Jesus, upon receiving news of John the Baptist's death, went to a desert to pray. (Matthew 14)
Who knows what was on His mind.
John the Baptist was many things to Jesus.
John was the Elijah, the forerunner for Jesus.
You could say that they were the comrade duo sent together for a grand mission.
And John was his cousin too.
John prepared the way. He was to be born, to minister, and to lay down his life before his Master did.
Jesus acknowledged John to be the greatest among all the saint who came before Him.
And yet, John had his doubt in Jesus towards the end of his life.
He sent his disciple to ask Jesus if He was indeed the One they were waiting for.
You will find this strange considering how John declared Him the Messiah when John first saw Him.
But such is the world. With all the wind and waves that toss us around.
John was imprisoned and awaiting imminent death.
Jesus didn't seem to turn Judea upside down the way John expected Him to.
Where is the God who saves?
That was probably in John's mind.
And maybe Jesus, in His limited human form at that point of time, needed to strengthen Himself too.
He might have quietly whispered in His heart,
"Abba, is everything still going according to Your plan?"
So He went to the desert to pray.
And upon returning.. oh, what a glorious come back that was.
He walked on the water (Psalm 77:16-20) and He trampled the waves of the sea. (Job 9:8)
I love how He declared His arrival to His disciples who were freaking out by then.
"Don't be afraid. Take courage. The 'I am' is here!" (Mat 14:27. compares that with Isa 41:4,10-14)
Now THAT is a very, very significant two words there.
You have to go back to Exodus 3:13-15 to see when God first introduced Himself to His people.
'I am' is the HOLY NAME that sum up ALL of God's ultimate sovereignty, character and power.
Jesus is saying that when He says He is here with us to the end He is saying that He is here with ALL of His Godly love, power and authority with us to the end..
“And those who know your name put their trust in you.”- Psalm 9:10
(I'm planning to read thru John Piper's sermon on 'I am' here)
I feel that part of our journey in getting to know Him deeper is in meditating on the I AM who I AM.
And in doing so, we find our trust in Him growing deeper.
Yes.. Abba Father in Heaven, may Your Name be kept holy.
Who knows what was on His mind.
John the Baptist was many things to Jesus.
John was the Elijah, the forerunner for Jesus.
You could say that they were the comrade duo sent together for a grand mission.
And John was his cousin too.
John prepared the way. He was to be born, to minister, and to lay down his life before his Master did.
Jesus acknowledged John to be the greatest among all the saint who came before Him.
And yet, John had his doubt in Jesus towards the end of his life.
He sent his disciple to ask Jesus if He was indeed the One they were waiting for.
You will find this strange considering how John declared Him the Messiah when John first saw Him.
But such is the world. With all the wind and waves that toss us around.
John was imprisoned and awaiting imminent death.
Jesus didn't seem to turn Judea upside down the way John expected Him to.
Where is the God who saves?
That was probably in John's mind.
And maybe Jesus, in His limited human form at that point of time, needed to strengthen Himself too.
He might have quietly whispered in His heart,
"Abba, is everything still going according to Your plan?"
So He went to the desert to pray.
And upon returning.. oh, what a glorious come back that was.
He walked on the water (Psalm 77:16-20) and He trampled the waves of the sea. (Job 9:8)
I love how He declared His arrival to His disciples who were freaking out by then.
"Don't be afraid. Take courage. The 'I am' is here!" (Mat 14:27. compares that with Isa 41:4,10-14)
Now THAT is a very, very significant two words there.
You have to go back to Exodus 3:13-15 to see when God first introduced Himself to His people.
'I am' is the HOLY NAME that sum up ALL of God's ultimate sovereignty, character and power.
Jesus is saying that when He says He is here with us to the end He is saying that He is here with ALL of His Godly love, power and authority with us to the end..
“And those who know your name put their trust in you.”- Psalm 9:10
(I'm planning to read thru John Piper's sermon on 'I am' here)
I feel that part of our journey in getting to know Him deeper is in meditating on the I AM who I AM.
And in doing so, we find our trust in Him growing deeper.
Yes.. Abba Father in Heaven, may Your Name be kept holy.
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