Behold
“While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, ’This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.’” Matthew 17:5 (KJV)
Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to a mountain to be alone with them. When they arrived on the mountain, Jesus’ face shined like the sun, and Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Peter, being overwhelmed, asked if he could build “tabernacles” for each of them. But God the Father interrupted Peter and spoke one of the great “beholds,” attesting to what Jesus had told them, that he was the actual Son of God, and, furthermore, proclaiming that He was well pleased with Jesus. And then He spoke the words, “…hear ye him.” Those words resound through the centuries to us today. Paraphrased, the Father said to us: “Hear Jesus; listen to what He said as recorded in Scripture,” and, “Listen to what He says when you pray.” If Peter, James, and John were to listen to Jesus, shouldn’t we all. If we were to listen as well as they did, revival would happen NOW!
In John 1:29 (KJV), John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” He said that as he saw Jesus passing by. John was born to be the one who “introduced” Jesus to the people of Israel. He began to do that in answer to the Pharisees when they asked if He claimed to be the Christ or Elijah. He answered them in John 1:26,27 (KJV): …”I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.” In verse 34 He said, “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” John spoke it clearly and plainly, just as we should. Jesus is the Son of God, the only means of salvation for all who want to be saved from sin, death, and hellfire.
In 2 Corinthians 3:15-18, Paul tells us: “But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” When we look upon Jesus and see Him face to face, we shall grow to become more and more like Him every day. But meantime, we need to study His life and spend precious time in prayer in order to reflect His goodness and glory to those we meet, thereby drawing them to Him. Our assigned task here on earth is, by word and deed, to bring others to a saving knowledge of Him.
Let us “behold” to many that Jesus Christ is Lord!
Behold
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 (KJV)
What an astounding “Behold” that was. Virgins do not conceive, and the scripture does not tell how the virgin would conceive. The other astounding part of this “Behold” was the name she was to call him, “Immanuel.” “Immanuel” meant “God with us” to Israel, so they were being assured that their God, Jehovah, was with them and would be with them. They would not be swept away. No matter what the struggle, even if it were as a mighty river, Israel would be preserved.
Centuries later several more “beholds” would not only shed light on this passage of scripture, they would announce the actual appearance of this Emmanuel child. First, a young woman, a virgin, was espoused but not yet married, so a child was not to be expected. She was visited by an angel that gave her a startling message from God. We find it in Luke 1:28-31, “And the angel come in unto her, and said, ‘Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.’ And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, ‘ Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, “behold,” thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father, David.’” Mary explained the impossibility of this because she “knew not a man.” The angel explained that the Holy Ghost would come over her and cause the conception. Wow, what a thing for a young teenage girl to hear. She kept this conversation secret for a while.
Mary’s husband-to-be was concerned about this unexpected pregnancy but wasn’t sure what he should do when he got a surprise visit from an angel. Matthew 1:20-21 relates this conversation, “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.’” Okay, now we have two quite amazed people.
We have one more “behold” to discover. This one occurred months later and was given to individuals who had no connection at all to Mary and Joseph. This “behold’ was given to a group of shepherds. They, too, were surprised as an angel appeared to them out in the fields. Luke 2:10-11 relates the report: “And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.’”
Three “beholds,” one to a young girl, one to a perplexed husband-to-be, and one to anonymous shepherds that announced the arrival of the Savior of the World. There is never been a more important announcement than this, and it was given to relatively unknown and “unimportant” people. I believe that this indicates that our Savior, Jesus Chist, came to serve and to save. He will come later to reign. Behold, the King is coming. What a great “behold” that will be.
Behold
“Ah Lord God! Behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and stretched arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:” Jeremiah 32:17 (KJV)
“Behold” is a strong word used often in the Bible. It shows up most often in the King James Translation, and we don’t use it much today, but it has great importance in the Word of God. Perhaps today’s best interpretation of the word is, “Pay attention!” or “Listen up; this is important!” I believe that God says the same thing in creation without words, but by the beauty He created. For example, I might say, “Behold the mountains of Olympic National Park.” God got our attention by creating this beautiful block of stark splendor. It catches our attention, and, to me, it says, “Hey, look at this and enjoy it. I created it just for you. See it as a symbol of my strength.” It draws me to our Creator.
One very important “behold” is found in Isaiah 65:1, which says, “I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not; I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.” According to Matthew Henry in his commentary on this and following verses, this is the “calling in” of the Gentiles. This makes this “behold” of paramount importance to us for now salvation is made available to us. God is now moving His boundary to include those who are not members of the nation of Israel.
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice , and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” What would I do if Jesus knocked at my door? He has, he has knocked at the door of my heart, and to my great eternal joy, I invited Him in. He is still here. He will never leave. He and I will have fellowship throughout eternity. Jesus knocks at the door of every man’s heart. It is entirely each man’s choice to let Him in or to deny Him entrance. Graciously, Jesus will wait as long as there is a possibility that the door will be opened, but there is a time when that is no longer possible--death. No man can change His mind once death closes the door.
Revelations 21:3 speaks of what happens to those who have invited Jesus in. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” The chapter goes on to say that there will be no more death, pain, sorrow, or crying for they have been eliminated forever. What a great “behold” that will be. I am looking forward to it with great anticipation.
Come back next time for more “Beholds.”
Jesus Loves the Little Children
And He Loves Me, Too
“For God so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 (KJV)
Absolutely, Jesus does love the little children. He told His disciples once to let the children run up to Him and talk to Him and hug Him. Well, small children are really cute and loveable, and most of us enjoy picking up a small child and hugging him or her. But Jesus goes further; He promises them eternal life if they believe in Him.
Jesus promises me eternal life, too, but I am not easy to pick up and hold on His lap. And I am not always lovable, but He loves me anyway. All that lovable cuteness I had as a small child has disappeared and has been replaced by what we like to call reality. I don’t mean that I don’t love Jesus, but somewhere along the line I have picked up worries and concerns about the vicissitudes of life. “What will the doctor say?” “Will prices ever stop going up?” “Will the money make it to the end of the month?” “How much will my car repair cost?” “What did Joe mean by that remark?” “Do my friends really care?” You get the idea. As we grow, we experience all the changes and problems of life, and it takes away some of our child-like trust and joy and replaces them with adult responsibilities.
Guess what! Jesus still loves me because I am a “whosoever” who believes in Jesus, and that’s who Jesus came to offer eternal life to. He will never forsake me no matter how tied up I become with the problems of life. He is always just a prayer away. A very effective prayer is, “Jesus, help me!” Another very effective prayer is, “Jesus, I love you!” He always responds to both of those prayers.
Maybe I can’t picture Jesus picking me up and sitting me on His lap, but I can picture my Father God doing just that. I am loved by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all day, every day. God, forgives me for all my sins if I will just ask Him.
Jesus showed just how much He loves me by accepting the inhumane treatment He was given two thousand years ago--scourging, beating, mocking, and finally crucifixion. Then shortly after that He showed me how much He loves me by bursting out of the tomb and declaring victory over sin and the grave. Yes, Jesus loves the little children, and He loves me, too. He loves me just as much as He loves you. Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness.
Jesus Loves the Little Children
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” Matthew 19:14 (NIV)
There’s a song that goes like this:
“Jesus loves the liitle children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow, black, and white
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
It’s a great song with beautiful lyrics that speak the truth of the love of God for ALL the little children of the world. I have one disagreement with the lyrics. Jesus does not see the children as “red and yellow, black, and white.” He sees them as little children—all alike to Him, and He loves them all. Loving Jesus through the heart of a little child is special. They love unconditionally, and they love completely. They trust the one they love without reservation. As they grow older, our society insinuates little twinges of doubt and small acknowledgements of differences between people, and these begin to affect their love for Jesus and trust of Him. They begin to wonder if Jesus really does love everybody the same, and if he can always be trusted. Well, He does love everybody the same and He is completely trustworthy. That’s His nature and He never changes.
For me to live the best possible life as a Christian with the greatest amount of peace I can have, and with the maximum joy in my life, I have to go back to being a little child in my love for and my trust in God. Have you ever seen the look of love and trust in the eyes of a little baby as he or she looks at his or her mother’s face? That’s the kind of love I need to have toward my Lord and Savior, Jesus. That’s the kind of love I intend to have for my Lord and Savior, Jesus, and my life will be more fulfilled. I can never love Jesus as much as He loves me, but I can love Him like a baby loves, without doubt or reservation, but with great joy. Let’s all return to that “baby love” for Jesus.
