Wrong Doctrine; Right Heart

John 20:11-16

On Resurrection Morning, Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb of Jesus weeping, for she saw that His tomb was empty and she did not know where He was. Her first assumption is the natural one: Jesus’ body had been stolen in the night and moved to another location. She was there to anoint His body in the Hebrew custom, and now she would have to go home without having accomplished her task.

In her state of trouble and fear, she seems unfazed at the two angels that speak to her from within the empty tomb; one seated at the head and one at the feet. Just like the cherubim’s that cover the Mercy Seat on the Ark, these two angels now sit at the place of God’s mercy and justice. With the tomb empty, Jesus is alive, meaning that He is now able to live in the hearts of all mankind. It may have been lost on Mary Magdalene, but may it not be lost on us!

Mary turns to leave the tomb and sees Jesus, though she “knew not that it was Jesus” (John 19:14), supposing Him to be the garden keeper (verse 15). In His glorified state, Jesus obviously had a different look about Him, though it becomes obvious that He retains the same physical qualities that He had while on this earth (John 20:27). They hold a brief conversation, within which we learn an important lesson into the heart of God.

“Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?” (John 20:15) is the question that Jesus poses to Mary. She doesn’t recognize Him and answers, “Sir, if you have taken Him from here, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away” (John 20:15). It had become common knowledge that Jesus had been buried in a borrowed tomb, so the assumption might have been that the gardener had come and removed the body so that it could be buried in a family tomb, now that the Jewish feast of Passover was finished. Her response shows that she has no suspicion that Jesus has resurrected, but rather that He is still dead in another location.

Notice that Mary does not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. She walked with Him and talked with Him, but she still has problems with her doctrine. In spite of the obvious flaw in her faith, Jesus reveals Himself to her by saying her name, “Mary” (John 20:16). There was something about the way that He said her name that made her heart leap with joy. The intimate sound of Jesus whispering your name will still warm the heart of even the coldest sinner. There is nothing like knowing Jesus, except perhaps the revelation that He knows you!

With this serious doctrinal flaw (not believing in the resurrection), surely Jesus would not give a revelation of His love, right? We are often taught that if there is a problem in your doctrine that God will not bless you. In fact, I used to hear it preached by men that I greatly respected (and still do respect), that “God will not bless error”. They meant that if your doctrine is wrong, your blessings are limited. According to that teaching, Jesus should have just answered “Sorry mam, I haven’t taken Him anywhere”. It would have been an answer perfectly acceptable to Mary based upon her question. Thank God that Jesus sees past our doctrinal flaws and peers all the way into our hearts!

You may not have it all figured out today (join the club!), but you can rest assured that Jesus knows your heart, even when your doctrine falters. He will give you a revelation of His love by saying your name when He sees that your heart is hungry for more of Him. Seek Him and you will find Him, even when you are seeking in the wrong places.

High Priest and Husband

John 19:23-27

Let’s look at two things that are recorded in John’s gospel regarding Christ’s final moments on the cross. Both of these happenings lend to Christ’s role as head of the church. On one hand, Jesus is the High Priest of the church, serving as the mediator between the saint and the Father, just as Aaron was the liaison between the people and God. On the other hand, Jesus is the husband with the church serving as the Bride of Christ. He calls Himself our Husband (Isaiah 54:5), and He loves us as a Heavenly Husband (Ephesians 5:23).

Christ can take upon Himself no role or title that was not paid for at Calvary, thus if He is our High Priest and our Husband, He must have paid for those positions with His own body and blood on the tree. The Apostle John gives us unique insight into both of those payments as he records the soldiers gambling for Jesus’ garments near the foot of the cross and Jesus’ own mother standing nearby the cross next to the author. These back-to-back stories are the details of Jesus’ payment to be our High Priest and our Husband.

The 4 soldiers that put Jesus on the cross are bored with the dying criminals and the carpenter. They turn their attention to games of chance, dividing his clothes among themselves as souvenirs before turning to His outer garment. The garment that Jesus wore was seamless having been woven from the top down. This was the same type of garment that was worn by the high priest of Israel and it was considered quite valuable. When the soldiers spotted its quality, they decided to cast lots for it (equivalent to drawing straws, or “paper, rock, scissors”) to determine who would keep it.

They were unaware (and unconcerned) that they were helping fulfill scripture by casting lots for Jesus’ garments (Psalms 22:18). They also could not have known that the garment that they were gambling for was essential to the high priesthood of Israel. If the seamless garment of the high priest was torn then he could not perform the morning or the evening sacrifice until he had a new garment made. Without coincidence, the high priest Caiaphas had torn his just hours earlier when he accused Jesus of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65). By leaving the outer garment of Jesus untorn, these soldiers were unwittingly qualifying Jesus to be the new high priest. What is Jesus first act as new high priest? He takes care of the morning sacrifice (He goes on the cross at 9 a.m.) and He takes care of the evening sacrifice (He dies at 3 p.m.).

Mary, mother of Jesus, stood by the cross near some more acquaintances of Jesus, including the disciple whom Jesus loved (John). Jesus speaks directly to Mary when He says, “Woman, behold thy son!” (John 19:26), and then He turns to John and declares, “Behold thy mother!” (19:27). God had given specific instructions concerning marriage when He said, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). With the Father having already turned His back on His Son, Jesus must now be rid of the responsibility of His mother. Once He has placed her in the care of John, He is free to “cleave unto His wife”, with His wife being the church. Jesus has now paid to be our Husband!

Let the glorious knowledge that Jesus went to such lengths to be your High Priest before God and that He is your loving Husband right now. You are dead to your first husband (the Law), “by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead” (Romans 7:4).

Remember Me

Luke 23:39-45

The cry of the criminal on the cross marks the simplest and most complete version of a sinner’s prayer found anywhere in the annals of human literature. No more words are needed when coupled with a heart of faith. From the lips of a fallen and failed creation to the ears of the Son of God, “Remember me” stands as man’s highest form of prayer and the gateway into the glories of everlasting life.

It seems strange that a moment as complex and well orchestrated as the cross, would be brought to its climax by a brief statement from a common criminal. Hanging between two thieves, Jesus suffers the scorn of man and the wrath of His Father, while for a moment He endured the mocking of those very thieves themselves (Mark 15:32). But Christ’s refusal to defend Himself or to return fire to those who were reviling Him must have had a profound effect on one of these dying men.

While one criminal continues the barrage against Jesus, the other has a convicted conscience, asking his fellow criminal, “Do you not fear God, seeing you are in the same condemnation?” (Luke 23:40). What a powerful question! While hanging on a cross dying for crimes committed, shouldn’t one be thinking of the after-life and whether or not they are ready to face God? These men were obviously Jews, since they have a working knowledge of condemnation and the fear of God (also, they wouldn’t be Roman citizens since Rome never crucified their own). Whatever led them down the road to destruction has brought them to this place, where not only they but all men must make a decision about the crucified Christ.

“And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward for our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss” (Luke 23:41). This criminal cannot possibly realize the importance of what he has just said, but in a nutshell, he just gave the New Covenant. We are all guilty of sin and we deserve to die. Jesus lived a sin-free life and did not deserve to die. Instead of forcing us to pay-up for our own sins, Jesus was made to be our sin so that we could be made to be His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). The criminal has just confessed that Jesus is Lord and he is about to believe in his heart (Romans 10:9, 10).

“And he said unto Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom’” (Luke 23:42). The same Spirit that caused David to appeal to covenant when standing before Goliath causes the criminal on the cross to appeal to the New Covenant at Calvary. David fought Goliath with the knowledge that Goliath was “uncircumcised” meaning that Goliath had no Covenant promise on his side. The criminal says, “Remember me”, meaning, “Remember why you died here, for poor, guilty criminals like me”. When that criminal, or all of us criminals for that matter, appeal to the purpose of the cross, we are admitting our hopelessness and accepting Christ as our substitute. We are placing faith in a perfect, finished work, allowing Christ’s blood to wash away our sins.

Every person who has ever cried out to Jesus for redemption from sins has said, in so many words, “Remember me!” It is the cry of the lost world, and it still moves the heart of a God who remains stirred by sacrifice of His Son. Just as Jesus said to that man, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), He says the same to you and I. We are in a paradise of His love and favor right now, all because we once cried out, “Remember me!”

Don’t Boast of Your Love for Him

Mark 14:66-72

It is a dangerous thing to place your confidence in your love and affection for Christ. I have been in the church all of my life, and I have seen my fair share of people who testify with gusto about how much they plan on doing for the Lord and how much that they love Him, only to rarely ever see that person inside of a church again. Our love goes up and down like a roller-coaster. One day we are high on love and we speak flowery words about our Jesus. Other days, we hardly feel saved at all.

It is always better to rest confidently in the Savior’s love for us. In fact, we don’t even know what love is without a revelation of God’s love for us. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

The disciple Peter was well known for speaking up when he probably should have held his tongue. He was quick to say what he thought and he was never slow to action (see him walking on water or cutting off the soldier’s ear). On the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter spoke up during a meeting between Jesus and His disciples, proclaiming, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I” (Mark 14:29). Who do you suppose the “all” that He is speaking of might be? Of course the “all” were the other disciples! Peter is saying, “You guys may forsake Jesus in His hour of need but I won’t. None of you love Him like I do”.

Jesus responded that Peter would deny the Lord three times before the rooster crowed twice. In other words, before that very night was over, Peter would have made a complete denial of His Lord. This caused Peter to answer “more vehemently” (Mark 14:31). Jesus’ statement to Peter was an insult to Peter’s acclaimed love and devotion to Jesus. Jesus knew better, knowing that Peter was incapable of taking the stand that he thought that his love had prepared him for. Our love for Jesus is never as powerful as Jesus’ love for us.

Where does this passionate outburst of religious fervor take Peter? We find him standing outside the hall where Jesus is being condemned, warming himself near a fire (Mark 14:66, 67). He is approached by a maid of the high priest who recognizes him as a follower, after Peter denies that he knows the Lord, another maid does the same thing. Finally, the crowd turns on him, shouting at him that he too was with Jesus. Peter curses and promises that he does not know Jesus. Suddenly the rooster crows for a second time and Peter’s heart breaks. His fervor and devotion were just not enough.

It is easy for us to boast of our love for the Lord, but it is a bit more difficult to boast of His love for us. The reason for this is that we boast when we feel up emotionally. Then, when things don’t go so well, it is easy to believe that part of the reason that things aren’t going well is that we have done something wrong and that God is trying to teach us a lesson. This causes us to believe that His love for us has conditions and that we should be careful about boasting about it too much. Rest assured in the knowledge that His love for you is constant and never fluctuates, even when you do.

Catch yourself boasting of how much you love the Lord. Don’t feel condemned, just change your mentality! Every time you find yourself dwelling on how much you love Him just flip it around and wonder with a sense of awe at how much He must be loving you. Revelation of that kind of love will have you warming your heart next to the flames of His love rather than warming your hands near the fire of your own affection.

No Relief for Jesus; All Relief for You

Matthew 27:34, 48

When Jesus hung at Calvary, He did so as the substitute for all of the sinners in the world, you and I included. He took the wrath of the Father so that we would be spared God’s anger. Thank God that Jesus was a worthy vessel in which God could pour out His holy justice.

We are well aware that just before He cried, “It is finished”, Jesus received vinegar and drank it (John 19:30). The word ‘vinegar’ is “sour wine”, fulfilling God’s prophecy of Jeremiah 31:29 in which He promised that the time would come that men would no longer have the right to say, “The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”. When Jesus drank the sour wine, He did it so that your teeth would never be set on edge. Jesus freed you from the sins of your fathers!

With that event in mind, we find that Jesus’ drinking of the vinegar just before His death was not the first time that He was offered something to drink at the cross. Matthew’s gospel records both instances in which the soldiers offered Jesus vinegar; once on the ground at the foot of the cross, and once while hanging on the cross. The one in which He accepts is found in Matthew 27:48 where we see them giving Him vinegar to drink followed by His crying with a loud voice (verse 50). Though the text does not say that He drank, we know that according to John 19 that He did, and the crying out with a loud voice was Him crying, “It is finished”.

The first offer came earlier in that same chapter, just after Jesus’ arrival at Golgotha. The beating put on Him by the soldiers of Pontius Pilate, followed by the carrying of His own cross must have had a heavy effect on the soldiers assigned to the actual crucifixion. They saw this bloody mass of a man approach the hill and they felt an uncommon compassion on Him. “They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall” (Matthew 27:34). The Greek word for ‘gall’ is often “myrrh” which was often used to bring comfort or relief. The soldiers had mingled some myrrh with the vinegar to provide Jesus with a bit of relief in His state of pain.

“And when He had tasted, He would not drink” (Matthew 27:34). Notice that when Jesus tastes what they have done to the vinegar, He refuses to drink. You can almost see this moment of Jesus spitting the vinegar out, refusing to put any comfort or medicine into His body. Jesus took no relief from the pains of the cross so that He could fully bear the brunt of all that was supposed to happen to us. In short, Jesus took no relief so that you could take all relief!

When you think of Jesus hanging on the cross at Calvary, don’t think of how pitiful that you are in light of how much that He did for you. Instead, think of how punished that Jesus was so that you could always go free. See the sacrifice of Christ as a finished work; one in which Jesus drank the cup of judgment and wrath so that you could drink from the free flowing blessings of heaven. Drink up saint, for you are henceforth and forever free!

The Gospels

The word “gospel” means “good news”, thus the term “the gospels” speaks of the “good news” of the arrival of Jesus Christ. Each gospel contains a different biographical glimpse of the Son of God, with different angles here and there to give us a thorough picture of His life and death and resurrection. The fact that these 4 books contain differences should only lend to their authenticity, for who would believe them if they said the exact same thing, and why would we need 4 of them?

Each gospel has a purpose and a theme, and each one presents Jesus in a slightly different way. These 4 different looks comprise the 4 faces of Jesus, with each one corresponding to the “four beasts full of eyes” found in heaven in Revelation 4:6. There is also a corresponding color with each gospel, represented by the four colors of the tabernacle curtains, hanging on four pillars: linen (white), blue, purple and scarlet (Exodus 26:1). Jesus’ life gives substance to the shadow of the tabernacle.

Let’s look at each gospel and see some fascinating types of our Lord Jesus:

Matthew – Jesus is presented as King of the Jews, which is why His Sermon on the Mount appears only here, as it dealt with the very law that the Jews strived so hard to keep. A King needs a genealogy, thus one is included, showing us that Jesus belongs on the throne of Israel through the bloodline of king’s David and Solomon through His earthly father Joseph. He is here seen as the Lion with the color being purple, the color of royalty.

Mark – Jesus is the Ox, colored red just like the sacrificial red heifer of the Old Testament (Numbers 19), and as an ox, He is presented as Servant in Mark. A servant has no need of a genealogy so this gospel does not include one. Servants are also to be seen but not heard, which is why there is much activity by Jesus but not much commentary in this book. There are also very few things in Mark that do not appear in another gospel, for there is to be nothing extraordinary about a servant. This representation is obviously very special to the heart of the Savior as He is found still wearing a golden apron until this hour in heaven, ever the servant at heart (Revelation 1:13).

Luke – Jesus is the Son of Man, with that phrase appearing in this book more than any other. Luke deals more with the humanity of Jesus, thus the corresponding face of a Man in Revelation 4:7. The virgin birth is given in detail and a full genealogy is recorded, as any human would have done. This time the bloodline runs through his mother, showing us that he is royalty (a descendent of David) on both sides of the family. He is represented as the color blue in this book, as that is perfect divinity.

John – Jesus as God. From the very beginning, John is different, showing Jesus as being one with the Father. God has no genealogy so John does not give one and God is perfectly unique from man, thus every chapter of John contains something that is found in no other gospel. As God is above all that is on earth, the Eagle soars in the heavens with the color white representing God’s perfect purity.

These are four snap-shots of one life, each showing us another face of Jesus. He was the veil of the tabernacle, and His life is a perfect picture of that. The author of Hebrews said that we go through the veil to get to God, “that is to say, His flesh” (Hebrews 10:20). Go through the gospels to see Jesus and you are “going through His flesh”. It is a wonderful journey no matter how many times you take it.

Loose Him, and Let Him Go!

John 11:44

Have you ever considered that Jesus could have brought Lazarus from the grace without the grave clothes? When Jesus came out of the grave on Resurrection Morning, His clothes were folded neatly in the Garden Tomb. Lazarus had no need of the grave clothes any longer, for he was no longer dead, so what is the significance of bringing him from the grave as if he is ready for the grave?

Jesus told those present to “Loose him, and let him go” (John 11:44), which gives a mandate to the church for all time. For every new convert that comes out of the grave of sin and death, we have a responsibility to pull the grave clothes off of them a little bit at a time. They are covered over in a lifetime of works and self-righteousness, in which they have constantly tried to justify themselves and their actions. Having accepted Christ as their Savior, they have been miraculously transferred from the depths of the grave of sin to the top step of salvation, and they are now ready to begin their “walk” with the Lord.

With their spiritual bodies wrapped in grave clothes, their walk is going to resemble more of a waddle than anything else. All of our righteousness’ are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), so the habit of working for their blessings and earning their grace must come to an end. The church holds that blessed responsibility of reinforcing covenant and washing off the new convert on a daily basis. When we remind them that they are the righteousness of God in Christ and that they have been perfected forever because He has sanctified them (Hebrews 10:14), we are pulling one more layer of the grave clothes off of them. This covenant reinforcement helps them to see Jesus clearly and allow His righteousness to live through them.

The first command of Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb was for the stone to be rolled away from the door. It was necessary to roll the stone away for Lazarus was going to come out in a fleshly body, not a glorified one, thus he needs the obstacle removed. The stone represents the Law, which must be removed as an obstacle if one is going to walk forward in Christ. At the cross, Jesus took the Law that was contrary to us and against us and He nailed it to His cross, moving it out of our way (Colossians 2:14).

It is important to note that the stone was not removed until Lazarus was alive. Jesus prays aloud “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me” (John 11:41). Notice that He says, “has heard” meaning that He has already petitioned the Father to raise Lazarus and it is a done deal. Calling Him forth in verse 43 is merely a formality, for he is already alive. We must not remove the Law from the grave of the dead man because they simply stink. However, the moment that life enters into them upon confession of faith, the stone must be rolled away!

Earlier in this book, Jesus watched as men dropped their rocks one at a time in response to His statement, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). Only if you hold the Law in perfection do you have the right to throw its condemnation at another person. Since none of us have ever lived the Law in its fullness then we must drop our rocks of condemnation as well. You must decide what type of person that you will be today, a stone thrower or a stone roller. Get busy saint, there isn’t much time.

What Kind of Friend is This?

Luke 11:5-13

Would you consider someone a friend that refused to help you in your time of need? Would you consider someone a friend that did not honor and respect your time with your family and they annoyed and pressured you even when you made it clear that you weren’t interested? If you answered, “Not much of a friend”, then you are on the same page with Jesus in this story of the importunate friend.

Jesus is giving His doctrine on prayer in response to His disciple’s request to teach them how to pray. Having just shared what we commonly call “The Lord’s Prayer”, He moves on to the attitude that believers should have when they pray. Jesus asks a question, placing the disciple and the reader into the story, forcing us to come to a decision as to whether or not we would consider the following person to be much of a friend. If we asked for food for a guest of ours but our friend yelled from within his house that he was sleeping and didn’t have time for us, would we consider him a friend? Finally, the man rises and gives him food, not “because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity” (Luke 11:8).

The word “importunity” is a bit archaic. It means “shamelessness” in the Greek. The man inside did not give his neighbor food because they were friends, but because the man knocking had no shame. Both men are examples of poor friends; one won’t rise to help the other while the one won’t get the hint that his neighbor doesn’t want to be bothered!

Jesus shifts gears in verse 9, “And I say unto you…” as He now shows us how we should ask of the Father. We simply “Ask…seek…knock…for every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened” (Luke 11:9, 10). With man you must beg and plead; but with God you simply ask and He gives. You simply seek and you find. You simply knock and He opens up revelations and blessings to you.

To use the preceding story as an example of how we should ask for things from the Lord is to assume that He is not our friend, for the text clearly states that the man inside the house doesn’t answer the door out of friendship (Luke 11:8). In Christ, we have a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). By begging and pleading for things, blessings, miracles, etc, we are making God out to be a stranger that must be coerced. Come on believer!

Even though we are not as loving and concerned as our heavenly Father, even we know how to give good gifts to our children, for we love them very much. Jesus asks three different questions, each with deep spiritual meaning, as to how we give to our own. He considers us His very own so keep that in mind as you notice the objects that He inserts:

“If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?” (Luke 11:11) Bread is a type of manna, or fresh provision, thus it is a type of grace while the stone is a type of the Law. Jesus refused to feed off of stones in the wilderness, for there is no provision in the Law. Would God give you Law when what you need is grace?

“If he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?” (Luke 11:11) Fish are a type of blessings, which Jesus proved when He gave Peter a boat-sinking load of fishes, leading him to repentance (Mark 5:4-8). Serpents are a type of the curse which Moses raised onto a pole in the wilderness. Jesus was that serpent on the pole, cursed for all of us (John 3:14; Galatians 3:13). Would God give you a curse when He has promised a blessing?

“If he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? (Luke 11:12) The egg speaks of new life, while the scorpion has no other function but to kill, representing death. Would God give you death when you come seeking life?

Believer, be secure in the knowledge that it is your Father’s pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32). He wants you to have all good things, and He is ready to give them to those that ask (Matthew 7:11).

A Higher Form of Love

Mark 12:28-34

How do we increase our love for the Lord? I think that we all want to love God more, but is it possible that we have confused our need to love Him more with our need to rest in His love for us? There is much teaching and preaching on how we should be more dedicated, devoted and consecrated, all of which speak of loving God more. But perhaps we should bring back the nursery class songs that we sang as children such as “Jesus Loves Me”. Kids have it right and we should follow suit: your love for Him pales in comparison to the beauty of His love for you!

The great apostle of love wrote, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Love is defined by God as Jesus Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross. The only way that we know how to love is because God has so clearly shown us what true love is: sacrificial and substitutionary. Our love for God will oftentimes lack in passion and fervor, but because of the price paid by Jesus, His love for us is always constant.

Jesus spoke of the kind of love that is demanded by the Law of Moses, in which we love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). This is the highest form of love, for the Law speaks only of things that are holy and just and good (Romans 7:12). While it may sound wonderful to love the Lord with this intensity, there is no power to be found in the command that will help you to fulfill it. Simply knowing that God expects your devoted love does not help you to love Him one ounce more than you already do (or do not).

If someone tells you that they demand that you love them, there is no amount of demanding or commanding that makes loving them any easier. In fact, with our finite ability to love, we are most likely turned away by such a demand and we would find it impossible to love that person at all. The Law sets the standard for how man is to love God, but gives him no motivation towards love; unless you count going to hell if you don’t love God as motivation to start!

Would you love someone who said, “Love me with everything you are, or I will punish you with everlasting fire forever!” We would flee as fast as we can from that kind of “love”, right? How can we expect people to live up to the “love” standard of the Law unless we offer a higher motivation?

God displayed His perfect love for us by putting all of our sins and transgressions into His Son Jesus. This act pleased the Lord, for by doing this to Jesus, He was under no obligation to do it to us (Isaiah 53:10). He then gave to us His righteousness so that when He sees us from heaven, He no longer sees our wrong-doings, but instead He sees a perfect picture of His resurrected Son. Showered with this kind of love and favor, our hearts never run away for fear, but instead run towards a God that would love us so much. Do you see how a picture of God’s true love and grace makes your heart lean towards Him instead of away?

When you see God as loving you with this kind of intensity, you naturally love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. The highest form of love is found in God’s grace, in which you see the goodness of God and you fall in love.

While Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” when He bore our sins at the cross, we can now cry out in amazement, “Daddy, daddy, why are you so good to me!” See yourself as deeply loved today, and watch an uncontrollable love for God come pouring out of your heart and your life.

A Revelation of Jesus Christ

Matthew 16:13-19

I am convinced that what we need now more than ever before is a fresh revelation of Jesus Christ. When John saw Jesus on the Isle of Patmos, it put him on his face and pushed his pen to write (Revelation 1:17). There is nothing worth bragging about that is not started by a revelation of the loveliness of Jesus. Paul had a revelation of the New Covenant and concluded, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14).

Jesus took His disciples to the headwaters of the Jordan near the village of Caesarea Philippi, a city named for Philip, son of Caesar. This city was notorious for sacrificing children to their false god, and the blood of the sacrificial offerings would run into the waters, turning them red. The disciples are watching this red blood float past when Jesus asks them, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matthew 16:13) The disciples have a myriad of answers, but Peter states, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (verse 16).

Jesus proclaims a blessing on Peter, “For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (verse 17). The kind of revelation that Peter had was one that could not be had by hearing people talk about the healings and the miracles. No man can be convinced of the power and presence of God without feeling Him for themselves. We are all Thomas at heart; we must thrust our own hand into the Master’s spear pierced side before we will ever believe.

I have preached to countless thousands of people about the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many have come to know Jesus through this preaching of grace and favor but many have walked away, content to live in their sins. I wish that all would be fully persuaded in their own mind and heart that Jesus was exactly what I preach to them that He is, but that is simply not the case. Without a desire to see God loving them, they will relegate God’s love as a big blanket for the whole world, never seeing themselves as anything special. Millions spend day and night with knowledge no greater than this; all the while gaining more and more earthly intelligence. No degree of higher education; and no life experience can ever fill the void and thirst for knowledge like a heart open to the love of God.

When man hungers and thirsts for the righteousness that is found in Jesus Christ, God is happy to fill that heart. Commission will follow revelation, just as God empowered Peter to preach the first sermon under the New Covenant (Acts 2:14). As we have more of Jesus revealed to us, our commission in this world becomes equally clear.

Jesus is the rock of verse 18 upon which the church is built as this verse is a bit of a play on words. Peter means “stone” in Greek, and Jesus is of course “the Rock”. Though we are but stones, Jesus remains the rock and His church is powerful enough to take on hell, thus the reference to gates. Peter holds no higher place than any believer does today. You are built on the same Rock that He was, and in Christ, you have the same revelation.