How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
….in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:7 NLT
John 1:47-51 (<<click here to read the passage)
I know a gentleman who earlier in life was a pretty tough guy. He worked with young people and from my understanding, it was his way or the highway. He accomplished some pretty amazing things in his time of leadership, but many people were turned off by his leadership style. His temper was pretty fiery, which just added to the whole ambiance of his personality.
I knew of him then but know him by name now. He’s still a tough cookie but he works with children now. At this point in his life, he’s tough when he needs to be tough but even in that, there is a softness…a compassion. His whole persona is tempered by that compassion and in my humble opinion, it makes him a very gifted leader.
The thing is, those who knew him then but don’t really know him now probably would have a skewed opinion of him. They still see him as they saw him then and not as he is now.
When we think about Jesus, how do we picture him? I’m not talking physically but personality wise.
Do we see Him in a perpetual state of sadness? Everything He had created was tainted by the sin that we had allowed into the world. From the beginning, He knew pain, separation, and death were inevitable. It would be hard to fight the sorrow of it all.
Do we see Him angry, railing at the Pharisees? How thick the heads of His disciples were, would they ever learn?
I mean, He was God after all, wouldn’t He at least be stern and serious most of the time? He was all about fulfilling the Law and making sure we were doing it right…right?
It is of utmost importance that we not forget that, yes, Jesus was God…100% God…but He was God in the flesh. And that means he was also 100% human.
He was sad. He was angry. He was stern and serious. He was like us in that He was totally human with just about everything that comes with it! But it just as important for us to remember is the fact is that Jesus was without sin.
He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. 1 Peter 2:22 NLT
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15 NLT
This is all crucial to our understanding of who Jesus is but let me throw one more thing out. I believe with all my heart that Jesus also smiled and laughed. He had a sense of humor and cared for his disciples in so many ways.
In this passage from John 1 after Nathanael proclaimed Jesus being the “Son of God—the King of Israel!” v49 when Jesus said He’d seen him sitting under a fig tree, I can see Jesus replying with a twinkle in His eye and a bit of a chuckle under His words.
“Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” v50
Jesus is everything we ever hoped He would be and far more! May this message today encourage all of us to embrace Jesus for all that He is and all that He can be for each of us!
Mar 17th, 2021, Wed, 7:56 pm
