Christlike Leaders for Every Church and SectorSample

Christlike Leaders: Led by the Spirit

We can learn a deeply meaningful lesson of Christlike leadership from the very first verse in Matthew 4. Directly after the Father blesses Jesus by affirming his identity as a deeply loved son, we are told that he is then ‘led by the Spirit into the wilderness’.

From the very inception of Jesus’ public ministry, we notice a paradox. Jesus, the greatest leader who ever lived, allowed himself to be led. Despite pioneering the most influential movement in human history, Jesus was, in fact, being led by the Spirit of God.

Likewise, those who seek to become like Christ in their leadership need to learn to surrender to the Spirit’s leading. This can be difficult because very often, being led by the Spirit means going against our own will. For instance, notice where the Spirit was leading Jesus: ‘Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil’.

Jesus did not just happen to randomly meet up with Satan. This was not some sort of coincidental encounter, nor did Jesus fall prey to the spectacular schemes of the devil. The temptations Jesus faced were the result of the divine leading of God.

Why would God do that? Why would he so passionately declare Jesus' identity as his Son, and so powerfully delight in him, and then immediately send him into the desert to be tempted by the devil?

The desert experience of Jesus intentionally parallels the wilderness experience of the Israelites in Exodus:

• God set both apart as his own people.
• God declared his love upon both of them.
• God led both into the wilderness.
• Both faced hunger.
• Both faced the wild animals.
• Both faced temptations of turning from God.
• Jesus spent 40 days, and the Israelites spent 40 years.

The difference is that none of Moses' generations successfully overcame their temptations—but Jesus left the desert victorious.

God led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil because through the desert experience, Jesus proved he was the true Adam and rightful heir to the title ‘Son of God’.

The Holy Spirit did not just lead and abandon Jesus in the desert, but the Spirit continued to lead him through the entire experience, helping him overcome the temptations of the flesh and the devil.

If we want to become Christlike leaders, then we need to enter the paradox of Jesus' leadership style—to lead by following, even when it makes little sense.

The Lausanne Movement commissioned the artist Bryn Gillette to paint a painting representing the vision to see 'Christlike leaders for every church and sector'. Once you have read today's Bible readings, take some time to meditate over the imagery of the painting. Imagine if every sector of society had men and women rooted in the love of the Father and the leading of the Spirit.