How to Find Jesus
Introduction
The whole of the Bible is about Jesus. Martin Luther said, ‘Scripture is the manger in which the Christ lies.’ As a parent goes to a cot to find their baby, so the Christian goes to the Bible to find Jesus. Don’t inspect the cot and forget to worship the baby.
In today’s passages, we see how Jesus Christ is revealed not only in the New Testament, in the book of Revelation, but also in the Old Testament – in Proverbs and Zechariah.
Proverbs 30:4
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
Surely you know!
Commentary
The name of Jesus
Is there any evidence for God?
‘The sceptic swore, “There is no God!
No God! – I can do anything I want!...
I see no evidence of a holy God”’ (vv.1–3, MSG).
The sceptic goes on to ask five questions (v.4):
- Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
- Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
- Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
- Who has established all the ends of the earth?
- What is that person’s name, and what is the name of that person’s son?
The New Testament reveals that the answer to each of these five questions is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. It is Jesus who ascended on high (see, for example, Ephesians 4:8–10). It is through Jesus that the whole world came into being (John 1:1–3). He is the name above every name (Philippians 2:9). The evidence for God is found in Jesus.
The New Testament reveals that the name of God is Jesus. The writer of Proverbs cares deeply about ‘the name of [his] God’ (Proverbs 30:9). He asks for ‘neither poverty nor riches’ (v.8). He fears that riches may make him disown the Lord and poverty might make him steal and thereby ‘dishonour the name of [his] God’ (v.9).
Prayer
Revelation 2:1-17
2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of the one who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! ... 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna.
Commentary
The words of Jesus
These words of Jesus (‘The First and the Last, who died and came to life again’, v.8) to the seven churches are hugely challenging. The risen, ascended, glorified Jesus reveals what kind of church he wants:
Don’t lose your first love
Jesus is looking for a church that is famous, above all, for its love.
Do you remember what you felt when you first encountered Jesus? Perhaps you experienced joy, peace, a new sense of meaning and purpose, and an excitement. Did you ‘fall in love’? Was there a ‘honeymoon period’?
As life goes on it is easy to lose your ‘first love’ (v.4). Other things creep in. Work, the busyness of life, or even your ministry can lead you away from the passion of your first love.
Jesus commends their service: ‘I know your deeds, your hard work’ (v.2). But there have been times in my life when I’ve been working so hard for the kingdom that I have neglected the King.
Jesus commends their patience in suffering and perseverance: ‘you have… endured hardship for my name’ (v.3). But there have been times when I have been so focused on my own problems and suffering that I have lost my enthusiasm.
He commends the orthodoxy of their beliefs – they have not tolerated evil (v.2). But there have been times when I have been so concerned about orthodoxy that I have forgotten to love.
Jesus challenges: ‘Have you forsaken your first love’ (v.4). These are haunting words. What are you to do if this has happened?
Jesus urges you to:
Remember your first love – to remember the height from which you have fallen (v.5). Never lose your first love, enthusiasm and excitement about Jesus.
Repent and clean up your act. If you have slipped into complacency or compromise, you may need to get rid of the dross. As we read in Zechariah, ‘I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, “They are my people”, and they will say, “The Lord is our God”’ (Zechariah 13:9.)
If you are in a time of testing and trial in your life, God will use the heat of the fire to refine you.
Return to doing the things you did when you first encountered Jesus. ‘Do the things you did at first’ (Revelation 2:5).
Stand firm in the face of persecution
Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani was imprisoned in Iran for no other reason than his faith in Jesus Christ. He was sentenced to death. As a result of international pressure he was released and reunited with his family. I had the privilege of interviewing him at HTB. We were all inspired by his faithfulness and courage.
Only two of the seven churches are not faulted by Jesus – Smyrna and Philadelphia. Smyrna is spiritually rich in spite of the persecutions and material poverty: ‘I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich!’ (v.9).
Jesus’ words to the church are not ‘repent’ (as so often was the case with the other churches), but rather, ‘Do not be afraid’ (v.10). Like the persecuted church today, they faced prison, persecution and even death. But God has set a limit (‘for ten days’) and promises, ‘I will give you the crown of life’ (v.10b).
Fight for the truth
The church in Pergamum was living in the most godless place on earth – ‘where Satan has his throne’ (v.13). Yet Jesus says, ‘You remain true to my name’ (v.13). They have not renounced their faith in Jesus in spite of persecution.
Nevertheless, Jesus challenges them about holding to false teaching and committing sexual immorality (v.14). Truth matters. He calls them to repent (v.16), and promises that if they overcome, he will give them food that feeds the soul (‘the hidden manna’, v.17) and eternal security in Christ.
Prayer
Zechariah 12:10,13:1,14:9
12
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced...
13
1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
14
9 The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.
Commentary
The grace of Jesus
God promises his people: ‘I will pour out... a spirit of grace and supplication’ (12:10). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace and supplication. He pours into your heart God’s grace (his undeserved love for us) and helps you to pray (see Romans 8:26–27). The Holy Spirit is at work in your thoughts – prompting you to pray for people and situations.
How is this possible? Zechariah continues, ‘They will look on me, the one they have pierced’ (Zechariah 12:10). Who is the one they have pierced? The apostle John gives us the answer: ‘One of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear… These things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled… “They will look on the one they have pierced”’ (John 19:34–37).
What is the result? ‘On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity’ (Zechariah 13:1). This is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through his death, through him being pierced for you, he made it possible for you to be cleansed from every sin and all impurity.
Jesus seemed to have this passage in mind when he was thinking about his own death. He quoted Zechariah 13:7 when predicting that, upon his arrest, the disciples would desert him: ‘Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’ (v.7; see Matthew 26:31,56).
The words of Zechariah 14 can be seen as looking forward to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and also to his return:
- Jesus is the one whose feet would stand on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4; Matthew 21:1)
- Jesus is the one to go out and fight against the nations in the day of battle (Zechariah 14:3; Revelation 20)
- Jesus is the one out of whom living water will flow (Zechariah 14:8; John 7:37–39)
- Jesus is the one who will be worshipped as king (Zechariah 14:16; Revelation 5)
- Jesus is the one who makes it possible for ‘HOLY TO THE LORD’ to be inscribed on everything (Zechariah 14:20)
- Jesus abolishes the distinction between the secular and the sacred. The cooking pots were the most common household vessels, yet they too had the words ‘HOLY TO THE LORD’ inscribed on them (v.20)
Prayer
Pippa adds
Revelation 2:1-17
Revelation 2 is written ‘To the church in Ephesus... in Smyrna... in Pergamum’
I wonder what Jesus would say about our church. Maybe the things we think we do rather well, he wouldn’t be at all impressed with. He would probably be pleased with the small, unseen acts of faith that we don’t particularly notice.
Verse of the Day
Proverbs 30:5
‘… He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.’
Thought for the Day
The church should be FAMOUS for its LOVE.
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References
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.