And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath
he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his
teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
(Mark 1:21-22)
The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning
he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. (Isaiah 50:4)
I am fascinated by the connections between Jesus teaching with authority in his ministry and the prophecy that refers to him as one of “those who are taught”. We must come to this with fear and trembling so we take great care and caution not to go “beyond what is written”![1]
However, this prophecy
shows us our Savior coming into the world as “the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us” so we see him in his humanity attaching to “those who are taught” and
standing out as what the Scriptures call “the firstborn” of these people.[2]
Another connection
that is often missed is that when we say “for those who love God all things
work together for good,” many people seem to not know what the next sentence
says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers”
(Romans 8:28-29).
In other words, the
way God works everything in our lives “for good” means he uses everything to
make us more like Jesus. Paul stated it this way in II Corinthians 3:18, “And
we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this
comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” That is the Christian life, to daily
experience becoming more like our Savior.
As we see and hear
of how Jesus continues to build his church throughout the world, every true
believer in Jesus Christ is one of these “many brothers” and Jesus alone is
the “firstborn” among us no matter where we are, how many are with us, or how
many differences threaten our unity. Jesus is head of his church, and if we are
members of his body, we are all one in him, one with him, but never him!
Today (which
happens to be Thanksgiving Monday in Canada), I am thankful for the way God is
helping me attach to Jesus in this area. He became a human being who is
firstborn among “those who are taught” so that I could both learn from him
myself and teach others as one who is “taught by God”.
And, since this now
happens for anyone who hears God’s word, it is open to everyone who will spend
time both hearing and doing what we are taught. We never know when someone
learns from us what Jesus intended to teach us both!
© 2024
Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)
[1]
This is something so few
Christians seem to know about, that we are exhorted by Paul, “I have applied
all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may
learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be
puffed up in favor of one against another” (1 Corinthians 4:6). Preachers and
teachers become “puffed up” when they go beyond what is written with their own
distinct teachings, and the church starts to “favor… one against another” by
thinking we need to choose which of these distinct teachings we should follow.
Paul warned us to stick with what is written, which would make every pastor and
teacher the same in their teaching, which would give no reason to treat one
better or worse than another (understanding that some of these men simply were
never called to be pastors and teachers!).
[2]
If you ever hear anyone (like
the JWs) promote the idea that if Jesus is called “firstborn” it means he was
born, or created, that is bogus. The term “firstborn” refers to the pattern among
God’s people where the firstborn son had distinct privileges and
responsibilities to care for the family. Each firstborn son was responsible for ensuring that the family line continued seeking God and was given the inheritance to
enable them to do so. Once the Jewish people had that picture firmly in their
minds of what a firstborn son did, the New Testament uses that imagery to help
us picture Jesus as one of us, but the supreme one of us. He was not “born” in
the sense that he was created, but he fulfills the imagery of the firstborn son
who cares for all his brothers in the greatest way possible, giving them eternal
life.
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