🌿BREATHE TRUTH🌿
As soon as Jesus heard the news, He left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where He was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick. —Matthew 15:13-14
🌿LIVE THE REAL TRUTH🌿
The news that Jesus hears is the death of His cousin and colleague, John the Baptist. After John the Baptist’s disciples come and take his body away for burial, they inform Jesus. John the Baptist is beheaded because he speaks truth. Death at the hands of an ungodly king for ungodly reasons under ungodly circumstances. John faces his enemies alone. He dies at their hands alone. Jesus could not be with him, could not reach him or rescue him. This is part of the Father’s plan.
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The humanity of Jesus.
What is Jesus’ response? Jesus reacts how you and I would in our sadness. He leaves for a faraway place to be alone. Serenity in the seclusion. Jesus gathers his grief with Him. He longs for
solace in the solitude
time in the tranquility
peace in the privacy
rest in the remoteness
sacred in the stillness.
In this picture, we see the softness of Jesus. The tender consideration and thoughtful care of his turmoil concerning John. The piercing humanity of pain. Jesus, being fully man, experiences distress, and empathizes with our distress.
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The divinity of Jesus.
Jesus endures anguish over John the Baptist’s suffering, and the agony of how it ends. Yet in His mourning, Jesus casts His gaze upon the crowd and has compassion on them. The gears shift and the divinity of Jesus takes over. The distance the people have traveled and the desperation they carry with them moves Jesus. Jesus sees our journey and much, much more. When Jesus sees us, He sees beyond the surface. He contemplates our deepest, darkest, depth. He beholds what others cannot. Our need to be saved and sanctified. Our need for a supernatural Savior. Our need for someone greater than us to see us.
In our weakness, Jesus sees us.
In our worry, Jesus sees us.
In our wanting, Jesus sees us.
In our waiting, Jesus sees us.
As Jesus steps out of the boat, He sees beyond the physical picture of the people before Him: He perceives the presence of their needs. Jesus doesn’t need words to know the healing we need.
People who are well don’t entreat a doctor to make them better. People who are sinless don’t petition an advocate to stand up in their defense. These people who travel from all over different towns to find Jesus are in need of a healer and advocate. Like them, you and I are in need of intercession and intervention.
In His humanity, His softness is manifested. In His divinity, His strength. In both, He apprehends and comprehends our needs.
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There is no other occurrence in the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John where Jesus goes off by Himself after a personal loss.
John the Baptist’s death is a loss for Jesus. If you ever wonder if God notices or knows you, here is the answer. Yes. God, the creator of the universe and billions of people, cares about you and what happens to you.
It matters to God the details of your life. When bad things happen to good people like John the Baptist, it matters to God. When we seek healing and advocacy, it matters to God. Out of all the created and creation in this world, your life matters to the Real Truth. God will reveal His humanity and divinity to make the Real Truth real in our lives.
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Copyright 2019