In my Holy Bible study classes, over the years, one statement is made often, “Look for Jesus in the text.”
When we understand that the entire Bible-God’s Love Letter- is to help us be saved by Jesus, walk with Jesus, and to be transformed by Jesus, we see the magnificence of God’s Rescue Plan.
Jesus put Himself on a tree for the apple taken off the tree.
Jesus crushed the serpent’s head that bit at the heel by defeating death.
Jesus appeared in various points in the Old Testament, known as Theophanies.
The cherubim over the mercy seat in the temple (OT) were prophetic of the two angels in Jesus’ tomb.
And Paul tells us in Corinthians and Romans…..
The quote at the beginning of this blog by Jim Elliot, perfectly shows that God gave the best by becoming Jesus to undo what the disobedience of Adam and Eve to God caused, that we know as The Rescue Plan.
In Genesis 41, Joseph is appointed Prime Minister over Egypt. The Joseph story is fascinating because it is a lesson to us that God can turn terrible into remarkable. More significantly, the Joseph story is a foretelling of Jesus.
Matthew 28 vs 18: ‘And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”’
Mark 16 vs 19: ‘So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.’
Interestingly, even the Quran, which plagiarised parts of The Holy Bible and stole parts of various beliefs in that day creating a hodgepodge of teachings makes the claim of Jesus chosen and given authority. Surah 3 vs 55: ‘Allāh said, “O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify [i.e., free] you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allāh alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection.’ – https://quran.com/3/55?translations=20,84,17,18,19,21,95,85,101
Not that we give credence to the Quran, but if a pagan-inspired book of lies recognises that Jesus is God’s Choice, then as Christians we need to surrender to the fact that Christianity isn’t about us, but is about what Jesus does for us, in us, and through us to achieve God’s Will- The Rescue Plan.
‘Enduring Word’ study guide drives home this intersectional crossover between Joseph and us, Joseph and Jesus, and our recognition that we follow Jesus not the other way around.
As people we struggle with a delusion of control. We imagine that we have a power within the universe that makes the world revolve around ourselves. This is a knee jerk reaction of self-defence to try avoid being hurt again. Usually, this is a coping mechanism response developed in childhood when we experience some of the nastiness in our world. We then rehearse this coping mechanism until we are so convinced that the filter we see the world through is truth. This is known as ‘Confirmation Bias’. To quote ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica’, ‘Confirmation bias is one example of how humans sometimes process information in an illogical, biased manner. The manner in which a person knows and understands the world is often affected by factors that are simply unknown to that person. Philosophers note that people have difficulty processing information in a rational, unbiased manner once they have developed an opinion about an issue.’ – https://www.britannica.com/science/confirmation-bias
Us Christian’s aren’t exempt from this humanist behaviour. This struggle between ‘flesh and spirit’ only becomes more apparent when we start following Jesus and learn to die to self daily.
Matthew 16 vs 24-26: ‘Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?“
Notice, Jesus DOES NOT say, “Follow me as you think I should be followed,” or, “Follow any belief because all roads lead to Rome,” or, “Follow the Jesus of your confirmation bias.”
JESUS SAYS, “DENY YOURSELF AND FOLLOW ME.”
‘Bible Study Tools’ has a stunning teaching about practicing our God-given choice to surrender to God’s Choice of saving humanity through Himself in flesh as Jesus, and not ourselves despite what our narcissistic control-freak would lead us to believe.
To quote, ‘In James 4:7, James said, “Submit yourselves then, to God.” Submission to God is a theme throughout the Bible. Some synonyms for submit are “yield,” “surrender,” and “give in.” When God’s children are told to submit, the idea is to give themselves over completely and choose to place themselves under God’s authority and control with the desire to obey His will.’ – https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/the-beautiful-reality-of-why-we-should-submit-ourselves-to-god.html
‘Compelling Truth’ lists the ways of submitting to God’s Choice.
- One way to submit to God is through salvation.
- A second way to submit to God is through obedience.
- A third way to submit to God is to learn more about Him.
- A fourth way to submit to God is how we treat one another.
- A fifth way to submit to God is how we share Him with others.
To quote, ‘When we come to Jesus for salvation, obey Him, learn about Him, treat others with love, and share Christ with others, we are showing our submission to the Lord through our actions in ways that honor God and change the lives of others.’ – https://www.compellingtruth.org/submit-to-God.html
As we stare into the glorious mirror of Holy Scripture in Genesis 41, the story of arrogant, privileged Joseph becoming the rejected sold as a slave, stolen authority cast into prison falsely, to eventual Prime Minister, we must see ourselves and ask, “Can I in any shape or form be so perfectly best, like God, all day, every day?”
As we recognise that we simply cannot be Maximally, Ultimate, Perfectly Best, and eternally so, we have to raise our narcissistic control-freak white flag of surrender to Jesus who is God’s Choice.
John 5 vs 19-23: ‘So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.”’
PROCLAMATION:
Lord Jesus,
You are The Holy God who has created The Way for me to follow. Help me to be fully surrendered to Your Will, and help me unlearn my world-conditioned confirmation bias. Help me to learn from You so that I can be transformed into Your Holy Image.
In Your Holy Name Jesus.
AMEN.
#Hayibo 