The Marks of Jesus

What distinguishes the true Gospel from false gospels, and faithful messengers from false prophets, is the cross of Jesus. Just as Paul bears the “marks of Jesus” (v. 17) in the scars on his physical body, so Christians today ought to bear evidence of the death-and-resurrection pattern in our lives. Two ways to uncover the real patterns in our lives are to ask: Whose opinions matter most to us? and What do we want for other people? When we have been “crucified to the world” and vice-versa (v. 14), we are free to value Jesus’ opinion of us over all others, and to serve other people as works-in-progress and evidence of Jesus’ new creation.