I think it would be difficult to overstate the importance of setting a good example. If we have someone to follow in life who is willing to show us how to live, who understands the importance of doing the best job possible in everything, we have a much greater chance of being the best we can be of being what God wants us to be.
     Of course, there has never been a greater example for good than Jesus.  Jesus set a flawless pattern for everyone to learn and profit by.  As the Son of God, he always followed his heavenly father’s will. As Lord, he backed up every command with his personal action.  He never asked his followers to go where he wouldn’t, or to do what he refused.  His character is revealed by the example he set for others.
     Jesus’ life covered every possible situation, good and bad, that we face. He was tempted, yet never sinned (Matthew 4:1-11; Hebrews 4:15)
     Space won’t allow a long list, but here are three areas where Jesus’ example serves as a light for us today:
First, he set a flawless example in his dedication to God’s will.  “My food...is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”  (John 4:34)  Jesus wanted to please the one who sent him more than he wanted to please himself.  In the garden, he prayed, “...not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39). H taught his disciples to pray, “...your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
     Second, his commitment to righteousness is a guiding light for all who want to follow him.  Righteousness, from a human standpoint, simply means doing what’s right.  Jesus, in requesting baptism, told his cousin John, “It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15)  Peter said that “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” (1 Peter 1: 22) 
     Third, Jesus is a model for us in his care and concern for the hurting and lost.  He said he “came to seek and save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)  The tax collector Matthew, an apostle of Jesus, tells us that he “went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” (9:35) This was because “...he had compassion on [the people], because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (v.36)  In 1932, C. F. Weigle wrote these familiar and comforting words: “No one ever cared for me like Jesus, / There’s no other friend so kind as He, No one else could take the sin and darkness from me, / O how much He cared for me.”
     As we think about Jesus, the exalted Son of God, we can be grateful that while was on earth he, without a single slip-up, walked where we must walk.  And he has promised that he will hold our hand as we travel on the road to heaven.