A reproduction of the Watchtower Society's article
Depth of feeling and warmth. But Jesus was also a man of great feeling, a requirement for serving as God’s High Priest. His perfection did not make him hypercritical or arrogant and overbearing (as were the Pharisees) toward the imperfect, sin-laden persons among whom he lived and worked. (Mt 9:10-13; 21:31, 32; Lu 7:36-48; 15:1-32; 18:9-14) Even children could feel at ease with him, and when using a child as an example, he did not merely stand the child before his disciples but also “put his arms around it.” (Mr 9:36; 10:13-16) He proved himself a real friend and affectionate companion to his followers, ‘loving them to the end.’ (Joh 13:1; 15:11-15) He did not use his authority to be demanding and to add to the people’s burdens but, rather, said: “Come to me, all you who are toiling . . . I will refresh you.” His disciples found him “mild-tempered and lowly in heart,” his yoke kindly and his load light.—Mt 11:28-30.
Priestly duties included care for the physical and spiritual health of the people. (Le 13-15) Pity and compassion moved Jesus to help the people suffering from illness, blindness, and other afflictions. (Mt 9:36; 14:14; 20:34; Lu 7:11-15; compare Isa 61:1.) The death of his friend Lazarus and the resulting grief to Lazarus’ sisters caused Jesus to ‘groan and give way to tears.’ (Joh 11:32-36) Thus, in an anticipatory way, Jesus the Messiah ‘carried the sicknesses and bore the pains’ of others, doing so at the cost of power from himself. (Isa 53:4; Lu 8:43-48) He did so not only in fulfillment of prophecy but because ‘he wanted to.’ (Mt 8:2-4, 16, 17) More important, he brought them spiritual health and forgiveness of sins, being authorized to do so because, as the Christ, he was foreordained to provide the ransom sacrifice, in fact was already undergoing the baptism into death that would terminate on the torture stake.—Isa 53:4-8, 11, 12; compare Mt 9:2-8; 20:28; Mr 10:38, 39; Lu 12:50.
“Wonderful Counselor.” The priest was responsible for the education of the people in God’s law and will. (Mal 2:7) Also, as the royal Messiah, the foretold “twig out of the stump of Jesse [David’s father],” Jesus had to manifest ‘the spirit of Jehovah in wisdom, counsel, mightiness, knowledge, along with the fear of Jehovah.’ Thereby God-fearing persons would find “enjoyment by him.” (Isa 11:1-3) The unparalleled wisdom found in the teachings of Jesus, who was “more than Solomon” (Mt 12:42), is one of the most powerful evidences that he was indeed the Son of God and that the Gospel accounts could not be the mere product of imperfect men’s minds or imagination.
Jesus proved himself to be the promised “Wonderful Counselor” (Isa 9:6) by his knowledge of God’s Word and will, by his understanding of human nature, by his ability to get to the heart of questions and issues, and by showing the solution to problems of daily living. The well-known Sermon on the Mount is a prime example of this. (Mt 5-7) In it his counsel showed the way to true happiness, how to settle quarrels, how to avoid immorality, how to deal with those showing enmity, the way to practice righteousness free from hypocrisy, the right attitude toward the material things of life, confidence in God’s generosity, the golden rule for right relationships with others, the means for detecting religious frauds, and how to build for a secure future. The crowds were “astounded at his way of teaching; for he was teaching them as a person having authority, and not as their scribes.” (Mt 7:28, 29) After his resurrection he continued to be the key figure in Jehovah’s channel of communication to mankind.—Re 1:1.
Master Teacher. His manner of teaching was remarkably effective. (Joh 7:45, 46) He presented matters of great weight and depth with simplicity, brevity, and clarity. He illustrated his points with things well known to his listeners (Mt 13:34, 35)—to fishermen (Mt 13:47, 48), shepherds (Joh 10:1-17), farmers (Mt 13:3-9), builders (Mt 7:24-27; Lu 14:28-30), merchants (Mt 13:45, 46), slaves or masters (Lu 16:1-9), housewives (Mt 13:33; Lu 15:8), or anyone else (Mt 6:26-30). Simple things, like bread, water, salt, wineskins, old garments, were used as symbols of things of great importance, even as they were so used in the Hebrew Scriptures. (Joh 6:31-35, 51; 4:13, 14; Mt 5:13; Lu 5:36-39) His logic, often expressed through analogies, cleared away misguided objections and put matters in their proper perspective. (Mt 16:1-3; Lu 11:11-22; 14:1-6) He aimed his message primarily at men’s hearts, using penetrating questions to cause them to think, arrive at their own conclusions, examine their motives, and make decisions. (Mt 16:5-16; 17:24-27; 26:52-54; Mr 3:1-5; Lu 10:25-37; Joh 18:11) He did not strive to win over the masses but endeavored to awaken the hearts of those sincerely hungering for truth and righteousness.—Mt 5:3, 6; 13:10-15.
Though considerate of the limited understanding of his audience and even of his disciples (Mr 4:33) and though using discernment in how much information to give them (Joh 16:4, 12), he never ‘watered down’ God’s message in an effort to gain popularity or curry favor. His speech was straightforward, even blunt at times. (Mt 5:37; Lu 11:37-52; Joh 7:19; 8:46, 47) The theme of his message was: “Repent, . . . for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” (Mt 4:17) As did Jehovah’s prophets of earlier times, he plainly told the people of “their revolt, and the house of Jacob [of] their sins” (Isa 58:1; Mt 21:28-32; Joh 8:24), pointing them to the ‘narrow gate and the cramped road’ that would lead them back to God’s favor and life.—Mt 7:13, 14.
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