Spiritual Comparisons

.... In our previous two postings we discussed how the heart and mind of Jesus are revealed through His words and deeds (Luke 6:44-45). But to discern those lessons of His subjectivity, we must trace those manifestations back to the heavenly character that produced them. ‘What is His heart like, and therefore He did what He did? Or what can I tell of His heart through His words?’

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.... Through this thoughtful inversion we obtain our first impression to work with, an initial ‘feel’ for what His character is like. To develop the impression further and help define it, the Holy Spirit will assist us with comparisons to other Scripures that are similar in concept. And through these thoughtful comparisons, the inward nature of Jesus will become clearer to our understanding:

.... “These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

(1 Corinthians 2:13)

.... In fact, God has provided a very detailed range of Scriptural comparisons to help us under- stand the mind of Christ. If we are able to locate the prophecies that foretold each event, we will find the perfect matches for our study purposes. Everything Jesus said or did was foretold by the Old Testament prophets (Amos 3:7), and those prophecies were designed to be compared with His life one day:

.... “Search from the book of the LORD, and read: not one of these shall fail; not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.”

(Isaiah 34:16)

.... Think about it. Through the Messianic prophecy, God’s Divine intentions were being expressed; and when Jesus fulfilled those Scriptures, He was acting on those intentions. Through this, their minds matched very naturally, providing us with two highly complementary perspectives on the same events. Furthermore, a much stricter line of interpretation became necessary to uphold the correlation, which is our safety net for getting it right. In every way, these perspectives should balance each other, illuminate each other and fill in the entire picture for us.

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.... Probably a brief example would be in order, so let’s choose the story of the anointing at Bethany (Matthew 26:6-16). By comparing the Old and New Testament perspectives we'll find further insights into Jesus’ heart.

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.... In Bethany, in the house of Simon, Jesus sat at a great feast, His disciples being with Him – and Judas Iscariot, who would betray Him. The plan had fully formed in Judas’ mind as he ate his bread in the Lord’s presence. Arising from this table, he would go to Jesus’ enemies to bargain against Him for His life.

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.... Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe, and the one who would betray Him. Alas for Judas, who even now avoided His gaze! Unspoken words lie between them. And in the quiet conflict of that moment came a woman, bearing a flask of oil to anointed Him in their midst:.

"You prepare a table before Me in the presence of My enemies: You anoint My head with oil; My cup runs over.”

(Psalm 23:5)

.... Three matching elements (the feast, the presence of the enemy, and the anointing oil) may be clearly seen. But Psalm 23 also gives further definition to Jesus' inward thoughts: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (v 24). Additional insights maybe found in the same passage, but since the psalm is so well known we will leave this for the reader to contemplate.

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Daily Bible Reading: John 16