Jesus and His Words. Oh, if we took the time to really ponder the depth of the things that came out of His mouth. God took on human flesh and came to this planet. His Words are recorded for us. We should read them and let them sink deeply into our psyches. Every word He said was a hundred percent truth from another place…heaven. Who God is was somewhat veiled in the Old Testament but not in the New Testament.
That’s why Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.”
Matthew 13:17
Jesus was telling them that the entire history of mankind was pointing toward the thirty-three years that He was actually here. His coming was first announced in Genesis (when Adam and Eve ate the fruit) and every single prophet was looking forward to His arrival. He knew what a big deal He was.
Think about it. We talk about Jesus being humble and He was. But what humble person ever did and said things like this?
- …and now something greater than Solomon is here. (Matt 12:42)
- “For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” (Matt 12:8)
- He accepted worship.
- He called people hypocrites (a lot).
- He made whips and turned over tables in the temple and drove people out.
- He answered people’s thoughts even when they didn’t say them out loud.
How could Jesus be humble and yet say (and do) those things? Because they are true and right. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. (Psalm 24:1). Jesus was stating what was obvious (to Him) everywhere He went. He acted righteously in everything He did and He was ba ba bad, bad to the bone (in a really good way).
“Jesus was stating what was obvious (to Him) everywhere He went. He acted righteously in everything He did and He was ba ba bad, bad to the bone (in a really good way).”
People often think Jesus was wimpy because of some of the things He said like “turn the other cheek.” Scripture also says, “do not repay anyone evil for evil and to love our enemies.” We see that and wonder why God would say something so unfair and seemingly cowardly. Ummmm…read the rest.
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.
Romans 12:19 NLT
When my children were small, they never had to worry if I would take care of things. My boys actually had an intervention with me about it. They said, “Mom, we can fight for ourselves, you have to stop.” I tried but everyone knew not to mess with the Broome children. They knew because they knew their mama (and Papa Broome was no joke either), and they didn’t dare mess with this mama bear’s cubs.
“People that really know God intimately don’t worry about paying people back. They let God take care of things.”
People that really know God intimately don’t worry about paying people back. They let God take care of things. We have to remember that scripture is true and God is doing what it says whether we realize it or not. We also have to remember that it says for us to “never take revenge.” If we take it out of God’s hands, we will never see Him do what He said He would. A friend of mine said, “If vengeance belongs to God, it is not mine” (Vickie Vaughan).
“A friend of mine said “If vengeance belongs to God, it is not mine.””
That scripture (I believe) is one of the reasons Jesus said from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). Jesus did not say that just to be nice. Scripture says He “interceded for His transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).
Intercession-the action of intervening on behalf of another.
In Hebrew intercession means “to meet.”
I believe when Jesus was on the cross, God’s righteous anger was headed toward the people who were doing what they did to His Son. When Jesus cried out for them, God’s anger “met” Jesus’ intercession. God didn’t hurt the people hurting Jesus but the sun stopped shining and an earthquake happened. I can’t help but wonder if Jesus’ prayer stopped God’s wrath on the people and His wrath struck the planet instead.
“I can’t help but wonder if Jesus’ prayer stopped God’s wrath on the people and His wrath struck the planet instead.”
Now that we have God’s Spirit in us, we should be like Jesus. We should understand that God is righteous and people will pay for what they do…ultimately. What if, knowing that truth, we turned to God and asked Him to forgive them and work in their hearts to bring them healing and salvation.
Hateful people don’t normally have a lot of friends. People who are doing wicked things don’t typically have people crying out day and night for their souls. What if God allows them in our lives so they have someone bombarding heaven for them? Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons we possess. God loves murderers, prostitutes, liars, self-righteous religious people, drug addicts, gossips, Democrats, Republicans, and any other person we can put on that list. What if we looked at people we want to hate and started to pray for them.
I used to think God said to pray for them so I would feel better and not grow bitter. I absolutely don’t believe that anymore. I think He wants to answer our prayers for the people that everyone (including us) wants to hate.
“Every enemy and every wrong thing done to us is an opportunity to change someone’s eternity.”
Every enemy and every wrong thing done to us is an opportunity to change someone’s eternity. Jesus prayed from the cross and His Father answered Him. God didn’t bring vengeance on those people. When Pentecost came fifty days after the resurrection, some of those same people were saved.
Stephen was the first martyr. He told the religious people the truth about Jesus and they stoned him to death. As he was dying, scripture says, “He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died (Acts 7:60).
He was shouting! He was begging God not to take revenge on them. Two chapters later, we read the answer to that prayer through the conversion of one of the men that took part in the killing of Stephen. His name was Saul (who we know as the Apostle Paul). Stephen was full of love for his enemy and he prayed for him while he was approving of his murder.
“No one can fight love. There is no argument against it that will hold up.”
No one can fight love. There is no argument against it that will hold up. People don’t know what to do with real love from heaven. It disarms them. I’m not talking about self-serving love (the “after all I’ve done for you” kind). I’m talking about love that “don’t make no sense.” The kind that loves people that nobody else loves and shouts out on their behalf to the God of heaven.
I have a friend who is married to an evil man. He makes her angry a lot to say the least. , However I have sat with her as she has wept over the fact that he will spend eternity in hell apart from a miracle of God. She stays with him and loves him with a love from heaven. It’s a miracle. Her life has been hard, but the fire of her circumstances with her husband has made her into one of the greatest Christians I have ever known. She is probably the only person praying for her husband. Very few people have anything to do with him.
“When we want to hate Donald Trump, Joe Biden, the people who run Netflix, or any other person, what if we took a minute and lifted them up to the King of Glory?”
When we want to hate Donald Trump, Joe Biden, the people who run Netflix, or any other person, what if we took a minute and lifted them up to the King of Glory? What if we asked Him to forgive them and work in their lives in a powerful way. What if someone we hate and have no hope for is the next evangelist that God will use to change the world. When we do what God says I am coming to realize it’s always bigger than we can imagine. Our only responsibility in this world is to follow our King, the Lord Jesus Christ and do what He says. Listen to what He says about His Words. Never underestimate what He has told us to do.
The words I have spoken to you–they are full of the Spirit and life.
John 6:63b
When I meet Jesus face to face, I want to have prayed for the people nobody else did. We will never understand the truth and power of scripture until God shows us.
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
Luke 24:45
One of the greatest things we can ask Jesus for is that He would open our minds to understand “what is written.” When He lets us understand the depth of His Words, it is one of the most satisfying and life changing things a human being can experience.
My prayer for everyone reading is that we will all look at “praying for our enemies” in a whole different light. One of the greatest answers to Jesus’ prayer for His enemies as He interceded on the cross was right beside Him. That thief’s eternity was changed from an enemy of Jesus’ to a child of God. What might God do in our enemies if we would only do the small thing He has asked of us…pray for them.
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
James 5:16
