I just finished reading Genesis 12-14 and Luke 5, and I don't know where to begin... There is so much covered in those chapters. But, I will go with Luke for now.
Scripture tells us that Jesus was 30 years old when his cousin, John-the-Baptist, baptized Him and the Holy Spirit descended identifying Him as Christ the Lord.(Chapter 3) Jesus then sought time alone with the Father to gear-up for His mission ahead. In fact, His time turned into forty days in the wilderness during which Satan came to Him and tried desparately to side-track Him. I'm not going to go into detail on that event; however, I don't want anyone to miss HOW Jesus dealt with the devil and all that he threw at Him. Ephesians 6 states that our one offensive weapon is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (v 17). And that's exactly what Jesus used to rebuke Satan and his attempts to have Jesus take His focus off of the Father. That is a huge lesson for us. Jesus was living out Psalm 119:11 - Thy Word have I hidden in my heart so that I might not sin against Thee.
After His wilderness excursion, Jesus goes right to work, teaching about God and His way of salvation and healing in His name by the power of the Holy Spirit. Don't you know that people's heads were shaking and they were saying, "Wow! What's up with this guy?" I love the part where he is by the seashore and hollers at Simon Peter and the guys to go out futher and lower their nets. Peter explains that they have been fishing for hours to no avail, but for some reason, he did as Jesus directed. And wouldn't you know it...Wow! Their nets were so full that they were beaking and others swam out to help. By the time they were finished, they had several boats full of fish.
Wow! Peter and the people had seen and or heard about Jesus healing multiple sick people. They had experienced an abundance of fish in their nets. So, did it surprise you that when Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Leave your boat, nets, and all those fish, and follow me," he did? I mean, he dropped everything - his life - and followed this One who had filled his nets to the breaking point. Now, that's a "Wow!" affect. We also see that James and John, who were also fisherman, left their life as they knew it, and followed Him. And later in the chapter, we see Levi, who is known as Mathew, leave his lucrative tax collection business and follow him as well.
So, what was so compelling about Jesus that these strangers left everything and everyone behind and followed Jesus and His teaching? Was it that He had performed these miraculous deeds? Would witnessing someone healing the sick compel me to leave my family and friends and trek off with him? I don't think so. Remember, at this point, these guys didn't know who He was; even at the end, they didn't fully get it. Then, was it his persona? Was He so captivating and charismatic that they couldn't resist? I don't know about that either. These are grown men with families, careers, and responsibilities. It just doesn't make sense...
Well, I don't have the answer. Miracles would be impressive, and He did have a warm, compasionate personality (but of course, my opinion is colored by all the movies that have been made about Him). But it had to be more than either of those things. I can only think that it goes back to the dove. Remember, the one that descended on Him when He was baptized? The HOLY SPIRIT descended on Him in the form of a dove. That's the same Holy Spirit that draws sinners to His saving grace; that is the voice of my conscience and which gives me moral direction; that same voice that brings me to my knees in shame and repentance; that same voice that lifts me up and holds me safe. That's what drew those men to leave their comfort zones and follow the One who would change the course of humanity.
That's the WOW! affect...
No comments:
Post a Comment