Jesus didn’t come with fallible human opinions. When He spoke it was as though God Himself were speaking; and, in fact, it was God Himself speaking. If you want to know what God thinks, read the words of Jesus. If you want to know God’s insights into any subject, listen to Jesus. If you want the wisdom of God, listen to the words of Jesus.
Even as a child, our Lord’s words were profoundly divine. When He was twelve years old, He started asking questions and giving answers in the Jewish Temple among the rabbis, and it was said, “Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers” (Luke 2:47).
As a young man He went to His hometown synagogue and gave the sermon an a certain Sabbath day. Matthew 13:54 says: “He began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom…,’ they asked.”
During His ministry, according to Mark 10:24, “The disciples were amazed at His words.”
In John 7, the Jewish national leadership sent temple guards to arrest Jesus and bring Him to trial. These soldiers went and listened while Jesus spoke, and they were the ones who were arrested. They were arrested by the force of His words. Our Lord said things like, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.” The guards returned without their prisoner, and when the chief priests demanded to know why the mission failed, the guard simply said, “No one ever spoke the way this man does” (John 7:46).
Luke 4:22 says, “All spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips.” Luke 4:36 says, “All the people were amazed and said to each other, ‘What words these are!’” Luke 19:48 says, “The people hung on His words.”
Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31). He said, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock” (Matthew 7:24). He said, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask whatever you will and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).
Jesus taught the Word of God and He is called the Word of God. If you want to hear the voice of God, read the Sermon on the Mount about everyday ethics and practical righteousness. Read the Olivet Discourse on the signs of the times and the end of the age. Study His Upper Room Discourse about peace and comfort and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Read the Parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 13, and the Bread of Life sermon in John 6, and the Great Commission in Matthew 28. Ponder His seven “I Am” statements in John’s Gospel and His seven last words on the cross.
The words of Jesus and the Word of God are synonymous and perfectly corresponding. He spoke more powerfully than anyone else in history.
Listening to Him is our greatest privilege, and sitting at His feet as He teaches us is our greatest comfort.
From my sermon, “The Boat.“