Thirty Three Years Of Age
In thirty-three years, the Son of Man accomplished all that His heavenly Father had set for Him to do, on the cross on Golgotha, as Jesus sighed and gave up the Spirit, he intoned, "It is finished." By no means a meaningless phrase, it literally included all that the great scheme of redemption required in providing our way of escape. Jesus Christ had, in thirty-three short years, accomplished a task so infinite in scope so as to take at least 4000 years to lay the groundwork and prepare the field for harvest.
I am now in the thirty-third year of my life on earth. At about this same age, my Lord was crucified. Due to the similarity, a comparison is inevitable, and the comparison brings many mental conflicts when one thinks of how He lived and worked and how we live and work. Even though a disparity in work on my part may be excused by the fact that Jesus was deity and I am not, nevertheless a nagging question remains. "If my life were to close now, what would I have accomplished in my thirty-three years?" To say the least, it leaves one with a sense of inadequacy and "of things left undone."
A number of the years of Christ on earth (indeed, the majority of them) were consumed, as with all flesh, in childhood. But a growing awareness of His mission among men seemed to mark His early years. At age twelve, on a visit to Jerusalem during the Passover, Jesus remarked to His mother, "Know ye not that I must he about my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). However, he did not begin to teach until about thirty years of age, as recorded in Luke 3:23. If the rest of the chronology of His life can be understood correctly, only about three years was actually spent in public teaching. Think of it! In three short years, Jesus laid the groundwork for the kingdom, chose the apostles, became a national figure, opposed and shook both corrupted religion and organized government, died on the cross, descended into the Hadean world, rose from the grave, deposed and bound Satan (Matt. 12:28, 29: John 12:31-33), and entered within the veil (Heb. 6:19,20), showing us the way (John 14:4-6).
With the centurion at the base of the cross we can say, "Truly this was the Son of God." (Matt. 27:54).
But apart from the deity of Jesus which enabled Him to accomplish such a task, there are simple principles which guided Him which should guide us as we attempt to make use of our short years. I suggest to you only three of these.
Sense Of Urgency
Even at age twelve, Jesus remarked, "Know ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" A singular expression for one so young. Yet this attitude remained with Him into His personal ministry. He taught the multitudes and the apostles in parables to regard the kingdom as a place of work, not slothfulness (Matt. 21:28; John 15:1-8). As one living with an appointment to keep he went about doing good and teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God. Each step that He took brought him closer to His appointment on Calvary. There was no laziness or carelessness about His teaching or life. Rather, He took advantage of every opportunity to declare the will of God, even to the point of talking to Samaritans (John 4).
Over and over again the teachings of Christ emphasize the need to use what you have in service to God TODAY, not putting off until tomorrow (Heb. 3:13). This is illustrated by the parable of the talents in Matt. 25:14-30.
Paul seemed to have this same dedication to the use of time. His great sense of urgency would not permit him to "lead about a wife" like the other apostles. This same zeal took him over Asia Minor and Europe on behalf of the gospel of Christ.
To a great degree, the success of the restoration movement of the 1800's stemmed from the urgent responsibility under which those pioneers moved. The sacrifice and hardship endured by those of the first century and in early America went far toward helping saw the seed in difficult places. Few of us duplicate it today, so our years are not as fruitful. How many have YOU baptized lately? Does it bother you? What are you doing about it?
Wise Planning
Yet, with all this urgency, no time was wasted. The Lord had His work well planned. Contrary to popular thought, Jesus did not simply "go about" preaching. His years of preaching and teaching were not years of pointless wanderings, but (as a careful study of His travels will show) a planned itinerary to reach the people. He knew what He wanted to accomplish and how to best get it done. Knowing from the beginning what the end would be — arrest and death in Jerusalem — he did not spend wasted effort in trying to avoid it, but planned His efforts and "set His face toward Jerusalem." (Luke 9:51).
In charging the apostles to be His witnesses, Jesus gave them a systematic order for reaching the world. In Acts 1:8, they were told to witness for Him in "Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world." In carrying out this commission, the apostles not only preached the word and made converts, but they wisely (and under inspiration) set elders in every church (Acts 14:23) so that the work would go forth after their departure. No, my premillennial friend, the work of Christ on earth did not fail and the church of Christ is not an afterthought. It was the fruit of much planning in the mind of God before the worlds were founded and even while Jesus walked the earth His wise counsel continued.
How many churches today plan their work well? Sadly enough, churches seldom plan their work with forethought. And any planning which IS done usually deals with such matters as budget, building plans, parking problems and the like. The matter of saving souls is largely left to happenstance and circumstance. If any realistic work program is outlined for the future work of the church, too often it is the brain-child of the preacher and is geared to his tenure. Not many elders or congregations outline the work of the church to continue regardless of changes in preachers. Most of the time, little work is accomplished during the interim of changing preachers and brethren sit quietly by until another preacher arrives with another brainchild. No wonder our years are wasted.
Fighting Against Satan
The Lord never deluded Himself into rosy-colored imaginations that everything would "turn out" all right. He knew Satan for what he was and is and knew the terrible influence he brings to bear on us mortals. Being in the flesh gave Jesus an intimate sense of temptation and He warned man repeatedly to beware the Devil's lures. Not once did He forget that the Devil was out to get Him! Not once did He forget whom His adversary was. "He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is not truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the Father thereof." (John 8:44). "Be sober, he watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (I Pet. 5:8). "And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. And the tempter came..." (Matt. 4:2,3). This is the same devil who was in heaven but kept not his principality nor habitation and was cast down (Jude 6; II Pet. 2:4) and the Lord knows his intentions.
Brother, Sister, don't be misled or deceived. The devil has plans for you! Sometimes I run across people who seem surprised when churches or individuals have troubles. They can't understand why churches split or why seemingly faithful Christians fall away. It is Satan that wars against the soul and causes these things. It is Satan that wars against you. If you think you can play with sin and not be hurt you are mistaken. If you think that Satan is just a figure of someone's imagination you have been defrauded. The only way Christ could overcome the temptations placed before Him was that He knew what they were and whence they came. But I am at times "ignorant of the devil's devices" (II Cor. 2:11 and he takes me in his snare (I Tim. 3:7) and leads me astray. "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:12).
Why are my thirty-three years a weight and confusion? Why have I a sense of failure and inadequacy? Why is my life so different from that of Jesus'? The answer is SIN! Sin! The Tempter has had his way with me so many times. I have fallen into his snares. (We have the woeful faculty of being able to blind our eyes to the obvious when we want to and we want to too often.) I fool myself into thinking that I have time and to spare. I need not rouse myself. So time slips away and works yet remain undone. I cannot say, "It is finished." Tragically, too much is left unfinished. So I learn a cruel lesson: "All flesh is as grass and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower falleth: but the word of the Lord abideth forever." (I Pet. 2:24).
My thirty-three years are as a fleeting moment in the infinite span of eternity. Some of you are older and some are younger but the underlying principles here are true regardless of our age. Let us all resolve to serve God with a sense of urgency, using wisdom in our fight against Satan. And we shall surely win for "Behold, God is my helper," (Ps. 54:4) and again, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear." (Heb. 13:6). Jesus lived in a house of clay and knows our infirmities (Heb. 4:15) and will succor those who trust in Him. He is our Advocate (I John 2:1) and will plead our case before the Throne of God. And who knows, perhaps my next thirty-three years (the Lord willing) will be better!