{"id":22949,"date":"2021-10-29T08:58:17","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T13:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/?p=22949"},"modified":"2021-10-29T08:58:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T13:58:34","slug":"seven-of-the-most-amazing-things-jesus-ever-said","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/seven-of-the-most-amazing-things-jesus-ever-said\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven of the most amazing things Jesus ever said"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo man ever spoke like this man\u201d (John 7:46).<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Please note below that all seven of these “things Jesus said” are from the same passage in Matthew 11.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Somewhere around the house I have an old book with the wonderful title of 657 of the Best Things Ever Said<\/em>.\u00a0 It would not surprise you to know most of them are silly.<\/p>\n

As beauty is in the eye of the beholder, doubtless it\u2019s true that the \u201cbest things ever said\u201d is also arbitrary.<\/p>\n

With one exception.<\/p>\n

Literally hundreds of millions of people across this world agree with the judgement of the early Galileans that \u201cNo one ever spoke like Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our Lord spoke a solid one thousand mind boggling things never heard before on Planet Earth, all of them surprising and wonderful and memorable. And, let\u2019s be honest, many who heard Jesus also found His words provocative, offensive, and even blasphemous.<\/p>\n

When Jesus stood to preach, no one was bored.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Matthew chapter 11:21-30 contains a mother lode of His insights…\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this brief passage, there are seven statements from Him as amazing as anything you’ll find anywhere…<\/p>\n

One.\u00a0 \u201cIt shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you\u201d (referring to the hard-hearted citizens of Capernaum, and prior to that, the unresponsive population of Chorazin and Bethsaida).\u201d (Matthew 11:21-24)
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s audience were outraged. The very idea, that wicked Sodom will fare better at judgment than they!\u00a0 But, there it is.<\/p>\n

Some people are going to have it tougher at judgment than others in the same way that some will receive a greater Heavenly reward than others.<\/p>\n

I would never have thought of that.\u00a0 We did not make it up.\u00a0 Jesus said it. And who should know better?<\/p>\n

In I Corinthians 3:11-15, Paul spoke of Christians whose works are \u201cwood, hay and stubble,\u201d rather than the more imperishable \u201cgold, silver, and precious stones.\u201d\u00a0 Perhaps they never grew beyond carnality or were caught up in a cult and spread falsehood from door to door. Whatever the reason for their unworthy works, Paul says, \u201cIf any man\u2019s work is burned up (in judgement when \u201cit is to be revealed with fire\u201d), he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d\u00a0 Clearly, there are degrees of reward in Heaven with some people entering glory, as we say, \u201cby the skin of their teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

My understanding of this principle boils down to this: What did you do with what you had?<\/em>\u00a0 Those given only slivers of light but who served God well are the champions of faith. Likewise, those who had it all and became hypocrites and deceivers and abusers are destined for the lowest regions of hell.\u00a0 The inimitable Leonard Ravenhill made this point in a book of sermons titled Sodom Had No Bible.<\/em><\/p>\n

Heaven\u2019s champions are those who served God consistently while enduring the greatest opposition, while walking with the dimmest light, while carrying the heaviest burdens, and persevering to the end.<\/p>\n

The implications of this are enormous.<\/p>\n

Two. \u201cAt that time, Jesus answered and said, \u2018I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes\u201d (Matthew 11:25).<\/strong><\/p>\n

The intelligentsia in the audience was offended.<\/p>\n

As the Lord spoke, doubtless some people were shaking their heads, refusing to believe Him even before the words left His mouth.\u00a0 Every pastor knows the feeling. You preach your hardest to get across some wonderful insight from scripture and some close-minded hearers reject the teaching without even considering it.<\/p>\n

I can imagine some Mensa member wondering why Scripture makes so little sense to him. With his unparalleled intellect, certainly he should be able to figure out God, if such a Being actually exists, and the mysteries of the universe should unfold before his scrutiny.\u00a0 To his everlasting consternation the living God has made them off limits to him and has given them to the children!\u00a0 The very idea.<\/p>\n

On numerous occasions, Jesus said, \u201cExcept you humble yourself and become as a little child, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.\u201d (See Matthew 18:16 and Luke 18:16). People unwilling to do this will miss out on the greatest wonders of the universe.<\/p>\n

No one gets to heaven by his own efforts.\u00a0 No one will arrive at the gates of glory boasting about having figured out God and circumventing the cross. Something you will never hear at the portals of Heaven is “Look what I did!”<\/p>\n

In Bethlehem, the entrance to the Church of the Nativity was partially bricked in during the Middle Ages (to keep enemies from riding their camels inside, we\u2019re told) so that anyone entering will have to bow.\u00a0 That\u2019s a great metaphor for the eternal life.<\/p>\n

The implications and applications of the Lord withholding HIs truth from the self important while freely revealing it to the humble are enormous.<\/p>\n

Three. \u201cYes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight\u201d (Matthew 11:26).
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why did God set things up so that the Nobel Prize winner has to struggle to get to faith and the childlike walk right in? Jesus gave us the only answer that makes sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n

It pleased Him.<\/p>\n

Not very theological, is it?<\/p>\n

Some things God does simply because doing so pleased Him.\u00a0 \u201cIt pleased God that through the foolishness of preaching people who believe would be saved\u201d (I Corinthians 1:21).\u00a0 A lot of people would like to change this. They don\u2019t like sermons and have little use for a system that centers around preaching.\u00a0 Tough cookies.\u00a0 (Said with a smile.) We\u2019re not given a choice in this.<\/p>\n

We self-important earthlings who set ourselves up as Divine Advisors will just have to deal with this. It\u2019s how things are.\u00a0 \u201cWithout faith, it is impossible to please God\u201d (Hebrews 11:6).<\/p>\n

Psalm 115:3 states it unequivocally: \u201cOur God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.\u201d<\/p>\n

God has His plans and He knows what they are. I do not.\u00a0 I will trust Him or be forever frustrated.<\/p>\n

Four.\u00a0 \u201cAll things have been handed over to Me by My Father\u2026.\u201d (Matthew 11:27)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just before delivering the Great Commission commanding disciples to take the gospel to the world and make additional disciples, Jesus announced, \u201cAll authority in Heaven and earth has been handed over to me\u201d (Matthew 28:18).<\/p>\n

Jesus is in charge.<\/em><\/p>\n

He has the right to issue commands to God\u2019s people.<\/p>\n

How the religious authorities must have become enraged over this!\u00a0 The Lord Jesus is clearly acting in the place of the Almighty.\u00a0 He forgives sin, gives new interpretations of scripture, and points to Himself as the Savior and the coming Judge. He is either a usurper of the first degree or the Son of God in the flesh.<\/p>\n

There is no in-between.<\/p>\n

The epistles enlarge on this truth in numerous places. This one is mind-boggling: (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created\u2026all things have been created by Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. he is also head of the body, the church, and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything<\/em> (Colossians 1:15-18).\u00a0 And this: For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete; He is the head over all rule and authority<\/em>\u00a0(Colossians 2:9-10).<\/p>\n

Jesus is Lord. He\u2019s in charge.<\/p>\n

There are no areas of life on earth in which this truth does not pertain.\u00a0 Jesus is Lord of all.<\/p>\n

Five. \u201cNo one knows the Son except the Father\u2026\u201d (Matthew 11:27)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This one surely drove His hearers up the wall.\u00a0 The nerve of Jesus.\u00a0 Who does He think He is?\u00a0 After all, don’t we know Him, the carpenter of Galilee?<\/p>\n

They should wait. It gets worse!<\/p>\n

The full identity of Jesus\u2013His being all God and all man in His earthly body\u2013eludes us. It did then and it does now. And yet, scholars of every generation try to figure Him out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is this man?\u201d the crowds wondered as they listened to Jesus teach and saw Him work.\u00a0 \u201cNo man ever spoke like this man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus Christ was the Son of Joseph, carpenter of Nazareth, and the Son of God. He was Son of Man and Son of David.\u00a0 He was Mary\u2019s Son and Mary\u2019s Lord and Savior.<\/p>\n

Good luck trying to figure all that out.<\/p>\n

What are the implications of this?\u00a0 They are mysterious, enormous, far reaching, life changing.<\/p>\n

Six. \u201cNor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him\u201d (Matthew 11:27).<\/strong><\/p>\n

This may be the most enraging thing the scribes and Pharisees heard from this itinerant rabbi of Galilee.\u00a0 (The word \u201cknow\u201d here is\u00a0epignosko\u00a0<\/em>and means \u201cfull knowledge,\u201d not just a passing acquaintance.)<\/p>\n

What I find delightful and more than a little humorous is the sheer gall of this. Imagine saying, \u201cNo one knows God except me and the people I introduce to Him.\u201d\u00a0 And then you turn around and say, \u201cI am very humble.\u201d\u00a0 But that is precisely what Jesus did.<\/p>\n

Both realities are there.<\/p>\n

What are the implications of Jesus being the only One who knows the Father and thus the sole access to Him?\u00a0 In John 14:6, He said, \u201cI am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly, if you want to go to God (and thus Heaven), the only path is by Jesus.\u00a0 He is the door.\u00a0 And that is where the self-important know-it-alls stumble, at the idea of Jesus being all of this.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about Jesus.\u00a0 Take Him out of your religious faith and you end up with a bunch of archaic rules, outdated rituals, and irrelevant laws that have little to do with anything.\u00a0 The Apostle John said, \u201cThe Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.\u00a0 No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him\u201d (John 1:17-18).<\/p>\n

Seven.\u00a0 \u201cCome unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my load is light\u201d (Matthew 11:28-30).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Come to Me. I will give you rest. Learn from Me. My yoke. My burden.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about Jesus. Do not miss this.<\/p>\n

We must not divorce this wonderful invitation from all that went before.\u00a0 Only after realizing that all authority in Heaven and earth is in the hands of Jesus, and that He alone knows the Heavenly Father and is the sole access to God, only then do we see the significance of \u201cCome unto me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was not a foregone conclusion that the Savior, the Lord Christ, once He arrived on Earth and began doing His thing would be available, approachable, and kind.\u00a0 If there is only one God in the universe, nothing says He automatically had to be good.\u00a0 He could have been the worst tyrant imaginable, toying with mankind as playthings, acting like a spoiled brat who delights in torturing his pets.\u00a0 (That, btw, is the precise charge militant atheists hurl toward Him. But it\u2019s just so much foolishness. They read one another and feed off each other\u2019s anger.)<\/p>\n

God is love.<\/p>\n

Heaven is available. Salvation is free. And we are invited in.<\/p>\n

A leper, against all regulations, ran to Jesus and fell down before Him, saying, \u201cIf you are willing, you can make me clean!”\u00a0 Our Lord reached out and touched the untouchable, and said, \u201cI am willing.\u00a0 Be cleansed.\u201d (Mark 1:41)<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a willing Savior.\u00a0 Rejoice!<\/p>\n

The only precondition to knowing Him and receiving Heaven\u2019s blessings is humbling ourselves and becoming as children.<\/p>\n

Since we are indeed humble and childlike in the face of all the mysteries of this universe, the puzzle is why this is such an ordeal to many of us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo man ever spoke like this man\u201d (John 7:46). (Please note below that all seven of these “things Jesus said” are from the same passage in Matthew 11.)\u00a0 Somewhere around the house I have an old book with the wonderful … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lord-jesus","category-matthew"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22949"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22955,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22949\/revisions\/22955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}