How to Live Life Devoted to God - the Zoe Life

“How to Live Life Devoted to God - the Zoe Life”

by Pastor Kent Munsey

April 19, 2020

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

• John 20:30-31; NIV

In scripture, the Greek word for life is Zoe. Jesus did not just come so that we could have forgiveness of sins or that our future could be secure in heaven; he came so that we could experience Zoe life (John 10:10). Zoe is the absolute fullness of life. It is the spirit life, the soul life. After Jesus rose from the grave, defeating sin and death, he leads us to experience new life in his name.

Jesus spent 40 days after his resurrection showing his disciples how to experience this Zoe life. Two people who encountered Jesus after his resurrection illustrate this: Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdalene. 

In John 19:38, Joseph of Arimathea is described as a follower of Jesus, but not a public follower. He was a private follower, a secret disciple. Nobody knew that he was a disciple except for himself. Joseph of Arimathea had a secret: he believed that Jesus was the Messiah. He didn’t want to tell anyone that he was a Christ-follower because he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the high court that judged Jesus. 

Cognitive dissonance is something that occurs when our beliefs don’t line up with our behavior. If we're not careful, we will change our beliefs to line up with our bad behavior in order to try to avoid feelings of guilt or shame. Cognitive dissonance can occur when there is forced compliant behavior, or peer pressure. 

Joseph of Arimathea was feeling pressure from the ruling class in Jerusalem. He was afraid that he was going to lose his position or even be thrown into prison. But if Joseph of Arimathea was going to experience Zoe Life, he had to learn how to be true to himself. 

1. Learn how to be true to ourselves.

When Joseph gave Jesus his tomb, he was honoring Jesus and proclaiming to everyone that he believed in him. He risked everything, but he gained himself and inner peace. 

When we align our behavior with our beliefs, we experience peace, unity and blessing in our lives. Joseph of Arimathea went public with his secret faith, and he found peace. 

Today, Joseph of Arimathea is in the great cloud of witnesses, and he is cheering us on today to live the Zoe life, the life that Jesus came out of the grave for us to have! But we can’t have it when we’re living in secret, divided, in tension, full  of stress. 

2. Learn to let go. 

Mary Magdalene was the first one at the empty tomb of Jesus who saw that the stone had been removed. There were two angels there, along with Jesus, but Mary was so devastated that she didn’t even realize she was talking to angels when she asked where Jesus was. 

Mary Magdalene had found her purpose and identity in supporting Jesus’ ministry. She was not just mourning Jesus, but the life she had become familiar with. When Jesus called her by name, he was affirming her identity. He instructs her not to cling to him. 

Often we want to hold onto our past experience of Jesus, when he wants to move us into the next season so that he can be more for us and establish us into a higher position of authority. While Mary is trying to hold onto Jesus’ ministry, Jesus is trying to give her a ministry.

We need to learn how to let go of what we know so that we can take hold of what is not yet. We have to let go of what’s in our hand so that Jesus can release new things into our life. If we want to live the Zoe life, we have to learn how to be true to ourselves, and we have to learn to let go of good things for greater things. 

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

1. Do you feel that you are experiencing the Zoe life, life to the full? If not, what needs to change in order for you to do so? 

2. Think of a time when you experienced cognitive dissonance, when your outward behavior did not align with your internal beliefs. How did you feel, and how did you resolve it? 

3. Where are you on the journey of learning how to be true to yourself? Do you believe that your current behavior aligns with your core beliefs? 

4. Is there anything you’re holding onto from the past that you need to let go of in order to make room for what God wants to bring into your life now?