Imitation of Christ

Models who look like Jesus are in high demand in Utah. That’s because for a growing number of people in the state, a picture isn’t complete without Him. They are hiring Jesus look-alikes for family portraits and wedding announcements. Models are showing up to walk with a newly engaged couple through a field, play with young children in the Bonneville Salt Flats, and cram in with the family for the annual Christmas card.

Bob Sagers was walking around an indie music festival in Salt Lake City when a friendly stranger approached and asked for his number. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a Jesus look to you?” the man asked, according to Sagers, a 25-year-old who works as a cheesemonger at a grocery store. It wasn’t a pickup line—the man’s wife was an artist looking for religious models. “I didn’t really get that a lot,” says Sagers, who is 6-foot-5 with dirty-blonde, shoulder-length hair and a beard he says gives Irish and Scandinavian vibes. “I make for a pretty tall Jesus.”

And so it was that Sagers began a side hustle as a savior. Since being recruited about four years ago, Sagers has posed as Jesus nearly a dozen times. Others have done so far more often, charging about $100 to $200 an hour to pose with children, families, and couples at various locations in the Beehive state.

For the newly sought-after models, the job can be freighted with meaning and responsibility. Look-alikes find that people expect them to embody Jesus in more ways than the hair and beard. Some models said they feel like a celebrity when they don the robe—and get treated like one too. (One felt compelled to remind an onlooker he wasn’t the real Jesus.) Others said they’ve had their own semireligious experiences on the job.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Every follower of Jesus may not look like Jesus, but we are called to act like Jesus!

Models who look like Jesus are in high demand in Utah. That’s because for a growing number of people in the state, a picture isn’t complete without Him. They are hiring Jesus look-alikes for family portraits and wedding announcements. Models are showing up to walk with a newly engaged couple through a field, play with young children, and cram in with the family for the annual Christmas card. Some charge between $100 to $200 an hour to pose with children, families, and couples at various locations.

For the sought-after models, the job can be freighted with meaning and responsibility. Lookalikes find that people expect them to embody Jesus in more ways than the hair and beard. Jai Knighton has posed as Jesus a number of times. He says, “portraying Jesus can be tricky.” One person who hired him wanted him to be “the most Christlike person you can be, or people will be able to tell through the photos that it’s not real.” Others were more relaxed, asking him to smile and enjoy himself.

Knighton said he tried to portray Jesus in a way that’s similar to how he is depicted in “The Chosen.” Knighton said, “Stoic Jesus is intimidating. A Jesus who smiles and pats you on the back is much more relatable.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Christians should keep in mind that we represent Christ to those around us. What image of Jesus are you presenting?

The popular series The Chosen features an actor named Jonathan Roumie. He has the audacious task of playing Jesus on the series. In an interview for The New York Times Roumie said:

Very often, I don’t feel worthy of playing Jesus. I struggle with that a lot. But I also acknowledge what God has done for my life as a result of playing Christ and how God has changed my life.

On set in Season 1 — it was the first time in the series where I actually started preaching directly from Scripture as Jesus — I was standing at a doorway looking onto a crowd of about 50 extras, dressed as people coming to hear the teacher. This overwhelming anxiety swept over me. I had to tell Dallas Jenkins, the creator of our show, “Hey, man, can we stop for a minute?” He said, “Why?” I said, “Because I don’t feel worthy to be saying these words right now.” He pulled me aside and said, “Listen, man, none of us are worthy to be here doing this, but God has chosen you and I and everyone else here to tell this story at this time. So, know that you are meant to be here.”

Most people don’t take real estate advice from a drug dealer behind a gas station in North Minneapolis. But Larry Cook, bishop of Real Believers Faith Center, is not most people.

About a year ago he confronted some young men selling narcotics in the alley between his church and the corner store that seemed to do more business in illegal goods than snacks or fuel. Things got heated pretty quickly. Voices were raised.

“The owner don’t care about it,” one of the young men yelled, as Cook and his wife, Sharon, recall the confrontation. “If you want to do something about it, you need to buy the gas station.” “I will,” Cook responded. “I absolutely will.”

What the man selling drugs didn’t know is that Cook had actually been thinking about buying the store for the past 25 years. He believed he was being called and when the time was right, God would expand his ministry to include this sore spot in the neighborhood, the store at the corner of a busy intersection.

North Minneapolis has struggled for a long time. In the 1950s, there was a thriving African American community, with lots of families, churches, and Black-owned businesses. Then there was a wave of white flight, followed by racial unrest that scared away financial investors, and the construction of an interstate that cut Near North off from downtown. Today, the area is marked by instability and poverty.

In the fall of 2022, the store came up for sale, and Cook and his wife put everything they had toward the purchase of the $3 million property. They’ve now reopened it under the name the Lion’s Den, a testament to faith surrounded by danger and their belief that even urban blight can be redeemed.

Sharon Cook said, “This is what Jesus would do. If he was walking in 2023, he would buy this gas station. He would feed the hungry. He would lend a helping hand to the elderly the same way we’re doing.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Facing poverty, crime, and closing businesses, Christians can look to transform their communities.

Where would the self-help and business media be without the secret habits of highly successful people? Almost every week there’s a new article outlining a high-flying individual’s behaviors—with the implied promise that using the same techniques could deliver us fame and fortune, too.

You’ll hear how top CEOs like Elon Musk begin work early, skip breakfast, and divide their time into small, manageable tasks. Other inspirational figures are more idiosyncratic in their habits. Bill Gates, for example, would reportedly rock backwards and forwards in his chair while brainstorming. This was a bodily means of focusing his mind that apparently spread across the Microsoft boardroom. Further back in history, Charles Dickens carried around a compass so he could sleep facing north, something he believed would contribute to more productive writing. Beethoven counted exactly 60 coffee beans for each cup, which he used to power his composing.

Why do successful people follow such eccentrically specific habits? And why are we so keen to read about them and mimic them in our own lives?

A key reason for this is that humans are social creatures; we are primed to look to people of higher status for advice. Given this tendency, it may be only natural that, reading a biography of a famous writer or watching an interview with a billionaire businessperson, we are tempted to take on their idiosyncratic rites and rituals. All in the hope that we can somehow achieve the same success, without recognizing how many other factors would have played a role in their achievements.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Copying a successful business leader’s superstitious habits and idiosyncrasies is not a guarantee of success in the business world. However, Scripture does tell us to “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7). Following the godly habits of our spiritual leaders is a sure way to success in our spiritual life.

On Sunday, May 15th, 2022, an assailant opened fire at Geneva Presbyterian Church, resulting in one death and five injuries. Authorities are crediting the quick actions of Dr. John Cheng as the factor preventing more deaths. Cheng sustained fatal injuries while tackling the shooter, a tactic that allowed others to quickly subdue the gunman afterward.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said, “Literally the meeting of good versus evil, between Dr. Cheng and the suspect in this case. Without the actions of Dr. Cheng, it is no doubt that there would be numerous additional victims in this crime.”

Barnes was effusive in his praise for Dr. Cheng, particularly in that his actions suggested premeditation and forethought. “I don't think that was a spontaneous act. I think he had thought this through in his mind, if something were to happen, 'What would I do?' And he acted on it. He saved the lives of probably upwards of dozens of people the way this individual was prepared."

Cheng lived in nearby Laguna Niguel, and served as sports medicine physician for the South Coast Medical Group. According to officials from Aliso Niguel High School, Cheng also volunteered as team physician for the football team and made several generous donations to the football program.

In a statement on the school’s website, they lauded his contributions to their community. “Dr. Cheng was a great man, a proud father, husband and always genuine. He always had a smile on his face. Hearing the news of his death is devastating as he just performed our annual athletic physicals last week. He is gone too soon, and we will miss him dearly.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Modeling the unconditional love of Christ means there are times when we might be called to put ourselves in harm's way for the benefit of others who might not be able to defend themselves.

During World War II, a US Army Transport Ship carrying 902 servicemen was struck by a German submarine. Panic and chaos quickly set in as men raced for lifeboats in the frigid waters off the coast of Greenland.

In the midst of pandemonium, four Army chaplains worked to calm the frightened men. One was a Jewish Rabbi, one was a Methodist, one was a Roman Catholic priest, and one was a Dutch Reformed minister.

On the deck of the ship, they worked to distribute life vests to soldiers escaping into the frigid waters. When they ran out, each minister simultaneously removed their jacket and gave them to the soldiers. They didn't call out for soldiers who were in their particular tradition. They simply gave their jackets to the next men in line. One survivor would later say, "It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven."

As the ship went down, survivors in nearby rafts could see the four chaplains--arms linked and braced against the slanting deck. Their voices could also be heard offering prayers and singing hymns. Of the 902 men aboard, only 230 survived. Congress later conferred a posthumous Medal for Heroism, The Four Chaplains' Medal, upon the four chaplains.

Before boarding the Dorchester, the Dutch Reformed minister, Chaplain Poling asked his father to pray for him, "Not for my safe return, that wouldn't be fair. Just pray that I shall do my duty … never be a coward … and have the strength, courage and understanding of men. Just pray that I shall be adequate."

Do you ever wonder why house cats can climb up a tree, but they don't know how to get down the tree? Animal expert and autism advocate Temple Grandin has a theory. She claims, that at some point, mother cats teach kittens how to descend from a tree—just as they teach their young a great many other things that were once thought to be innate cat behavior, including how to hunt, bury their waste, deal with live prey, approach an unknown person or dog, and so forth.

Cats that get stuck in trees, the theory goes, are cats that were taken from their mothers before the lesson about getting out of trees could be taught. That is just a theory, but we do know from scientific studies that a great deal of animal behavior is learned behavior. It's not just instinctual. Scientific studies have been done on all kinds of animals—tigers, wolves, cheetahs, birds, lizards, fish, and even ants— and those studies show that animals learn how to be a particular kind of animal by watching, observing, and imitating their mothers, fathers, or other members of their animal group. They learn by imitation.

Possible Preaching Angle:

In the same way, we learn how to follow Jesus by watching and imitating other followers of Jesus.

In CT Magazine, Carlos Ferrer shares his journey from communist Cuba to faith in Christ:

From the earliest time I can remember, I had an intense longing for peace. Born in Havana, Cuba, in the early 1950s, I was aware from a young age that our country was in a constant state of violence. At night, it was common for our family to hear gunfire and bombs going off in the distance. These were the beginning years of Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution.

On January 8, 1959, Castro marched into the streets of Havana, and I thought peace had finally been achieved. It wasn’t long, however, before ordinary Cubans began to grasp the true nature of the new communist regime. The government started taking over farmland and businesses, which roused a movement dedicated to overthrowing Castro.

Seeing no future on the island, we decided to make our escape later that year, boarding a commercial ship headed for Veracruz, Mexico. We left in the middle of the night, taking nothing but the clothes we were wearing. My grandfather had some distant cousins living in Mexico City. After we landed in Mexico, they took us into their home for a few months.

In April of 1962, members of my immediate family received resident green cards, allowing us to enter the United States legally and we left for Miami. Then a breakthrough happened: A Baptist church in California answered my father’s application to relocate from Miami.

This church sponsored our family so that we could begin a new life in Santa Barbara. Its generous people found a job for my dad, rented us a house for six months, and supplied us with basic necessities. I couldn’t help but wonder what was motivating these acts of compassion. Why would these people display such love and generosity when we were all but strangers? The question lingered with me for years.

I decided to attend the University of Texas in Austin. As a student, I was confronting some of the biggest questions of life, questions about career, family, and faith. One day I heard a knock on my dorm room door. I opened it to find two students, who told me they were sharing their faith in God with others. They asked the question I most needed at that juncture: “Would you want to have a relationship with Christ, who wants to bring you inner peace and eternal salvation?”

I immediately said yes, and we prayed together. Soon thereafter, I thought back to the people of that Baptist church in California, and a light bulb came on in my brain. Why had they helped us? Now it made perfect sense: Because Jesus had loved them so abundantly, they wanted to share that love with others … through their generosity and kindness.

A few years later, the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (now the North American Mission Board) came calling, offering the position of financial controller. After taking the job, I heard that my new employer had been involved in helping resettle Cuban refugees in the 1960s. I asked if, by chance, the organization had worked with any churches in California.

The leader of the mission board’s refugee resettlement office called me over. He was holding a file folder. With tears in his eyes, he said, “Carlos, this is the church that sponsored your family. This is your file.” You can imagine my complete astonishment. What an amazing path the Lord had prepared for me years before I even considered inviting him into my life.

Nearly half a century has passed since my decision to follow Jesus, and I have no regrets. I am eternally thankful for the people God placed in my life to bring me the peace I always desired.

Filmmaker Ken Burns won an Emmy for his nine-part PBS documentary Baseball. In the second episode set in the year 1900, the New York Giants traded for a 19-year-old rookie named Christy Mathewson. He became a two-time World Series champion and still ranks top ten all-time in wins, shutouts, and earned run average. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.

The narrator refers to the Giants manager:

John McGraw may have championed the old brawling brand of baseball, but his greatest star was Christy Mathewson, a pitcher with a record for clean play so spotless that his wife once felt that she had to defend him, by saying that while he was a good man, he was no goodie goodie.

A writer then speaks to the camera: “He was so virtuous he would not give interviews to sportswriters who he heard cheated on their wives.

At a time when many professional players were gamblers and brawlers, Mathewson stood in contrast. The narrator says: “He was the perfect hero for his age. Sportswriters and fans across the country called him ‘The Christian Gentleman.’ No one did more to improve the reputation of the baseball player.”

Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack said, “He set a high moral code. He was (praised) by churches, ministers used his career as sermon topics, and he gave dignity and character to baseball.”

Sam Allberry writes in an article for the Gospel Coalition:

A friend of mine has a little motto thing on the wall of her office, one of these little sayings that someone has printed out prettily and put a frame around. And it says this: “Those who hear not the music, think the dancer is mad.”

It’s true. If you watch a music video and you take away the volume, it looks ridiculous. There’s a lot of strutting. A lot of pouting. You put the sound back on and it does begin to make a bit of sense.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Jesus is our music, but it is unheard by the world. The world sees our worship, our service, our sanctified lives, our joy, but to them our behavior is “mad.”

If you were casting a modern-day David from the Old Testament, he may be portrayed by Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey. Matthew is truly a man after God's own heart. Matthew has been rocking the waves of social media and TV since his Academy Award speech in 2014 when he thanked God as he received his Oscar.

Most recently, he was standing on the stage at church. That's right, Matthew McConaughey reads Scripture from the Bible at church and it wasn't about performing. It was about the body of Christ and all the different moving parts of the precious body.

The church audience sat in the silence of hushed whispers as Matthew read God's Word as if it were a profound story. The actor didn't bring any attention to himself. Rather, he highlighted the message of how each of us is needed.

He's never tried to hide his faith in Christ even though he is one of the bigger names in Hollywood, a place often chastising Christian values. But the actor takes it all in stride, knowing that God is the author and perfecter of his faith.

Patrol Lieutenant Eric Fields of the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office is pretty popular these days, often fielding questions and posing for selfies with the coworkers and residents he interacts with on the job. His popularity is less about his winning personality, however, than it is a distinct resemblance to Hollywood megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Still, the lieutenant tries to take it all in stride.

Fields said, “I’ve been called The Rock and Vin Diesel’s love child. I go along with it. It’s humorous. It’s flattering. It could be worse, I guess.”

Recently, the Sheriff’s office posted a picture to a social media account of Fields posing with a fan at a Walmart. One of Fields’ coworkers had been bragging to the young man he worked with someone who looked like a famous celebrity. After the coworker found out the young man was a huge fan of The Rock, an appearance was arranged. And according to this young fan, Fields was the real deal. Fields said,

The blessing was really for me because The Rock had a spirit that was just such a great person to meet. He’s the real celebrity. Everybody knew him and loved him. It was a blessing to me. I go trying to bless someone else, and I come out with the blessing of meeting him. I wish the actual Rock could meet this kid. He’s the hometown hero.

Corny or not, Fields views these kinds of interactions as essential parts of the job. “We really love to get involved with the community, cut up and be neighbors -- not just enforcement. I’m just glad I could be part of someone’s happiness and laughter.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Don't be satisfied with simply appearing to live as a Christian, but rather, engage in the spiritual disciplines that will make you more like Jesus, from the inside outward.

Tim Challies writes:

Every now and again Aileen gets into cooking shows. Every time she does, it works out well for me. And for the kids. It could be Top Chef or Master Chef. It doesn’t really matter. She starts watching and before long she gets cooking.

Whether in narrow pursuits like cooking or wider pursuits like living, we are people who thrive on imitation and inspiration. Whether deliberately or inadvertently we are always on the lookout for people who are worthy of imitation. Aspiring chefs seek out, carefully watch, and closely imitate experienced chefs.

Cooking shows are meant to be entertaining, but they are also meant to be inspiring. They are meant to attract viewers, but also to inspire imitators. And in that way they are a little glimpse of the way we should all live our lives. For in some ways every life should be a show, a public demonstration--of virtue, a display of character, a demonstration of practical godliness. Every life should be lived in such a way that it inspires others to imitate it.

Even as we follow our Savior, we must be willing and eager to have people follow us. Like Paul we should say, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). Just as we have all longed for an example to follow, we must provide an example for others to follow. Just as we have longed to be imitators, we must be eager and willing to be imitated.

Scientific American magazine reports a lot of confusion and disagreement as to exactly what is genuine authenticity. We are taught to be ourselves and to get in touch with our "real self." In recent years a science of authenticity has arisen in order to discover what the authentic self truly is. As Scientific American reports it “Turns out, authenticity is a real mess.”

The writer asks the perplexing questions:

- Are you being most authentic when you are being consistent with your emotions?

- Or are you being most authentic when you are consistent with your beliefs?

- Which is the real authenticity? Was it the time you really gave that waiter a piece of your mind? Or that time you didn't tell the waiter how you really felt about their dismal performance because you value kindness?

The famous psychotherapist Carl Rogers observed that many people are asking “Who am I, really?” The latest research finds that … many people report authenticity when they … express compassion toward others or are living for something bigger than themselves.

Possible Preaching Angle: As Christians we recognize our truest authenticity as we follow God and become more conformed to Christ. It is when we follow our beliefs and not our emotions that we are most genuine.

PBS’ “The Great American Read” is an eight-part series that explores America’s 100 best-loved novels. This episode highlights books that feature heroic characters and explores why we love them. Books such as 1984, Charlotte’s Web, Don Quixote, The Hunger Games, and The Invisible Man are examined. Literary experts, authors and everyday book lovers discuss why our favorite heroes are complex and relatable, from the everyday hero to the tragic and unlikely or anti-hero:

-“A hero is who we all wish we were if we didn’t have our own personal limitations.”

-“I think when we hear heroes or see them or read about them, we think about qualities we wish we had. Courage, strength, fortitude, bravery.”

-“Reading about everyday heroes gives us hope and lets you know that you’re not alone in the good fight.”

-“I think we aspire to everyday heroes because we wish to be them… In moments of great tragedy we see people drawn to firefighters or emergency workers or the people who went beyond their job. They rushed in where angels fear to tread.”

-“The hero lifts us. It redeems what we try to do. The hero provides us an archetype that gives us a direction. ‘Let’s go this way. And we’ll be okay.’”

-“We’d like to believe there’s like a hero gene in all of us.”

Possible Preaching Angles: Scripture highlights the stories of ordinary men and women who became heroes as they trusted in God. In reading their stories we are encouraged to identify with them and to be bold for God.

In the days leading up to 9-11, fighting in Afghanistan between local groups and then the Taliban resulted in thousands of refugees pouring down into neighboring Peshawar, Pakistan. There they were squashed into tents and mud hovels in refugee camps in intense heat and poor sanitation. J. Dudley Woodberry and his wife Roberta were working in the refugee camps at the time. Woodbury describes what happened in the camps:

Conditions at one camp were harsher than at the others; so Roberta and her class took school supplies to the students so they had more than just blank slates with chalk. Another group of eight workers imported thousands of sandals for the children who ran around with bare feet on the rough parched ground. But they decided that they would also wash their feet as Jesus had. My daughter-in-law joined the group.

For a week they washed every foot with antibacterial soap, anointed with oil, and silently prayed for the child. Then they gave each of them new sandals, a quilt, and a shawl, plus a small bag of flour for every family. At first the sores, pus, pink eye, and dirt were revolting. But then our daughter-in-law felt a deep love as she silently prayed, “Dear Father, this little girl looks like she does not have anyone to care for her. Let my touch feel to her as if you are touching her. May she remember how you touched her this day, and may she seek after you hereafter. Thank you for those who seek you will find you." Many children looked up and shyly smiled.

Sometime later a teacher in one of the tents used for a refugee school asked her class, “Who are the best Muslims?" A girl raised her hand and replied, “the kafirs" (a term meaning unbelievers that is often used by Muslims for Christians). After the teacher recovered from her shock, she asked, "Why?" The young girl replied, "The Muslim fighters killed my father, but the kafirs washed my feet.”

It’s a common assumption that kids today care more about getting than giving. But in an emotional, viral video kids show that while they may love Lego sets and Xbox gaming systems, they love their parents a whole lot more.

In the video, children from low-income backgrounds are presented with a gift for themselves and a gift for their parent. Then they were told they must choose between the two. Video maker Rob Bliss says 80 percent of the kids he interviewed chose to give their parents a gift instead of keeping the toys they were offered.

Aaron Freeman, 9, is shown deliberating between keeping Minecraft Lego sets for himself or jewelry for his mother. It only takes a moment before Aaron knows his answer. “Legos don’t matter,” he says confidently in the video. “Your family matters—not Legos, not toys—your family. So, it’s either family or Legos, and I choose family.”

“These kids really don’t have much,” said Bliss. “One of them told me how they don’t have a Christmas tree because things have been tough financially for his family. Getting the gift he wants for Christmas is likely to be slim. So, to be faced with the gift he always wanted but never got, and still picking the gift for his family instead is amazing.

One parent said, “We were touched by the selflessness displayed by our kids.” These moments reaffirm that even though they are young, they can still drive positive change through acts of kindness and generosity.”

In season one, episode eight of the Netflix series, The Crown, a drama following the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen travels to Ceylon on a diplomatic tour. She appoints her sister, Princess Margaret, to be her representative for minor royal engagements. Princess Margaret, who has long been unhappy with her sister's lack of flair as a queen, takes the opportunity to "bring color and personality to the Monarchy." She speaks her own mind, jokes with the press, and belittles other dignitaries. In this scene, the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, has come to rebuke the Princess, and relieve her of her duties as a representative. He explains to her that she was not appointed to represent herself.

Here's a condensed conversation from the scene:

Prime Minister Churchill: Your Royal Highness, when you appear in public, performing official duties, you are not you.

Princess Margaret: Of course I'm me.

Prime Minister Churchill: The Crown. That's what they've come to see, not you.

Possible Preaching Angles: In the same way, as a Christ-follower, I do not go out into the world to express my personal views, opinions and agendas; I am Christ's ambassador. Christ. That's who the world has come to see. Not me.

Start 41:12 End 41:41, opens with the Prime Minister speaking to Princess Margaret

There is a bit of good news about global warming, at least according to archeologists. As the glaciers recede, they are releasing some of the human artifacts that they have absorbed through the ages, including humans themselves. Ötzi, the five-thousand-year-old mummified mountaineer discovered in 1991, remains the most astonishing find. An article in The New Yorker lists some of the other amazing artifacts left behind:

Medieval crossbow bolts, coins of Roman vintage, a pair of twenty-six-hundred-year-old socks. In July, an employee of a Swiss ski company came across the mummified remains of a couple who had gone missing in 1942; they were found fully dressed, with their wartime identity cards, backpacks, an empty bottle, a pocket watch, and a book.

Most recently in the Alps, scientists discovered a "lunch box" or "mini-fridge" from the Bronze Age that "enabled these early commuters to transform the alpine environment into their workplace."

Possible Preaching Angles: Character; Integrity; Legacy—Your life is like the iceberg: you will leave a trail of "artifacts" (character traits, stories, relationships, ways you blessed or ways you hurt others). What will you leave behind?