Continuing onto part 4 of our series on present truth, we’re gonna look into the second characteristic of those who need to know and study present truth.
And that second characteristic consists of “honoring and reverencing” Jesus.
But what does that mean?
Honor
When I think of the word “honor” in the Bible, what first comes to my mind is 1 Samuel 2:30, which says:
Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
(1 Samuel 2:30)
What does that mean?
What I find interesting is that one of the meanings for “honor” in Hebrew is “to make heavy, a yoke.”
Now what comes to your mind when you see that word “yoke”?
For me, the well-beloved words of Jesus in Matthew 11:29-30 comes vividly to mind:
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
(Matthew 11:29-30)
So, honoring Jesus has something to do with His yoke.
However, it’s when we study into the Biblical meaning for the word “reverence” that we get a clear idea of what this all means.
Reverence
In Esther 3:5, we see that reverence is associated with “BOWING”!
And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
(Esther 3:5)
1 Kings 1:31 also shows that bowing and reverence are closely connected:
Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
(1 Kings 1:31)
So, how does all this connect?
To Honor & Reverence
To honor and reverence Jesus simply means bowing down in submission to His yoke.
Those who truly need present truth are those who are learning to truly submit and surrender to the yoke of Christ’s authority.
They are already walking in a season of bowing down self, taking up the yoke of His cross, and following Him (Matthew 16:24) because, as we learned in part 3 of this series, they SEEK for Jesus out of LOVE for Him!
For part 5 of our series, we’re gonna now look into the present truth message itself that the seeking, loving, and yoke-submitting Christian needs to learn and know.
To take Christ’s yoke upon us, is to put ourselves into the relation to servants and subjects to him, and then of conduct ourselves accordingly, in a conscientious obedience to all his commands, and a cheerful submission to all his disposals…
-Matthew Henry
Amen! Maranatha!