Wednesday 7 July 2010

Jesus: the one true worshiper

This continues my series on a biblical theology of worship.

Jesus is the only person who ever truly worshiped God. He obeyed God and resisted the devil (Matt 4:1-11 & parallels); was zealous to restore true worship in the temple (John 2:13-17); and was obedient to death, even death on a cross (Matt 26:36-46 & parallels [Gethsemane]; Php 2:5-11; Heb 5:7-10). God therefore honoured him with the glorious vindication he deserves – the resurrection to eternal life (Is 52:13-53:12; Acts 17:30-31; Php 2:5-11; Heb 2:5-9).

The amazing part of all this is – Jesus didn’t do any of this for himself, but for us – for the false worshipper, the idolaters, the people who ignore the one true God and chase after false gods that cannot save. The highest point of Jesus’ worship was giving himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world (Is 52:13-53:12; Mark 10:45; Rom 3:21-26; Heb 10:8-10; 1 John 4:10). The greatest enactment of wholehearted, whole-person love of God and neighbour is the cross of Christ.

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