The life of Jesus Christ was a perfect example for us to follow in all respects. We are to think like Him, imitate Him, and follow His example in every detail of our lives. However, to walk in the footsteps of Christ is not popular and requires self-denial, leading a life quite different from those around us, which often invites persecution. Jesus Himself said that if they persecuted Him, they will also persecute us. The essence of true Christianity is living the life of Christ over again in our flesh and conforming to His perfect example in all things. Jesus set a perfect standard, even permitting Himself to be baptized though He had never sinned, to show us the way because we need to be baptized. He did not keep the ceremonial law, but He kept the spiritual law of God, doing nothing that we are not supposed to do, and everything He did, we must do. The true Christian understands that despite confusing and conflicting teachings, one will never go wrong following the example of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ serves as the ultimate example for all spiritual matters. We are called to follow His lead, as the apostle Paul urges to imitate him as he imitates Christ, and the apostle John encourages us to walk just as He walked. By examining what He taught and how He lived, we can discern who He truly leads. Our Savior did not merely speak of love; He embodied it, declaring that the greatest love is to lay down one's life for friends and affirming that friendship with Him is built on obedience to His commands. Jesus fulfilled the law by demonstrating ultimate love and obedience to the Father through His sacrifice. This godly love, shown toward God and fellow man, fulfills the law. Keeping God's commandments affirms our love for Him, as does loving our neighbor as ourselves. When He returns, Jesus will recognize those who are His friends, those who have built a relationship with Him on His terms through obedience to all His commandments, worshipping the Father according to His instructions, and living a way of life rooted in love for God and others. He recognizes love not by what we think it should be, but by His people doing what He has commanded through His Word and His example. To be part of the congregation He accepts upon His return, we must follow His lead in deed, not just in profession.

Jesus Christ's example stands as the ultimate guide in spiritual matters. He taught that He did not come to abolish God's law but to fulfill it, rejecting human traditions that distort its purpose. In His teachings, He connected eternal life to keeping the commandments, stating that love and obedience are inseparable. He raised the standard of the law, teaching that hatred breaks the commandment against murder and lust breaks the one against adultery, thus making the requirements stronger, not dismissing them. His disciples, like Paul and John, upheld the law as well, delighting in it and affirming its importance. In worship, Jesus observed the holy days listed in God's instructions, such as the Passover, Feast of Trumpets, and Feast of Tabernacles, as well as the seventh-day Sabbath, which His followers continued to keep. He warned against adopting man-made traditions of worship, agreeing with Old Testament teachings that reject practices not aligned with God's commands. His life demonstrated that true worship is about obedience to God's instructions, reflecting a way of life that honors Him. Jesus also exemplified love as the foundation of the law, living it through His ultimate sacrifice and obedience to the Father. He taught that friendship with God is built on following His commands, showing that love for God and others fulfills the law. When He returns, He will recognize those who are His friends, those who have built a relationship with Him through obedience to all His commandments, worshiping the Father according to His instructions, and living a lifestyle rooted in love for God and others. His example, not denominational labels, defines the congregation He will accept.

Jesus Christ's example of compassion is central to our preparation for service in the Kingdom of God. Throughout the Gospels, Christ preached and practiced compassion. In Matthew 5:7, He taught, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," which can also be read as, "Blessed are the compassionate, for they shall obtain compassion." Christ's actions consistently reflected His teachings. He showed compassion by healing a leper in Mark 1:41, feeding the multitudes in Matthew 14:14 and Matthew 15, healing two blind men in Matthew 20:34, and raising the widow's son from the dead in Luke 7:13. These accounts demonstrate Christ's compassion towards those in dire need, performing miracles to alleviate their suffering. Christ's example extends to the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which emphasizes the importance of active compassion. Unlike the priest and Levite who merely felt pity but did nothing, the Samaritan took action to help the injured man, showing true compassion even towards an enemy. This parable underscores that compassion is a way of life that God expects us to embody. As we prepare for the age to come, we must develop the fruits of the Holy Spirit, including compassion and love, to be effective instruments for Jesus Christ when He returns. The world will be in chaos and in need of help, and our readiness to show compassion, mercy, kindness, gentleness, tenderness, longsuffering, and love will be crucial. We must ask ourselves if we are imitating Jesus Christ in our daily lives, being faithful in little things, tenderhearted, and willing to help even our enemies.

As Christians, we are called to follow Christ's example in seeking God's will by replacing our thoughts with His thoughts. Christ's victory over temptation in the wilderness provides a powerful model for overcoming. When tempted by Satan with physical needs, pride, and worldly power, Jesus responded immediately with Scripture, demonstrating the importance of knowing and internalizing God's Word to guide thoughts and actions. His example shows that temptation starts in our thoughts, and it is there that we must conquer it by aligning every thought with God's will. Christ mastered His mind throughout His life, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of God. He countered Satan's attacks by replacing wrong thoughts with God's right thoughts, using specific verses to combat fear, worry, and anxiety. This disciplined practice of memorizing and applying Scripture is essential for us to imitate Him, making God's way of life our first nature and an automatic reaction to any situation. By consistently filling our minds with God's truth, we can train our thoughts to reflect His will instinctively, ensuring that God is present in every aspect of our lives, just as Christ exemplified.

Jesus Christ's example provides a profound guide for how we should live our lives. By focusing on what He did, we gain insight into the principles that governed His actions. Throughout His human experience, from His birth in Bethlehem to His death on Golgotha, He lived a normal life as a carpenter, experiencing the same challenges we face, yet He handled them with extraordinary resolve. His forty-day fast and confrontation with satan, where He rejected temptations of food, protection, and power, set a foundation for living a life rooted in spiritual strength. His life was marked by a willingness to suffer wrongs without retaliation, even to the point of dying for His beliefs. In the Garden of Gethsemane and at His crucifixion, He revealed His humanity through intense emotional and physical turmoil, yet He endured patiently, showing us how to face insurmountable trials with the assurance that God is there to help. His example teaches us to live with the realization that suffering may come, but we must bear it without striking back. Service defined His life, even in the most difficult moments. Whether through preaching a life-giving way, righting wrongs, feeding thousands, or healing the afflicted, He constantly demonstrated God's power and care. His act of washing His disciples' feet, performed during the worst time of His life, reveals a deeper level of service, teaching us to serve others even amidst personal hardship. This example instructs us to shift focus from ourselves to others during trials, fostering an attitude of giving that should permeate family life and the church. His life, lived without a wrong thought, word, or action despite human frailties, offers a clear model for handling every situation properly. What He did elevates the basic principles of righteous living, putting into action the true essence of following God and living His way.

Jesus Christ's example stands as a guiding pattern for our thoughts, words, and conduct. His purposeful, self-sacrificial life, where He gave Himself for us, surrendering genuinely to His enemies without force, serves as the ultimate model. This self-sacrifice was the driving motivation of His life, and God desires that it motivates us to follow in His footsteps, regardless of the challenges life presents. Emulating this is exceedingly difficult due to our long-standing inclination toward self-gratification, yet it is through His example that we are called to walk in love, mirroring the love He showed us.

Jesus Christ stands as the ultimate Example for us to follow, embodying the Standard to which we strive to conform. He is the perfect Man, yet also God in the flesh, personifying perfect love and government in everything He did. As the Standard, He exemplifies the measure of the stature of the fullness of what we are to become. We must keep His life, accomplishments, and ongoing role at the forefront of our minds, recognizing Him as Savior, King, and High Priest in our daily lives. Without Him, as He reminds us, we can do nothing. In preparing for Passover, we are called to reflect on our spiritual and moral failures in contrast to the perfect glory of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lived over thirty-three years without committing a single sin. This reflection drives us to appreciate His monumental sacrifice and to take Passover worthily, focusing not on ourselves but on the payment for our sins through His death. His sacrifice is the means by which we are forgiven, and our grateful participation in the symbols of Passover acknowledges this profound gift. Passover forces us to confront our weakness against His strength, our need against His abundance, our sinfulness against His perfection, and our sentence of death against His offer of life. His sacrifice, as the sinless God-Man, holds the power to cleanse from sin, establishing a New Covenant based on an intimate relationship with our Creator. The theme of Passover centers on the awesome cost of salvation, manifested in the sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whose sinlessness was not mechanical but filled with sympathy, empathy, compassion, kindness, and concern for the helpless slaves of sin. Our response to this sacrifice should be gratitude, worship, and obedience, as we depart from sin, acknowledging Him as Savior, Redeemer, and Lamb of God.

Jesus Christ's example provides a profound model for how we should interact with others in a godly manner. In Philippians 2:5-11, we see that He humbled Himself to fellowship with us, teaching and modeling a way of life that fosters unity and peace within the church. His approach was founded on compassion, kindness, mercy, and humility, showing us how to live in harmony with one another. Through His life, He demonstrated the importance of meeting people where they are, offering grace rather than condemnation. In the account of the adulteress in John 8:2-12, Jesus Christ dealt with her as she was—a sinner in need of compassion. He did not condemn her but offered mercy and simple instruction, saying, "Go. Sin no more." To the onlookers, He declared, "I am the light of the world," emphasizing that following His example in dealing with others leads to a life of truth and godliness. He showed that the helping hand, rather than the hammer of the law, is the way to guide others forward. Furthermore, His overarching principle, as stated in Matthew 7:12, known as the Golden Rule, instructs us to treat others as we would wish to be treated—with fairness, understanding, and love, considering their present situation. He emphasized that this approach fulfills the essence of God's teachings throughout Scripture, forming the core of godly living. By following His example, we reflect His character and demonstrate that we are His disciples and children of God.

Jesus Christ stands as the central figure of Scripture, the very heart of God's Word, and the ultimate example for all to follow. He is the focus of both the Old and New Testaments, appearing in prophecies, symbols like the sacrifices and Tabernacle furnishings, and as the fulfillment of numerous types such as Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and David. His significance is emphasized in the holy days, particularly Pentecost, where He is revealed as the Firstfruit, the model and standard for the elect to emulate. He explicitly declared Himself the subject of the Scriptures, urging His disciples to understand that the law, prophets, and Psalms all point to Him. His character and work as Redeemer, High Priest, and King are the primary spiritual focus of the feasts, underscoring that without Him, there is no function or existence for His followers. As the Head, He is everything, and His example is the path to the Kingdom of God. In His teachings, He called His disciples to follow Him, a command that set the tone for their discipleship with the spiritual meaning to imitate and do as He did. Whether serving others, suffering without complaint, or keeping God's commandments, His life provides the flawless model, never straying from His Father's will and never sinning. Following His example ensures a godly walk, as He always did what His Father instructed, setting a pattern that extends from the Father through Him to His brothers and sisters. As the trailblazer, He forged the way through the world, cutting a path for others to follow to glory. He is the way, the truth, and the life, the sole path to the Father's house, requiring active pursuit over time through a narrow and difficult journey. His role as the Firstfruit on Pentecost highlights His preeminence, both chronologically as the firstborn from the dead and in quality as the perfect standard. He is the dispenser of the Holy Spirit, given to those who repent and are baptized, enabling them to walk His path with the necessary tools to grow in righteousness. His example is the greatest gift, making all spiritual progress possible. He is the true vine, emphasizing dependence on Him for understanding, overcoming, growth, and fruitfulness. Abiding in Him means emulating Him in everything, striving to reach the image of the perfect man. The truth resides in Him, and to be firstfruits after His manner, one must put on Christ, walking and talking as He did, living in true holiness and righteousness. As the Archegos, He leads and guides in love, doing the heavy lifting to bring His followers to the Kingdom of God, remaining the true focus of Pentecost and all feasts through His example, instruction, gifts, help, and strength.

Jesus Christ stands as the unparalleled example for our spiritual journey, demonstrating a life of perfect obedience to the Father. He endured suffering in His office to achieve God's glory, showing us the path to follow. Through His life and teachings, He leads us toward God's Kingdom, serving as the captain of our salvation. As the chief leader, or archegos, He inspires us to deeds of valor by having gone before us in obedience, suffering, and exemplary living. His method of teaching was unique, lived out before the twelve apostles He personally chose, revealing the Father, Himself, the gospel, and His way of life through daily interactions and real-life situations over three and a half years. Combining formal teachings with living lessons, He exemplified the principles He taught. His ultimate act of love was sacrificing His life for the spiritual benefit of those who follow Him, loving them to the uttermost, to the last and highest degree possible. We, too, are individually called by the Father to follow Him, learning through teachings and applying them day by day in our lives as we grow within the love of the Father and the Son.

Jesus Christ's example stands as the ultimate model for how we should live and interact with others. He was a strong, masculine, and masterful man, yet kind and gentle, embodying leadership, strength, and purpose with a powerful will completely surrendered to God. His character reflected a perfect balance of wisdom, judgment, knowledge, understanding, justice, patience, compassion, mercy, peace, love, and faith. As our example, He demonstrated credibility in leadership, offering comfort through His gentle and humble approach. Unlike harsh or oppressive figures, He governs with patience, making His teachings reasonable and easy to follow, fostering calmness, peace, and order through the work of righteousness. Jesus refused to insult when insulted, avoided quarrels, and never spoke to agitate others. His gentleness, paired with principled strength, was evident in His instructions to His followers to live with caution and wisdom, avoiding harm or provocation, while maintaining the innocence and simplicity of doves. His life perfectly reflected courteous consideration, showing consistent kindness and humility. When rebuking His disciples, such as James and John for their harsh attitudes toward the Samaritans, He corrected them with control and directness, not to humiliate, but to guide them toward meekness and gentleness, reminding them that He came not to destroy lives but to save them. Christ's example calls us to prioritize others' interests over our own, demonstrating genuine love and humility through acts of service. His words have blessed countless lives, serving as tools for construction rather than destruction. As followers, we are to embody this gentleness and courtesy, maintaining peace and patience even amid annoyances, and reflecting His character in all our thoughts and actions.

Jesus Christ, as the Captain of our Salvation, leads us on an arduous journey toward the Kingdom of God, demanding that we change, grow, overcome, and produce fruit. He does not accept us as we are but expects a great deal from us, requiring transformation and sacrifice. In the last week of His earthly life, when Greek men sought to become His disciples, He spoke of His impending death and resurrection through the parable of a grain of wheat, indicating that He must die and be raised to produce much fruit. He urged them to wait, knowing that His glorification and the giving of the Holy Spirit would soon open the way for all. He challenged these potential disciples to consider the cost of following Him, asking if they were willing to lose their lives, hate their current existence, and embrace a life of sacrifice and submission for eternal life. He questioned whether they could forsake worldly ambitions and humble themselves as servants, emphasizing the radical change required to be His followers. This same call to sacrifice is presented to each of us at the start of our journey, as we must be willing to bear our cross and forsake all to follow Him. His life exemplified continuous sacrifice, as He fought against the pulls of human nature and the temptations of satan the devil to remain the perfect offering. His death was the culmination of a lifetime of submission to God's will, enduring inhuman torments without complaint out of love for us, to justify and reconcile us to God. He suffered patiently, committed Himself to God's righteous judgment in everything, and showed us the way to live to righteousness by dying to sins. As the Lamb of God, He came to take away the sins of the world, offering the ultimate sacrifice that paid for all sin for all time, a price only the Creator could pay. Through His sacrifice, we are sanctified and set apart, uniquely allowed to approach God through Him. His example calls us to be living sacrifices, not conformed to this world but transformed in our minds, growing from carnal to godly character. Just as it was God's will for Him to give His life in sacrifice, so it is God's will for us to offer our lives in daily sacrifice, following the path He has shown. His sacrifice opens the gates of righteousness, pays for our sins, and establishes Him as the chief cornerstone of the temple, in which we too are set to live in the house of the Lord forever. In response, we are to make numerous sacrifices in thanksgiving and praise, filling our lives with offerings to thank, please, and glorify God.

Jesus Christ's example stands as the pinnacle of accuracy in living a life pleasing to God. His walk, as described, serves as the ultimate template for us to follow, demonstrating precision in every action and decision. He is the Trailblazer who has shown the way to victory through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, running alongside us in our race toward the Kingdom of God. His presence offers constant support, encouraging us to seek His help and to draw strength from His example as recorded in the Gospels. In His earthly life, He exemplified virtues such as joy, enduring challenges with a focus on the reward set before Him. His endurance through suffering, indifference to shame, and unwavering commitment to the goal of returning to the Father's right hand provide a pattern for us to emulate. He ignored external pressures and persecution, prioritizing His mission over worldly opinions, and kept the ultimate reward in mind, inspiring us to do the same in our pursuit of eternal life. His decisions were marked by wisdom, balancing love and light to produce the most good in every situation. Whether allowing His disciples to eat on the Sabbath out of mercy, choosing life over condemnation for the woman caught in adultery, healing on the Sabbath to promote wellness, or declining to judge in civil matters to avoid political entanglement, He demonstrated thoughtful, godly reasoning. Even in paying taxes despite His divine status, He showed conscientiousness, weighing all factors to act in a way that was beneficial, proper, and exemplary. His interactions with others aimed to uplift, never descending to crudity or unhelpful speech, always seeking to enhance lives through His witness. His life was one of careful consideration, avoiding hasty conclusions and instead thinking through matters deeply to achieve the best outcomes. As we strive to walk in wisdom, love, and light, imitating His accuracy in conduct and decision-making, we are assured of reaching the same destination He attained, seated at the right hand of the Father, if we follow His narrow path with His Spirit guiding us.

Jesus Christ's example stands as a profound guide for teaching and living. Throughout the gospels, He taught by His actions, demonstrating vital skills and practices to His disciples and the multitudes over three and a half years. He showed how to remain calm in a crisis on the raging sea, how to be angry without sinning when casting merchants out of the Temple, and how to embody gentleness by blessing little children. He exemplified humility by washing the disciples' feet and demonstrated endurance through an illegal arrest, beatings, and ultimately His death, teaching patience, longsuffering, and forgiveness. Every day, He lived by example, revealing the character and mind of the Father, allowing us to see the Father through Him. Through His life, we learn the importance of nurturing and instructing others by embodying the principles we wish to impart.

Jesus Christ's example in relation to the Sabbath reveals His deep commitment to its true purpose. He consistently kept the Sabbath, focusing not on whether to observe it, but on how to do so meaningfully. His actions demonstrate that the Sabbath was made for man, to equip us for spiritual freedom and to sustain us in that liberty. As He declared in Mark 2:27-28, He is Lord of the Sabbath, and His life provides the pattern for us to follow, walking as He walked. Throughout His ministry, Jesus magnified the Sabbath, restoring it to its original God-given intent. He tied His mission to the Sabbath's concepts of blessing, deliverance, liberty, and redemption, as seen in His inaugural sermon quoting Isaiah 61:1-2, where He proclaimed freedom for the oppressed on a Sabbath day. His healings, such as that of the man with the withered hand, show His focus on doing good and saving life on the Sabbath, challenging the Pharisees' rigid, legalistic approach. He emphasized that failing to do good when the opportunity arises implies evil, underscoring the Sabbath as a day for active compassion. Jesus also highlighted the Sabbath as a day of mercy, as seen when His disciples plucked grain to eat due to hunger. He justified their actions by referencing David's unusual circumstances, teaching that mercy overrides strict ritual when genuine need arises. His intensified labors on the Sabbath, alongside His disciples, mirrored the priests' work in the Temple, showing that loving service surpasses mere ritual fulfillment. In His teachings and actions, such as healing the chronically ill and freeing people from burdens, Jesus revealed the Sabbath's essence as a time for redemption, spiritual creation, and love of neighbor. He did not seek out opportunities to heal on the Sabbath but responded to needs as they arose, demonstrating that the Sabbath is a day for active, loving service rather than passive idleness. His example establishes a clear pattern for us to follow, ensuring the Sabbath remains a gift that produces abundant life through compassion and liberation.

Jesus Christ's example of humility and service is a profound lesson for us as we prepare for the Passover. On the night before His death, He introduced the custom of foot washing to teach His disciples a vital lesson in humility, service, sacrifice, and forgiveness. In John 13, we see Him lay aside His garments, take a towel, and wash the feet of His disciples, taking on the role of a servant. This act, typically reserved for the lowest servant in a household, represented a deep act of humility, as He lowered Himself to kneel before others, demonstrating the way He lived His life from beginning to end. Christ's purpose in coming to earth was to serve all of mankind, and through foot washing, He showed vulnerability and a willingness to perform the most menial task. Knowing He would die within hours, He used His final moments as a human to impart this unforgettable lesson. In Mark 10, when the disciples argued over who would be greatest, He corrected them, emphasizing that true greatness in God's Kingdom comes through service and having the mind of God, being willing to serve as a slave. The cultural context of foot washing in the first century, where feet were often dirty from walking dusty, muddy paths in open sandals, made this act even more significant. It was a task deemed demeaning, yet Christ chose to wash the dirtiest part of His disciples, showing that no task is beneath a servant's heart. Even with Judas, who would betray Him, Christ washed his feet with the same care and thoughtfulness as the others, offering no boundaries to humility, love, and forgiveness. Through this example, Christ teaches us that if we desire to be part of God's Kingdom, we must humble ourselves and be willing to serve others. Foot washing is not just a ritual for Passover evening but an everyday attitude of submission and service. He came as the Son of God, behaved as if He were nobody, and served to the point of giving His life, showing that real service involves self-sacrifice and self-denial without expecting rewards. As our Creator, He continues to serve us daily, and we are called to emulate Him by growing in humility and serving others with a heart of forgiveness and sacrifice.

Jesus Christ's example of sacrifice stands as the cornerstone of our daily living sacrifices. His sacrifice is both substitutional and representative, guiding us in our relationship with God and our actions toward others. First, His substitutional sacrifice, a once-for-all offering, opened the door to our connection with God, allowing God the Father and God the Son to dwell with us and fill us with Their enabling Spirit. Second, His living sacrifices while on earth serve as a model for the daily burnt, grain, and peace offerings we must embody through our own sacrifices. His example replaced the need for animal sacrifices, shifting the focus to ongoing daily work of sacrifice, which mirrors the shadows of what was to come. Through imitating Him, as Paul urges in Ephesians 5, we walk in love and sacrifice, offering ourselves as a sweet-smelling aroma to God. Each day, we are called to follow His pattern, extending kindness and sacrifice to others, whether deserved or undeserved, as a response to His unmerited sacrifice for us. By doing so, we transform our selfish carnal nature into a selfless, godly mind, producing the fruit of His Spirit.