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Jesus Christ … no one else like him

Jesus Christ … no one else like him. Read Matthew 13.

Manhunts of all sorts draw our attention, don’t they? When I was a little girl, about 8 years old, the Zodiac killer came on the scene in Northern California. One night, the evening news reported that he had been seen in the Copper Penny restaurant—the same night I was there with my parents. Felt scary. There was a massive manhunt throughout the Bay Area for the self-named Zodiac killer.

Have you ever thought about the manhunt for Jesus once he went missing from the tomb? The Romans wanted him—dead or alive… alive? How could he be alive? They had beaten Jesus almost to death, crucified him, and ascertained his death with a spear driven up into his ribs and heart. The Jewish leaders were determined to pin the stealing of his body on the disciples, but Jesus could not be found. In just a few short weeks, he made appearances to many of his followers. “Risen”, the movie currently in theatres depicts Jesus’ resurrection, the search and people’s reactions to seeing Jesus alive again. When the Roman soldier happens upon the risen Jesus Christ, seated with his disciples, it is amazing. The tribune’s entire countenance is transfixed at his encounter with the living Lord.

Here’s the thing—no one who has an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ is
ever the same.

We are well into Matthew’s account of Jesus’ genealogy, birth, baptism and ministry launch; we have watched Jesus’ heart moved to compassion as he touched and healed the sick and infirmed. I’m wondering--from Jesus’ life, what speaks to you? What draws you to him--his compassion, his mercy or his love?

Maybe his teaching moves you—no rabbi before or preacher since has taught like Jesus. Besides talking of his father, Jesus took simple things with which his first-century listeners could identify and wove them into spiritual stories—he taught in parables to illustrate truth. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.”1

“The kingdom of heaven is like. . .” We ask ourselves what Jesus meant ‘the kingdom of heaven’, or in other places, ‘the kingdom of God’? In truth, the Kingdom of God or Heaven is the same, and is at once referring to our present doing of the will of God in our lives, knowing that in Jesus, the kingdom came, but is still not what it will be in all of its fullness ~ when God’s will is perfectly done on earth and among mankind as it is in heaven and in Jesus Christ, for that is the kingdom.2 The Kingdom of God captures the past, present and future state of things to come.

Where do you keep your money and valuables—not just your pocket change, but that which you have saved? In the ancient world, the banks were available for only the very wealthy. Most ordinary people dug a hole in the ground, and buried their treasure—coins, medals, etc., which helps us understand Jesus’ illustration. And to the ancient people, a pearl was rare and the loveliest of all possessions, a beauty to handle and behold.3

Jesus’ point: the kingdom of God is so valuable it is worth sacrificing anything to get it. O, there is nothing like the transformation of the human being—just to see a human heart turned so that it might gaze upon the Savior, with the assurance of eternity beyond. No wonder Jesus talked about the treasure that is the kingdom, the unequalled beauty of the pearl! Ah no, there is nothing greater than the value of the kingdom of God. Though our finite minds struggle to comprehend either its magnitude or greatness, just a glimpse of it keeps us longing to feast on more.

I pray that it is his teaching,
I pray that it is how Jesus lived and loved,
I pray that it was his willingness to die for you, and most of all,
that he left the tomb behind, as he said he would …
Yes, I pray that all these things move you about Jesus Christ.
There has never been another like him.

1 – Matthew 13.43-45, New International Version
2 – The Mind of Jesus, William Barclay, 1960.
3 – William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew – The New Daily Study Bible

Jesus Christ … no one else like him

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