Walking and Talking with Jesus
Can you imagine walking, talking, eating and laughing with Jesus day in and day out? I believe He had to lighten up and laugh with those misfits He called to be with Him 24/7 for three-and-a-half years.
I appreciate how THE CHOSEN film series has captured some of those shenanigans and how patient Jesus is with each of the disciples. And the same goes for us and our shenanigans in our own lives with those we love.
The rules are the same. We must tighten up when it comes to leading by the example of our “walk AND talk” too!
Jonathan Roumie, the actor who portrays Jesus, explained how he approaches playing the role in THE CHOSEN. “Grace is the first word that comes to mind,” he said. “Before approaching the role in each season, there’s always a substantial amount of prayer that goes into trying to take on, as best as I can in my own sort of feeble humanity, the mind or personage of God; which is impossible.”
“So all I can do is bring the fullness of my humanity to the role and then ask God to reflect His grace, His mercy, His love, His compassion, in all of the scenes.”
“They are not recorded, but the mundane matters of their earthly life had to have been discussed, talked about, joked about, fretted over by the disciples. And Jesus being fully human, and fully divine, could still relate to them in some fashion, because He’s still God.”
And, on my level, I think what would it be like to have an up-close-and-personal relationship with Jesus every day and experience even the most mundane details of life with Him.
I thought about how in shock-and-awe the disciples must have been when Jesus kept surprising them with His tactical moves. He’d go where no Jew would go (to Samaria and visit with the Samaritan woman); He’d heal a blind man by spitting on mud and rubbing it in his eyes; He’d bring a dead boy back to life for his grieving widow mother.
His ways were scandalous, reckless, mouth-dropping miraculous and, oh my goodness – He would forgive anyone from a woman caught in the act of adultery to “The Rock” (Peter) who denied Him three times. He kept on pointing out how to best handle life’s situations in love.
Every aspect of Jesus’ life and ministry is worthy of hours of discussion, yet it wasn’t His preaching or His miracles that the disciples asked to be taught. After spending those years with the Son of God, witnessing His daily life, they requested: “Teach us to pray.”
They wanted His prayer life. They connected the dots and knew that Jesus’ public life of ministry was the result of His private life of prayer. Luke 5:16 states, “He often withdrew and prayed.”
It was the DNA of His life. Not only did He teach on prayer — He prayed. They watched Him pray, watched God, the Son, talk to God the Father through God, the Spirit. They saw the intimacy and the intensity that came from Him as He prayed, emptying Himself of all His divine privileges, giving Himself fully to the Father.
My own desire is for that same intimacy with God that comes from spending time with Him. It was the key to Jesus’ survival – even to death. I’ve begun to ask myself:” Is my life provoking others to request of me: “Teach me to pray like You do.” I need to work on it.