Jesus is the Best
I’ve always been a deep feeler, a “sentimental Sally,” if you will. But this year of getting to know Jesus through the Gospel of Matthew has pushed me over the edge. I am downright weepy over the goodness of God. I have come face to face with the one true Jesus through these 28 chapters, and my only response is worship.
My worship most often flows out of me as tears. Maybe yours comes out as song or dance or laughter. The truth is we were made to worship, and we all worship. We worship what most moves us, what makes us feel whole. And unless we are worshipping the one true Jesus, whatever we are worshipping instead will fail us. We will be left empty again, scrambling to find the next thing that moves us and temporarily fills us.
We were made to worship the one true Jesus. But to worship the one true Jesus, we have to know the one true Jesus. And that is exactly what the Gospel of Matthew helps us to do.
And if you’re thinking I got all of this goodness out of the year only because I was an A+ student… not at all. I give myself a C- at the very most. This year - my first year in Bible Study Fellowship - I was writing a book and mothering a toddler, and things were still inconsistent because of Omicron. There were many weeks when I didn’t answer all of the homework questions or read all of the notes or even participate via Zoom when in-person meetings were put on hold, and I STILL got to know Jesus in a profound and personal way.
Jesus doesn’t dangle the carrot of knowing him and being loved by him just out of reach for the ones who fall short. Because the truth is, we all fall short. And although Jesus will never fall short, he chooses to get on the ground with those who do and invite us to get to know him.
This is what I got to know while studying the life, death, and resurrected life of Jesus this past year: He is the best. That’s my big takeaway: The one true Jesus is literally the best.
Jesus is our friend. Jesus is our savior. Jesus is who he said he is.
Jesus is real and raw. He’s funny and kind. He’s compassionate and merciful. He weeps with us and rejoices with us. He cares about all people. He respects and dignifies women and the most vulnerable and overlooked - the widows, orphans, differently-abled, imprisoned, sick, and suffering. He listens first. He asks kind and curious questions. He invites relationship. He knows everything about us - every every every thing - and he loves us. He meets us where we are, but he does not leave us where he found us. He invites us to experience healing, wholeness, and abundant life. Jesus is the very best friend.
Jesus has been as close to God and as far from God (and every distance in between) as any human could ever be - literally and figuratively. He has been in the depths of hell, and he has been seated at the right hard of God in heaven. He can be trusted with whatever we’ve got. Jesus is our only savior.
Jesus is faithful because that is who he is. His faithfulness is not dependent on our faith or faithfulness. Our faith comes from experiencing his faithfulness. And our faithfulness is the outpouring of a heart that knows his love and loves him back. But our faithfulness will always falter, fail, and fall short. Jesus faithfulness never will. Jesus is who he said he is, and nothing we can or could ever do will ever change that.
Jesus came to give us a clear picture of who God is and how he loves us - faithful and faithfully. Even as the ones who knew Jesus best betrayed and denied him. Even as the mob who shouted praises quickly turned to the mob who shouted “crucify him!” Even as the religious leaders who knew the scriptures and the prophecies best refused to see the truth of who Jesus was because they cared more about maintaining power than pointing people to hope.
Even then, Jesus was faithful to make a way for ALL to move from death to life. Even then, Jesus was faithful to the very end - to death. But thank God that his death is not the end of his faithfulness.
Jesus’ resurrected life is the fulfillment of his faithfulness and just the beginning of our ability to experience it.
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrected life are why Jesus is the best.
BSF is a free, in-depth Bible study with trained group leaders for all ages and denominations around the world. This is the incredible group of women I got to walk through the book of Matthew with this year.