stand on.
Jesus' life shows what can be done with little when God is in it: Saint Theresa said she wanted to erect a convent and all she had as resources were twelve pence; her followers said that even Saint Theresa couldn't do much with twelve pence; she replied that Saint Theresa and God could do anything! When we look at the miracles of the feeding of the multitudes, we see that we do the addition and God does the multiplication, and smallness is no obstacle with God. Nothing is small or big to God and what He is after is our faithfulness, not our success, which is up to Him in whatever way He sees fit to measure it by--not in the eyes of the world, though. We are not to compare ourselves with others and wonder or judge, but faithfully do what God has called us to with His blessing.
In conclusion, we see the Jesus model, as the success of a ministry, not in its size or extent of outreach, but the quality of impact it has and the discipleship it does; the job of the church isn't merely evangelizing but teaching and raising up disciples who can do likewise with others as the whole church works in unison and corporately to accomplish the Great Commission as its goal. Jesus wasn't looking for admirers or halfhearted followers, but those who would sell out lock, stock, and barrel-like the original apostles did after the resurrection, willing to die for Him and carry the message to the ends of the earth, forsaking all for the kingdom. True success is faithfully following the Jesus model and trusting Him for the results and appraisal of our work done in faith. Soli Deo Gloria!
The problem with miracles is that they don't automatically bring faith--sometimes they bring skepticism, and usually, they just bring the desire for more miracles! Miracles don't produce faith, but faith produces miracles, and Jesus knew this! Jesus certainly wasn't going to force Himself on anyone but wanted to reach the hearts of the people through His message. His impact was such that He profoundly influenced everyone that came into contact with Him--there was no middle ground, neutral territory, or fence to stand on.
Jesus' life shows what can be done with little when God is in it: Saint Theresa said she wanted to erect a convent and all she had as resources were twelve pence; her followers said that even Saint Theresa couldn't do much with twelve pence; she replied that Saint Theresa and God could do anything! When we look at the miracles of the feeding of the multitudes, we see that we do the addition and God does the multiplication, and smallness is no obstacle with God. Nothing is small or big to God and what He is after is our faithfulness, not our success, which is up to Him in whatever way He sees fit to measure it by--not in the eyes of the world, though. We are not to compare ourselves with others and wonder or judge, but faithfully do what God has called us to with His blessing.
In conclusion, we see the Jesus model, as the success of a ministry, not in its size or extent of outreach, but the quality of impact it has and the discipleship it does; the job of the church isn't merely evangelizing but teaching and raising up disciples who can do likewise with others as the whole church works in unison and corporately to accomplish the Great Commission as its goal. Jesus wasn't looking for admirers or halfhearted followers, but those who would sell out lock, stock, and barrel-like the original apostles did after the resurrection, willing to die for Him and carry the message to the ends of the earth, forsaking all for the kingdom. True success is faithfully following the Jesus model and trusting Him for the results and appraisal of our work done in faith. Soli Deo Gloria!