His head and hair were
white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a
furnace, and his voice was like the sound
of rushing waters. –Revelation
1:14-15
What was Jesus like? Many envision Him as a guru of peace who never
said a harsh word. Others envision Him
as a mellow mystic who could not relate to our humanity. There is no shortage of opinions, but few are
entirely consistent with Scripture.
The misty-eyed, airy-voiced, peace-marching Jesus of modern
films, wishful imaginations, and popular theology never existed. Those who have either never read the four
Gospels or have never really believed them have crafted him.
The real Jesus was the Incarnation of the Jealous God
(Exodus 34:14), the Warrior God (Exodus 15:3), the One who dwells in mystery
and majesty. There was fire in His eyes
and passion in His voice. And according
to Revelation 1, there still is.
Jesus still speaks.
Is the Hollywood Jesus the one you expect to hear? When we read the Gospels, we see the anger at
hypocrisy and the anguish of the cross.
We hear the violence in His prayers and the divisiveness of His words. We know that His coming was a crisis event,
the turning point for the entire human race.
The fiery, zealous Jesus may speak to us with a still, small
voice, but do not rule out the roaring voice of thunder and lightning. He doesn’t always nudge us; sometimes He
jolts us. The Jesus who offered comfort,
healing, and peace to the troubled and outcasts also blasted the legalists and
the proud. The Jesus who drew calmly in
the sand and urged the meek to persist in their meekness also made a scene at
the Temple with His violent outburst.
The Man of Sorrows is also a man of action. The Lamb of God is also the Lion of
Judah. We must make no assumptions about
His voice. We just need to be open to
it. Let us have ears that hear. And when He speaks, it will be powerful
enough to change our lives.
Love to Oasis Church!
A long time Oasis member
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