Isaiah said, “He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isa. 53:2). The modern artist’s efforts to depict the Son of God typically portray him as a magnificent specimen of humanity. The Bible indicates that Jesus’ external appearance was probably, at best, average and perhaps even less. However, as for qualities that really matter – those of the heart (1 Sam.16:7) – Jesus was nothing short of exquisite. From his youth, Jesus increased in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). We gather that just being with Him led to meaningful shifts in personal demeanor (Luke 24:32; Acts 4:13). What kind of impact has being close to Jesus had on us? What impact and change should we expect in ourselves as we grow in our knowledge and understanding of the beauty of Jesus? What should be our thoughts? What should others see in us? We must understand that who we are on the outside corresponds to what we think on the inside (Pro. 23:7). If we are to do as the title of this article suggests then we need to look at the mind of Jesus. Perhaps no other passage opens the window into the mind of our Lord than Philippians 2:5-8, which says:
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Reflecting Jesus in our thoughts requires humility. In his mind, Jesus did not view His divine prerogative as Divine immunity. Some officials travel with diplomatic immunity. They enter foreign countries with an assumed and respected immunity to the treatment afforded to everyone else. One might expect that the God who chose to enter our world would do so by expressing the rights and privileges due to Him. Yet, in His mind, not only in His actions, Jesus set all of those privileges aside and came in the mind and spirit of humility. In that state, He was subject to humiliation, mistreatment, rejection, torture, and crucifixion. Isaiah’s prophecy of Him says, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth” (Isa. 53:7). We are so prone to expressing our perceived rights that we will hardly accept any wrong for the sake of letting people see Christ in us. If we are going to let the beauty of Jesus be seen in us, it’s going to require humility that begins in our minds. That is much different than just being quiet.
Reflecting Jesus in our thoughts requires obedience. Generally, attitudes toward obedience are nothing like they used to be. In our time it is not strange at all to see individuals and groups showing reckless abandonment as they lash out at authority figures. Even those who call themselves Christians can regularly be observed blatantly disregarding God’s imperative that we avoid the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). Even those who might be above such disgraceful behavior may struggle with obeying God in areas such as honesty and fidelity. What cannot be overlooked here is that we are not just talking about outward behavior. We are talking about our thoughts. It is one thing to submit to God by avoiding sinful behavior. It is something altogether different to have a mind of obedience. We are called to reflect the beauty of Jesus – in this case, obedience – in our minds, not just in our behavior.
Reflecting Jesus in our thoughts requires self-denial. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13), and then He went to the cross and did exactly that. Even when those who hated Him railed on Him and those closest to Him remained silent, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). Self-denial to the point of death was not some end that was forced upon Him – this was in His mind. He said, “I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:15). Peter said that he would do the same (John 13:37), but when the moment presented itself, it was not in his mind to do so (Mark 14:72). As stated before, the self-denial that comes with having the mind of Christ is not just an outward action. If the beauty of Jesus is to be reflected in our lives we must have in our minds the resolve to deny ourselves, even to the point of daily taking up our cross and following Him (Luke 9:23).
We may go through the motions of giving in to others, obeying the commands of God, and denying ourselves for the greater good. However, if in our minds we are complaining about such necessities then we are far from letting the beauty of Jesus be seen in us.