When Jesus Becomes an Example Instead of an Answer
How spiritual language quietly reintroduces striving after the Cross
There is a version of Christianity that sounds gentle, wise, and deeply spiritual - but quietly places the believer back under pressure.
It doesn’t deny grace.
It doesn’t reject Jesus.
It doesn’t preach obvious works.
It does something far more subtle.
It presents Jesus primarily as a model to follow, rather than a work to rest in.
The Shift That Changes Everything
Listen closely to how Jesus is often summarized or applied today:
“Jesus modeled stillness for us.”
“Jesus showed us how to live.”
“If Jesus needed to withdraw, how much more do we?”
“Follow His rhythm.”
“Adopt His habits.”
These are not quotes from Jesus.
They are conclusions drawn about Him.
And while they sound wise and spiritual, something subtle happens when they become central.
Descriptive moments from Jesus’ pre-Cross life are turned into post-Cross expectations for the believer.
The focus quietly shifts from what Jesus finished
to what we are now expected to replicate.
That shift may sound small.
It isn’t.
Jesus Did Model Life - Before the Cross
Before the Cross, Jesus did model prayer, withdrawal, dependence, obedience, and trust.
He walked under the weight of a mission not yet completed.
He labored under a work not yet finished.
He carried a burden that had not yet been removed.
In that sense, Jesus did not live showing us what life after redemption looks like.
He lived accomplishing redemption itself.
The problem begins when pre-Cross patterns are treated as post-Cross prescriptions.
After the Cross, the message of the New Covenant is no longer imitation - it is participation.
We are not called to copy Jesus’ life.
We are called to share in His finished position.
Jesus Did Not Come Merely to Show Us How to Live
If Jesus is primarily a model, then the Christian life becomes a lifelong effort to imitate Him well enough.
That turns:
Prayer into a discipline to master
Stillness into a skill to develop
Rest into something you earn by doing it correctly
But the New Covenant proclaims something radically different.
Jesus did not come to show us how to carry the burden. He came to remove it.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Notice what He does not say.
He does not say:
“I will show you how to rest.”
“I will teach you the discipline of rest.”
“I will model rest so you can learn it.”
He says, “I will give you rest.”
Rest is not a technique.
Rest is a gift.
The Danger of ‘Follow Jesus’ Without ‘Finished Work’
When Jesus is framed primarily as an example:
Stillness becomes a prerequisite
Intimacy becomes conditional
Breakthrough becomes procedural
We may stop calling it striving - but we quietly replace it with sanctified effort.
Now the question is no longer:
“What has Christ done?”
It becomes:
“Am I doing this right?”
That is not freedom.
That is pressure with spiritual language.
Jesus Is Not Only the Way - He Is the Destination
Under the New Covenant:
We do not strive toward rest
We live from rest
We do not practice intimacy to achieve closeness
We begin close because we are united
Paul does not tell believers to become seated. He tells them they already are.
“God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms.”
Jesus is not showing us how to sit down.
He sat down for us.
When Stillness Becomes a Condition, Grace Is Lost
Stillness is beautiful.
Silence can be healing.
Solitude can be refreshing.
But when stillness is taught as:
The key to God moving
The place where intimacy finally happens
The condition for breakthrough
Then stillness is no longer rest.
It is another law.
Grace does not say:
“Be still so God will meet you.”
Grace says:
“Be still because God has already met you.”
Jesus Is Our Rest - Not Our Assignment
The gospel is not:
“Jesus did it, now you try.”
The gospel is:
“Jesus did it, now you rest.”
He is not merely our example.
He is our replacement.
He did not just walk the path.
He finished it.
And when Jesus sat down, He ended the need for striving - even the subtle, spiritual kind.
Why This Matters
When Jesus is reduced to a model:
Believers feel constant evaluation
Stillness becomes stressful
Intimacy feels fragile
Failure feels personal
When Jesus is received as our rest:
The soul exhales
Effort loses its grip
Obedience flows naturally
Identity stabilizes
Grace does not produce passivity.
It produces peace.
And peace is where true life grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are you saying we shouldn’t follow Jesus?
No.
Following Jesus is not copying His lifestyle in order to earn closeness with God.
It is trusting His finished work and living from the union He already secured.
The New Covenant does not call believers to imitate Jesus from a distance.
It declares that we have been included in Him.
We follow Jesus because we are already in Christ, not to get there.
Didn’t Jesus tell us to follow Him?
Yes - before the Cross.
Jesus’ pre-Cross call to follow exposed the cost of discipleship and the impossibility of self-salvation. After the Cross, the message shifts.
The apostles do not preach “follow Jesus’ example.”
They preach “you died with Christ,” “you were raised with Christ,” and “you are seated with Christ.”
The call moves from imitation to participation.
What about spiritual disciplines like prayer, stillness, and solitude?
They are good.
They are not gateways.
Disciplines are responses to grace, not access points to it.
They are expressions of rest, not requirements for it.
The moment a discipline is used to get God to move, it stops being restful and becomes transactional.
Doesn’t this lead to passivity?
No. It leads to peace.
Passivity comes from confusion.
Peace comes from security.
When identity is settled, obedience flows naturally - without pressure, fear, or performance.
Grace does not produce lazy people.
It produces anchored people.
So what actually changes after the Cross?
Everything.
Before the Cross, Jesus carried the weight.
After the Cross, He gives rest.
Before the Cross, disciples followed at a distance.
After the Cross, believers are united to Him.
Before the Cross, the work was ongoing.
After the Cross, it is finished.
The Christian life does not begin with effort.
It begins with rest.
Final encouragement
You are not failing at stillness.
You are not behind in intimacy.
You are not missing the formula.
You are already seated.
And from that place, life grows naturally.
