Part 24 continuation Jesus Christ“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.’ He would demonstrate the “enjoyment” resulting from such fear of Jehovah. (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 p. 70human 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.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 01:04:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015