There can be little doubt that Jesus was a spiritual person. After all, he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. At his baptism, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him. By the power of the Holy Spirit, he healed the sick, preached good news to the poor and oppressed, taught with authority, and cast out demons. Ask the average person, “Was Jesus spiritual?” and he or she will wonder how you could even raise such a question. Is the world round? Is the Pope Catholic? Does 2+2=4? Of course, Jesus was a spiritual person!

However, the fact remains that Jesus did not live the kind of life that people in his age (or in ours) expected of a “spiritual” person. He attended parties, ate and drank his fill, and seemed to have had a good time doing so. He talked more about how folks acquired their money, and what exactly they planned on doing with it, than he did about heaven. He was as concerned with the physical health of our bodies as he was in the spiritual state of our souls.

He associated not just with the pious and morally respectable, but also with the immoral and unbelieving. He defended those who were ridiculed by society and rejected by the religious establishment. He believed that human need always takes precedence over strict compliance with the law. He made a point of serving others, rather than asserting his own superiority.

He loved his enemies, and actually went out of his way to do good for those who wished him harm. He trusted God even when it did not pay off in terms of personal success or happiness. He continued to pray even when everything he had hoped and worked for was taken away and he felt utterly forsaken by God.

He did not seek to be popular among the people; nor did he seem the least bit interested in being the kind of Messiah they clearly wanted. Instead, he came to announce the coming rule of God’s justice and compassion, and to invite people to give up everything they had, in order to follow him in the costly service of this kingdom.

Do I believe that Jesus was a spiritual person? Absolutely. But what I have come to realize is that, rather than measuring Jesus’ life against my own preconceived standards of spirituality, it should really work the other way around. If you want to know what a Spirit-filled person—or for that matter, a Spirit-filled community—truly looks like, you need to look no further than Jesus himself. He is our model of what it means to be spiritual!