When do we start planning for retirement, a career, a family? Or being active in our faith? People appreciate being able to see the beginning of a story, of a project, of a relationship, etc. The origins help us appreciate and understand the motive of something better; knowing the origins even helps us feel more confident in the outcome.
That’s true for products and services, and it's true for the message of the gospel. 2 Peter 1:16, “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
There was a point when Jesus would officially begin His ministry to reveal the kingdom of God. John’s disciples had come asking if He was the one and if this was the time. He answered them with the words of Isaiah, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me” (Matthew 11:5 referencing Isaiah 35).
Miracles would end up being a key sign that Jesus was the Messiah, serving as proof of His power and authenticity. The miracle at Cana (John 2), turning the water into wine, was His “first of the signs through which He revealed His glory.”
However, Jesus had been revealing His unique life even from his birth. We also see Him as a 12-year-old boy displaying a foundation that would set all believers on a course of trusting in God’s words, faithfully listening and meditating on them, and “growing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52) as He sat at the feet of the religious leaders discussing the Law.
Jesus depended on the words of God to guide Him into action, and even to defend against threats to His mission (Luke 4, Matthew 4). He modeled what God told Joshua to do in Joshua 1:7-8, “Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Those words would comfort Him along every step of His journey, including the cross (Psalm 22). It’s true for us as well. God’s word reveals our role in the kingdom of God, and it gives us the strength we need to carry out God’s will.
The longest chapter in the Bible is focused on the beauty of God’s laws and how they protect us against enemies, guide us in our life, and ultimately give us hope. Jesus was the essence of all these, “the Word that became flesh.” Think on Psalm 119:28, “My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.” What a wonderful promise and great example for us!
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