Based on impact alone, Jesus was arguably the greatest leader who ever lived. He poured his immense intellect and talent into forming a community that would carry on his legacy. People followed him because he embodied all the qualities of a great leader.
Here are four essential qualities for a leader that we find in Jesus.
1. Discipline
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mk. 1:35).
Jesus most likely learned discipline from working with his father as a tekton – A Craftsman, proficient in working with many different materials. It required practiced skill, patience, and diligent labor. He probably arose early to make the two-mile hike from Nazareth to the much larger city of Sepphoris, where they could find more work. It was a hard-work ethic that would stay with him his entire life.
Jesus woke up early in the morning to get his day started with God (Mk. 1:35; Lk. 21:38; Jn. 21:4). He would sometimes heal all day and then pray all night (Mt. 4:23; Lk. 6:12). He was devoted to worshipping God in the local synagogue (Lk. 4:16). He devoted himself to preaching and teaching (Mk. 1:38-39). He also had the discipline to follow God and not his own desires – he had the discipline to follow God to the cross and to die for our sins. He had the discipline to say to God, “not my will, but your will be done” (Mt. 26:42).
Without discipline, a leader is like fireworks – a lot of flash that is brilliant for a moment, and then it’s gone. It takes discipline to keep the fire burning. It takes discipline to make a lasting impact. Jesus devoted himself to his disciples and to building a community that would endure after he was gone. Jesus had discipline.
2. Vision
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (Jn. 6:40).
Long before his crucifixion, “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Mt. 16:21).
Vision is the ability to see what most others cannot see and then inspire them to make what they cannot yet see into a reality. Jesus had vision.
Jesus shared his vision long before it became a reality. He told his disciples that he was going to go to Jerusalem and be handed over for crucifixion. He told them that they would arrest him and beat him and kill him, but that on the third day he would rise again (Mt. 16:21). This was a vision that he repeated over and over again. But his disciples could not see it. They refused to believe it.
Jesus had a vision for a better world – A world no longer a slave to sin – A world no longer trapped by death. Jesus had a vision for how he could conquer sin and death and give the world eternal life (Jn. 3:16). He had a vision for a humanity that reached its full potential on the earth (Jn. 10:10). He had a vision for a better place called heaven.
Without vision, people wander aimlessly and never reach their true potential. Jesus had vision and he gave it to his disciples (Jn. 16:30).
3. Wisdom
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Lk. 2:52).
Wisdom is the ability to see things through the lens of experience – to translate the ways of the world into practical, everyday language. Intelligence knows how to collect and synthesize knowledge. Wisdom knows what to do with that knowledge. Jesus had wisdom.
Wisdom finds eternal truth in the simplest things of life. Albert Einstein said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” The wise person can translate the complex into simple language. Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Seeing God’s eternal truth in the simplest of things – This is wisdom.
The wise person, however, not only learns from life experience but also has a passion to share what they have learned. Jesus said to his disciples, “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict” (Lk. 21:15). The successful person might collect power, but only the wise person knows how to share that power. Jesus had both power and wisdom and he shared it.
4. Integrity
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12).
Integrity means that you are always honest about who you are – with yourself and others. It means that you have certain core values that drive your decisions and that you refuse to betray your core values even under terrible external pressure. Jesus had integrity.
Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 10:8). And then he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn. 14:6). Jesus understood who he was and he always stayed true to his identity.
When Jesus was being questioned by those who would ultimately crucify him, he said to them, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me” (Jn. 7:28-29). Even under the greatest threats, Jesus remained true to who he was.
Jesus confronted the most powerful sociological and political forces of his day and refused to compromise the truth. Jesus had integrity.
